Pro Septic Service LLC – Highest Standards in the Great Northern US

At the heart of the Wisconsin Central Plain (10 miles from the exact center of the state) is Stevens Point. The vast rural expanse in all directions from the town is defined by the coastlines of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, and the peripheral cities of Minneapolis, MN, Green Bay WI, and Milwaukee, WI. Thriving in this veritable open range between those three distant major markets is Pro Septic Service LLC, owned and operated by Chris Sobczak. The story of his entrepreneurial achievement is fascinating. 

It’s about Sobczak’s success in the industry, and it’s a journey that started at an age among the youngest we’ve ever discovered. We were fortunate to talk with this remarkable business leader recently. Here, Chris shares some of his background, reflections, and professional insights with ALW readers:

Back on the Farm at Age 13 – A Pro in the Making

I’ve been doing this type of work since I was 13 years old. I’m 51 now. I grew up on a dairy farm. Coming from a dairy farm background means working from sun up to sun down seven days a week as a way of life. My uncle and his dad were septic system installers. They had a septic service business with one truck. From a young age, I helped them, and I learned a lot from that early experience.

Then, I got into pumping out tanks when I was 19 years old. I was pumping for about 2 years for one company, then worked for another one for about 5 to 6 years, and then started my own company when I was 30. 

Chris Sobczak and Pro Septic Service LLC Today

Now I have 5 vacuum trucks. We have 3 full-time employees, and we have 2 part-time employees who help with driving when needed. My wife, Amy, runs the office, takes care of all the calls, payroll — you name it. She does all the technical work. I’m in a truck all day, every day, not sitting with my feet up on the desk [Chris laughs].

My wife and I built the company together all the way. We started from scratch, from nothing, with one truck and a blue sky and a dream. So, we’re not like companies that have only grown through acquisition. But they don’t have anything on us in quality service and never will. There’s no replacement for our level of passion for service. 

Amy runs the office, does the year-end taxes, marketing, retirement accounts, ordering employee uniforms, and everything that needs to be done administratively for the employees. She’s the technical person and I’m the hands-on guy. She takes care of all the emailing, printing work orders for the day, talking to the drivers about any concerns, routing, directions, all of it. 

My 20-year-old daughter, Claire, is also involved with the business. She works for us every summer when she’s home from college. She mostly helps in the office, working with Amy, doing DNR reporting, inspection notices, filing, etc., but even helps in the field if needed, helping take vehicles for maintenance, repairs, etc. 

She can do much of what my wife does, booking customers and taking calls, and generally taking some of the pressure off during the busiest times. My goal for her has been to get her CDL and all the proper licensing and other credentials for working in and running the business. Hopefully, after she finishes college, she will become the next successor of the company. 

Pro Septic Service LLC Business Model

Pro Septic provides a wide range of services to maintain residential and commercial septic requirements. The company has a highly experienced team and is equipped to manage any size job and any issue. Pro Septic services include:

We’ve got some pretty big commercial contracts with some large clients, like stores throughout the Fox Valley and the bigger markets. We have routes set up for clients who get routine service. But, the key to our success is that we are very well diversified. Not only are we a septic pumping service, we’re also a grease trap, commercial work, car wash, and pit cleaning service. 

Pro Septic Service Team

Our employees are all local guys right from my community. My longest-term technician, Rich, has been with me for 14 years. My other full-time technician, T.J., has been with me for 4 years. One employee, Brody, started working for us as a young teen who lived down the road. We just got him his CDL. 

We’re always looking for new technologies and better tools out there to make things easier on the technicians, like the lid pullers and jacks we’ve added. This year has probably pounded us harder than we ever have been. A big contractor needed us for a lengthy job that stretched us. But our team did what it took to make sure all our customers got the same top-quality service that they have always depended on us for.

Everyone has been so busy that I’ve switched to having a mobile washing and detailing company come in regularly to clean and detail the trucks. Image and cleanliness and top-notch equipment is Rule Number One for me. All our technicians wear uniforms, and I don’t go for sleazy slogans on trucks. Our slogan is “A class above the rest.” That’s the professional standard we work to uphold.

We don’t just hire anybody. We would not be here today if not for this team. The company was built by all of us together, and it works like a well-oiled machine because of the skills and hard work, honesty, reliability, and dedication of the people on this team.

The Most Difficult Year

This year was challenging, but actually our hardest was probably 2018. Rich (who is my longest time employee) had just gotten done pumping a septic tank, and a car on the highway came head on, which sent him into a ditch. He was stuck in the over-turned truck for an hour and a half, until he was airlifted to the hospital. He had a couple of surgeries. He eventually made a full recovery and he has been with me for 14 years.

But, looking back on the work side of that nightmare, we were only a two-truck operation at that time. The situation put us on our knees. We went from a strained two-truck operation down to one-truck with one employee in rehab and out of commission. So, it was all on me to keep us from going under. But we never missed a beat, never lost a customer. We did what we had to do to keep things rolling. 

