Good morning, how may I help you?
Hello, it's about my trash bin ...
What trash bin is that Sir?
You know ... the wheelie bin we have to collect the trash ...
What does it look like, Sir?
Well ... it looks like a wheelie bin ... they all look the same. Do you want me to send you a photo?
That would help Sir. Send an attachment photo on our website. Type reference BIN 69. Thank you.
*******
Good afternoon, how may I help you?
You're a woman!
Yes Sir, I am ...
It was a man before!
Ehm ... I have always been a woman ... how can I help you?
I have sent a photo reference BIN 69 ... the other man told me so ...
(Pause) Yes I can see it now ... what appears to be the problem?
I was about to tell the other man that the wheel is damaged and he asked me to send a photo.
Ehm ... (pause) there is no OTHER man, Sir. You have spoken to a male colleague and I am a woman. How was the wheel damaged?
Well ... you know ... wear and tear and that. Old age I suppose. Like all of us, when we get old things fall off. They hang more loosely than before and sag. I think the wheel is doing the same and might fall off.
Did you damage it, Sir?
No of course not ... if anything, it was your Refuse Collection Operatives ... is that what you call them these days?
Do you have a name?
No ... well ... yes ... I have my own name. But I don't know the name of the Refuse Collection Operative. I am not on speaking terms with him, although I've lived at this address for ten years or so. I'd guess over that period we have had a number of different Refuse Collection Operatives and I have hardly spoken to any of them.
I need to record here who was responsible for the damage, Sir.
Well, all of them I'd say. They seem to handle the wheelie bins without due care and attention. I make a point of leaving the bin on the edge of the side-walk; on the bit that slants downwards gently towards the road when we drive the car in and out. Yet the Refuse Collection Operatives ... all of them ... handle the bins roughly and pull them and push them off and on the side-walk itself ... so they fall down a few inches ... or up a few inches ... instead of wheeling them gently on the sliding bit of the path. It's like they are dancing with a drunken kangaroo!
Did the kangaroo damage the bin, Sir?
No ... of course not ... what kangaroo? I don't have one. Or any for that matter. It's the rough handling of the bin by the Operatives that did it. I suggest it would have been better if the refuse lorry drove on the side-walk itself, then you wouldn't have to get the bins up and down in such a rough manner.
I still need to record the person who damaged the bin, Sir.
It was old age ... you know ... Father Time!
Father Time ... is he a priest Sir?
Who?
Father Time ...
Eh ... (pause) ... yes ... yes ... he is a priest. He damaged the wheel on the bin. I saw him do it.
First name?
Yes ... he has one ... Reverend ... that's his first name.
Thank you Sir. We shall send you a replacement wheelie bin within three days. No charge. It is paid for by your Local Environmental Taxes.
Even though ours are on wheels, too, Victor, we still call them trash cans. I love how you all have different terminology across the pond!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Yes, for some reason we've called them wheelie bins since their introduction some twenty years or so ago. Before that we had metal bins which we called dustbins. I guess the plastic covering on the wheels breaking up after 20/30 years is not bad. The wheels are still fixed to the axle though.
DeleteHope you and yours are keeping well, Martha. God bless always.
Gotcha! Dare say, that customer service representative had no idea who she was up against.
ReplyDeleteI think the men who collect our trash would enjoy being referred to as 'Collection Operatives' ... that sounds far more important, doesn't it?
LOLOLOL about 'dancing with a drunken kangaroo!'
They keep changing their titles every few years. They don't like being called dustmen any more. Everywhere the world is changing. They pull the bins on and off the side-walk itself because they're in a hurry. As a result, the falling off the side-walk and pulling back damages the wheels. A drunken kangaroo would do a better job; and he won't mind what he is called - dustbin man, collection operatives or whatever.
DeleteGot bless, Mevely.
What a hassle to get a new bin. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's people in authority, Bill. They want to believe they're important.
DeleteGod bless.
We are blessed not to have to tell them who caused the damage, they know that the whole process is not gentle and they get damaged. If it is just the top that breaks, they have us leave the bin by the street and someone comes along, tears the old top the rest of the way off if it is still partially attached, and puts on a new one.
ReplyDeleteIf the wheels get damaged, i think they replace the whole thing, but i am not sure.
I guess it's the same here, Mimi. Because the top lids are different colours. Black for general trash, orange for re-cycled papers, plastic and tins and cans of fruit, vegetables, beans etc, and green for grass cuttings, and twigs and tree branches.
DeleteGod bless.
Your title sure fit the story. How many times have we been ask the same "stupid" questions when trying to just take care of business. In the complex, thank goodness, we have large bins, and I don't have anything to do with there coming or going. The hardest part, when I have a heavy bag of trash is hiking it up on my shoulder to get it in the bin!! Life is full of "Bin there Done That" Thanks for your version.
ReplyDeleteHere we have 3 bins with different colours. One for trash, one for re-cycled plastic, paper, cardboard and tins and cans (no glass), and one for garden refuse like grass, twigs, leaves and branches. They empty the bins on a rotation each week - trash , re-cycle, garden refuse. You have to be clever and know which bin to put out which week. They have courses at the University to teach people to differentiate the different coloured bins, what to put in them and when to have them out on the side-walk for emptying. If you put the wrong bin out on the wrong week you do not get a certificate from the University. If you do get a certificate you can put it in the re-cycle bin because it is made of paper.
DeleteI've yet to get a certificate.
God bless, Wanda.
Hahaha vector too funny yes the certificate is paper so definitely put it in the recycle bin have a great weekend
DeleteBest wishes to you too, Wanda.
DeleteGod bless.
Crazy.
ReplyDeleteWe no longer have that problem because our trash is not collected. We have to bring our trash to the refuse center ourselves because we live outside of town.
They did hint at that sometime ago over here, Happyone. It hasn't happened yet. Chances are people would empty their bins in the street or in the countryside lanes.
DeleteGod bless.
Our recycling bin is nearly falling apart. I have requested a replacement 3 times. Time to blame the priest for its damage. I'm sure I can find one in this community of old people.
ReplyDeletePriests have this tendency to damage trash bins, Susan. Everyone knows that. Which is why replacements are free.
DeleteGod bless always.