The County Commission continues to work with Waste Management on their resolution to the excessive delays in trash removal in the county. Commissioner Stubs and Commissioner Hines lead a meeting today with multiple Waste Management representatives and below is a statement from Commissioner Stubbs on that meeting.
Follow up on Waste Management services:
Good evening, on behalf of the Elmore county commission, I hope to address some of the issues with Waste Management in our service area. Today, we had a meeting with 8 representatives from Waste Management. Commission Henry Hines, myself and several county staff members were in attendance.
We were able to express our frustrations with the lack of consistent service (or missed services), replacement of damaged cans, trucks consistently breaking down, lack of communication with the customers and other areas of poor service.
The WM representatives shared the following information which was helpful in understanding their current plight:
1) On March 29th 2021 the account information from Advanced Disposal was “migrated” into the WM system. The information did not transfer accurately and disrupted the routes and flow of work
2) Several drivers were out injured or sick around the same time as the migration of data, further causing issues b/c substitute drivers were on routes without accurate information
3) Department of Transportation restrictions limit the number of hours drivers can be on the road (for safety reasons) which prohibits sufficient overtime to catch up in a timely manner
4) They are currently hiring drivers and are offering a $2000 driver signing bonus and other incentives to bring more certified drivers on staff
We listened intently to their explanations and acknowledge the challenges they have faced over the last few weeks. It is definitely difficult but still not acceptable. We explained that their lack of communication with us and, most importantly, with the customers is leading to frustration and anger. I think we can all agree that we understand there are times when things just don’t go right. It happens… Sometimes we have bad days… But this is happening too often and must be fixed.
Our next topic of discussion was the call centers and the long wait times and lack of information provided by the employees. The only phone number citizens of Elmore county should call is
866-252-0458. This number is active and we were assured that any question regarding service, accounts, payment and other matters can be answered by these people. They said the average call time today for this phone number was 13 minutes. They are working to lower that call time. Unfortunately, there are other numbers floating around that are not accurate and are bouncing customers around to people who don’t know anything about Elmore county. There is also an email address for contact with Waste Management: wmalabama@wm.com
Citizens can still use trash@elmoreco.org and we will continue to advocate on behalf of each of you.
We were told there are currently 11 trucks running in Elmore county beyond the normal 7 trucks. This is an effort to catch up and get back on track.
Regarding billing… we were told this is the last cycle of invoices that show Advanced Disposal logos. Now that the migration of data has occurred the new bills will reflect Waste Management and have WM account numbers etc. This will allow customers to create online accounts and use the Waste Management App on phones using the account number. When this occurs, we should all have more access to our service provider. We did express our expectation of rebates, credits or some other gesture of goodwill to those who have had service disruptions. I am waiting for an official response to this request.
In summary, Waste Management leadership left the meeting very aware of our anger and frustration with the predicament we have in Elmore county. They were very responsive, apologetic and took full responsibility. I do believe they understand the gravity of the situation and are prepared to respond in a positive way. I am not prepared to make any promises but am hopeful that the migration was the primary source of the problem and is now behind them.
We appreciate the citizens of Elmore county and are committed to doing all we can to make our county a place we are all proud of!
Please feel free to email your commissioner or myself with any specific questions you may have. It will likely not be possible to address all comments/questions on social media.
Respectfully,
Troy Stubbs
Chairman
Elmore County Commission
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