First of all, I welcome any and all advice from all of you regarding this, and I thank you for your time.
Do not ever use this company for any reason.
AFTER WE ASKED THEM TO QUIET THEIR NOISE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THE STAFF AT THIS COMPANY HAS RETALIATED BY SENDING TRUCKS TO MAKE NEW, LOUDER, AND MORE EXTREMELY UNBEARABLE NOISES TO HARASS NEIGHBORS AT ALL HOURS....yes, I am serious.
Let me tell you about our terrible experiences with this company and what, in my opinion, is an awful staff. My daughter lives on the midtown/downtown border so she can be close to school and her job. The area is not the nicest, but the apartment rent is fairly cheap, and she likes being able to walk or bicycle most everywhere she needs to go. She is a caring soul who dedicates time in the late evening to feeding the homeless during the winter, and the place where she volunteers is nearby.
I recently stayed the night with my daughter after some recent car break-ins in her apartment parking lot. In the middle of the night I was awakened by what sounded like a loud car accident right outside. I looked out to see an Abe's garbage truck lifting a dumpster over the top of the truck and banging it repeatedly. The driver then dropped the dumpster back onto the concrete.
Now, I might be tempted to say "That is life in the downtown area", but let me set the scene for you: This is a completely residential area north of Dodge Street. This dumpster is situated in between a small 12-plex and the rest are single family homes (see photos). There are no high-rises or businesses, just hard working families and college students trying to get some sleep at night.
I asked my daughter (also awakened) about this situation, and she said Abe's Trash Service has made life nearly unbearable by startling and waking her- and many others in her neighborhood for more than a full year. She said she and other neighbors called and spoke with the Abe's management staff, most often a manager named "Josh" to ask if they could please show some concern, and adjust the timing of the noise for the sake of the folks in the area. She said Josh always told them that there is nothing that Abe's can do. My daughter said that there are at least 7 neighbors she knows of who are awakened at all hours of the night. She said 3 of them moved away specifically because of this.
Pat and Sharon Paterson, owners of Patterson Real Estate and the landlords of the Newport Apartments (renting the dumpster), have received complaints about this. They do not care. They refuse to do anything about this.
Upon hearing of this mess, my husband and I called Abe's manager, Josh, and kindly suggested that something must be possible in this situation to give the folks some relief. Josh told him that "that's the way our routes work". My husband stated that routes do not work that way in more affluent parts of town, and that banging dumpsters in the middle of the night does not happen in Linden Estates or Barrington Park.....and never would. Josh repeated his mantra of "there is nothing we can do".
Finally, two weeks ago, after we and several neighbors came together, we called Abe's and left a message for Josh. Our message was very simple: Kindly adjust the hours of this banging of the dumpster, or all of us will be going online and making everyone aware of the way the area residents are tormented by Abe's Trash Service.
Josh's response? NOW WHEN THE TRUCK COMES IT BANGS THE DUMPSTER 10-15 TIMES (RATHER THAN 3-4 TIMES AS BEFORE) CONTINUOUSLY FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, THE TRUCK NOW SITS AND RACES ITS ENGINE AFTER THAT, AND THE TRUCK NOW ILLEGALLY BACKS 50 YARDS DOWN THE RESIDENTIAL STREET WITH ITS BACK-UP SIREN AND EMERGENCY LIGHT ON, SHATTERING THE PEACE OF EVERYONE ON THE STREET. My daughter has this video recorded and it is extremely evident that this is a clear harassment, retaliatory behavior, and has no place in this wonderful city of ours- or anywhere else.
So, here I am, reporting to you our experiences with this company. Many of you live nowhere near a dumpster of any kind. However, This company does house-to-house garbage pickup as well, and I hope that you consider this review when you are looking for a service for such. Any company that would act in this fashion is not one that I would want to pay for any service whatsoever. Based upon BBB complaints we have viewed and an OSHA investigation regarding this company, it is clear that we are not the only ones concerned about the behavior of the Abe's staff.
We have found that this company's name is quite fitting in terms of describing the staff with whom we have had contact.
Abe's Trash.......the name says it all. read more