Wait, wait: Trash pickup is on a holiday schedule after all

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

And, yes, I feel like an idiot.

Here's the press release:

NEW YEAR’S WEEK TRASH PICKUP REVERTS TO HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
Sunday-Monday New Year’s Schedule Creates Staffing Issue for Both City and Contractor

SOMERVILLE – In a last-minute reversal of its previously announced intentions – and a citywide call on Friday, December 30th – the City of Somerville announced today that municipal trash and recycling pickup for the week of January 2, 2012 will follow a holiday schedule, with pickups occurring one day later than normal across the city.  Residents should put out their trash one day after their regular day, as is usual in a week with an official Monday holiday.  Because New Year’s Day, a national holiday, falls on a Sunday this year, the official observance of the holiday will occur on Monday, January 2nd.
“Initially, we had planned to stick with a regular pickup schedule for the first week of 2012,” said city spokesman Tom Champion.  “That’s what we announced in our earlier press release and that’s what I told residents in a citywide phone call last night.  But it has become clear that both the city and its contractor, Russell Disposal, will have significant problems staffing a pickup on Monday, the observed New Year’s holiday, so we’re going with a typical holiday pickup schedule.”
“It’s very late notice, for which we apologize.  But from a cost and operational perspective, this is the best solution,” Champion said.  “Now the challenge for the City is to get the word out in time, using all of the means at our disposal, including another citywide phone call and the information hotline.” (The City’s telephone information hotline number is 617-628-7669.)
Champion noted that, despite the City’s effort to maintain a normal trash pickup schedule during the week after Christmas, only a few residents in the Monday pickup zone put out their trash on their regular pickup day.  “Many residents will continue to assume that we’re on a holiday schedule – and now they’ll be right.  For everyone else, we offer a sincere apology for the confusion – and, of course, wish them a very Happy New Year.”

- END –

Sorry, folks.

Comments

[rmd.livejournal.com]

IT'S LIKE THE HOKEY POKEY OF TRASH SCHEDULING!

you put your holiday schedule in, you take your holiday schedule out, you put recycling in the bin and you shake it all about...

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

I need a like button for this^^ Hysterical!

[ron_newman]

Hi, Tom. My caller ID box says that you robo-called me last night (New Years' Eve) at 5:56 pm ... but you did not leave any voice mail message. I returned the call to 617-628-7669 and heard your message about this change. But if I didn't have caller ID and didn't read LiveJournal, I'd never know about this.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

You don't get the alerts emailed?

[ron_newman]

I do, but when I posted this reply I hadn't yet noticed the email.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

The robo-calls are never left as a voice mail for me, either. I know this because I work for a place that gets them as well, usually first. I answer there, then it will come up on my cell phone a minute or two later, and when I don't bother to answer (because I see its the city calling, and I just heard the message) it has never left a voice mail on my cell.
I always figured somehow my phone service can identify it as a mass robo-call and not accept it as a voice mail for some reason, like fear of spam? Although come to think of it, I have got other robocalls left as messages...
I do get the emails as well so it doesn't matter to me.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting us know! Would've been nice if it worked, but suckier to haul it all out to the curb twice.