EMADCO

[zharmony]

This morning EMADCO knowcked down my power and phone lines and then left withour telling me. The they denied it until confronted with strong evidence.

Then they said they would pay for about a third of the cost of repairing the damage they did.

Then they retaliated by giving me the bin rule usage handouts and saying they would not longer dump the bins unless I undergrounded the utilities.

Not an apology. Lies and then retaliation.

Oh yes, I have been a good customer of EMADCO for over 10 years and if you count my parents and grandparents then for many decades.

Accedents happen lying is a deliberte attempt to avoid responsibility for action.

[zharmony]

To continue the saga.

Yesterday EMADO called and told me I did not live in the real world because I expected them to pay for the damge they had done.

EMADCO has termiinated a 20 year business relationship with me.

I want to be sure to say that EMADCO up until Monday morning (06/05/2006) has been responsive, fair and friendly.

[Kahlua Kid]

What is the alternative to Emadco? Aren't they the only trash service in our area?

We've not had a problem with them since we first moved in 3 years ago... when the previous owners left a dumpster out in front of our home alongside the road... we were contracted to keep that dumpster with Emadco. One day after we moved in, after we had boxes and junk and trash and... it disappeared... no warning.

We called Emadco to find out what happened. They told us our neighbor called and complained he couldn't get his "heavy equipment" up the road past it...so they just came and picked it up... without notifying us! That seemed crazy... They brought us back a dumpster the next day.

To this day, I've never seen "heavy equipment" go up that road and our neighbor lives in San Francisco and has only been up to his "vacation" home 2 times since we've been here... but I believe his caretaker would have called and stretched the truth...

[monkey]

I think the trash is picked up depending on what county you are in. We use Total Waste from Mariposa up at the Inn and am not happy with them, but have no choice. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/angry.gif

[Dodgergirl]

Wow, I really like Emadco. I've had a couple of issues with them over the years, but things have worked out well. Who did you talk to there? Brian Negley is a really nice guy & usually fair, try giving him a call...
Hope it works out for you..

[jan]

Originally posted by zharmony:
This morning EMADCO knowcked down my power and phone lines and then left withour telling me. The they denied it until confronted with strong evidence.

Then they said they would pay for about a third of the cost of repairing the damage they did.

Then they retaliated by giving me the bin rule usage handouts and saying they would not longer dump the bins unless I undergrounded the utilities.

Not an apology. Lies and then retaliation.

Oh yes, I have been a good customer of EMADCO for over 10 years and if you count my parents and grandparents then for many decades.

Accedents happen lying is a deliberte attempt to avoid responsibility for action. Sorry
to hear of your problem, as the same thing happened to me, what I dont get tho, is why were the lines so low, that the truck caught it?

[zharmony]

Brian has been great up until his driver did the damage, and then he became rude and threatening. He has canceled EMADCO service to me because I want him to pay for all of the damage. We are talking less that 2000.00 the damage was not too significant. Instead they took the path of denial and retaliation.
They said they would not service the ranch any longer unless we under grounded the power lines that have been there for over 30 years; so, I had three workers rent a trencher, repair the damage, and put the utilities under ground. I caved to his threats of no service.
What could have been a moment of great customer service has turned ugly.
On a lighter side, this will provide an excellent example of how not to do customer service and much discussion in my business ethics class at the university.

[zharmony]

Originally posted by jan:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by zharmony:
This morning EMADCO knowcked down my power and phone lines and then left withour telling me. The they denied it until confronted with strong evidence.

Then they said they would pay for about a third of the cost of repairing the damage they did.

Then they retaliated by giving me the bin rule usage handouts and saying they would not longer dump the bins unless I undergrounded the utilities.

Not an apology. Lies and then retaliation.

Oh yes, I have been a good customer of EMADCO for over 10 years and if you count my parents and grandparents then for many decades.

Accedents happen lying is a deliberte attempt to avoid responsibility for action. Sorry
to hear of your problem, as the same thing happened to me, what I dont get tho, is why were the lines so low, that the truck caught it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[zharmony]

So the power lines were obviously low enough to be hit by the truck, and the truck has been through there say 30 times in the last 2 years.

This is not on point. A requirment of all people is to show 'due dilegence', the driver could have said,'raise the lines or I won't empty the bin.' instead s/he drove into the lines. S/he made a choice that cannot be justified.

Tell me, does a low power line make it okay to destroy my property? If you say 'Yes' what are the implications? If you park at the post office poorly does that justify me hitting your car?

[Dodgergirl]

I'm with you on this one. As I tell my kids, a green light does not necessarily mean "go". Sometimes it means wait until everything is clear. If the driver saw the lines, it was their responsibility to stop until the path could be cleared. If the driver did not see the lines, then it was truly an accident, one which should have been handled a lot more professionally, according to your posts.
Although with all of the trouble I'm having recently at Moms mobile with power lines being pulled down, it kinda makes me wonder...

