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trash dumpers

Etowah
soapy

soapy

Senior Member
WHy is it that when a vehicles pulls up to our dumpsters to empty a whole load of garbage the first thing out of their mouths as you approach is " I was going to wash as soon as I dumped this trash." ? When you look at the vehicle you wonder which decade it was last washed in.
 
We installed a 600 volt electrical fence around our dumpster and you have to input a code on a keypad to deactivate it before emptying any trash.
 
Soapy, Diamond & others,

We have locked our dumpster during the summer months to minimize dead fish dumping etc. When it comes to the vehicles leaving way too much trash ... when the dumpster is locked both customers & non customers find places next to a barrel or by the vacuums or somewhere else on the lot. If we catch them we make them take the excessive amounts with them. The problem is that it is hard to babysit these rascals every minute of a 24 hour period - seven days a week. It would be interesting to see what others have done to mitigate or somewhat solve this problem. We hate the thought of having to schedule an extra $100 worth of pickups per month. Obviously, convenient for them but certainly not convenient for us. An example of small businesses not being viable without reasonable rule of law ... to some extent ... in my humble opinion ... of course.

mike walsh king koin
 
I have been taking an address label off of something in their trash and tape it to a large manila envelope. I then fill the envelope with something heavy, usually a lot of their own paperwork, and throw it in a mailbox, hoping it will arrive to them "Postage Due".
 
I.B. Washincars said:
I have been taking an address label off of something in their trash and tape it to a large manila envelope. I then fill the envelope with something heavy, usually a lot of their own paperwork, and throw it in a mailbox, hoping it will arrive to them "Postage Due".
Click to expand...
Twice now I've "returned" someone's garbage to them, both times it was 5 or 6 bags they used to fill the cans. One was a gated apartment complex, so I stacked it against the office door with the mail visible through the top of the bag.
 
I.B. Washincars said:
I have been taking an address label off of something in their trash and tape it to a large manila envelope. I then fill the envelope with something heavy, usually a lot of their own paperwork, and throw it in a mailbox, hoping it will arrive to them "Postage Due".
Click to expand...

You're too nice, I'll just return the entire trash bag(s) to the end of their driveway. Never have had to return to the same address yet. Wish the dead fish had an address on them, sure would like to leave those stinky things at the end of the owner's driveway...flies and all! :-)
 
Garbage at car washes is a HUGE problem and I don’t see any way of stopping it. We have a 2 yard Dumpster that is emptied twice a week and it’s maxed out most of the time, sometime I have to meet the garbage truck to dump the cans into truck because the dumpster is so full. The Dumpster in locked enclosure so they just toss the bags of garbage over the dumpster enclosure or just leave it out by the vac island or in the bay. I’ve taken it back to their houses, called the police. Now they gotten smart and make sure there isn’t any mail or anything with their address on it. It amazes us at the number of people who drive in see us and leave. I ripped into a Meth Maggot last week, she thought it was all right to clean out her car wash leave all her crap in the bay at 05:45.
 
I finally am at my wits end with the trash dumpers too. I can't believe how many people think it is OK to come into my business and unload all their crap. I don't see someone get out of their car at the McDonalds drive though and get 4 bags of trash out of their trunk and throw it next to the trash can. I have had numerous conversations with the police about it and I finally decided that in order to get rid of it, I had to get serious.

1. I replaced all the trash cans and pad locked the lids on them. I cut a dinner plate sized hole in the lids. If it don't fit, then it doesn't belong.

2. I made large signs that I concreted in buckets and place directly in front of each trash can. It states. "Attention, trash cans are for PAYING customers ONLY. No tires, household trash, trash bags, or large items are allowed on this property. Any items left outside of the trash cans is LITTERING and will be strictly enforced by "xxxxx" police. You are on VIDEO.

3. I pad lock my dumpster all the time. 24x7 and only unlocked when the trash truck pulls up.

4. And finally, I run down ALL violators now. Police are writing tickets, trespass notices, and even one arrest so far. Either I get a tag number, or they are dumb enough to leave their mail in it.


My thoughts are that if I be a hard a&& about it for a couple months, then I should have most of them ran out of my car wash. And I can tell you my trash cans get dumped every other day now instead of twice a day. I've only had the signs up a week so we will see what the final results are, but I'm sick of it and I will either get it under control, or go out of business. Damn pride of mine!


