1-800-GOT-JUNK? LLC - Rapid Expansion Beginning in 2000

Rapid Expansion Beginning in 2000

Franchising inquiries were beginning to pour in; during 2000 all available locations in Canada were snapped up, and franchises began to open around the United States in cities like Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Buffalo, New York. The pace of growth increased even more rapidly in 2001, and by the end of that year the firm had 31 locations.

In 2002 1-800-GOT-JUNK? moved its headquarters into a 9,000-square-foot location in Vancouver that had been vacated by a bankrupt dot.com. Dubbed "The Junktion," the space was outfitted with office furniture that had been purchased for 10 cents on the dollar, along with items that had been salvaged from refuse pickups.

The firm's call center now employed 32 customer service representatives, who handled between 800 and 1,000 calls per day. Most were answered live, rather than by a computerized system, and virtually all calls were taken within 60 seconds. To serve all of North America, the center was open from 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Pacific time. As with 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s other employees, call center staff members were given incentives, which included commissions and preferred call routing for those who closed the highest percentage of sales. For 2002, the company, which now had 400 employees, took in revenues estimated at $7 million.

1-800-GOT-JUNK? was receiving media attention from the likes of CNN and Fortune magazine, and interested parties were flooding the firm with requests for new franchises. The company offered a money-back guarantee to the select few it chose if a franchise did not have revenues of more than $100,000 in its first year.

Company Perspectives:

The company's vision is to continue to be the largest provider of junk removal in North America. We set the standards in our industry and we are viewed as leaders in the service industry.

In October 2003 the firm unveiled a new online booking option that enabled clients to set up service without any human interaction. It was promoted with motorcades of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? trucks through the company's franchise markets. For 2003 systemwide revenues topped $12 million, with the Vancouver, Toronto, and San Francisco territories accounting for more than $1 million each. The company was now averaging $238 per pickup, which corresponded to half a truckload of trash.