Lazy council workers.

[morecambe mick]

Bloody binmen are lazy jobworths!


Fortnight ago they wouldn't empty our rubbish bin because, wait for it..... the recycling boxes were in the way!!

Today, the next pick up for rubbish collection, they refused to take the single extra rubbish bag left over from a fortnight ago because it wasn't in the bin.



F****ng jobsworths!

They need to get into the real world.


The last time when they "forgot" to empty our bins, 5/6 houses, it took them 12 days to collect!!! We pay how much for this service?



Rant over.

[Gnasher]

Until only a few months ago when wheelie bins were introduced down Christie, the binmen would regularily block my partner's drive with the bin bags collected from everyone elses houses ready for the truck to pick them and leave her bin bags. A phone call to the council and they promise to email the relevant department. They eventually get back to you saying we'll pick them up tomorrow which they never did.

I can't complain though, no problems taking any excess normal or recycle rubbish by the bins.

[P/T Indie]

Don't get me started they never take our green bin unless other people on the street have their out I think they look round the corner see only ours right at the end and think they can't be bothered.

As for the boxes they missed a collection the week before xmas and didn't come back until 2 weeks (so we went 4 weeks without a collection over xmas) later after numerous phone calls from people on the street reminding them this is in fact a breach of duty of care to which the girl on the phone hung up on my neighbour

However the black boxes are emptied by a private company I am told and you can't knock them at all they are outside the house at 7am every fortnight without fail (I know as they are better than an alarm clock).

[marky No.1]

Don't usually have a problem with ours but as you mention it our bins were put out yesterday for collection and were still out waiting this morning - I am assuming they will be empty when I get home shortly Maybe they have gone part time Won't have time to rant cos we will be off to Accy

[RedRedWine1]

Refuse collectors can be complete jobsworths. I remember my mum had to take a load of bin-liners into work once because they'd run out. When her work got a delivery of bin-liners they gave my mum some to replace the ones she had brought in (in truth she was not bothered about them being replaced, but she took them anyway). The replacements were not the old style black bin-bags, but green ones commonly used in industry. My mum put these green bin-bags out amongst everyone else's rubbish (before this recycling nightmare).

She was then woken up one morning by one of these jobsworths who refused to take the green bags, as they were not the right colour. Even though the bags were discarded amongst others, the bin men apparently knew that these bags belonged to my mother because they had gone through the rubbish and found a letter addressed to her. The length of time that must have taken surely exceeded the amount of time to toss it on the back of the truck, and even look the other way if indeed it was considered a crime in the underground world that is rubbish collection.

Despite explaining what had happened, the refuse collectors didn't take the rubbish and my mum had to go to the tip herself.

Don't even get me started on those recycling boxes, and the need for your rubbish to be tidy!?!

[sgt major]

I dont even have a wheelie bin, I pay a private council tax bill as well as business rates. I get no collections from the council and have to pay £170m a month to have my rubbish taken away. I cant get on the tip because I have a van, they say I can apply for a permit or something.

Dont get me started on that useless jobsworth council of ours.

[Mighty Red]

£170m a month

Are you Ronaldo in disguise?

[Keith]

Top quality bin men over here. We used to refer to them as 'the Santon Fairies" because they arrived really early in the morning but were so quiet that we didn't even hear them, we'd just go down in the morning and find an empty bin. Leave a plastic bag on top of the wheelie-bin, they take it. A cardboard box, it'll be gone. Mind you, we do have to pay £360 per year in rates for service like this...

[PUNKISDEAD]

I was recently blocked by a refuse vehicle from getting to a customers house on a cul de sac in lancaster being double parked, he informed me he could not roll forward a few feet coz o me tackko mate, I rang his boss to complain and was told he was disgusted and would look in to it, never heard a thing back!!!

[Aspers]

I thought they were called Refuse Disposal Operatives.

[Keith]

I was recently blocked by a refuse vehicle from getting to a customers house

Did he refuse to move?

[morecambe mick]

I was recently blocked by a refuse vehicle from getting to a customers house on a cul de sac in lancaster being double parked, he informed me he could not roll forward a few feet coz o me tackko mate, I rang his boss to complain and was told he was disgusted and would look in to it, never heard a thing back!!!

You should have called the Police, and it is legal for a wagon to move even on a break if the vehicle is in the way. He only has to make a note of it on the rear of his tacho disc.
He was breaking the law by blocking the road, or if he was behind the wheel and taking a "break" he was breaking the tachograph rules on taking a beak from duty.

