We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mike Casten. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mike below.

Mike, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart. You don’t get to clock out at the end of the day. It is a 24/7 gig, constantly worrying about every little detail, making sure your employees and vendors are all paid before you are, always searching for ways to improve and grow your business, all the while trying to find some assemblance of a work-life balance. It takes hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and calculated risk. But at the end of the day, the rewards outweigh the challenges. Sure, the security of a regular job is tempting at times (40 hour work week, health insurance, etc.), but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the owner of Poodini Pet Waste Removal. We are a professional “pooper scooper” service that serves residential customers in the lower East Valley of the Phoenix area (Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek). It may not seem like glamorous work, but we provide people with the opportunity to rid themselves of one of their most hated chores and simply enjoy a clean and sanitary yard for themselves and their dogs. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it!

You might wonder why anyone would want to do this for a living, and the answer is simple; We love dogs! The biggest benefit of patrolling yards for those “hidden treasures” is that we get to see dogs every day. How many regular jobs have customers that greet you with wagging tails, wiggle butts, and puppy kisses? We get the chance to make new friends every day and form a genuine bond with our favorite customers!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

A wise man once told me to always underpromise and overdeliver. The idea is that you set a reasonable expectation for your customers and then wow them by going above and beyond those expectations. This is something that I have really taken to heart with Poodini.

Generally speaking, when someone first contacts us, their expectation is simply to have their dog poop picked up. It really isn’t complicated, as anyone with a bucket is capable of doing so. But we strive to stand out from the crowd with our professionalism, reliability, and outstanding customer service. I try to build a personal relationship with our customers and closely work with them should any issues arise and make sure that they are truly happy with the service. We will do the extra little things to let our customers know that we genuinely care about them and truly appreciate them giving us their business.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

As mentioned above, establishing a personal relationship with our customers is important to me. As we’ve grown larger and have more customers, it is exceedingly more difficult to communicate with each one individually on a regular basis. As such, I encourage all of my technicians to take ownership of their routes and build these relationships with the customers that they see each week, but I have always maintained an “open door” policy where customers can contact me directly as well.

Additionally, we are very active on social media, engaging with our customers, sharing photos and stories, and giving people a glimpse into the daily life of the Poodini family. We also post regular blog articles with helpful tips about dogs, tricks for maintaining an odor-free yard in between visits, and our ever-popular Poodini’s Pet of the Month! These are just little ways to connect with our customers and further build their trust in us.

Contact Info:

• Website: poodini.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/poodiniaz
• Facebook: facebook.com/poodiniaz
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/poodini
• Twitter:twitter.com/poodiniaz
• Youtube: youtube.com/@poodinipetwasteremoval9269
• Yelp: yelp.com/biz/poodini-pet-waste-removal-gilbert