We have all had “that experience”… That experience that changed our perception of a well run (or poorly run) business. Something that raised the bar for all other business experiences we had moving forward.
Well for me, that happened while doing a home project. Throughout the course of the project I had to hire SEVERAL roll off dumpsters. Each dumpster rental came with it’s own trials and tribulations. The first dumpster rental company I found was of course through Google. I called three companies and took the best price. Before placing the order, I checked Google reviews – 3.9 stars on 65 reviews. Not bad. I’ll go with them. Why not?
So started nightmare #1 with DUMPSTER RENTAL COMPANY #A. For delivery, they said delivery on the day I needed was “no problem”. No contact (other than my confirmation email immediately after paying) after that. So delivery day for the dumpster arrives. 8am. 9am. 11am… I call to see when to expect them. “By the end of the day” I am told. Finally at 345pm, the truck arrives. He is in and out of my driveway in no time. Great! Time to start emptying this junk and construction debris out of my garage! Fast forward 7 days. First dumpster is ready. I expect pick up, right? Well this is where reading the “fine print” comes in…. No communication from the dumpster company. No pick up on day 7. I call on day 8 asking when they are coming. Oh, “you have to call to tell us to pick up” I am told.
“But I asked for a 7-day rental” I say.
“You still need to call us for pick up. We don’t just ‘come by’… Its in your contract…” I am told.
“OK, please schedule a pick up” -me
“OK. It’ll be Tuesday since Monday is booked up.” (It is currently Friday afternoon. Day 8) “It’s $25/day, so we will be charging you $125 extra for the 5 extra days…” – DUMPSTER #A
WHAT? First you don’t show up for pick up on day 7. Now YOU don’t work on weekends and the next business day is “too busy” so I get to pay for all those extra days until YOU decide you want to pick up???????
I gritted my teeth. Hung up. Read the 4 pages of 10pt font to validate that yes, that was technically “correct”. Caveat emptor they say. Buyer Beware! I reading my “fine print” I also found myself paying $100/ton for the weight of all the trash in the dumpster. All of it. Apparently they were so cheap because I was literally just renting a dumpster. The idea of throwing anything away in it was just absurd! That’s extra!!!