[poulton shrimp]

Bloody jobs worth

[Number 1]

A man goes to Lancaster City Council to apply for a job.

The interviewer asks him, 'Are you allergic to anything?'

He answers 'Yes - caffeine'.

The interviewer says, 'That will give you an extra point towards employment.'

'Have you ever been in the services?'

'Yes,' he says. 'I was in Iraq for two years.'

The interviewer says, 'That will give you 5 extra points toward employment,' and then asks, 'Are you disabled in any way?

The guy says, 'Yes ...a bomb exploded near me and blew my testicles off.'

The interviewer tells the man, 'O.K. In that case, I can hire you right now.

Normal hours are from 8 AM to 2 PM.

You can start tomorrow at 10:00am - and plan on starting at 10 am every day.'

The guy is puzzled and says, 'If the hours are from 8 AM to 2 PM, why don't you want me to be here before 10 am?' '

'This is a council job,' the interviewer says.

'For the first two hours we just stand around drinking coffee and scratching our bollocks, not really any point in you coming in for that.'

[George Dawes]

there only taking what there told to take, it's nothing personal...

[apps16]

there only taking what there told to take, it's nothing personal...

That is true, but it is the manner in which they do it.

Every time we have our bin collected whilst we are at work they leave it bang in the middle of the drive way so we can't pull straight back into the drive upon our return.

They arrogantly block roads just to save them a few yards walk.

I can remember my parents tipping the bin men at Christmas when I was young as they were always so polite and helpful. What has happened??

Did anyone else used to do this or still do it now??

[Keith]

That is true, but it is the manner in which they do it...

...I can remember my parents tipping the bin men at Christmas when I was young as they were always so polite and helpful. What has happened??

Did anyone else used to do this or still do it now??

You stopped tipping them at Christmas? Were they tipped because they were helpful or helpful because they were tipped?

[Andy]

proberbly the latter Keith

[About Halfway]

If you look into how big a slice of your council tax goes on refuse collection, you will find its less than a pound a week.

Its easy to slag us off and complain that the service is poor but every lad on the bins works hard. You dont see any fat bin lads do you? You do see quite a few fat wagon drivers though. Heaviest thing they lift is their state of the art blue tooth ear piece so they can ring home to see whats for tea.

Its not a nice job, plenty of stigma that goes with it too. Have to put up with people who can't drive on the roads, people that dont undertand we only take what we are told to take and the numptys who say "we pay your wages."

Salt ayre tip is not a council site. It is run by SITA, they say who can and cant go on.

I am just wondering who is going to call big pete johnson lazy and a jobsworth at the game today.

[Trinity]

apps16 wrote:-

That is true, but it is the manner in which they do it.

Every time we have our bin collected whilst we are at work they leave it bang in the middle of the drive way so we can't pull straight back into the drive upon our return.

They arrogantly block roads just to save them a few yards walk.

I can remember my parents tipping the bin men at Christmas when I was young as they were always so polite and helpful. What has happened??

Did anyone else used to do this or still do it now??

We used to tip them at Xmas but that stopped in the late 90's for exactly the above reasons.
The green waste collection team are the worst though. Litter in our area has increased and the main reason is due to the Councils green waste collection team who dont pick up the stuff they drop and also the not fit for purpose containers (lids are unsecured and blow off). We put a brick on top to stop this happening but they took it off and dropped it on our drive leaving broken brick deposits. Of course we report and ask our complaints to be logged at the Town Hall but the appalling service carries on regardless.

There is a considerable amount of customer complaints of the Council refuse service appearing in the local press and in view of our customer experience its totally justified.

The Councils, City Contract Services (includes refuse collection service) loses a six figure sum every year. Over the last ten years its operating losses are well in excess of £1 million, all funded of course by local council tax payers.

If the private sector did the job, like they do in most areas of the UK, they would take on the commercial risk and of course tax payers wouldnt have to fund those unsustainable final salary pension schemes that motivates council workers to report for duty if they are not already off sick, and in many cases long term sick.

If we had a choice, as customers do in the private sector, we would take our business elsewhere. Poor service and a complete disregard for the customer doesnt last long in the private sector, thanks to the power resting with were it should be, the customer who pays.

Trinity

[Gnasher]

Of course we report and ask our complaints to be logged at the Town Hall but the appalling service carries on regardless.

Of course you do and that's probably why the problem persists. Have you tried having a word with the binmen themselves? It's amazing what a quick chat and a bit of manners can do for you. It works, like I said earlier I can't complain though, no problems taking any excess normal or recycle rubbish by the bins.

