My client, owner of a local restaurant, hands me his trash invoices and asks me “Why do I always get an overage charge and why is the overage charge rate astronomical? Great questions! Let’s look at the dreaded overage charge that many business owners see each month.
What is the overage charge?
If a business owner produces 10 cubic yards of trash a week, however, he thinks he can save money by ordering a 6 cubic yard dumpster and stuffing 10 cubic yards of trash in it. The trash company will count the extra 4 cubic yards as an overage charge and charge for them at a premium. And by premium I mean premium!! If the going rate for standard service is $10 a cubic yard, the overage charges can be as much as $110 a cubic yard..
But why is my client consistently getting overage charges since he is not intentionally overfilling his dumpsters?. He has a 10 cubic yard dumpster for trash that is picked up four times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. His invoices consistently show overage charges on Tuesdays. When I asked my client if he requested those days for pickups he tells me they were assigned.
Like most restaurants, he is busiest on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday–something the trash hauler likely knows. Now, let’s compare the restaurant’s busy nights with the scheduled pick ups.
Thursday morning pickup means empty dumpsters for Thursday night, Friday morning pick-up means empty dumpsters for Friday night, Saturday morning pick up means empty dumpster for Saturday night. Sunday is busy and Monday is steady, but there is no pick up until Tuesday morning–why aren’t they picking up the trash on Monday morning?
Overage Charge Abuse?
Did the trash company schedule inefficiently on purpose, knowing the client’s dumpster would be overfilled on Tuesday and they could charge the overage at a premium? We may never know. But, after the initial consultation, I was able to change the pick up from Tuesday to Monday morning, eliminating the overage charges my client had been paying for two years.
If your business has been receiving overage charges that just don’t make sense … it’s time for you to contact The Trash Consultant.