Resident: I am not putting my Valet Trash bin inside my apartment.

Resident: I am not putting my Valet Trash bin inside my apartment. I’ve been here for 6 years and I have never had to. Will I have to pay the fee?
FYI. I am changing to night time pick up.
US: Yes, you do. This has always been a rule. Besides it’s only been 3 years you had the bin. And with the changes it is going to be enforced.
Resident: I need corporates number. My trash bin is filthy and I am not bringing inside.
US: Umm it’s your trash bin. It was brand new when you got it. It’s your responsibility to clean it. It has only always been your trash.
Resident: I am a disable “able” veteran. It’s un sanitary and if you want me to bring in you have to clean it for me.

We are cleaning it. 

How big is the bin? Can they put a liner in it, so the liner can be thrown away after each pickup?

Kathy Porter it’s just your normal trash can 13 gallon or less. Valet will only pick up tied up bags . But that is a good idea. To place a liner under the tied bag. Thank You.

Not going to lie. The valet trash bins look pretty terrible. It looks cheap. Mine was definitely not new when I moved into my current apartment. It was used by previous apartment owner. I don’t blame the resident for not wanting it inside his unit.

Konrad Koczwara I have a housekeeper and she cleans the bins prior to move in. And if there is any damage we replace

Konrad- the valet companies will usually collect used and replace with new.

Aimee Leatherman nope mine wants to Charge me $25.00 a bin

Yazmina Bayala are you with Valet Living? We do not charge to switch out replacement cans! Every resident should receive a brand new covered can.

Konrad Koczwara agreed

I am a house owner I have a recycling bin and a trash bin. I only get picked up once a week. When we take the trash out especially in pick up day. I make sure we clean the bins before we put inside the house or beside the house. It shouldn’t be any different for an apartment

Yazmina Bayala I have bins that sit outside. They are Icky. I wouldn’t bring them in my house

That's what makes it way worse. They pitch a fit and y'all run to accommodate bad behavior. I will NEVER allow anyone to talk to me that way. They all agree to the rules upon signing and act really willingly ignorant when what they signed is enforced. I would still have charged her There are far more important things to clean then a residents trash can. I'm sure this resident will tell you later to clean her toilet.

Jessica Gonzalez this is me 100% me as a manager

Jessica Gonzalez yep and don’t let her tell her neighbors or they’re gonna be cleaning everyone’s trash cans

Paris Topazi yes. Bc if you don't there goes the fair housing violation. I refuse to have my name be in any part of any FH violation .

I have never heard of a resident that likes valet trash. That’s probably the first step as an industry.

I think this could go both ways. I would make it understood that this was a one time courtesy. I have a valet trash container. I use bags. Sometimes baking soda in the bottom. About once a month I fill it with fabuloso and water. Let it sit a bit and empty it. Turn it upside down to dry.

Laurie Ann we did say 1 time courtesy

Yazmina Bayala You did a good thing there. Just don’t want them to expect more like we’ll we know they would.

Yazmina Bayala omg no!!!!!! That should had been put in writing ! Have her sign it. She will ASSUME you will continue to do it and there is no proof that both parties agreed it was a one time service. Always always COVER YOUR A$$ . i would love to know how this goes afterwards.

I would let the veteran know the cleaning is a one time courtesy and he/she will be expected to maintain its cleanliness in order to comply with the rules going forward. M

Lori Doles-Manges we did say 1 time courtesy and must be inside when not pick up days or hours.

Yazmina Bayala I think that is definitely more than fair on the part of you & your team.

Reasonable accommodation.

Judy Cook I know I know. But is it really? The trash bin is a normal trash bin. Is reasonable accommodation to clean a dirty trash bin that has only had a veterans trash . No one else

Judy Cook when do we draw the line at reasonable accommodation?

Yazmina Bayala if it’s needed for a person with a disability, they request it, and it’s doable without creating a big financial or administrative burden, then we do it. YMMV

I know. That is why I said. Disable “able” veteran.

So my thing was. How many residents are going to come back and say the same thing? It’s filthy you can’t charge me. I am disabled. I am pretty sure if you can’t clean after your self you should be in assisted living not in an apartment by yourself.

However we did give. Well my Service Supervisor gave…

Hell naw. Never in a million years would we clean that. Thats not reasonable in any sense and it sets a dangerous precedent!!!

