WCI Core Values

Whether they’ve articulated them or not, most businesses have core values. 

There’s a reason they provide services or products the way that they do. Core values are important because they dictate what your interaction with that company will be like. 

How you’re treated matters. So today, I wanted to talk a little bit about how we provide our services. 

Because if we provided amazing services but were a pain to work with, would anyone want to work with us? If we slashed your waste spending by a fourth, but you could never get in touch us when you had a question or service issues would it be worth it?

I want to be honest with you about what our core values are and how they affect how we do business with you. 

Let’s talk about:

• Servant leadership

• Absolute honesty

• Complete transparency

• Exceeding expectations

• Authenticity

Again, how you’re treated matters. Let’s look at how each of these core values shapes your experience as a client. 

Servant Leadership

We believe leaders should serve and be willing to do what others won’t or don’t want to do. 

We’ll be honest - the waste and utility industry can be pretty tedious. Haulers can be really shady. Service providers can be impossible to get a hold of. Invoices can be inscrutable. 

But we confront these things on your behalf because we believe that you deserve nothing less. We don’t think anything should stand between you and the savings opportunities you’re likely sitting on. Or, to use a recent client’s words: “You stay a part of this until every single nickle of savings is realized.”

So we go where few people are willing to go. We stay on top of haulers until they correct their billing mistakes. We wait on hold with customer service for as long as it takes to get to the bottom of mysterious price hikes. And we leave no stone un-turned when it comes to your waste audits. 

You don’t deserve to be overcharged or mislead about your utility or waste management. So we make it point to serve well. 

Absolute honesty

We share the good, bad, and ugly. We give you the whole picture of your waste disposal and utility management. 

After we review your portfolio, we create a savings report called the Waste Savings Summary (WSS). We show you everything we’ve found - where there are tons of savings, and where there is very few. 

But this practice isn’t only something we do in the initial savings process. It’s something we keep at the forefront of our minds when we are reviewing your invoices, and when we bill you for our services. 

Just this past summer, we had an instance where we found savings at a multi-family location. The only problem? We found those savings as the result of something we had overlooked. We had already reviewed the locations for savings, but after doing a secondary review, we found a huge amount we could save. 

Since we share in the savings at a rate of 50% we could have just charged the client for the additional savings we had found.

But we found it as the result of our mistake - and we knew it wouldn’t have been fair to charge the client without having a discussion with him first and getting his thoughts. So that’s exactly what we did. We came to an agreement about what was fair, and we both benefited.

When we mess up, we own it. 

Complete Transparency 

We share all pertinent information with our clients and partners – we don’t hold anything back. 

And we’re very open about how we do what we do. It’s why we started this blog in the first place! We believe you should be empowered to make the most informed decision you can about your waste disposal and utility management. 

We actively self-disclose. We’ve written articles about  how we conduct our audits, and how we find savings. And we make videos (and blooper reels!) about what our processes are and how they benefit you. We’ve also made a guide with over thirty pages of actionable steps to prevent overspending. 

We practice transparency because it’s what you need and deserve. 

Exceed Expectations

We attempt to surpass the expectations of our clients and partners.

We know that in the consulting world - not to mention the waste industry - it’s unusual to be wowed. It’s unusual to receive service that is above and beyond and to really feel seen by your vendors.

So we go the extra mile. Scott Alderman of Landura Management Associates recently said: ““The recommendations you implemented resulted in these expenses being reduced by 25%. Besides the savings, I appreciate the excellent communication you and your staff have given us and the fact that you are monitoring our bills each month.” 

We provide excellent service - in every sense of the word. Of course we want to find as much savings as possible. But we also want your experience with us to be exceptional. 

Authenticity

We endeavor to always present an accurate image of who we are, what we do, and what we don’t do.

We don’t do everything! We don’t pay your bills for you or haul your trash. 

Instead, we make it simple for you save on your waste, utility, and medical services management. 

Will there be hiccups with your vendors? Probably. Will there occasionally be massive billing errors on the hauler’s end? Every so often.

We can’t control your service provider’s behavior. But we do promise to be there regardless. 

We cannot promise that waste haulers will always show up, that their invoices will always be accurate, or that WCI will always be perfect.  What we will promise is that if something goes wrong or if WCI makes a mistake, we will rise to the occasion, take action, and do everything in our power to resolve the issue.

Our core values make your service experience exceptional!

We’re committed to you having the very best service experience you can. We’re thrilled to find substantial savings for you, but we’re just as excited about giving you a smooth ride on our way there. 

Interested in finding out whether we’re a fit? Schedule an informal 15-minute phone call with our CEO Tyler Brunson. You have everything to gain! 

