We started off paying $101 every 3 months in the fall of 2021 for garbage pick-up, no recycling. It was a battle to get the garbage bin from them and after several calls, I finally threatened to move to another company so they did drop off a bin. By the end of 2023, we were paying $138. OK, everything went up due to inflation. Then when we moved less than a mile away, we decided to keep Waste Pro. I called them and asked them to transfer our service. I was told they can't do that and we'd have to set up a new account at the new house, less than a mile away - with the same garbage crew. OK, I said. I didn't think to ask how much it would cost at the new house, assuming it would be the same as at the old house. I was shocked that the price had increased from $138 to $224.35 - a 62% increase for the same services! I called a friend on our old street and asked him how much he was paying for Waste Pro. He said it had been about $140 but a neighbor had told him they had called Waste Pro and requested a Loyalty Discount so our friend did that too and was only paying about $100 a quarter. What? What could be more loyal than transferring your service with Waste Pro to a new location? We had even moved our own garbage bin! Why should we be charged $224 a quarter while other "loyal customers" pay $100?
Since nearly everyone on our new street used Waste Connections, I called them for a quote. For about $75 (yes, 1/3 of what we were paying) they could provide the same level of service as Waste Pro plus recycling. I signed up with them as of the first of the following month and gave Waste Pro notice that we were cancelling service with them in about two weeks. I was told that our garbage bin would be picked up after their service ended but it might take a week or two. Imagine our surprise when the very next day our garbage bin was picked up by them. I called them and asked about it and the person answering the phone told me that was their second call in a row on that subject (and it was only 8:05 AM). I was told they would request a bin be re-delivered. After a few days, I called again. We never did get a bin again so we had to put our garbage out in a bag. Since there was no company name on the bag and the Waste Connections truck came through earlier each day, they picked up our garbage every single time, even though we were paying Waste Pro. By the way, the new Waste Connections bin was promptly to us, as promised.
Let me be clear - we have no complaints about the garbage pick-up crew from Waste Pro but their office/management policies are awful. Why increase a loyal customer's bill by 62% from what they were paying? Again, we moved less than a mile, moved our own bin and have the same garbage crew - and that bill was 124% more than other loyal customers pay. And why remove the garbage bin that was included in our service with them two weeks before our service ended? If you live in an area like unincorporated Pinellas County where you can choose your garbage company, there are lots of other companies who provide the same or better service for less money. Do yourself a favor and use someone else. read more