DumpsterBossPro Blog — Pickups & Swaps

Two-Way Texting on Dumpster Pickups: Blocked Cans, Gate Codes and Photos

Roll-off customers do not want to talk on the phone about their dumpster. They are at work, on a ladder, in a meeting. But they will answer a text in two minutes. That is why two-way texting is one of the most useful tools for pickup and swap scheduling.

Texting From the Office, Not Personal Phones

DumpsterBossPro includes two-way texting, so the office texts customers from the business and the conversation stays with the company. That beats the common setup where the owner texts customers from a personal phone and nobody else can see what was said.

Web requests like the ones covered in Web Request Forms for Dumpster Pickups and Swaps often start a texting conversation, because people who chose a form usually prefer to keep things in writing.

The Photo That Saves a Trip

The single most useful text you can send before a pickup is: "Can you send us a photo of the dumpster?" One picture tells you:

• Whether anything is blocking it.
• Whether the load is over the top.
• What kind of debris is in it.
• Whether the driver can get to it.

If the photo shows a car parked against the can or debris piled a foot over the rim, you can sort it out by text before a driver ever leaves the yard.

Sorting Out Access Problems

Gates, codes, padlocks and parked vehicles cause most failed pickups. Texting the customer the day before or the morning of solves most of them. "We're picking up tomorrow morning. Is the gate open, and is anything parked in front of the can?" Put the answer in the access notes so the driver sees it in the driver app.

When a driver finds a problem on arrival, the office can text the customer right then and often get it fixed in minutes. That is far better than the driver giving up and the customer finding out later that their pickup did not happen.

Confirming the Job Type

Texting is a good way to double-check the job before it goes on a truck. "Just confirming: you're finished with the 20-yard and want it picked up, not swapped for an empty?" That one question catches a lot of mistakes. The same goes for relocates: a text with "Where exactly should we move it? A photo of the spot would help" saves the driver from guessing.

Texting also helps with debris. If a customer mentions in passing that they tossed in some old tires or a mattress, that changes where the load goes or what it costs, depending on your local rules and your own policies. Better to catch it in a text conversation the day before than at the scale house. Update the debris type and haul-to address on the job when the answer changes the plan.

A last confirmation text the evening before a pickup, sent to anyone whose pickup has no on-site contact, catches the gate that is locked for the weekend and the driveway that will be full of cars for a family party.

Following Up on Overdue Rentals

Rentals past their included days are easy to follow up on by text. A short, friendly message asking if the customer is ready for a pickup, with a reminder that extra days bill at the daily rate, gets far more replies than a voicemail. When they reply yes, the pickup goes on the Waiting List.

The text history stays with the company, so if there is ever a question about when the customer asked for the pickup or what they were told about extra days, the answer is in writing.

Timing matters. A text sent the morning a rental crosses its included days reads as helpful. One sent three weeks later, alongside a large extra-day charge, reads as a trap. Keep a regular habit of checking rentals that have gone long and texting those customers while the conversation is still friendly.

Keep Texts Short and Professional

A few rules keep texting useful:

• Say who you are in the first text.
• One question per text.
• No slang, no essays.
• Answer quickly during business hours; set expectations for after hours.

Texting works alongside the driver's on-the-way and arrival texts and the automated texts and emails for invoices and payment follow-ups. To see how all of it fits with the Waiting List, dispatch board and driver app, visit DumpsterBossPro dumpster pickup and swap scheduling software.