Customers trash Blosenski service after hauler bought by corporation - The Mercury

Customers trash Blosenski service after hauler bought by corporation

HONEY BROOK — The hold message at A.J. Blosenki Garbage Disposal & Recycling Service says, “Our philosophy and goal is 100% customer satisfaction.”

But if the online reviews, complaints flooding into municipal offices and the huge number of responses to a MediaNews Group inquiry on the subject are any indication, the company has a long way to go and may face some legal challenges along the way if things don’t improve.

A.J. Blosenski Inc. is a trash and recycling hauler that serves residential and commercial customers in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, according to company spokesperson Larry Meany.

He said the company is down a number of drivers and staff since the new owner took over and is working to bring in workers from other states and hire new ones locally to make up for the shortages.

Once a local, family-owned company with a solid reputation, A.J. Blosenski was sold in September to a corporate owner, Texas-based Waste Connections, which has more than 8 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across 43 states and six Canadian provinces.

Since then, according to mountains of complaints posted on online review sites and those received by MediaNews Group, the number of missed pickups has grown, customer satisfaction has diminished, customer service representatives are nearly impossible to reach and prices have risen.

After placing Facebook posts requesting comments from those experiencing problems with the company, MediaNews Group received 65 emails and more than 264 comments in less than 24 hours.

Customer complaints came from North Coventry, Douglassville, District Township, Exeter, Birdsboro, Coatesville, Colebrookdale, Pike Township, Washington Township, Robesonia, Royersford, Macungie, Shillington, Wyomissing, Topton and Tredyffrin.

Some customers in Colebrookdale, Macungie and Topton sent copies of letters they had received from Blosenski that said service in their area will be discontinued within the month. Others wrote that the company notified them that service will be reduced from twice to once per week, with no reduction in price.

North Coventry Township Manager Erica Batdorf said the municipal office has received more than 20 calls in the last two weeks from frustrated Blosenski customers. The township, like many of the company’s customers “is not getting any response,” she said.

Calls have also been coming into the office of state Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-146th Dist.).

Customers speak out

“I live on East Cedarville Road and have A.J. Blosenski for my trash and recycling pickup. They used to be a great company, but since the ownership changed so did the company. We never know if our recycling is going to be picked up. Often it is not,” Elsie Blackmon wrote in response to a MediaNews Group query.

“Trying to get in touch with someone at the company is truly a mission impossible. No one answers the phone and if you are able to leave a message no one calls you back. Their email address is no longer working either. On the website, there is no option to cancel service. I left a message with someone at Waste Connections, the company that bought A.J. Blosenski, they haven’t called back either,” Blackmon wrote.

“No trash pickup on Hill Church Road in Boyertown, going on two weeks. I suspect they service their municipal contracts first — with what little staff they do have,” Ray Wilson wrote. “I have tried calling them with the unsurprising outcome; no callback. On hold endlessly. Looking to cancel with them as this is the end of the quarter. Wish me luck.”

“I just received an email stating they will not be picking up trash AGAIN this week and will resume pickup next week. I highly doubt it! Billing is the only department that answers and they transfer me to the department where they don’t ever answer. I have called every single day during business hours for at least a total of an hour and a half a day to get either no answer at all or on hold for more than 15 minutes just so I can be disconnected. I am beyond frustrated,” wrote Andrea Carlon of Pike Township.

Tredyffrin Township Supervisor Sharon Humble wrote, “The same excuses that they have given to customers have gone on so long now without any improvement that they now fall on deaf ears, perceived as lies, overall disrespect, and abandonment of their customers. I am seriously worried about public health hazards created from all the old, over-spilling garbage steaming at the curbs while customers await pick-up. Today I was wondering which would work better: class action lawsuit or all of us delivering our bags of garbage to Blosenski’s or its successor’s front door?”

Legal trouble

That class action lawsuit may not be far off.

“I live in an area where all kinds of animals will try to get into the trash. My entire area hasn’t gotten their trash picked up. I have left numerous voicemails and emails with absolutely zero responses. But they made sure they took my money for the quarter with no service rendered,” Carlon wrote, adding that “I did file a complaint this morning to the Attorney General.”

It would not be the first time the corporation that now owns A.J. Blosenski has been targeted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.

