We're renting a portable toilet for our home construction site. We called Hemley's because they're local and 10 bucks cheaper per month than the other guys. Rental comes with weekly service, which is important - we didn't want our neighbor bothered by a smelly portable toilet, and when they're clean, they don't smell bad. We are staying in an RV on the job site, but the RV toilet is an old portable that wouldn't work for full time use.
The driver was courteous, and placed the toiled in the shaded area we requested, noting that the ground he had to drive over was kind of soft, and he might not be able to guarantee service every week if it was too soggy to drive over the mud. He suggested relocating the unit to an area next to the driveway (which was in full sun). We said we'd think about it. This being spring in western Washington, the rain was ongoing, and two days later (Sunday), we realized that it was going to stay too soggy, and decided to ask the guy to move it on our regular service day on Wednesday (as he suggested). I wrote a note on a 8x5 yellow pad in thick black marker, and set it next to the toilet seat (it took up half the space - the note was big and obvious). The service log was initialed with the install date (4/12)
Wednesday came. Other than a 25 minute round trip to the grocery store we were there the entire time. The note and the portable were in the same space. Judging from the spiderwebs, it had not been cleaned, and had NOT been pumped out. No note on the log in the toilet.
The following Wednesday came. No visit either, and the toilet is starting to get a bit stinky. The note is starting to get that wrinkly look that paper gets when it's been damp from dew, but the marker is still clear. No notation in the log.
By the following Monday, the unit is full of sewage, and stinks to high heaven. My husband calls Hemley's to ask what is going on. The front office tells him that the driver DID come by to service. He even wrote in his log that he spoke to us (!). My husband explains that it's impossible - we're onsite 27/7, and we've not seen or spoken to anyone from the company since the installation. They insisted that we were wrong. My husband explained that the toilet has become unsanitary, and needs to be serviced. We were told the driver would be there on our regular service day on Wednesday. My very irate husband told the woman at the office to have the driver call us from his cell.
When the driver called, he insisted that he'd been by, but didn't see the note, so he didn't move the potty. Uh, really? It was still there and the only way you could miss it is if you'd not set foot in the unit. He also mentioned that since it had been raining, it was too wet to drive the truck in to pump. We think the truth is that he didn't come by because of the wet ground, assuming that we wouldn't want to move the potty, and now was stuck in the lie, having faked his work logs at the office.,
Tuesday night, I took a photo of the log sheet in the toilet, to show that no entries had been made since the install (after all phones date and GPS stamp photos)
He showed up on Wednesday, sheepishly mentioned that he saw the note (duh!), moved and serviced the unit.
After he left, I went and looked at the log, and voila! There were suddenly 3 log entries for the missing cleanings.
Honestly, there's nothing wrong with the unit, but I can't recommend a business that lies to their clients. If we hadn't already paid for a month in advance AND the pickup/dropoff fee, we'd probably have cancelled on the spot. read more