Dear Editor,
While abuse is never justified, we need to ask why people are so frustrated.
Several months ago I yelled, “You need to work harder” at a booth attendant.
As I sat in a 20-car lineup, I witnessed an attendant working so slow it demonstrated an appalling disregard for those in the lineup. I commented to my son, “There is a prime example of someone who does not give a {thought} about serving his customers.” As I waited my turn, the man chatted with someone in one of the cars for an excessively long time and I got frustrated, especially since I could see that in the bin area there were empty spots. When I got to the window, I yelled at him to work harder, and I would not consider that abuse. He was abusing the people in the line with his indifference.
There are different kinds of abuse in this world, and verbal abuse is just one kind.
Showing an appalling disregard for the needs of your customers is a form of abuse.
Making people wait an hour in line when alternatives exist is a form of abuse.
Yes, people need to understand social distancing, but public servants also need to adapt to the needs of the public. Asking people to just bring in their rotting garbage is pushing the onus onto the public rather than having government services adapt to current public need. The RDNO’s suggestion is in itself a form of abuse of their mandate to be public servants.
They can do better.
Here are some suggestions.
1. Have a flat fee of $10 on exit from the dump. This would eliminate weighing and reduce lines.
2. Set up some extra smaller bins specifically for bagged household waste. People can pitch them in the bins.
3. Have a extra wood or metal drop off spots and get a loader to put it in the bin.
4. Teach the staff to work harder.
James A. Love
Vernon