# Taking trash and old equipment



## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

Get a dumpster and factor the cost into your rates.

You could do a great job, but people will remember the pile of crap you left next to their garbage can that you didn't haul off.

We almost always haul everything off, unless the customer has a dumpster of their own. We're mostly ag and industrial though.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

IMO, it's really bad to leave trash there that the customer has to carry out and dispose of. 

I don't have a dumpster either, I bag it all and put it in my own trash.

They really like it.


----------



## AK_sparky (Aug 13, 2013)

Without question, take the garbage with you.


----------



## PlugsAndLights (Jan 19, 2016)

Depends on the house/site/customer as well as the type of garbage.
Swept and sorted is the minimum. 
P&L

Edit: Note that almost every job I do is T&M. HO's are often quick to 
tell me NOT to even sweep....I still do.


----------



## trentonmakes (Mar 21, 2017)

HackWork said:


> IMO, it's really bad to leave trash there that the customer has to carry out and dispose of.
> 
> I don't have a dumpster either, I bag it all and put it in my own trash.
> 
> They really like it.


Same here👍

Sent from my LG-K550 using Tapatalk


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Clean up and taking trash away are huge on any job.

It's a level of professionalism!


----------



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

Yep, take the garbage. Like has been said, remove it and build it into your costs of doing business. 

I have a bunch of garbage cans to separate out the recyclables from the actual garbage.... But if your not in overly green Cali.... Don't waste your time doing that.


----------



## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

I've heard many times how electricians don't clean up after themselves.

Too bad we have that reputation.

I am not like that. Being a little OCD I always cleaned but I have worked with many slobs. Especially in commercial.


----------



## telsa (May 22, 2015)

I thought you were talking trash about old equipment.

Never mind.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Offer we will sweep out and clean up an electric room before we start working.
I always have big contractor garbage bags and a broom and dust pan ready at the end of a job.
Also, a roll of shop towels for some wet/ dry action.


----------



## Ty Wrapp (Aug 24, 2011)

Bell System Motto: Leave it cleaner than you found it!


----------



## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I have a small rigid wet/dry vac and contractor bags. No trash pickup where I live so I go to the transfer station weekly anyway. Trash gets hauled away unless I'm where there is a dumpster.


----------



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Garbage disposal is a negotiated term. If the customer wants to save some bucks, they can take out the garbage. I will still sweep up and leave it in garbage bags for them.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

eddy current said:


> I've heard many times how electricians don't clean up after themselves.
> 
> Too bad we have that reputation.
> 
> I am not like that. Being a little OCD I always cleaned but I have worked with many slobs. Especially in commercial.


Seeing light fixture and fan boxes along with a 'Raco' or similar box piled up outside a house always made me chuckle, you know it wasn't from the HO....


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

99cents said:


> Garbage disposal is a negotiated term. If the customer wants to save some bucks, they can take out the garbage. I will still sweep up and leave it in garbage bags for them.


I think that's bad business. Definitely not good customer service.

It's not like we are tearing down plaster and framing that requires a dumpster, our garbage is minimal. It's easy to get rid of and we shouldn't be so petty that we negotiate anything. 

Just take the garbage and be done with it.


----------



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

It rides around in my van until I hit a dumpster job.


----------



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> I think that's bad business. Definitely not good customer service.
> 
> It's not like we are tearing down plaster and framing that requires a dumpster, our garbage is minimal. It's easy to get rid of and we shouldn't be so petty that we negotiate anything.
> 
> Just take the garbage and be done with it.


I'm talking about a job where garbage disposal is big enough to be a negotiable item. A single bag of garbage on a small job is different.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

99cents said:


> Garbage disposal is a negotiated term. If the customer wants to save some bucks, they can take out the garbage. I will still sweep up and leave it in garbage bags for them.


Is that because you work out of a VW bug?


----------



## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

I always cleanup very well .... but last week was a pita when I was left with boxes for 4 ceiling fans , 2 chandeliers and 3 big screen TV's not to mention all the old fixtures that were replaced ..... I couldn't get it all in my van 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

WronGun said:


> I always cleanup very well .... but last week was a pita when I was left with boxes for 4 ceiling fans , 2 chandeliers and 3 big screen TV's not to mention all the old fixtures that were replaced ..... I couldn't get it all in my van
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If the customer provides the product, I may leave the box. For example, I always put all the spare parts into the fan box and leave it for the customer. The same with a TV box.


----------



## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

Just throw it in the trench:brows:


----------



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

HackWork said:


> If the customer provides the product, I may leave the box. For example, I always put all the spare parts into the fan box and leave it for the customer. The same with a TV box.