TREBCO helped us out for a few days during the worst time, while we were focusing on the injured employee. Imperial industries also stepped up and helped us get the replacement truck as soon as possible, within months. 

The lady who hit our truck had no insurance and she took out a several hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle. My insurance ultimately covered it all. We meet with our insurance company yearly to go over our coverages to make sure everything is good and that we’re well covered. But with all that Rich went through and what it took to keep the business running without him, it was brutal. I wouldn’t wish that kind of disaster upon anybody.

Pro Septic Service Equipment

All our tanks are made by Imperial Industries. They’re 30 minutes from my shop, and they’re a one-stop shop. One call does it all. I call them, and things get taken care of. I’ve been with Imperial since the beginning, and they’ve always been good to me. 

Two local auto service shops do all of our maintenance. We don’t do any of it in-house. They are both excellent. They know what we need and what we expect, so I stick with them. I’ve been with my tire guys for my trucks for 20 years. I consider them friends too. The same way with my truck repair centers. I’ve been with all my vendors forever. If you’re good to me, I’ll never leave you. 

As far as I’m concerned, I offer excellent, top-notch, old-fashioned service. My word is my word. A handshake does it. My vendors know that’s how I roll, and so do my customers. With my vendors, it’s just like with my customers. We don’t lose a lot.

22 Years of Business Growth, 37 Years of Industry Perspective

Since we started the company on April 1, 2004, growth has been steady. As far as plans for more growth, I think we’re good where we are now, but I said that three trucks ago. With the stricter emissions regulations, climate conditions, and other impacts, you almost need to have a spare truck sitting around for repairs, or downtime if a Check Engine light comes on. Parts aren’t always readily available. That said, we have no big plans to scale up. 

Am I happy? That’s the magical question. The way things run in this business, it’s very hard on a family. There have been huge family sacrifices. My wife and I rarely go on vacation together, because one of us stays to man the office and oversee the operation. It’s a 7-day-a-week job. So, are we happy? I’m 150% in on my business. I’m 51 and have no plans to retire. I would feel guilty leaving my customers without quality service. So, as long as my health and everything else holds up, I wouldn’t just walk away. 

Back on the farm, cows needed to be milked even when it was Christmas, Easter, or when you had the flu. That’s kind of how I run things here. I’m up at 3:45 a.m. every day. Every truck rolls out of the shop by 5:00 in the morning. If I try sleeping in on a Sunday, I’m wiped out for the rest of the day. I’m pacing without something to do. 

Growth of a Great Northern Rural Service Brand 

Before starting my own business, as I said, I worked for a couple of other companies where I had major responsibilities. So, I had a lot of experience before I ventured out on my own. I ran businesses before I started my own. I came into ownership very well trained. I knew the ins and outs. It took me till I was 30 years old to make that leap. I didn’t just jump into it. I finally decided — I can do this. 

Today, one of those former employers, Ed Trzebiatowski, the Owner/Operator of TREBCO Services, is a very close friend. We’ve known each other for 35 years. We help each other and cover for each other, as needed. We usually talk at least once daily. He’s like family. It’s good to have that relationship of mutual support with a competitor. You know that one of them has always got your back.  

During my startup, it was pretty easy for me to build relationships. People knew me by name or by face. I made connections with people. I knocked on doors, but word of mouth was what helped us most. That’s how I grew it, how I made it. [Though Chris recalls a smooth transition in developing relationships for his new business, he likens the startup years, overall, to the experience of fighting for his life clawing his way out from under the cracked ice with bloody fingers when he fell in while ice fishing alone at about age 18.]

One of my accounts today is a big service company. They called me once, and I helped them in a pinch, and they were so impressed with how we did it in a pinch that they stuck with me. We take on a lot of very big jobs and very big accounts. But clients change. Businesses get sold. New customers come in from out of state. 

These days, you don’t have that advantage of being friends in our hometown with all our customers. A lot of that has gone by the wayside. You’re dealing with more management companies now. We still have those long-time customers we’ve kept through the relationships we’ve built with them. But, I will still sell sometimes. I say that when things are good, just don’t always think it’s going to last forever.

The Pro Septic Service Customer Education Program

The Dos and Don’ts on our website are also printed in our pamphlets that we hand out to every customer. We’re constantly educating our customers on their septic systems and on a good service plan for their specific needs. If we come to their property and find it’s very thick and there’s a lot of garbage, sludge, and scum getting out to the drainfield, we know the customer needs to make changes in the care of their system. 

Our county requires a pump-out every three years. However, the customer may need to have it done every two years or every year, depending on their usage, environmental factors, and other considerations. I’m a big advocate of every-year pumping. My parents did that. I recommend that customers get that waste and sediment out of there as frequently as needed to take the best care of the system and keep it functioning smoothly. 

