HOW WE ARE DEALING WITH THESE CRAZY FUEL PRICES

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:02]Oh, that's going to hurt.

[00:00:14]We got 315's and we got quite a few 20's.

[00:00:20]2 4 6 7. About to go do a dump and or swap out with this one.

[00:00:25]And then I drop off the one that we picked up. Today's video, we're going to be talking about these fuel prices.

[00:00:31]They're ridiculous. Should we be raising our prices? Should we hold strong? Are the fuel prices going to go down?

[00:00:37]I don't know.

[00:00:39]These are all just things that I think about and you guys should be too. You know, when it comes to business, some of our biggest costs are definitely fuel, labor, dump fees.

[00:00:50]When fuel goes up, in general, that's going to you know, your dump fees are going to go up cuz pretty much all landfills run on diesel for the most part. And if you're doing transfer stations, even more so.

[00:01:04]Um but there's some creative ways that we can raise our prices and make some changes and stuff like that. We personally have not yet. Um diesel prices have gone down.

[00:01:15]Right now in our area, they're anywhere from about 589 to I've seen maybe 519 per gallon.

[00:01:25]But a week or two ago, we were paying 599 up to I saw like 629.

[00:01:32]And yeah, that really digs into the pockets when you're talking about dumpsters, but go do this dump and return and we'll get into it a little bit more detail. So, there's a perfect example of how we can combat these fuel prices and it's by having extra dumpsters. Now, I know that seems a little weird, but if you think about it, so I could have done a dump and return there. A dump and return there, by the time you know, I would have had to go pick it up, take it to the dump, bring it back, and then go on to my next task.

[00:02:08]My next task is actually to drop this 20-yard.

[00:02:11]But let's let's just say I didn't have a drop for that 20-yard.

[00:02:16]Um by doing the exchange, it's saving me on fuel, right? Um because it saves me basically a whole entire trip going back there.

[00:02:25]Um so having extra dumpsters in some cases can, especially in today's day and age with the prices, can save you fuel.

[00:02:32]Making sure that your schedule works in a good, efficient way, um is huge when you're talking fuel prices the way that they are.

[00:02:43]So, it's one way that we can save a little a little cha-ching on fuel.

[00:02:50]I know you guys are probably experiencing the exact same stuff as I am, and you've probably all thought, maybe we need to raise prices, maybe we don't. I don't know. Is it going to go away? Honestly, I don't have the answer.

[00:03:05]Um I'm glad the prices have gone down the way that they have, but it's still pretty absurd for diesel. And I think unleaded, which Jake's running unleaded in his truck, we're paying like 429 for unleaded right now.

[00:03:19]So, yeah, that's where like Docket, having a software to track your expenses, and um you know, make sure that your routes and uh efficiency dumpster to dumpster, is super super important. Um just being able to see that all on a map and everything like that, makes a big difference than just kind of guessing.

[00:03:41]All right. Well, we got this one dropped off here. Got her dumped. I just saw, which is actually ironic cuz I'm filming this video, but I just found diesel for $4.99, which is crazy cuz I paid This morning I paid $5.39, and that was the cheapest I'd seen around, so we're definitely stopping there when we drive back through. Yeah, me and Jake were talking, too, about fuel. He said he found unleaded for $3.94, which is a good sign. That means it's moving in the right direction, and I was kind of hoping it would um with the whole obviously all these fuel price things are a big part of the Iran war or whatever's going on over there.

[00:04:24]And it sounds like it's going to be quick, but you know how that goes with the government. Nothing ever goes quick.

[00:04:29]As a whole, our business is probably I looked into the numbers like a week ago, and we're spending anywhere from 50 to $100 extra per day on fuel than we were, you know, a month or two ago. Um and if you add that up, you know, 5 days a week or whatever, some days more, some days less, you're talking like I don't know, 250 to 4 or 500 dollars a week just in added fuel cost.

[00:05:00]All right, little dump and return here.

[00:05:03]I don't know if you guys have been watching for a while, but you'll remember back I think it was in 2021, right after we started this, we had basically this like the exact same thing. We had fuel prices just surge, and we actually did a fuel surcharge.

[00:05:19]So, that's one way And the whole reason So, here's the thing.

[00:05:24]Raising your prices is hard for customers to understand. If you just do it, you know, on a week-to-week basis it's or whatever, the fuel surcharge makes it a lot easier for people to understand exactly why we're raising our prices because everyone feels it and notices it.

[00:05:42]Raising our prices, yeah, people could assume You would think that people would assume the reason you're raising your prices is because of the fuel prices, but not everybody's that smart. So, the fuel surcharge is something that we can add on top of our base price, um and then we can remove it, you know? So, that's one option to make up for, you know, basically the extra added cost to our business.

[00:06:07]Um I'm not a huge fan of just raising prices like that.

[00:06:12]Uh one thing that we've done to combat it, I have like Google Ads and stuff like that, I've really um I have not been pushing far away dumpsters.

[00:06:23]Number one, right now we're pretty busy.

