Restroom Rental by Mr John

Mr. John Restroom By Maria Sciullo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette If there’s a big public event in Western Pennsylvania, chances are good Jeff Wolfarth knows when and where it is. “There was a time, when I was the operations manager, I would come home on Fridays and my neighbors would be out yakking in the cul-de-sac, and they’d say, ‘Hey, Jeff! What’s going on this weekend?’ “And I’d say, there’s the Regatta and that art show, yada, yada …” Mr. Wolfarth, who has since become general manager, isn’t involved in the arts or public service. His expertise is in quite a different field — one based on the tenet that when people go to any event, they will, eventually, have to “go.” Mr. John of Pittsburgh, a family run company of about 70 employees, uses more than 5,000 units. Call them “johns” or “porta-potties,” they are a product born of science and need. Joke if you must, but when nature calls, few sights are as welcome as that unit with the indicator on the door flipped to “vacant.” And Mr. John takes care of getting those units in place and then moving them out for the next event. “It’s not brain surgery, but it’s really complex in order to get it done correctly,” said Mr. Wolfarth, who has been with the McKees Rocks company for more than 37 years. “We’re not delivering mail. We are servicing and taking care of something that’s very personal,” said Michael McCarthy, company president. The company’s products range from a basic portable toilet to lavish rental trailers with showers, a stereo and built-in desks — but every unit starts with a basic level of sanitation. The Standard, for example, includes toilet paper and hand sanitizer, while the Standard Plus adds a self-contained, fresh-water sink. The Family Room is a larger unit with a baby-changing station. The VIP has a solar-powered, incandescent light. There are units that can be hoisted by crane to upper levels of construction sites, and units that are wheelchair-accessible. A standard unit with weekly service is $135 every four weeks with a $50 round-trip transportation fee. A big part of Mr. John’s business is trailer rental for uses such as temporary office space; a 10-by-14-foot model features built-in desks and a bathroom. Trailers such as the Elite 10 are a more elegant solution, including nicely appointed his/hers restrooms, for those trendy barn weddings in the summer. Such units rent for $1,575 for a short term — a single day, a weekend or events that last less than one week. Revenues for 2015 were $8.15 million, with an increase of 5 to 10 percent projected for 2016. From a business standpoint, a growing challenge, Mr. McCarthy said, is keeping drivers to service the units. “I get together with a lot of other different kinds of business owners, and the main topic of complaint is, in the past five years, getting employees, getting them up to speed and then the cost of turnover rate. “It’s not that our industry is unique to that. But ours is unique because we have a different type of product.” The busy season — May through September — can require drivers to service 80 to 100 units a day. Even during slower times, there are some trying tasks, such as chipping ice in order to clean the units in winter. In the summer, heat and various critters, from wasps to snakes, sometimes find their way into or under units. The general math posits that a unit must be serviced after 200 uses, and that on construction sites, one unit is required for every 10 workers. For large, one-day or weekend events, such as races or arts festivals, someone must be on site. There’s a big difference between planning portable toilets for, say, the Pittsburgh Marathon and for a major construction site. With the latter, employers realize that time is money. “We’ve done some jobs at power plants where I’ve met engineers who actually had calculations [on where to put the units]. They wanted to put units on different floors. They had calculated that a boilermaker makes $37 an hour, and by the time he walks to an elevator, goes down, fights all the people on and off the elevator … ,” Mr. Wolfarth said. “This job is difficult, not only are you a driver, you’re a service technician,” said Chris McCarthy, vice president and Michael McCarthy’s son. Four other siblings work at Mr. John: Rachel Zolinas, safety director; Alex McCarthy, division manager, Tri-Boro Trailer; Sean McCarthy, service manager, Tri-Boro Trailer; and Katie McCarthy, billing. It’s not an easy job, but Mr. John continues to grow, thanks to a family environment sweetened by incentives and group outings. Employees are encouraged to make job referrals, and if the new hire lasts more than a year, the veteran employee gets $1,000. A full year is necessary because the seasonal nature of the work brings different challenges throughout that year, company officials said. “What we try to do from our end is make sure, going forward, it’s easier to hire and retain drivers in the field, especially for portable toilets. Not many people grow up thinking of that as a career, but if you look at it as a service job or truck driving job, it can be,” Chris McCarthy said. Mr. John’s drivers belong to the Teamsters. By special agreement, non-union summer help can be hired, college students and teachers among them. The pay ranges, about $9.50 to $12 an hour with no health benefits. But those returning for more than one summer are entitled to some sick time and vacation days. The future means change — in the form of an increased number of smaller trucks, a more streamlined process using pressure washers and new disinfectants, and special fill hoses that eliminate physical scrubbing. These are safety, as well as practical, measures. The company is looking for an app that would better allow drivers to check in with progress updates or problems. A growing trend is the recycling of old units, but an even bigger push follows the lead of California, where by law a flushing sink must be provided for every so many units. Which leads to yet another play on words, something the Mr. John folks have no doubt heard countless times before. “As goes California,” Michael McCarthy said, un-ironically, “goes everybody down the line.” Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1478 or @MariaSciulloPG.