Current Challenges in the Region

We’re here walking the walk. We’re very passionate about what we do. The challenges we’ve taken on and things we’ve accomplished in our career can seem unbelievable to people who haven’t had that kind of experience. We’re here for our customers, like this morning, fired up at 3:30 am to help with an urgent need, after finishing up last night at 8:00 pm. But that’s not an example of how things are done for unknowing customers elsewhere in our area. We deal with problems created for them all the time:

Septic service scams: Through the years, poor-quality operators have always been in our rearview mirror, undercutting, trying to take customers and trade secrets. But, one big thing in our area now that we’re fighting is that some plumbers found some loophole in the codes that allows them to not pump, or just to inspect without pumping and have the customers come out and just sign off. So, they never clean the filters or inlet baffle, where the sewage comes in from the house. 

Then, they end up calling us as backup. The inspectors sign off to meet the county requirements, and the customers are not getting anything for what they’re paying them. A customer last week had an inspection a year ago, and now sewage is backed up in their basement, in their finished basement, on the rugs. Every customer that has told us they did that inspection option has said they never should have done that and that they will never go that route again. 

Our biggest dilemma right now is trying to educate people about this. These guys don’t offer any other service, just inspection. The situation started ramping up about three years ago, and this year it’s really gotten out of control.

Inexperienced Operators: We learned through years on the job. Now, some newer operators watch a YouTube video and think they know what they’re doing. People trust them to do a professional, high-quality job, but things that go on now without the customers knowing any better are increasingly causing serious consequences to many septic systems and homes. The unqualified technicians are leaving a lot of sludge in the tanks, leading to sewage backups into finished basements, damaged equipment, damaged drainfields, and other costly problems. 

Disposal Resource Shortages

Another big issue for us has become disposal location shortages. The treatment plant facilities were built 30 to 50 years ago. They were built for a certain capacity of waste stream at that time. Those plants are aging, and the cities that use them have grown. So, now more waste is coming into the plants. The cost to renovate those facilities is astronomical. Treatment plants in big cities have a lot of money. But out in areas like mine, small cities with only 20 to 30 thousand people have very limited money, and the sewer plant is the last place the money goes.

We used to be able to take as much as we wanted to the treatment plants, but now they have to treat their rate payers’ sewage as their priority. Though they want to work with everyone who needs it, they have to restrict the loads from us area outliers. It’s a common problem. In northern Wisconsin and in many places throughout the country, it’s even worse. Some operators are having to drive as much as 300 miles for disposal. We’re fortunate to have land app licensing, so we’re much better off than other operators.

Advice for Industry Newcomers from Chris Sobczak, Pro Septic Service LLC, Stevens Point, WI

Learn it before you get into it. Don’t just buy a truck and hop into it. There’s so much more to it. It’s one thing to run a truck and pump. But you’d also better know where you’re going for disposal sites, and have a second, and a third, and a fourth option for it. You’d better know how to do your accounting, know the DNR regulations, how to get licensing, and how to troubleshoot the gamut of odd problems. You need to make sure you have enough insurance. It’s a very important part of a business. There are a lot of uninsured and underinsured motorists out there. 

There’s a lot more to know to build a successful company that stands the test of time. It’s a constant battle. But if you love what you do, you’ll probably want to keep doing it. I’ve told my family that on my grave stone, I want it to say, “I wish I could have pumped one more.” [Chris laughs with his contagious hearty laugh.]  

On the Pro Septic Company

It’s a big question: how does a company owner remain steady in facing the many unique entrepreneurial challenges of his industry in this particular locale? First, factor operating in the veritable wilderness of central Wisconsin, the northern US climate conditions, limited waste disposal resources, great travel distances, high costs of heavy equipment, relentlessly long hours, and the staggering physical and financial risks of operating in the daunting region. 

Then, as Chris Sobczak has reflected, the question becomes, “Are we happy?” (He’s referring to himself and his team, the people in the literal trenches with him.) The answer appears to be YES. He seems to be very happy, maybe one of the happiest business owners we’ve met across the national septic services industry.

Throughout the half dozen or so times we’ve spoken with Chris over the past three months, he’s been consistently upbeat and always exhibits that admirable quality of seeming moderately amused with what’s happening around him. 

But did he ever get that elusive vacation? We’re glad to report that just the following week after our first meeting with Chris, he answered our call from a deer blind in Saskatchewan, and we talked to him while he was on vacation there! He sounded very happy indeed. (He brought home a big 10-point buck from that trip.)

But applying Chris’s question of happiness more broadly: Do we recommend his strenuous work life for new entrepreneurs entering the industry in such exacting markets? Uh, not for the average human. It’s not for the easily discouraged. But, if you’re made of that rare stuff, equal to the team under the direction of Chris Sobczak and their rugged and smart strategic business leader, then go ahead into the open country up north to pursue a happy life in the industry. Our advice: Be extraordinarily well prepared. 

For information about Pro Septic Service LLC, Stevens Point WI, you can call (715) 342-8020, or visit prosepticservice.com.