[00:06:24]So, it's a good time of the year. Um if it was winter, it'd be a little bit different story because it's a lot harder to turn down work um in the winter, but this time of the year it's a lot easier.

[00:06:36]So, we're trying to keep our dumpsters closer. For example, I picked that one up at the yard, and I did that first dump and return.

[00:06:43]That was about 4 mi away.

[00:06:46]Took that to the dump, dropped that, and then from where I just dropped that 20-yard to where I picked this up is about 5 mi away, again. So, trying to keep our dumpsters in a smaller, tighter area and keep ourselves more efficient is definitely one way that we can combat that. Like I said, we haven't raised our prices or done a fuel surcharge because I thought that this was going to be faster than it actually was.

[00:07:12]Um now I'm seeing fuel prices going down, and I'm hoping that we don't have to keep absorbing these costs.

[00:07:18]Uh but that's definitely one creative way that you can do it. Now, there's lots of ways to raise your price without actually raising your price.

[00:07:27]Um one thing, if you're doing online booking, um raise your price per mile, which if if you are doing like price per mile type stuff on your dumpsters for online booking, um that is highly recommended because that your your base price or your starting price is still the same, but your extra costs are um you know, kind of added on after the fact. So, people don't really see that. It's not like the sticker shock kind of thing.

[00:07:54]Um another way is include less tonnage.

[00:07:58]Um or like some I I know one of uh one of our bigger competitors in this area, they left their price the same or they might have even lowered their price, but they include no tonnage. Um I know John at Same Day, he was doing like a price per pound type thing. You can do that. Um raise your price per pound or raise your price per ton.

[00:08:19]One thing that we do is we um we overcharge on um our price per ton. So, we have what's included, and then we have basically our price per ton, we're profitable on top of our dump fees on extra weight.

[00:08:37]Um that's one way to make up some of these costs and maintain your same base price.

[00:08:43]Now, that doesn't always translate into more money because if you include so much tonnage and they don't go over the tonnage, um or they're exactly at the tonnage that you include, um you're not really getting any more money. But, if they're under the tonnage, you're getting a little bit more anyways.

[00:09:00]And that brings up today's video sponsor, Docket. Um Docket waste software, they just uh they just uh rebranded into waste software because they're doing not just roll-off dumpsters. They're also doing, you know, your residential trash routes and uh you know, business trash routes like front loaders and stuff like that.

[00:09:19]Um but, if you don't know your data and you don't have your costs and everything all figured out, Docket's a great way to figure all that stuff out. It's also super easy with their online booking and stuff like that to change prices and do all that kind of stuff through your website. Um and it's a lot easier for the customers and a lot easier for us to make those subtle changes when we need to. Um, because sometimes by the time you make the change, it's too late or then you're just switching it right back.

[00:09:48]So, Docket is a long-time sponsor of my channel. We've been using them forever and a lot of the information that I share with you guys on these videos comes directly from Docket reports. And uh, you can track everything there as far as fuel consumption and how many miles you're driving and all that kind of stuff and it really, really helps out and helps us as business owners understand exactly what's going on in our business cuz if you don't understand what's going on in your business, then none of this really matters to you. So, yeah, we thank Docket for their sponsorship. Helps keep me making videos and uh, yeah, helps out a lot of businesses. I know a lot of you guys have it. Um, if you're looking to switch from another provider to Docket, um, they have a a free demonstration. You can use my link below. They're also waiving all the setup fees, um, which I don't remember how much the value it is.

[00:10:39]It's like close to $500 setup fees um, using my link below and it helps me out.

[00:10:44]So, I highly recommend them. Um, there's lots of ways that we can uh, >> [sighs] >> make our business more efficient and uh, try to save on fuel prices. I know some guys have fuel tanks and stuff like that at their yard. We we have not done that, but definitely like having a bigger truck like this, one thing I've realized is it's a lot easier to price shop for fuel. So, like with our other trucks, when you need fuel, you need fuel and in a a busy day, you're filling up a pickup truck at least once a day. Um, sometimes twice.

[00:11:16]This truck having a 100-gallon tank on it, I can afford to kind of shop around and look for fuel and that just gives me more time to find cheaper fuel or maybe I can, you know, hold off on getting fuel for a little bit longer.

[00:11:32]And uh hopefully this fuel thing definitely continues to go in the right direction and go down. Docket is a huge thing. Like we're getting more dumpsters, new dumpsters coming in right now, and um Docket has really helped elevate our business. And uh I don't think we would be where we're at without a software like Docket. Um if you guys are interested, seriously, for free, go go look at a demo, see how it can help your business, and um see if it's right for you. If you're looking to change from maybe another software or something like that, um just go check it out. You got nothing to lose.

[00:12:09]But uh leave some comments down below how you guys are uh dealing with the price of fuel. Are you raising prices?

[00:12:15]Are you doing a fuel surcharge? Are you eating the cost? Um are you just kind of waiting it out? I think that's kind of where we're at, and uh hopefully the pain stops. I know it's definitely getting a lot better, but uh yeah, just some food for thought. Leave some comments and your thoughts down below. Check out Docket, link in the description, and uh yeah, we're going to keep on with our day here.