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What questions do you have about what we do? Let me know in the comments below!

How We Protect Your Savings

This article is part of a series on our savings process. You can read more about our six step process here!

It’s not enough for us to simply find you savings. We make sure those savings are protected. 

Say we reduce your waste by 20%. We renegotiate your contract with better rates, and completely eliminate your fuel, environmental, and regulatory surcharges. 

In order to make sure you’re getting the full effect of our efforts, we continually monitor all  invoices. There are three reasons why this is so important:

1. Vendor make billing mistakes

2. You don’t need the added burden

3. Vendors need accountability.

A lot vendors aren’t out to get you. They’re human too - and mistakes happen. By having a third-party review invoices, we ensure that you continue to get the best rates possible. 

Vendors make billing mistakes

We’ve seen it in almost every state, in every industry, and with utility, telecom, and waste disposal services providers. Vendors make billing mistakes about 10% of the time - and that adds up fast! 

We recently worked with a client who had about a dozen hotels in the midwest. They had recently signed a new contract that prohibited regulatory fees on their waste disposal expenses. They weren’t ever supposed to be charged this fee. But guess what? They were. It happened over and over again on their invoices for months. And they had no idea they were overpaying. 

We documented the exact amount of overcharges and the months they occurred, then presented it to the vendor. They couldn’t deny the charges or what the contract stipulated. So they agreed to provide several hundred dollars in credits. 

This client would still be overpaying if we hadn’t stepped in. These charges could have gone on for several more years, and no one would have been the wiser. 

This brings us to the next point - this overcharge wasn’t the client’s fault! 

You and your staff don’t need the added burden of invoice monitoring

You and your staff often simply don’t have the time to devote to monitoring your invoice. Very few companies have the necessary resources. It’s one of those things that can easily get lost in the sight of more urgent tasks. 
Invoice monitoring can be time consuming. It requires an eye for detail, and a familiarity with your contract stipulations and invoice history. 

And even when errors or mistakes are found, it often takes even more time to rectify the situation. Remember the debacle we recently had when one of our client’s waste invoices increased 900% in one month? That took several months to resolve. Our staff was relentless in rectifying the situation - but it took a lot of time on the phone. 

We’re accustomed to solving these kinds of errors. So when the time comes, we don’t hesitate to fight these discrepancies on your behalf. Whether it’s a waste removal vendor, a telecom provider, or a utility service, we know the lay of the land. 

Your time is valuable - protect it by letting us run interference on your behalf.

Vendors need accountability

What’s the point of making cost-cutting changes to your utility management, for instance,  if those changes aren’t permanent? If your vendor agreed to standardized pricing, but then kept charging you at your old rate, that would quickly become a problem!

We can’t say it enough: vendors are human, too. 

They’re going to make mistakes on your bill. So they need accountability. They need us to look over and verify charges - and they need us to make sure they’re abiding by your contract. 

Don’t leave your savings security to chance!

Your savings need to be protected. Your waste management process needs to be secured. 

We’re proud to help you stop overspending - and we’re invested in making sure you don’t ever overspend again.  

Our process has served hundreds of companies nationwide. And it can absolutely work for you. Companies in every industry are benefitting from our services - why not join them?

Sign up for a quick, informal consult with our CEO Tyler Brunson. He’ll shoot you straight on how our services could benefit you, your company, and your bottom line. 

How exactly do you find savings?

This article is part of a series on our savings process. You can read more about our audit process here!

Just last month, we were helping a client with their less-than-ideal valet company. The porters would pick up the trash, but they would leave a trail of garbage. Or, they would do several buildings, but forget others. Or they wouldn’t show up at all. The site managers and residents were getting fed up because they were finding out what everyone already knows: a job half done is a job undone.

Here at WCI, we don’t believe in doing things halfway. Because it’s a sure way to disappoint. 

When it comes to audits, we believe you should be able to take advantage of every savings opportunity available to you. A less than complete audit will leave savings on the table - and no one wants that. So our audits are uniquely thorough.

Let’s dive into how our thorough audits find savings.

Our waste, utility, and telecom services are thorough

After we gather all the necessary documents, we complete our exhaustive analysis. 

We put all the information into a Master excel sheet. It records all the details about your accounts in one place. Pretty much any waste-related data you can think of is recorded on this sheet. 

Some examples:

• All locations, location address, and site contacts

• Current haulers

• Contract account and expiration information

• Service levels: how often each location is serviced

• Each piece of waste equipment at each site. 