I do as well for these or many of the products people provide. They often want to keep them for return purposes (if it stops working) or for removal when they move.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

WronGun said:


> I always cleanup very well .... but last week was a pita when I was left with boxes for 4 ceiling fans , 2 chandeliers and 3 big screen TV's not to mention all the old fixtures that were replaced ..... I couldn't get it all in my van
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I leave TV, dvd, and other electronic component boxes and tell them to hold on to them for the warranty period as it would need to be returned in original packaging.


----------



## Grogan14 (Jul 16, 2009)

I don't take packaging from items that I didn't provide, nor do I take anything large with me that didn't arrive with me.


----------



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

People expect to get what they paid for, in our case the installation. They love you for the unexpected, removing the trash and cleaning up the work area. 

The little things mean more than getting the lights on many times.


----------



## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

Switched said:


> People expect to get what they paid for, in our case the installation. They love you for the unexpected, removing the trash and cleaning up the work area.
> 
> The little things mean more than getting the lights on many times.


I agree. 



Grogan14 said:


> I don't take packaging from items that I didn't provide, nor do I take anything large with me that didn't arrive with me.


There is no reason to take a stand against garbage that isn't yours. If it's huge and bulky and the customer provided it, it's easy to communicate to them you'll let them handle it. But, IMO it's just not a big deal to haul off a few light fixture boxes they may have provided. Heck, half the time I use the boxes to throw crap into, scrap wire, etc. I guess I never really gave it a second thought to just throw it in the back of the truck and toss it in the dumpster at the shop. 

I've been on other electrical contractors jobs to install something else. It looked like they did a nice clean job. But what does the customer point out while we're walking by? "Look at all those stripped wire insulation pieces laying on the ground from the previous contractor." 

Garbage is big with some customers. Not worth fighting over, I'll just haul if off.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

As others have said, many people care more about a neat and clean job than the actual electrical work. And even those who care more about the electrical work, they don't know the difference between good and bad work, or they never actually see the work because it's hidden in the panel or the walls. So the only way they can judge your work is by how neat and clean you are in their house. If you are neat and clean and don't take shortcuts in that respect, they assume you are doing the electrical work properly too.


----------



## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HackWork said:


> As others have said, many people care more about a neat and clean job than the actual electrical work...


This is very true with residential work, and it's one of the reasons I am not nuts about residential work. But that's the way it is, if you're going to do it you just have to do some housecleaning and trash hauling. 

In commercial work, I try t keep the mess to a minimum but I am a lot looser about cleaning up. There are exceptions, especially customer part of retail spaces. It's usually perfectly fine for me to use their dumpster. 

There are exceptions but in most of the industrial facilities I work at, you're considered a little uptight if you walk right by a perfectly good open drain in the floor to use a urinal in the mens room. I wouldn't pick up a bit of stripped insulation there, especially if it landed on a floor drain grate. 

The NEC specifies very clearly that wall cavities are an approved location for wire scraps and device wrappers as long as nobody sees you slip the junk in there.


----------



## Kyrton (Feb 2, 2016)

Few days late on the post.. BUT maybe I am the only one that throws all my trash away at my supply houses dumpster? I buy my materials there, they can have my trash !

I always ask before I remove anything from someones property now. I have had some bat **** crazy people want to keep their broken lights, fans, dimmers, remotes even bulbs!

The nutty light bulb guy valued his dimmable CFL R30 lamps at $50. So I went on amazon and ordered him the same ones for $5 and shipped them to him.. 2 of them where dead and 4 of them where going to go any day.


----------



## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

If you brought the materials, you clean up the mess left from them.. If you made the mess, clean it up..


----------



## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

Kyrton said:


> I buy my materials there, they can have my trash!


That's odd.:001_huh: 

Do you take food scraps back to Walmart too?

I guess this thread opens my eyes to how much some folks will go through not to deal with garbage on their own.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Kyrton said:


> Few days late on the post.. BUT maybe I am the only one that throws all my trash away at my supply houses dumpster? I buy my materials there, they can have my trash !
> 
> I always ask before I remove anything from someones property now. I have had some bat **** crazy people want to keep their broken lights, fans, dimmers, remotes even bulbs!
> 
> The nutty light bulb guy valued his dimmable CFL R30 lamps at $50. So I went on amazon and ordered him the same ones for $5 and shipped them to him.. 2 of them where dead and 4 of them where going to go any day.


Got to love the nutso customers. 

I had a crazy office manager once that saw me put Freon in a unit on the roof outside her window, she called my shop to complain and said I turned the can upside down so it must have been empty. LOL!


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Cow said:


> That's odd.:001_huh:
> 
> Do you take food scraps back to Walmart too?
> 
> I guess this thread opens my eyes to how much some folks will go through not to deal with garbage on their own.


Whenever I had scraps or crap in my van I'd drop it in the next available dumpster to get the van clean ASAP.


----------

