diesel mechanic

truck driver

equipment operator

sales representative

local driver

Waste-Connections

I was hired to be weight scale clerk right before my 3 month period was up was fired - not what they were looking for nothing else but a hand shake.

1) You get one time shown how to do something the first month- rule one memorize and do not ask questions. 

2) No training. Their is two sides to the landfill one side is run by a women (no name) who has been there 7 years, she appears to be nice but she really is not. She is suppose to train you but she does not, example a Lady from Rd -no name 2 called in on my second day and put a complaint in against me when asked what did I do wrong... she says you did nothing she does that to everyone..but then yet my manger calls me in asks me why she put in a complaint, I explained -no name says she did that to everyone...he did not care...what was it for she said she waited a half hour in line...

2) Tooty calls- they do not tell you that these are a fire-able offense when hired they said its used as a training tool - first month you don't answer phones- the second month you do I got 4 tooty calls - one which I should not have done but since no training I thought I would try....got 74-79 was told great job....the one I should not have done got a 32....got called into office and told if they do not improve I would be fired...(training is hand you 4 scripts figure it out) memorize....Got a tooty call last week did the right script but since I did the one I should not have previous month they gave me a horrible review no name said she was fixing it and appealing it but ya....

3) Hazard Waste trucks- called dirt trucks.......very hazardous to health no name gets moved into a circulated clean air room ....you lol you bet ,,,nothing suck it up cup cake! 50 Trucks per day on these...so I started using cashier gloves...ya got in trouble for that and I asked for a mask if they did not get the dirt mixture to where it was non hazardous...next thing I know I get pulled into the office and he was like I want to know why your wearing gloves? I also got a complaint that you were wearing a mask! I told him I have not worn a mask I asked for one..I told him they were cashier gloves and he lectured me on that should be the only reason i am wearing them....FYI the trucks cause diarrhea and headaches and makes your eyes burn and it gets all over you I dont know how they work in it, if it was bad in the office your like wait the one one person gets a clean room and you get in trouble for protecting yourself when they did not even offer you a mask...ya......  
 
4) I loved this job, just did not get the proper training, nor any proper notifications of any wrong doings or any help to improve.

Be wary think of it this way the one lady that I was replacing was stealing she was a temp also was reported by RD,, the one before that was awesome ----been there 5 years --was told they were going to fire her because of tooty calls, she quit because of the hazardous waste trucks was making her sick.....and was also reported by the same lady at RD...there is a pattern here .....

I hope who ever gets this job has better luck and as the Landfill truck manager says ...you must be pretty and really flirtatious you are the face of the company...ya you guessed it I am none of those.. I felt like saying then why did you hire a older lady that has proper manners and just ok looks? But then get complemented on how awesome I am with the customers....the guy that runs the landfill side is nuts,,,,he runs the landfill side but does not know how to enter tickets ...he waited about a week ago to see about covering you for lunch ...he was like well the other two girls that were here worked it out to relive each other....umm the dirt trucks were not running at the time....and no name cant be around the  dirt trucks...hence the clean air room you built her.....ok enough venting I hope this gives you all a better idea on what it is like to work there.....this is just a few things to warn you about .....very disappointing in how this company is being run this was my dream job!

