Bread crumb trail leads to bureaucratic dead end
Kevin Daly cleaned up a garbage spill, and was sucked into a red-tape vortex at city hall
The phrase “following the bread crumbs” can refer to a number of things. In my case, I am referring to the City of Hamilton’s waste pickup services. However, following the bread crumb (and bones, and other organic waste) spilled in front of my home did not help me to reach my destination or, more specifically, resolve a complaint. Let me explain.
I don’t know if any of this has happened fellow taxpayers, but I’m getting a little tired of doing the work for a service that is supposed to be included in my taxes. After all is said and done, I am now hoping that the city will also include an allowance for my labour. Now, I understand that garbage can be spilled. Just clean it up when it happens. I’ve been told by the city that each waste truck carries a shovel and Kitty Litter, in order to handle spills, and that they are supposed to use these tools when spills occur. What really got my goat (maybe I should invest in one to help clean up) was when the spill happened, I called the city about 12:30 p.m. I was assured that the spill would be cleaned up before the end of the day and I was also given an incident number. However, no one showed, so I called again the next day around 4. I informed the city that I had just cleaned up the spill. I felt that it had become a slip hazard, especially to children. I then asked to speak to a manager. I was told that someone would call me. While waiting, I decided to send an email.
I sent my email to the director of taxation, who I will refer to as bread crumb (BC) No. 1, for ease of convenience. In my email, I requested $100 as financial compensation. I then received an email back from BC No. 1 that said my email had been forwarded to the manager of waste collection (BC No. 2) and the director for the customer contact centre (BC No. 3). I then got an email from BC No. 3 that said that the information will be shared with the waste management team (a whole loaf of bread) for review and follow up. I then got a phone call from the team member, a.k.a. BC No. 4, who was assigned to handle my complaint. This person was very courteous, and said the matter would be escalated. There would now be a discussion with several managers (assorted bread crumbs). I was also asked what would I accept in lieu of the compensation I requested. I told BC No. 4 that I was just trying to make a point, and that this unfortunately was the only way in which an issue seems to get any attention. At any rate, after all the bread crumbs apparently had a meeting, BC No. 4 called me back again and said that the issue was now being referred to the director of risk management (BC No. 5). The next day, I received yet another call from BC No. 4. Unfortunately, I was told that the decision of BC No. 5 was that there was nothing that could be done, in terms of compensation, and then BC No. 4 closed by saying that the waste pickup service workers should always clean up any spill when it happens, and if I have a similar problem in the future, to try calling again. I realized that I was now out of bread crumbs, and apparently had gone in a circle, ending up where my trail had started.
But wait. Five (5) days later, a new bread crumb appeared on the trail (BC No. 6). BC No. 6, the project manager for contractor operations, had called me to let me know that he was going to, with my permission, submit my contact information to the waste management contractor (very finely ground bread crumb that had previously gone unnoticed) that had caused the spill in front of my house. These newly found bread crumbs would contact me to get more details about my compensation claim. It looked as if I was now going to be able to discuss my concerns with the source of the problem, the factory (BF) where the bread was made. So I gave my permission and BC No. 6 called two days later to tell me I would be called by the BF within a few days. That was over a month ago, and I am still waiting for that call. Maybe the BF is on strike? Unfortunately, this new trail also looks as if it has ended up back where I had originally started. What a waste of bread, so to speak.