Because business isn’t just about what you know, it’s about who you know.
Amrom Taubenfeld of Scrubbish
Scrubbish What a striking, amazing name for a business that started out dealing with trash-outs for banks. Trashouts, fyi, are evicted spaces that need to be cleaned out for the next tenant, and that’s where Scrubbish’s journey began. They offered cleaning services to banks who were dealing with evictions. “It’s not what you’d think,“ ruminates Mr. Taubenfeld. “You’re not dealing with a mostly empty space that just needs some cleaning. Many trash-outs are full of the evicted tenant’s stuff. At times we’ve filled THREE dumpsters with stuff. Sometimes there are squatters too.” Scrubbish has also found guns too- which is an immediate call to the cops.
Other interesting stories? People sometimes leave pets, like a starving dog Amrom’s team once found. “We’ve found raccoons and cats, and sometimes need to get exterminators involved. But the most memorable was a giant snake a worker found. He wasn’t scared, he picked it up and actually put it around his neck and actually asked another guy to take a picture!”
After the real estate market crash of 2008 there was a lot of trash out business to be found. But as the market recovered Scrubbish began to move in a different direction. These days Scrubbish no longer does jobs for banks, their business is focused on new construction jobs. “These days we do demolition, concrete cutting, rubbish removal, and also final cleaning before move-in.”
What’s special about the way Scrubbish does business? “Honesty and transparency are our values. And to keep communication easy. Every call gets returned promptly so that the trust established with customers stays strong.”
In the demolition business, it’s not always possible to see the full scope of a job until you’re in it. “But if you communicate clearly and in a timely way and pick up your phone and answer people’s questions it goes a long way. Sometimes when they evaluate a job it gets more complicated going in. “One time we gave a price, but there was a double layer of sheetrock to demolish, which the owner and we didn’t know about till we started the job.” There was understanding on the part of the customer and Scrubbish that this was outside the scope of the original price. What else does Amrom recommend for a smooth aggravation free process? Experience has also taught him the importance of clear documentation and contracts, which helps establish trust and sets expectations for every job.
Why attend OJBA? “Let’s just put it this way, “ Mr. Taubenfeld said during last week’s conversation with OJBA’s interviewer, “ I’m in my car headed to give an estimate to someone I met at OJBA ‘23 right now.”
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