This company pays about $2/hour LESS than the average competitive local hourly wage for customer service representatives. In addition, at this location, be prepared to work on your own 1-3 days every week as your counter part will be calling in sick at least that much every week. Training is disorganized and rushed. You will be thrown out on your own with no help answering calls since the other rep is sick. Although you are new and bust your butt, management will have NO positive remarks or feedback to provide, even if you ACE their quality standards. They are also not interested in enforcing fair policy for all employees, instead allowing seasoned employees to miss as much work as they wish, come in late consistently, and treat less-liked employees poorly, even though it is completely unprofessional. A LOT of gossiping and bullying is easy to notice among office staff. Your counter parts are excused completely in treating new employees rudely in speech and behavior, given carte blanche in being aggressively territorial and throwing their weight around. They are free to dishonestly present the new employee in a negative way to management, and management will believe them without actually investigating. In addition, micromanaging at this location goes BEYOND your usual definition of micromanaging. You will be given 60 minute talks over something you were told to tell customers by veteran employees, which is ridiculous. You can get 100's on call reviews and that is completely disregarded and instead, management will find a way to tear that down as well. There is no praise, positive reinforcement, or even a passing "good job", so dont expect it. They treat employees like property and have no interest in building a solid, positive rapport or business relationship. They expect quadruple excellence from you in strutting your stuff, but do not believe they also need to provide the same in return. If you don't mind constantly taking the blame,  being overly micromanaged to the point of misery, doing more than your fair share of work while others get free passes, not being believed or able to defend yourself, given no support, going through a rushed, incomplete training period, being talked down to and disrespected even though you were by yourself and on your own because of other's attendance issues, being paid far less than you are worth (especially if you bring any experience to the table), if you don't care about integrity, fairness, objectivity, or equality, and you don't mind being treated very poorly by colleagues and management, then this is the place for you. If you realize that the majority of companies do not have these types of issues and that most professional environments do not operate this way, in addition to most companies actually being competitive with wages, then this is NOT the place for you. If you are desperate, give it a shot. In the long run, save yourself the time and effort. I left without giving notice and I have never done that in all my 20 years in the professional world.

El Dorado Disposal (Waste Connections in Placerville) is one of the most mismanaged places I have ever seen. 
This district is always out of the nessesary equipment and parts needed to do your job.
Trucks
 are more often on the down (not operable) list than they are on the road. Partly because the shop manager has to many other reposiblities. Most of his added work load isn't even for our district but covering for people who have quit and or moved on. 

Residential Customers
New customers are always waiting for carts. Why.... because we don't have any and the controllers keep cutting the cart budgets. 
Old customers are stuck with broken and smelly carts because we don't have any to replace them. The cart washing program is always backed up. The one person who washes the carts is always being pulled away to do something else. Some customers still have Waste Managment carts 10+ years after Waste Connections bought them out. 

Commercial customers 
Continuously have to use bins that are rusting and falling apart. No budget to buy more. And when we do get new bins they are gone within a week or two. 
Commercial customers who are wishing to increase their service (bin sizes) often wait a couple of weeks if not longer. These wait times have exceeded 8 weeks at times. New customers are in the same boat. Imagine your a seasonal business and your season starts.  You start your trash and recycle service a couple weeks before your business opens. But the bins show up a couple of weeks after you open. What do you do with your trash and recycle?????

There is a huge disconnect between the workers and management. 
New employees with no experience often get stared out with a higher wage than those that have worked there for years. You can start about the same time as another driver with the same experience and license and make a couple dollars less. You often have to remind management about your cost of living raise every year and even then it takes weeks if not months to get. 

The problems all start at the top. The District managers phrases are often "that's the first I've heard of it" or "we will circle those wagons later."

If you like to be an effective employ this isn't the place for you. You have to learn to to care or you'll stress out about things you cannot control. 

Employee turn over is out of control. But feel somewhat safe the county just approved a rate hike and contract extensions.

Routes are planned so that you're on the clock 11+ hours each day even if you hustle. I've done rolloff, residential (manual and automated), and a bit of commercial in a rear loader and it's this way in everything. After 10 hours in that same frickin seat you're hungry, tired, more easily frustrated, and providing low quality service. not to mention missing out on a life. I've heard this isn't how WC is everywhere, but it's business as usual for drivers at any of the three Denver locations. I worked only 9-10 each day at a different trash company and, trust me, it's a huge difference...

Mechanics are above average, it helps to develop a relationship with each of them if you want their respect.

Management is really competent but not as proactive as I'd like. In all honesty I could complain about the hours, and I imagine they would listen, but it doesn't reflect well on anybody to be a whiner. And who wants to be the one guy who gets out early and is disliked by each of his coworkers.

Drivecam is more tolerable than I thought it'd be. This was my first experience working anywhere with rules about following distance, eating/texting while driving, and a camera on the windshield facing you to enforce it. But most of the rules make sense and aren't terribly hard to follow, therefore Drivecam didn't bother me. Where I work we have free breakfast or lunch 1-2x a month and financial incentives that encourage/reward us when we collectively avoid accidents and incidents. It's pretty great.

