Movers London Ontario
Junk Removal London Ontario
As a recent graduate from Western University, I had
always striven and continue to strive to reach my maximum potential in both my
personal life, as well as with my career aspirations. I have had many
experiences and adventures in my life, and each of them has helped shape the person I am today. I have worked part-time and odd jobs since the age
of 13, I’ve volunteered my free time, and traveled the world; always giving
110% in all of my endeavors, being constantly reassured by family and friends
that hard work will eventually pay off. They were right.
Life is
always full of firsts: first day of school, first day of university, first real
relationship, or your first day of a new job. Firsts always give you a new and exciting
feeling, each and every time. Your mind is full of so many questions and
scenarios. They introduce you to new adventures and experiences that will be
remembered for the rest of your life. In May of 2010, I began a whole new sequences of firsts.
It was
the summer between my first and second year at the University of Western
Ontario (now Western University) and I was online searching for a summer job to
help relieve student debt, and keep me occupied over the summer months. I
replied to a job post for a company called University Junk Removal (UJR) for a
position as a general laborer. I thought it would be a great summer job,
physically demanding and outdoor work, and after watching shows like Storage
Wars, I thought maybe it would be something similar. After a couple of days of
not hearing back, I followed up with UJR in an attempt to show my genuine
interest in working for their company. Still nothing. After multiple follow-ups
with no reply, I finally received a message from Chris, the current co-owner of
what is now universitybrand. He questioned me on why I was so adamant about
working for their company, and I simply explained that I needed a summer job,
their company appealed to me, and that I would be an excellent asset to their
team. Chris finally agreed to bring me in for an interview. My perseverance had
finally paid off.
In May
of 2010, I arrived at the UJR headquarters, which at the time was just an
office in Chris’ basement. Nervous and intimidated, I sat in the office with
both Chris and Kevin, owners of the company. They asked me simple questions
about my work history, my education and my long term expectations. They also
asked me questions that seemed irrelevant at the time, but looking back now, I
understand their intention. They asked questions about academic achievements,
athletic and sports endeavors and questions about my social life. In this
first job interview, I was asked questions that I myself might not have even
known the answer to, but the culture and experience Chris and Kevin were
attempting to promote through their questions forced explanations from me.
Luckily I answered all their questions appropriately and I was offered the
position of UJR’s first employee on the spot.
I
started later that week, doing odd junk jobs around London, ON for a couple hours a
day; cleaning out basements, attics, garages and homes. I was learning more
about the company day by day and the experience that UJR was trying to offer
their clients. I grew quickly within the company and the company quickly grew
itself. Before I knew it, we were hiring more people to replace my position,
and I was quickly promoted to drive the junk removal vehicle and venture off
without any supervision to provide my own experience to our clients on a daily
basis. I was expected to teach and train new employees, and provide them with
an experience of their own. This new role started off stressful and sometimes
overwhelming, but, also very rewarding. I saw definite growth within the
company and it was exciting.
Soon
thereafter, we began to expand, growing from a simple one truck junk removal
operation, to a multi-truck junk removal and moving company. The company
expanded from being simply University Junk Removal, to other subsidy companies
like University Mini Movers, University Alumni Movers, and University Green
Bins. Because I was operating full-time in the junk removal vehicle, Chris and
Kevin were able to focus their time and effort back into the company and open a
fully operational moving company. University Mini Movers was focused on
offering moving services to smaller homes, apartments, and students. University
Alumni Movers was focused on full home moves, offering services to commercial
and residential clients. At this point, everything was happening so quickly and
we had grown exponentially since my first day on the job. It was an amazing and
fulfilling feeling knowing that I had helped contribute to the continued growth
of this operation. Something that had initially been a simple part-time summer
job had begun to encompass multiple facets of my life. I quickly became
involved more intimately with the company, focusing a lot of my time in
offering my services to my employers. I began operating moving trucks and junk
trucks, based on company needs. We hired several new seasonal and full time
employees, which had a main focus on employing students and recent graduates to
develop a core student workforce. This allowed us to play a role in helping to
alleviate student debt, promote beneficial work ethic and offer young local
students the ability to achieve valuable work experience and job skills. Needless
to say, at this point I was very proud to see what the company has developed
into, and anxious to see what the next step would be.
Of
course within any service industry company, it’s going to have its ups and
downs. We ran into many roadblocks, including unruly and disgruntled customers.
Dealing with confused or conflicted clients had never been a situation I had
been forced to address, but within this new position as a team leader, it was
my responsibility to approach and alleviate any issues clients may have had
with the service we had provided. Our staff and crew were always trained to be
professional and careful with the relocation or removal of items, but accidents
do happen, and I was expected to deal with that.
Most
recently, in May 2013, I was a part of the re branding of University Junk
Removal / Mini Movers / Alumni Movers and Green Bins, to a simple umbrella
corporation called universitybrand. This was a very exciting time,
as it was another beginning and slew of firsts for all of us within the company
to experience. We redesigned our company’s overall image, from name, logos,
websites, to general company policies regarding how we operate the business. We
purchased additional trucks, hired additional employees, and put our foot down
as one of London Ontario’s premier moving and junk removal companies. The
summer of 2013 was an amazing time. With multiple trucks on the road and a
solid core student workforce, universitybrand was unstoppable. Like a snowball
down a steep hill, we just kept growing and growing into the company we are
today, and we are showing no signs of stopping.
In
January of 2014, I was promoted into the role of the Assistant Operations
Manager. I currently oversee the day-to-day operations of the company,
including scheduling, truck maintenance, hiring and training, social media, and
more! It has been a long whirlwind of experiences with universitybrand, but I
was confident that what I had always been told was true; hard work pays off.
You get everything out of a company that you put into it. universitybrand has
been a testament to that, giving me an opportunity that is unexplainable. universitybrand is quickly growing, expanding, and experiencing a variety of
new firsts that will prove to be exciting in the near future, and I for one,
look forward to being a part of that!
DP
