Guess what? It's time for a good old rant! Haven't had one in a while. But today I feel moved and motivated to let my opinions fly.
Today's subject? The Trash Man.
The Scenario: Yesterday was trash day. I took the trash out in the morning, like I always do. A couple hours later, I came home from running errands and noticed that my trash can was tipped over. It was a windy day, so it must have blown backwards. As I straightened it up, I saw that it was still full, so I left it on the curb. Later that day I noticed that most of the cans on the street had been pulled back in. I went to get mine....still full.
So I called Allied Waste today to tell them that my can had been skipped. She had no idea why this would be. Then I asked about the tipped can. If it was tipped, would the trash man just skip it? Oh yes, she said. That was policy. The trash man was not allowed to get out of the truck and straighten it up. Too dangerous.
TOO DANGEROUS? For the last hundred years since trash trucks have been around, the trash man got OUT of the truck, picked up the heavy trash can with his bare hands, and heaved the contents into the truck. But now, in this age of technology and scientific sophistication, it's now too dangerous for a man to step out of his truck and straighten the can so the truck's mechanical arm can pick it up??? Yeah. Sure. I mean, he might trip on his shoelace and fall under the wheels of the truck and the truck might go into gear by itself and drive forward by itself and run him over. OR the man might accidentally fall INTO the trash can as he's straightening it, and the truck might somehow pick the can up while the man is inside and dump him into the truck's belly. Or, heaven forbid, the trash man might sprain his pinkie while straightening the trash can. We can't have that, now can we? Yes, I see as I examine the situation that this really is a highly dangerous job. The trash man is much better off staying in the safety of his cab he isn't at risk for doing serious bodily damage.
Good thinking, Allied Waste. Thanks for saving the lives of countless trash men.
(I know I probably have much too high of expectations for someone who picks up trash for a living, but seriously, I've never seen such low standards for a public service job. EVER.)
There, now I feel better.
17 comments:
I KNOW! They don't get our of their damn trucks anymore.
Here in good ol Houston, they still have the old school trucks that have a driver and then one or two men who ride on the back of the truck and get the cans by hand. DISGUSTING if you ask me, but they never get missed. That sucks for you and everyone else though, since you cant predict the weather to know if your trash can will be knocked over or not. What are you supposed to do hire a babysitter for your trash can? Come on that's ridiculous!
that is so aggravating and I had had it with Allied, too. I found another trash pick up provider in my area and changed. I dumped their butt! haha no pun intneded. I ended up helping a local family by giving them my business, they do a superior job and he gets out of the truck and lifts the trash into the truck! Plus it's cheaper!
Yay Marshall Disposal of Posey County!!
Whatever happened to customer service? My parents give their garbage man a fat tip every Christmas so if they forget the guy will get out of his truck and grab the garbage cans from the side of the house and dump them. I don't like my garbage man that much :)
It takes a high level of skill to work THE CLAW!!!Our garbage truck guy likes to squish cans with the claw.
I bet trash men these days aren't in the best of physical shape/health. It used to be a physically demanding job, now they have to sit for hours on end running the risk of blood clots.
We got skipped once, and not because it was tipped over, and I called and they sent a truck back the next day. So there is still some good customer service out there. Just in case you were doubting.
I had the EXACT SAME conversation with MY trash people after they skipped MY can!
Makes you wonder if sometimes THEY tip it over when they're operating the claw. It really bugs me when they don't make sure everything comes out - like when the grass clippings compact and then stew for the next week. Now there's a great smell.
What if you don't have a trash can and just take out the garbage bags?
Our garbage guys still get out of the truck.
Our garbage truck guys ride on the back of the truck and jump off to heave trash into the back. Recycling too. I guess we're still kickin' it old school.
These guys actually get paid pretty well. Upwards of $70k around here.
I'm sorry! What is funny, is just last week, I happened to be out at the curb when the green waste guy came by. He stopped and asked me if I had any green waste, he would wait while I grabbed the can.
For reals. No lie. The dude was kind and helpful......
The guys here still get out of the truck. And if I am pulling the can out of the garage as they drive up they will run up my driveway and grab it for me. They are the nicest guys. Lame that they have a tipped can policy. I would love to know the rationale behind it.
our garbage guys still ride on the back of the truck and dump the cans into the back...i guess we're old-school like that!
oh..ps...our guys are actually so nice that they even put our cans up close to our garage after they empty them...i always think that is really nice! Maybe our sanitation dept could teach your sanitation dept a lesson! ;)
In Texas our garbage men live on the edge and hand dump the garbage. I had no idea they were risking their life by doing so! Maybe they should get a holiday in their honor.
It's too dangerous to be exposed to the elements and all the crap in the back of that truck.
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