Advancement opportunity is certainly there, most people who were promoted deserved to be; they're smart, know the ropes and will get in a truck when needed. There might only be promotion opportunity if you move though. People from Colorado seem to go to Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, or one of the Dakotas.

Overall I'd recommend WC, especially if you're used to oilfield hours or found yourself with kids and a mortgage..meaning you need the $$. If you want 60 hours each week, you just have to ask.

Typical day at work consisted of pre-trip of garbage truck, waiting around for assigned helpers to show up and be ready to leave on route (very often helpers quit or are unreliable so changes had to be made daily as to who would ride with me on route). Average time to route was 1 hour drive time. Typical route time is 12 hours from start to finish. Everyday goal was to complete route in time to make it to the landfill to dump the truck before they closed. 

I learned over time that the equipment being used (trash trucks,  whether front load or rear) were all very run down and not maintained the way they should be. With the exception of the few new trucks they have at this facility, most of them were ignored when items that needed repair were listed on the DVIR's which were required to be filled out everyday. 

The mid level management, such as my direct supervisor, was fine. It seemed to be the upper level management that did not fully have a grasp on the issues that were going on at this particular site such as faulty equipment, dangers out on the route, unreliable helpers, etc. 

This job is very physically demanding on the helpers and the drivers and in my personal opinion was not the hardest part of the job. That honor had to go to depending on other people to show up on time and do their jobs without over-complaining about the physical demands and then quitting, leaving the driver to finish as much of the route as possible by their self. Very stressful when things like this happen and usually if the job couldn't be completed solo then it would carry over on to the next day's route. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is that this is a small job site with only around 20-25 drivers at any given time. The small atmosphere allows more personal contact with the mid level management which helps out in relation to the job/work life balance.

Why is there not an option for 10 Stars? It's a shame when someone is let go from a company for faults of their own that they choose to attack a company and even individuals as some kind of payback. First and foremost, Waste Connections of Charlotte is the Greatest Team I have ever been a part of. Let's first start with our "local" upper management. We have a team of managers at our location that will fight with all of their might to make things positive at the end of the day for not only the customers we service, but all of the employees as well. I am working on 6 years at this location and I have never once been done wrong. Even when there are things our team may not see eye to eye on, we still find common ground. That is not just a place to work, that is being part of a FAMILY!! Our controllers are top notch!! They even use Charlotte as a training launch pad for people wanting to make a career as a controller and then they are shipped to there permanent home. Our operations team are nothing more than HEROES!! All of this Corona Virus and stuff going on, these guys and ladies have never missed a beat. I pray each night for our drivers, mechanics, dispatch and delivery folks that are our there on the front line. God bless you all! And our Sales Team. What else can you say. Our Manager is one of the best in the industry. Every time I call, email or step into his office, he always has time for me. Each and every employee that works on the Sales Team fit together like a well oiled machine! We are paid very well for what we do. We are treated like you wish people that you don't work with would treat us sometimes. I love Waste Connections with all my heart and pray that God allows me to keep my job until I am old enough that they run me home. Do yourself a favor. If you are looking for a job, and we have an opening, come be a part of something special. Thanks from a current employee!

Placing and compacting trash, hauling dirt for cover, grading side slopes and maintaining haul roads. NO OPINIONS  INCLUDED - JUST FACTS:  I learned that a multi million dollar company cares less about it's employees than their equipment and the equipment is purchased used, wornout and dilapidated. They appear to offer benefits that really are trivial while expecting work to be completed without providing adequate equipment to get the job done. In the great scheme of things,they spend minimal amounts of finances to keep the equipment working. When there is equipment failure management is quick to call it "operator error". When in fact it is "worn out" used equipment purchased to SAVE money. The co-workers were great to work with. The hardest part of the job was working with management that knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the tasks of working a landfill and was more interested in letting you know WHO WAS BOSS. If the employee is not a "YES MAN" he will be eliminated. The most enjoyable part of the job was .... LEAVING. Their equipment is a JOKE, (you get sent home because the equipment is broke down) their safety practices are a JOKE and their immediate field management is a JOKE. The sad thing about it is .. it used to be a great place to work and could be again but UNLESS and UNTIL upper management pulls their head out of the sand, stops pretending everything is OK and gets back in the game, it is going to get worse. Putting unqualified leadership in charge is NOT working. I did not leave because I was forced out like others .... I left because I saw what was happening to others and was very disappointed to see what the company had become.

