No Honor Among "Smash & Grab"

I recently relocated from upstate New York to Central Florida and quickly noticed a difference in the scrapping landscape. There is a ton of smash and grab artist on the loose. I wish I had a way of getting the word to them that no matter how descreit you think you are, somebody always sees you. Business is good for me as usual because I stick to a few golden rules, be respectful of other folk's property and leave things neat. Always say hello to folks who are looking at you, and lastly, always be ready to extend a professional business card. Just yesterday while neatly taking apart a tv, a lady who was watching saw what I was doing, I said hello and she responded by saying she got two small ones that work. I got the two tvs and a printer. While it may not be a monster score, it's the connection that counts. The moral of the story, I'm doing quite well in a market with a ton of smash and grab artist due to my scrapper professionalism. What do you do to extend professionalism to the trade?

I try to keep myself and my truck as neat and tidy as possible.

Thank you for the thread. I think discussions like this benefit everyone on the forum. "Smash and Grab" is a little different in the farm scrapping world. Some fly by nights come in and make a deal for a percentage with a farmer. Then they come in and take only the prime pieces and leave the rest (sheet metal, augers, fuel tanks, etc.) Some do not even pay the farmer their share.

My business has expanded because I go in after these guys and "restore" the farm by cleaning up all the metal. It is good PR and usually gains me at least one more job. I work on a percentage and provide the farmer with the weight sheets. I do not haul sheet metal on a percentage because it does not pay to haul it 60 miles one way. I present it to the farmer as a community service which they like because they do not have to look at it and do not have to watch it blowing in the wind. If I am the first scrapper on the property I do give the farmer a percentage of the sheet metal because I can add it to other loads without a problem.

The other thing I do is pay the farmer a deposit before starting the job. I do this for two reasons, first to show the farmer I will not run off with the money. The other reason I do this is to avoid having to get commercial plates for my vehicles and trailers. As long as I am hauling my scrap, I do not have to have commercial plates according to the local sheriff. This is a compromise strategy between the fly by nights and the "big boys" that can come in and offer a set price for everything. I am not good enough to be accurate on my tonnage and want to be fair to the owner and myself. This is the niche I have carved out.

Another thing that helps is going around with the farmer to identify the pieces they are wanting to scrap. I carry a can of spray paint and paint the pieces they want removed. This gives me a chance to ask questions and allows them to tell stories. Sometimes they do not want a piece scrapped because they want the hydraulic cylinders, wheels, or something else off the equipment. I tell them I will remove it and then set it by their shop. Some farmers are so skeptical I will call them when I leave the yard with a load and make sure I present them with the weight sheet and check for each load within 24 hours. I take pictures of each load showing the sprayed part of each piece. If I am ever questioned about what happened to a certain piece or accused of taking something I was not suppose to, I have proof. The attention to detail eliminates problems and creates an honest business environment. I deduct the deposit on the last load so they have it until the job is completed.

All of this takes a little extra time, but in the long run will be worth it. The smallest job so far is four days @ 18 tons so a couple of hours building good will pays off. I hope these ideas will benefit someone on the forum. I hope to get additional ideas from other members.

Honesty wins customers
Every customer I have has been to someone before where they felt short changed
A lot of shady people in this business
Easy to set yourself apart from the rest by that

Well said Patriot.

Hey Fellas, craziest thing happened today. Came up on a smash and grab remainder of a tv and noticed that the yolk portion of the tube was broken but the yolk was still connected along with the thick copper wire. So in short, somebody had no idea what they were doing. The smash and grab concept is not progressive but it's good to cash in on their stupidity. It's kind of good when they don't know a whole lot.

I've been saying this for awhile. Smash an grabbers suck, an their not very smart. They leave goodies, an glass. I swear half just do it to make a mess, an the other to feed their habit.

When does hunting season open on Smash an grabbers again? >:)

Sirscrapalot - WHAT are you drinking? - Dunkin Doughnuts

half of these sound like their just smashers, lol

I'm just happy they make it easy for me to stand out. By the way, it must be open season projection tvs here in Florida. People are ditching them left and right. I love it.