[Number 1]

I'd like to know what's the point of a green bin collection every other week in the middle of a freezing cold winter when no one has cut their lawn for months? Surely it could revert to grey bin 2 out of 3 weeks. Or green bin one in 4.

Or am I missing the point about the green bin and should put more in there?

[morecambe mick]

Of course we report and ask our complaints to be logged at the Town Hall but the appalling service carries on regardless.

Of course you do and that's probably why the problem persists. Have you tried having a word with the binmen themselves? It's amazing what a quick chat and a bit of manners can do for you. It works, like I said earlier I can't complain though, no problems taking any excess normal or recycle rubbish by the bins.

people that dont undertand we only take what we are told to take

So it must therefore be that some are doing what they are told and some are not, if there are different levels of service, no?


About halfway, if I had a problem with Pete Johnson I would tell him so and he knows it, we have known each other long enough to be open.
My problem was with a certain crew/crew member who couldn't be arsed to move a couple of small recycle bins to get to the rubbish bin. That is poor service is it not?
That is my opinion anyway!

[Gnasher]

So it must therefore be that some are doing what they are told and some are not, if there are different levels of service, no?


Definitely! The refuse service I get, taking extras put next to the bins, etc, is far better than the refuse service they get down Christie where bins have been known to be left if the lids won't shut. The residents have found a way round it though, if their bin is full and someone''s else half empty they fill it for them

[Trinity]

Gnasher if you post offensive posts its a pity you dont have the guts to put your full name and a mugshot on here so that those in the Town and at Christie Park know who you are.

I, Trinity and my hubby Truth find your signature very offensive:-

http://www.gnasher.co.uk/fruitbats/

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws

We would br grateful if site moderation and sit admin(Keith) could deal with this as its clearly non compliant with the T&Cs of use of this forum.

Some of the letters in the local press from the Visitor website on the subject of this thread:-

Published Date: 21 January 2009
EVERY week we pull the wheelie bins and carry the plastic boxes to our front gates and place them neatly against the wall.
I can only admire the local inhabitants' attention to tidiness and adherence to the local council's collection rota.

Unfortunately, the householders' hard work is often ignored by the practice of council workers. The drivers insist on stopping their lorries in the middle of the road despite the fact that there is ample space near the kerb. How infuriating it is when residents are prevented from travelling along the road outside their own homes.

To rub salt into the wound, the bins are usually replaced haphazardly across the driveways, forcing locals to move them to drive in or out. And as for the lids strewn around!

Why can't the drivers stop at the kerbside where space is available, allowing locals to drive uninterrupted? By doing this on
alternate sides every few houses surely the workers following the vehicle would walk equal distances? Isn't it significant that the truck driver never makes eye contact with the blocked car driver!

How about taking an extra second to replace the bins where they found them? It's interesting that I never see a lorry stopped in the middle of Morecambe Road! Perhaps there are rules allowing bin lorries to stop in the middle of streets in residential areas.

It seems to be a case of do as I say rather than do as I do. This practice reflects badly on the council and does nothing to improve public relations.

Perhaps the binmen could follow our good example!

A rubbish tax payer

Torrisholme
(full name and address supplied)

Published Date: 29 January 2009
I WOULD echo the comments of your reader from Torrisholme and add something that really infuriates me and I'm sure my neighbours.
I live on Morecambe Road and I put my wheelie bin out nice and tidy at the bottom of my drive each fortnight – when I return from work, the bin is sitting in the middle of my drive blocking my re-entry.

This means I have to stop my car halfway in the bus lane and completely blocking the pavement in order to move it so I can get in.

Why can't commonsense prevail?

The binmen must know by leaving the bin there, it's going to cause a nuisance to the homeowner.

P Bonnell
Morecambe Road
Lancaster

Published Date: 29 January 2009
I AM writing to record my agreement with the recent 'binmen'
letter.
I find that people in our street put their bins out tidily but the binmen leave them on the pavements in a haphazard fashion – a danger to the blind, disabled and prams.

The lids of recycling boxes are put anywhere – even on top of flowers.
Last week they left a beige-coloured brick – which I had used to stop the lids blowing off – in the middle of the drive, just behind my car.
I didn't notice until the last minute before I backed out.

Please binmen could you obey a few rules, like we have to?

Mary W Hall
Watery Lane
Lancaster

Gnasher wrote:-

Of course you do and that's probably why the problem persists. Have you tried having a word with the binmen themselves? It's amazing what a quick chat and a bit of manners can do for you. It works

Yes we did try that Gnasher before making a complaint. The response was a mix of "F off", laughing at you or just ignoring you.