[Yosemite_Wolf]

When I first moved into YLP, the sellers of my house had a big dumpter from EMADCO... they had rented it to dump stuff when moving. we moved in and there sat the dumpster.. FULL.... no body came by to pick it up... finally after 2 weeks, I rang them up and said they needed to come get it cos it wasnt mine, i didnt rent it, use it, nor was I gonna pay for it.. so come get it TODAY. They came and got it. (lucky me)

[zharmony]

"Businesses encounter real problems far more often because customers do
not complain, and the absence of customer complaints is usually a bad
sign. The author recommends nine steps to dealing with a customer
complaint: 1) do not react or try to defend yourself or your company 2)
ask the customer 'venting questions' 3) listen 4) ask even more
questions to get them venting and listen some more 5) paraphrase your
understanding of the situation 6) time for the solution 7) remedy any
situation NOW 8) confirm with the customer that they are happy with the
solution, and 9) follow up later. The author believes the key point to
remember is: If you don't ask, you probably won't find out about the
problems people may be having with your service or product. Dealing with
issues head-on and retaining clients rather than searching for new ones
is the wiser course." (Lawrence, 06)

This is a discussion question I am using in my customer service class. Seem on point here.

[zharmony]

EMADCO has begun to act reasonable.

They picked up and dropped off dumpsters as requested.

Maybe... just maybe.. the right things will get done.

[John @ 3300ft.]

Originally posted by zharmony:
So the power lines were obviously low enough to be hit by the truck, and the truck has been through there say 30 times in the last 2 years.

This is not on point. A requirment of all people is to show 'due dilegence', the driver could have said,'raise the lines or I won't empty the bin.' instead s/he drove into the lines. S/he made a choice that cannot be justified.

Tell me, does a low power line make it okay to destroy my property?
I don't think any sane person would drive a vehicle into power lines.
You're lucky the driver wasn't killed or a fire started.
You and your insurance company would have been responsible for the damages that could have caused. Consider yourself lucky it only cost you two grand.

[zharmony]

No. EMADCO would have been liable for the damage they caused.

The driver did not do it on purpose, that would be criminal conduct.

It was an accident.

[John @ 3300ft.]

Really... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rolleyes2.gif
Why don't you ask your insurance Agent about your liability.

[Kahlua Kid]

I'm in insurance. Have been for 18 years.

Typically, the proximate cause of loss has to be determined.

Was it the driver who caused the situation? Or whoever installed the power lines? (Typically a 10 year tail in California on whoever installed them - after that... liability usually cannot be put back on the contractor due to the statute of limitations). Whose lines are they anyways? PG&E's? The Homeowners?

Were the lines installed at the usual and acceptable height? If not, were signs posted as to a height limit? And on and on and on...

Good question - one to argue about in court.

[BGW]

My power pole and cable access pole are one and the same...a big old oak tree. Due to all the rain this winter, the tree, though plenty far from my house had shifted bringing the cable line and power line down low enough for a tall human, a buck with huge antlers or any vehicle to become entangled.

I do believe I will be calling the respective companies tomorrow!!

[Kahlua Kid]

Originally posted by bgirlsworld:
My power pole and cable access pole are one and the same...a big old oak tree. Due to all the rain this winter, the tree, though plenty far from my house had shifted bringing the cable line and power line down low enough for a tall human, a buck with huge antlers or any vehicle to become entangled.

I do believe I will be calling the respective companies tomorrow!!

An act of God is not covered under insurance policies!

But in the case of property damage - depending on the level of coverage you paid for/bought/chose - falling objects (ie., trees falling into the roof of your home) are covered!

[John @ 3300ft.]

A living tree for a power pole?
Is that legal?

[BGW]

Originally posted by John @ 3300ft.:
A living tree for a power pole?
Is that legal?

Quite legal and quite common up here!

[Yosemite_Wolf]

are you legal?

[BGW]

The Cable Company is suppose come out next Tuesday to take a look at/fix the dangerously low hanging cable line. I am going to wait until after that to call PG&E to come out and take a look at their lines.

Since both cable and electric lines run from the house to a tree to a tree and to the same pole, it is possible (tho not probable) that the cable company might just grab them both at the same time.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[BGW]

The Cable Co. remembered to come out today!! The repairman was blown away when he saw the sagging lines (at it's lowest point it was roughly 5 feet from the ground).

He was here all of 20 minutes and even asked me what the new heighth of the line should be and placed it as close as possible to what I thought was good.

Not having to consider the size of EMADCO trucks, I requested the line be high enough for to allow the largest of PG&E's trucks, all fire and rescue vehicles, and all Asplunde and Davey Tree trucks to pass under including any ladders and cherry pickers.

Done Deal!! I am no longer concerned about the PG&E line as it is still higher than the new location of the cable line , and very much out of harms way.

Oh!, and as expected...No Charge since the lines were on the outside of the house. I am happy to have that out of the way.!