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When people do things that make you think...huh??

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Posted 11/17/2014 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
We've had some odd things happen with our garbageman, over several years.  Some years ago, he started leaving the cans on the side of our (long) driveway, and the lids smack dab in the middle of the driveway. Yup--right in the middle.  Every time.  Even on days with no breeze. rolleyes    I normally don't say much about things such as that, but it became apparent after this happened a few times that this was intentional, so I did give a friendly call to the garbage service and said I have trouble bending, and the lids are always left in the middle of the driveway.  They were understanding, and it hasn't happened since.

Then, this garbageman seems to want our cans to be absolutely spotless. One summer when I was outside at the time, he told me the "cans needed washing."  I just smiled and said, "Okay." (Come to find out, even if there are a couple of pieces of gum wrappers or such, they are considered "dirty" by this dude).  In the summer, I generally do wash and rinse them out, even using a little "Mr. Clean" inside to deodorize.  But every couple weeks, one lid is still left off after garbage pickup, and no--the cans are far from being considered dirty, well, by anyone but this guy.

Today we woke up to 0 degrees.  The windchill right now is probably at 5 to 10 degrees above 0.  I went out to put the garbage cans away and found one lid was left off and put on the other can.  Oh my stars--there was a little dried grease in the one can! shocked shocked    Then, I noticed he had not picked up the recycling--just left it next to the empty cans. rolleyes

No--the cans won't be washed til Spring--unless they want frozen garbage bags! turn

I know these aren't earth-shaking things.  But I'm only pointing out that they can easily become little stressors, if we let them.  I just have to laugh this off, and I'm still shaking my head, thinking, "Really??"  Every year, I leave some Christmas gifts for this guy, just to be 'nice.'  Yep, I still will this year, but have to wonder if Santa will leave him a lump or two of coal. smilewinkgrin   He obviously has some issues--even the lady at the garbage service told me that.

Odd, but....what can I say?  Anyway, don't let others' weird little quirks rile you, strange though they may be.  It's not worth more pain.  Been there--done that.

Have a good week! :-)

Posted 11/17/2014 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
You are a better person than I, lol. This would drive me crazy. Does your garbage service have a policy about the cleanliness of the can? If not, I would have to complain to the employer. Just letting it go would stress me out more! I'm pretty big on - "If I'm paying for a service, I expect decent service." shocked I would either have to complain or change services.

I'm not very good at just letting things go. It is definitely something I could work on. :-)
Posted 11/17/2014 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
I would call the garbage service again and, since they know this guy has quirks, they need to give him an ultimatum. Either he does the job right the first time or he can be looking for another job. Too many people are unemployed that would like a well-paying job like that. Garbage men make decent money because of the nature of the job. AND you are not asking this fool to eat his lunch out of your garbage can! There are no rules about keeping cans clean. The rules are only on how you dispose of the waste.

Remember, YOU are paying for this service through your real estate taxes. You are the boss and I know I'd have fired him quite a while ago. We have enough stressors in life that we have no control over so you shouldn't put up with stressors that could easily be fixed by the garbage collection service. Stress affects your health, Luvsminis, and this obviously is bothering you a lot since you wrote about it.

One time I had a lot of yard waste to be collected. Everything was cut to the correct size, etc. but the guy refused to take it because my lawn service does the front of the development and he said my lawn service needed to take it! Uh, I don't think so! I pay for this service. I called the garbage department and they sent them back out to pick up my yard waste. LOL

The garbage men were acting up here a few years ago and when they got three complaints, they were let go. The county service department went so far as to fire the garbage service because of numerous complaints and hire a new service. Now we have no problems at all.

Sherrine
Posted 11/17/2014 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
That garbage guy does have a pretty bizarre quirk. I can't even imagine washing out our cans (why in the world would he care??)

Yesterday, I went through the Starbucks drive-thru. I'm learning to be less picky about the amount of creamer they put in, because I know I'm too persnickety about it, but yesterday it was so light it was ridiculous. So I parked, came in (when someone walked by to open the door for me), and very nicely explained to the guy at the counter what I'd asked for, and showed it to him.

Most of the time, they just get me a new small brewed coffee. I don't need an apology, stuff happens - but hey, they've got a sign hanging up that says something like, Every Drink Will Be Perfect Or We'll Make It That Way". He did replace it, but said, "That's the risk you take when you come through the drive-thru." I said, "even when you've asked for just a TINY little splash?" He said it depends on who's getting the coffee. Then I started to explain about my door problem being why I use the drive-thru, but it was busy and he was off again....so put my cream in and walked out (when someone came by again) a little irritated, but not as much so as if I hadn't spoken up. I doubt the man will make Manager, with that attitude.

Again, a small thing, but I'm like you, Austen - it stresses me out more not to try to get what I've paid for. At some point, I will of course let it go, but I have to try first.

Debbie
Posted 11/17/2014 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
We wash ours out each spring or summer.but its garbage!

Sounds like a guy with issues...i cannot imagine ours ever noticing if its dirty... They really move it!!!
Posted 11/18/2014 6:51 AM (GMT 0)
Our garbage guy used to leave the can in the middle of our driveway. It was impossible to pull into the driveway without getting out of the car and moving it. We also live on a very busy road that people are prone to speed on. I risked my life several times moving it.
We complained several times to the company. The problem finally stopped until they changed the cans. Now if we don't place the can in just the right place for the automatic arm on the truck it will be emptied but laying in the driveway. :/
Posted 11/19/2014 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
That is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard! A clean freak garbage man with OCD! That screams "Wrong job!" for that guy.
Posted 11/19/2014 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone. You've all made comments that reflect what I've been thinking.

I should have mentioned in my first post that this is a small family business. The people who run it are super nice. I suspect this guy is likely a relative or friend, and they were trying to be 'nice' and give him a job.

Also, I can tell some weeks it's not the same guy, because nothing is changed.  He's the nit-picker, that's a given!

I'm going to wait until next week to see if the bags of recycling will be picked up. I did attempt to call the service yesterday to ask, but their number somehow went to a larger service, and the lady I talked to there wasn't sure if they were still connected. She said this service uses different recycling bins than our bags, so that really didn't help me find out anything. I'll have to do a little more detective work on that, LOL!  Will be monitoring the "lid" situation, too.

Yes, tangodancer 101--definitely the WRONG job! My husband and I had a good laugh about the small amount of dried grease which necessitated the guy leaving the lid off one of the cans. Sure, we'll stand outside with the hose when it's 0 degrees to wash out the cans. Uh huh. rolleyes shocked eyes

Posted 11/19/2014 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
We have to use clear bags so the 'sanitation workers' can see inside. At one point, they were actually opening the bags and tossing what they thought was not considered 'garbage' on the front lawn. It ticked me off...I called the town and they finally stopped. I can't imagine someone spending time on a busy trashday taking the time to root through every bag for an old sock...

Donna
Posted 11/20/2014 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
Oh my gosh, Donna--more wacky stuff! Anyone who is a control freak doing that job would have a field day. smilewinkgrin

Like you said, can't imagine someone spending time rooting through a trash bag. Unreal!

We used to have trouble with raccoons getting into our trash and scouting around, until we got the type of can lids that snapped on and sealed better. Before that, though, what a mess! But, hmm...is what they're doing (throwing stuff on the lawn) any better than an animal making a similar mess?  At least the animals have an excuse, LOL!
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