Does anyone else have any good ideas?

Thanks,
Lighthouse.
 
I think some of you really need to take off your Rose colored glasses and take long hard look at the public’s perception of the car wash industry and I hate to be the one to tell you that it’s pretty low. Most of the customers that come to a car wash aren’t on top of the food chain, in fact most them could be classified as trash. Trashy people are going to bring their trash with them and they seem to think it’s there god given right to dump it wherever they want. You can have all the cameras and signs up to try and discourage garbage dumping but it doesn’t really do much good if they want to dump they’ll dump. All you going to get is frustrated.
 
I agree with Mr. James. The more we give our product away with promotion after promotion we encourage the price conscience customers to our lots. From my perspective, the price conscience customer is the same one who thinks it is their right to dump their trash anywhere on our lot they please. We haven't completely eliminated the dumping problem but we have reduced it dramatically by not giving our products away with pricing that is too low, keep our place clean so they don't get the idea it is o.k. to just toss their stuff, a lock on the dumpster that sits at the front of the lot where everyone can see it. I send a nice letter to the offender telling them thanks for coming to our car wash and then explaining why it is not permissible to leave their trash. I have sent invoices for a weeks worth of dumpster charges along with something in the trash with their address on it. If they don't pay the invoice I advise them I will send the evidence to the local states attorney. This has worked for us - good luck everyone.
 
I look for mail in the trash bags. I call the police and press charges whenever I find mail. That's about all I can do. I have no littering signs up, "paying customers only...." signs, locked dumpster, etc. I watch people whenever I am there and stop some of them from leaving any trash that is not typical "automobile" trash. It is a hot button issue for me and I have trouble being nice about it. I agree with those who say that the self serve industry image is not good. I bristle at the mention of a "quarter carwash" because I think that it projects a bad image.
 
I think Kevin nailed it. If we could discern the real public's opinion of self serve washes, it most likely wouldn't be a pretty picture. As a salesman I travel around to a lot of washes. Many are not pretty to look at. Before any of you think I'm putting you down, you are not the problem. The operators who visit this site really do care about their business and keep it in much better shape than most. There is a very large number of operators who just pick up the quarters and empty the trash. The places haven't seen paint in years, there's weeds growing in the cracks, metal roofs are rusting, and lights have burned lenses or are hanging from the ceiling. I've told many people about this site and the majority of them never look at it. I am also pretty sure that most of the dumpers have voted for Obama, so trying to change their behavior is like talking to a cat.
 
I wish I was in an area where cops and prox\secuters had the time and energy to prosecute things like trash dumping at the wash.
 
We enjoy a great relationship with our local police and state's attorney. We wash the 55 city squad cars and the 45 county squads at half price. In addition we wash the county cars for the state's attorneys investigators. I like having cops on my lot at all times of the day and night. The local kids know that a cop might pull into the lot at anytime. The added benefit is when I have a problem they know me and they know my place which gives them a bit of ownership of any issue. As an added incentive, we give a Tootsie Roll Pop to all of our customers each visit - cops included. Even cops can't resist counting how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.
 
We (as well as others) have a contract with chicago to wash city cars as well. With what they pay and the paperwork involved the money is meaningless. Like you said, nice to have them around.
/
With 1000 people shot /250 murders for the first 6 months of 2013 chasing peiople leaving garbage at the wash is not a priority for Cops, prosecuters or courts.
 
Around here, they're starting to make it illegal to dump "hi tech" stuff.....computers, TV's etc. Now I'm starting to find junk TV's left behind from time to time. Typical government though. They tell us you can't put it out for the trash man....but give you nowhere to leave it legally.....so it's off to the car wash!

Regarding clean, well lit, and well run.....I got a note stuck in my door this week. It said in essence, "You have the best, cleanest and nicest car wash around. The trash cans are never full. The people that work here are kind and polite. I take issue though with your vacuum price though. You are $0.50 higher than the guy down the street....so I'm going to quit coming here. I thought you'd like to know...."

Do people think that clean, friendly, and well lit comes at no cost? I tell myself that this is not my bread and butter customer....but I'd be lying if I didn't say it stings a little.....
 
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