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Cameron & Devon Dunkerley – the art of being nice people

September 18, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Moving is stressful and very hard work. Whatever the reasons for moving, it is a big change, taking time to acclimatize to a new location, new people, new everything. For better or for worse, moving is a stress.

So, when the men (usually) come to do the job, if they are an extremely pleasant pair  whose main object is to make the move as easy as possible by being nice and respectful, that certainly eases the stress.

“It’s been almost three and a half years since we started, by just offering to help people out by moving things from Orangeville to Brampton.” 

This is the very simple, caring way in which Cameron Dunkerley started his business, Dunk Disposal – by just trying to help people out.

“We were doing deliveries from town to town and within the town. Now, the majority of what we do is removables – a shed, hot tub, decks – whatever needs to go,” he told the Citizen. “So, we do what we can with all the recyclables: sort out whether it’s recyclable before we go to the dump; usually, we actually have to pay to dispose those materials.”

Here’s the story: Cameron Dunkerley and his brother, Devon, are young – in their early twenties – and their approach to their business, is to treat everyone with respect – nicely, as though being nice is an art.

“My dad was also a business owner; my mom was just always working hard and being respectful,” Mr. Dunkerley related, about how to address an person older than himself.
“If somebody introduces themselves by their first name, meeting a lot of people for the first time, I go along with how they chose to present themselves. People give their full names when they introduce themselves and I start with Mr/Mrs/etc. and if they invite me to call them by their first names, I do.”

He talked about how this work has seen a shift in him: “Sure, yeah, there has been a shift. I was a lot younger and concerned or hesitant meeting people for the first time, all kinds of ages, I become more aware of how to address people than at first. It’s interesting to see how some people communicate and deal with you. I notice a lot of time when we’re working with older clients, throwing things away is a lot harder – whereas younger people part easier with their things, ‘just get it out of here’ they’ll say.”

He feels it’s important to have empathy when dealing with people, the issue of age seems to bring a variety of attitudes about moving or clearing out.

“When buying things, – when things were owned by older people, they took better care of their things. At one time, things were a little bit harder to get. So, it’s harder to throw things out. Now, online shopping, when you can buy anything so easily, there’s less appreciation for most things.”

He theorized, “Before people gave gifts they made, and things were more sentimental. Older people tend to live in homes for a longer period of time, stuff builds over the time, whereas young people move more often. There might be more job opportunities, a lot more towns popping up.” 

Speaking of his background, Mr. Dunkerley was clear, “My parents are kind people – absolutely. They influenced us like that, all the time. There’s a couple of old memories that really made a difference to who I am. Every single year, my family and my cousins and I – we always went on camping trips. I was always looking forward to that one week every summer. Plus being involved in sports has really pushed me to be where I am today. The people I grew up with really matter to me.”

Cameron Dunkerley was finishing his first year in college, doing Recreation and Leisure, courses that will eventually take him into helping all sorts of people improve their lives through sports and physical activities, when he started his company. 

“I was at college, doing Recreation and Leisure, all kinds of stuff. For me, sports is about connecting players with college; anything that will help the community is what I was on track for.

“I lived in B.C. for a couple of months. I was playing lacrosse in a tournament. My parents flew out for the finals and we drove back across Canada. That was a great experience with my mom and dad.”

Speaking of lacrosse and the recent international news about Ireland giving up their position to play in the World Games to the Iroquois team, who had been refused entry into the games: “It was a really kind act for Ireland to give up their place in the World Games, who decided the Iroquois team didn’t have the right criteria to play. I think it was a tragedy that they weren’t allowed but I have the utmost respect for Ireland.”

He told us, “I am actually a professional player for the Saskatchewan Rush. I played in one year, which was then cancelled because of Covid.”

We talked about bullying and abuse. 

“People should be nice.”

His take, “All the time a person is bullying – whether they realize it’s bullying or not – people can get into arguments and feel bad about the things they do but you need to step back and realize you can’t get inside their head and see what kind of stress they’re going through. 

“I think people should remember that store clerks are there to help people. If I was a witness [to abuse], I would do my best – do what I could to calm things down; you want to make everybody as happy as possible.”

He spoke about his future. When he inadvertently found himself and his brother in business, it put his other plans on hold. 

“Ideally, I want this business to thrive and become something beautiful and I can see myself being involved with many other things. My brother wants to be a firefighter at some point. My father is actually a fire fighter as well. My mother is the reason that we are who we are. My mom really helped us turn out to be who we are.

“We are all very involved in sports – my sister has played almost everything.”

Moving, clearing – all the services the Dunkerley brothers offer brings into question, dealing with Covid-19. 

“We have tried to do our best about Covid, all the precautions. I don’t want to take it home to my mother,” are his concerns. “We do notice that some clients aren’t necessarily concerned about wearing a mask, but we do our best to be careful. 

“I always just try to find the best in people: look at the situation and do the best you can. Once you notice the people you spend your time around, how they influence you. My girlfriend and I started dating back in high school, six years ago. She’s been a big part of my life, encouraging me to do what I can and focus on my business, although it keeps me a very busy person, she’s still stuck around. I have a lot of respect for that. It’s all about supporting each other. She going in to be a nurse.

“My sister’s in school for kinesiology; she wants to be a physiotherapist.”

At both his and his businesses’ core, Cameron just wants to help people, all around.

“I know it’s a cliché, but I would say you gotta treat people how you wanted to be treated.”

He said, “I don’t want to be the tallest building because I’ve burnt the other towers down; I want everybody else to be a tall tower too.” 

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