Customer edicate / common customer courtesy

I feel that there should be proper edicate or courtesy for us scrappers and also for the customers. There is a common courtesy that clients should follow but, many dont.

For example:

- the other day I got a fridge that was duct taped shut with food still in it. If you are going to give a fridge away I feel the customer should at least take the stuff out of it. It doesnt have to be super clean or anything but, rotten milk, eggs, etc covered in mold is a little uncalled for in my opinion.

-When customers call you to provide a service and dont acknowledge your presence when you are there. They just put it out in the driveway and say come and get it. Sometimes I have a question about what I am picking up or want to give them a business card, etc. and they wont pick up the phone even though they are home. I find this to be rude. I understand if it is a curb alert on CL but, if they are calling you it is different.


These are just a couple of examples. Most of my client are really cool and appreciative but, some do things like the above.

What are your thought? Is there any other common courtesy that you expect from your clients that you dont get?

thanks

In NJ it is not legal to leave a door on a fridge/freezer when disposing of it. To leave crud in there is gross.

As for the driveway thing, not only is it wrong for them not to meet you, but there is the potential issue of tresspass and theft.
If I see my neighbor has a stereo or something in his driveway (moving, cleaning, whatever reason) and I call you and say some and get it, what proof do you have that you have the right driveway and that the rightful owner was the one who placed the call? They should meet and confirm in person.

I don't know. I see it both ways, I guess. First, I don't do "curb alerts". If someone I don't know calls me, I usually ask them to send an email with their address and what they want picked up. Then I carry a printout of that with me when I go to pick it up. This is business, not a social gathering. I'm busy; they're busy. I don't expect a conversation. If they WANT to talk, I'm usually all for it but don't expect it. As far as food in refrigerators - I see it as my job to take or reject anything. This is a business transaction and it's up to me to make sure anything I take is acceptable. The one time I broke my own rule, I paid for it with a refrigerator (there were five from one house) half full. The problem probably came from when I rolled it off the trailer and let it set for a week before loading to haul it in. That's when I opened it.

Is there any other common courtesy that you expect from your clients that you dont get?

my biggest issue is people reniggin on prices after a deal has already been made, i like to pay a premium to keep customers coming back but 50% more is nuts, i am at the point now where im going to stop doing paid pickups and start telling dropoffs to take there stuff back if they want $1 more, a few people have messed it up for the rest of them

JPete: that is a good point about trespassing. I usually always have some proof that I have contact with the owner weather a phone number in my phone and address in my navigation. If I were confronted I would just tell the neighbor or officer the name of the owner and their phone number and call them right there if I had to. But, I get that feeling sometime when the owner isnt there and I have been confronted a few times but, always easily resolved.

Mick: I havent done curb alerts for awhile either, I guess what I was trying to say is that the business relationship is different when the client calls you and meets you over the phone opposed to posting a curb alert ad and random people coming to your door. I can expect the stand offish behavior from a curb alert ad but, not from client phone call. I dont believe it is a social gathering either and I dont expect to chat for awhile about baseball or anything. I like to talk about stuff that has to do with the pick up. For example, asking if the items are working or non working, if there is a tv asking if there is a remote that comes with it, giving a business cards, etc. This save me lots of time diagnosing and knowing what to do with the items: sell, reuse, fix or recycle. It can even be over the phone real quick for a minute or two after I see everything they got. Also, like mentioned above it can look suspicious if you are taking stuff off of someone's property without the owner being there, although it usually isnt a problem for me.

As for the fridge. You are right I can turn it down if it is too nasty and this one was NASTY! I like to accommodate the customer and take care of them but, ya this fridge was probably crossing the line. I guess I could of charge a little bit even. But, it was a full load of stuff that I got from that customer so I am grateful for that.


JG: Sorry to hear about your luck with pricing. Keep your boundaries on what you think is fair. That is definitely a violation of common courtesy.

I picked up a fridge one time from a call that came from one of my moms friends relatives. When I got there he actually had 2 of them waiting outside for me. As we were loading them I could smell the one was reeeeeeeal bad but i didnt' say anything because it still scraps out smelly or not. And, he called me again after that to pick up something else. I figured that was more important than the smell.

Now, I'd say that leaving food items in one would be just plain rude. and inconsiderate.

Etiquette... Customer etiquette I think is what you meant ?

One thing that bugs me is when I show up to do a pickup and I have to spend an hour digging for $5 worth of crap electronic waste. This happened to me awhile ago. I showed up to this house and this guy has the house and two or three outbuildings that I spent an hour or so digging through for a computer and a few other electronics and cords. I don't mind doing this if there's enough material involved, but if I'm coming out to pick up a few things, I'd like them to be at least in the general area and ready to be picked up.

I'd also have to agree that giving someone a fridge full of rotten food is both disgusting and rude. They could have at least taken the rotten stuff out. I could understand just smelly, but full of food is another matter

Yeah, turn that crap down. I gave my card to a fire restoration company and they called me next day wanting me to take 3 fridges and 3 stoves..... one of each on subsequent floors.. the fridges were full of food and everything was caked in roach feces..... they were offended when I said I was going to have to charge them.... forget it. you can just keep it.















He who observes etiquette but objects to lying is like someone who dresses fashionably but wears no vest.
Walter Benjamin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Russell

Etiquette... Customer etiquette I think is what you meant ?

---

Edicate is a common way to spell the word in informal settings. Although not technically correct it is widely used. If you are really going to go around this forum and be the spelling police, then you have a LOT of work to do. hhahahahah Naw I dont mind, etiquette is the proper and correct spelling. Thanks for the correction

when doing curb alert scrapping you need to remember how, many and even maybe most, people look at scrappers. Sanford and son , along with the "reality' shows like scrap wars Keep the "junk man" image alive and well. unfortunately it is all part of your chosen proffesion. Do we have to like it, no. Can we continue to try to change that image yes.

In the near future it will change, but the change won't come from us. It will come from the regulators.

I took a load of server trash to my favorite yard yesterday up in Dothan Al. I met with a whole bunch of new regs and then had a very unnerving conversation with the yard manager. Im going to make a seperate post concerning that conversation.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrsamsonite

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Russell

Etiquette... Customer etiquette I think is what you meant ?

---

Edicate is a common way to spell the word in informal settings. Although not technically correct it is widely used. If you are really going to go around this forum and be the spelling police, then you have a LOT of work to do. hhahahahah Naw I dont mind, etiquette is the proper and correct spelling. Thanks for the correction

---

I was thinking the same thing ahah but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. Im on this forum on my smartphone. Auto correct sometimes screws things up and i end up posting selling mistakes or incoherent sentences. Its not that big of a deal. I wouldn't call anyone out on it anyway.

As for proper etiquette, i can't stand when i set up a time with someone and they don't stick to it. If they contact me and tell me they'll be late, no problem. But most of the time they don't. That and no shows. Have no time for deadbeats like that.