In February, Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry announced her office had entered into a settlement agreement with Eagle Disposal of PA Inc., which was purchased by Waste Connections in 2020, for alleged violations of the Unfair Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Law. According to the investigation, in 2021 Eagle failed to collect trash and/or recycling from more than 1,800 residential subscription customers for multiple weeks at a time.

Eagle Disposal agreed to refund payments for missed collections for consumers who subscribed to residential trash and recycling services as of Jan. 1, 2021, and who had not received a refund from Eagle.

The company also agreed to provide its customers with the option of receiving an email or text message in lieu of a phone call when the company believes its trash or recycling will not be collected on time. Eagle also agreed to clearly and conspicuously disclose to all consumers that its recycling services are either included in the quarterly price or available at an additional cost. Finally, Eagle Disposal agreed to pay the Commonwealth civil penalties of $30,000 and the costs of the investigation ($15,000).

But according to some customers, the attorney general’s case has not changed things much.

“My name is Lyndsey Prat and I am a homeowner in the Shillington Borough. The company in the borough that comes to our home is Eagle Trash. I wish I had something nice to say as I’m not one to make a complaint, but the trash pickup by Eagle has been horrendous. We pay $200 per quarter for trash pickup, and the contract states twice a week pick up (Tuesdays/Fridays). They no longer come on Tuesdays for pickup, and haven’t done so in weeks. We went over a week without any pick up at all just last week. Then they did a ‘double pickup’ this past Monday. The trash was sitting in the streets of Shillington, rotting in the hot sun for over a week. It was absolutely disgusting.”

Blosenski may also be facing a class action suit for its service failures.

The Sauder Schelkopf law firm is investigating a class action lawsuit on behalf of A.J. Blosenski, Inc. customers, the Berwyn-based law firm announced

In its announcement, the law firm sang a familiar song: “Individuals have complained that AJ Blosenki has repeatedly failed to pick up trash on days and frequencies as agreed upon when contracting with A.J. Blosenski. Additionally, individuals have complained that A.J. Blosenski does not adjust the bill with a customer credit when it fails to pick up trash as originally agreed upon. Despite the decreasing cost of fuel, many customers continue to pay significant fuel surcharges despite unpredictable and spotty service. A.J. Blosenski is now blaming the problem on ‘staff shortages which is resulting in service delays.’ Meanwhile, its customers continue to pay for less service at higher costs.”

Blosenski’s side

The company did respond to questions supplied in writing by MediaNews Group.

In responses attributed to company spokesperson Larry Meany, the company confirmed that it has lost some staff, though it would not comment on how many.

“We are experiencing challenges with labor shortages, especially driver shortages,” he wrote adding, “We are committed to providing a safe work environment for our team members while helping them find work/life balance. There were both voluntary and involuntary departures over the last nine months for various reasons.”

One longtime employee who spoke to MediaNews Group on the condition of anonymity said Blosenski had lost roughly a dozen drivers. Many were fired because they failed a drug test or had had too many accidents — things that did not always lead to immediate termination under the previous owner, the employee said.

The employee also noted that Waste Connections is adhering more closely to state safety rules prohibiting a truck driver from working for more than 14 straight hours. As a result, more runs are without drivers because they are no longer allowed to take too many extra shifts, which helped ensure better coverage under the previous owners, the employee said.

As a result, those routes without drivers are those suffering the most missed pickups, said the employee. And those who are showing up are facing their customers’ ire head-on. “It’s killing us. We get yelled at all the time. It’s so frustrating for us because we’re doing the best we can.”

Company spokesman Meany also denied widespread rumors that Blosenki lost drivers because of a pay cut.

“This is not true. On the first day following the acquisition, we took immediate action to increase our workers’ pay,” he wrote.

The employee confirmed that, saying, “We all got a raise and a better benefits package.”

Asked about plans to improve service, Meany wrote the following: “Our A.J. Blosenski Inc. team members are working tirelessly to get areas cleaned up while still safely operating within the Department of Transportation’s Hours of Service Requirements. We appreciate customers understanding while we work to overcome these challenges by aggressively hiring and training additional employees while retaining our current valued team members. Additionally, we arranged for team members from other Waste Connections sites across the United States to assist us until our new employees are fully trained.”

Only time will tell whether or not that strategy leads to better service and happier customers.