Wasn't a bad place to work for at first. The benefits sucked they don't give you the bonuses or raises they promise you. When I asked about my retirement the Site manager laughed at me and said it was a joke. And told me to just save my money. When I had a problem with the way the lead driver was treating me she said honestly I'm not gonna do anything about it. All the trucks are broke down constantly. If you write your truck up for repairs the mechanic will red tag your truck the next day and you will be stuck in the back up truck which should be thrown to scrap. The mechanics have until 6 pm to fix your truck but instead decide to go home early and red tag your truck the next day. Then don't even think about speaking your mind about it or you will be fired. Also don't mention the union that that every other solid waste driver is part of or they will eliminate your position just to fill it a month later. Also you only get three paid holidays off and have to make them up on Saturdays. The three sick days your given are usually gone with the first round of sickness cause nobody can afford to take the day off when they get sick. It's the lowest paid solid waste driver in all of America. And one of the few that are not union.  The lead driver will escape work like the plague even if it means everyone suffer. Favoritism is a large part of the way things are ran.  And be carefully of any holiday as there is about 7 jahova witnesses that work there and the only thing about the holidays they want is the tips from customers. 

I was with WC for over half of the company's history. I saw the ridicilous growth and shared in the opprutinites and compensation that afforded. Relocated a handful of times throughout the country.

It was great, more than anyone should expect from a company, real family feel, managers knew one another, the corporate team knew you and was genuinely interested in your professional aspirations and personal growth, you knew where things were going and what your part was to make sure that happened. It was purposeful rewarding work.

That changed post progressive merger, and sped up through covid.

That large growth destabilized established districts/divisions and the " true north" they had fought to keep was gone.

Experienced leaders were passed aside for younger or newer leaders with "potential."

Potential means relocatibility mixed with likeabilty, performance be damned. The big company feel rushed in faster than i could have ever imagined.

The management teams company wide have become watered down version of the past due to this- region teams that used to understand that they are only a support structure to the districts have been emboldened to believe they have the answers and should give directives. They are not experienced, for the most part, with many never spending more than a few hours in the field a month. If they make a decision and convince a dvp/rvp its a good idea- you get to figure out how to implememt it. When it doesnt work, you get to fix it. Support when things go amiss is non existent aside from a sly "good luck".

The once strong DM foward structure has been undermined. Leaders that remember the way it was are in general miserable.


Do not work here. The managers will pretend to be your friend and talk behind your back while sitting in the other room. The work environment is extremely catty and unprofessional. The management is like no other, catty, disrespectful, and lazy. Managers will ask you to do 1,000 things at once while they sit there and do nothing. Pay is terrible!! New employees get higher starting rate than employees who have been there for years. There is 0 room or intention for growth. After working here a year and a half I realized the company would rather spend money on extravagant trips for their managers, and events and call that a reward for good work ethic (no raise) if given a raise it will be .50 and not enough to keep up with the cost of living. After putting my two weeks in and leaving on what I thought was good terms, I was surprised to here the managers were running my name through the dirt. I worked my butt off, came in early, stayed late and was always respectful of my superiors even when they didn’t have the same amount of respect. Towards the end I was mentally and physically drained, and completely checked out. The managers will also contradict everything we are trained to tell the customers which makes us look like we don’t know how to do our jobs. The customers are ruthless and entitled, and the managers do nothing to stick up for their employees. They need to consider some serious health options for the office, as there is no physical activity what so ever. The should reconsider who they have running that office, as well as what they are paying their employees because they will lose everyone. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Diesel mechanic 16 salaries reported	$34.65 per hour
Truck driver 22 salaries reported	$26.57 per hour
Equipment operator 1 salary reported	$22.00 per hour
Sales representative 4 salaries reported	$91,250 per year
Local driver 3 salaries reported	$25.67 per hour

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