Eric Rivera I agree

I seriously just had same issues Though we will not clean. I can’t clean them all so can’t clean one.

Now that’s customer service! Lol Good Job.

Fun fact! Most companies- valet living for sure- will pick up your old dirty can and bring you new ones! We did it on our renovation units. Bring the can back from move out inspections so it doesn’t get taken during renovations, collect 10-20, call rep to exchange and boom new cans and in time for the new unit! Then we deliver the new cam when final walking the unit

Kathleen Denison yes!!! All it really takes is being solutions minded! That’s an excellent solution (and utilization of vendor services).

Just give them a new one. My rep swaps out old ones for us.

Charge a cleaning fee

I work for Valet Living as a Regional Sales Exec. You should be calling your DM in operations to trade old cans out between each new move in or if they get dirty and need to be replaced. We will gladly provide you with brand new replacement cans. We collect in the evenings and residents should have their cans back inside their units by 9 am the following morning. We will even walk your community to conduct an audit for you and take photo observations of units that have cans left out during the day. We upload the photo observation onto the portal for you so you can easily view units that are non compliant. We will even post a friendly reminder to the noncompliant residents’s door for you!!

Deeann Casady Field does VL replace the new fire retardant bins for free also?

Judy Southcombe I don’t know the answer to that question, Judy. I’ve never had a community request them in my region but I will definitely find out for you. We always order extra cans, that we leave with maintenance for trade outs, when we do our initial distribution. I’ll get back with you on that.

Judy....YES! I just verified we DO swap out old fire retardant cans for new ones at no charge. The only time we would charge would be if the resident doesn't turn in their old can to swap out with us. At that point, you would charge the resident for the can. Thanks for asking, I learned something new today, myself.

just curious what is the cost for valet trash service?

Pick your battles.... been right there

Stories like this is why I hate people. Lol. People do not understand how much junk we deal with on a daily basis.

Ummm, who doesn’t clean their trash bins? I don’t want the remnants of garbage in my trash bin! I’m also a bit OCD when it comes to things like this and it’s generally just gross.

Disability rules are different and you can get a lawsuit if your not careful. Also that's the difference between good customer service and excellent . Plus you have bigger battles to fight.

Why not offer a monthly clean? Maybe have a day and time everyone leaves their container curbside and use a water hose to clean them. Just an idea

Rachel Hernandez I think that’s a great idea in theory. But it’s hard enough to get the residents to sit the trash cans out at a certain time for trash pick up and bring them inside at a certain time that I can only imagine that doing a monthly cleaning would be just as bad.

Rachel Hernandez while this is a great thought. We absolutely do not have that time.

When I interview and discuss the job descriptions, I always add an asterisk that says, “And anything else deemed necessary to operate the property.” This is an example.

This is going to be me soon

I get the same on my new property that was introduced to it a few months the back. I am like well you did not get it that way. When I worked at a property with a car wash it was a tip we put out on Facebook

Just charge for a new one.

I just sent tips for successful valet service and cleaning bin was one of them. Hahaha

Thank you all for the feed back. It really is nice to see different perspective of the situation.

I am also an RSE with Valet Living and can confirm we swap out containers at no charge.

Hi Donna,
It depends on the property style, number of units, and the location. Shoot me an email if you want to discuss.
Thanks

PM has a rule in place for a reason, and deviating from the lease agreement can open you up to a fair housing claim. What is done for one person should be done for all. Ask the resident if they'd like to:
1.) Have management buy a new can and charge the resident back at the new item price. 2.) Have management grant his cleaning request of the bin, but contact your local cleaning vendor/janitorial services for a quote. Let the resident know of the cleaning cost in writing, and if the resident agrees to proceed with the service, then charge the resident back for the vendor's bin cleaning invoice.

Lastly, always make sure all communication and agreements are in writing.

Hhhmmm. So after reading this 2 thoughts came to mind. 1, talk with the valet trash bin vendor and have it set up to where bins can be exchanged out for new ones. Maybe twice a year or every 3 months. Second, does your community have a patio/balcony area? Could the residents possibly be able to put the bin out there? It would no longer be in front of doors or breezeways, but also they can have relief that it is not “inside” their apartment homes. These were just my 2 thoughts. Good luck for sure!
Hope to hear what you decide to do!