What a start to my day.Waste Management has been sending trucks to empty our condo complex's dumpsters lately as early as 4:00 a.m. -- a clear violation of metro noise ordinances. There's no quiet way to empty a half-dozen dumpsters, and the 110dB back-up beeper doesn't help a whole lot, either. Calls to WM have gone unheeded.
At 4:50 this morning, they were back. I got out of bed, grabbed my keys, helmet and cellphone, and decided to go have a talk with the bastards who want to wake me up at this ungodly hour.
Well, the guy didn't want to talk, so I blocked his path with my scooter, and called the cops. He had some choice words for me, even while I was on the phone with the police dispatcher (who advised me to put some distance between me and the driver, and to call 9-1-1 if violence was threatened). Within a few minutes, a small gathering of my neighbors had come out to see what was going on... none of them happy with these early morning trash pickups, of course.
About 5:55, the cops had still not arrived, but WM's operations manager, Troy Dickson, had arrived. The corporate spin was masterful -- "Oh, we have to walk a fine line between the ordinances and the public's safety... kids going to school, people hurriedly backing out of driveways, without coffee and late for work, etc." I'm sure WM has made great strides in reducing accidents, as Mr. Dickson claimed... but I suspect that some multi-million dollar settlements and rising insurance premiums have had more to do with that than concern for public safety. After all, why else would you be sending a guy out at 4 a.m. to collect the trash? Because of the bottom line, you know they've cut their workforce, and are making these guys work longer hours, starting earlier and earlier every week.
After nearly an hour, and still no cops, Mr. Dickson convinced me that this would not happen again (and seeing as how the driver had told him that I had used racial slurs -- uh, no -- the implication was clear that that would figure into any police report... not that it matters, but seeing as how the goal was simply to get WM to STOP coming so early...), and gave me his cellphone number, card, etc. I figure if WM can roll a salaried guy out before 6:00 a.m., maybe the point has been made. If not, it's sure gonna be ugly, next time.
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8 comments :
Good for you JP!
Here in the greater NY metropolitan region, we try to avoid arguments with people involved in the waste management business. That way we continue to sleep in our beds, and not "with the fishes."
Visions of Tianamen Square, except with garbage trucks instead of tanks....
I'm afraid, though, that they're gonna come back even noisier now that they're pissed off atcha.
Good for you!
you shoulda waved around a camera. let them think you got 'em on tape.
Hi Jeffraham,
My name is Julie and I work with Waste Management. I saw your post and wanted to check in with you regarding your complaint about garbage trucks coming through your neighborhood at an early hour. We are working with the local facility to ensure local noise ordinances are followed so that waste collection service can continue without causing any other disruption. If you continue to experience this issue, please contact me at jnewman1@wm.com. On behalf of WM, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
In case you have any other questions, I’ll check back on your blog in the next few days to see if there is any other way I can help.
Thanks,
Julie
Thanks, Julie. So, far, so good. The WM truck came after 7 a.m. this past Friday, so that's a definite improvement. Please understand that I am not the only person living in the complex whose sleep has been interrupted, and my neighbors were quite gratified to meet with Mr. Dickson and express their concerns, as well.
Also, please relay to the driver involved that we all suspect he does not make up his own schedule, and no one blames him for trying to do his job as he has been asked. We just think that even if the drivers are scheduled for 12 hours per day, starting at 7 a.m. in residential areas should not create a hardship for WM in completing their workload. If it does, I would imagine that WM's management needs to re-evaluate its staffing and equipment needs for Nashville.
Thank again for the follow-up -- I appreciate your attention to this.
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Oh we have a TERRIBLE problem with WM in my neighborhood! Metro passed an ordinance preventing this specific thing before 7 am. But we live next door to a church and damn if Waste Management doesn't come 'round at 4 a.m. ALL THE FREAKING TIME to empty the one in the church's parking lot. Right by our bedroom window, I might add.
i've called them SO MANY TIMES and it's been such a hassle. I get the number of the dumpster and they deny it's on their route. They say the address doesn't show up on their roster. I tell them the church's address on Belmont and they say they can't find it.
LOSERS! They just want to get through their route before morning traffic heats up but when you are in a residential neighborhood you are DISTURBING THE PEACE!!!!!!!
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