We then run the numbers. It’s more exciting than it sounds! We compare your usage rates and any overage charges, we look at your tonnage each month, and then we look at market rates. Comparing rates and fees helps us see if you:

1. Have the ideal service levels

2. Have the ideal equipment in place

3. Have the ideal contract. 

Already have a waste contract in place? No problem! We actually rarely suggest changing haulers because we have such success with renegotiating current contracts.

After we analyze, we prepare your report

Based on our analysis, we create a recommendations report tailored to your industry and location. It shows what you could save, and what to implement to access those savings. We call this a Waste Savings Summary, or “WSS” for short.

The WSS lists each location and every kind of equipment that location has. We compare the existing waste disposal arrangements with our recommendations for new ones. And we also take into account all recycling streams. As you can see below, not every category has potential for savings, but those that do can be pretty significant.

At this sample location, we were able to reduce the dumpster rental at one location from $758.64 to $267.60.

This, combined with savings opportunities in other categories, resulted in a savings of 25% or $4002.53.

Discussing the Waste Savings Summary

Once our report is complete, we get in touch with you and set up a time to review it. We’ll send you the report a few minutes before the call, then review it with you by sharing our screens. 

It has specific recommendations like “replace the dumpster at your property with a smaller one and decrease service rates,” or “obtain less expensive valet services with recommended vendor.” 

These recommendations are the next step for our partnership. We show you how exactly we can secure savings for you, and give you a time frame for completion. We also include an estimate for how quickly these savings will affect your bottom line. 

We make savings simple

Once we get your approval to move forward with the recommendations, we move forward. You don’t have to call service providers or renegotiate contracts yourself - we do it for you! 

And here is the best part - you don’t pay us until the savings show up.  We don’t earn a dime until the cost reductions associated with our implementation show up on your vendor invoices.  

Companies in every industry are benefiting from our services - why not join them?

Sign up for a quick, informal consult with our CEO Tyler Brunson. He’ll shoot you straight on how our services could benefit you, your company, and your bottom line. 

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What questions do you have about our audit process? Curious how it looks if you have lots of locations? Want to learn more about how we implement savings on your behalf? Let me know in the comments below!

What to Do When Everything Goes Wrong with Your Valet Services

Valet services are a great idea, right? There are very few people in the world who actually enjoy taking out the trash - and valet services are a perfect solution. 

But what happens when your valet services go wrong? What if your porter doesn’t show up? Or if he leaves garbage strewn all the way to the dumpster? What happens when this vital part of your waste management is in crisis?

It doesn’t happen a lot. We work with several really wonderful valet service providers.Their porters come on time and get the job done - and do it well. 

But when problems do arise, it’s a major pain. 

One of our clients just recently asked for help for this exact issue. 

Valet Waste Service: The Problem

First, they had issues with having quality services. Frankly, it was gross - they were leaving streaks down the hallways, which I think we can all agree is really less than ideal. 

Maintenance ended up having to hose down the hallways. This successfully cleaned up the mess, but it also damaged the lights on the floors below. They had to be replaced - and it wasn’t a cheap fix.  

Once we found out this happened, we reached out to the service provider and secured a $4,000 credit for their account. 

But the issues didn’t stop. 

The valet porter stopped showing up, and the new one either couldn’t figure out how to operate the compactor, or kept missing pick-up in entire buildings.

The Solution

After going through three porters in about as many months, we decided enough was enough. Residents were complaining and the employees on-site had resorted to picking up the garbage themselves! The valet “services” were anything but good service.

We found them a new valet service that we knew was dependable, and are in the process of ensuring a smooth transition. 

When things go wrong with your waste management, you need to have recourse. You need someone who knows the market and who will have your back when problems arise. 

Resolving valet services issues are just one way we serve our multi-family clients. You don’t have to troubleshoot valet waste problems on your own! You can have reliable, experienced help on your team. 

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Do you have valet services at your locations? Have you run into any waste service issues in the past? Sound off in the comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The Five Biggest Ways We Find You Savings

This article is part of a series on our savings process. You can read more about our audit process here!

If you knew there was an 80% chance of reducing your expenses, would you go for it?

When it comes to our waste, utility, and telecom audits, the odds are in your favor! Over our 17 year history, we’ve seen that that 80% of companies nationwide can save on their utility and telecom - and 90% of companies can save on waste. 

Dozens of companies like yours have already gone through our audit program - and saved thousands in the process.

One of the most frequent questions we get asked is “Where exactly do you find savings? What aspects of my portfolio show overlooked savings?”

Most savings we find generally fall into five buckets. 

We usually find savings by:

1. Finding and implementing your ideal service levels

2. Changing on-site equipment

3. Finding credits

4. Reviewing meter usage

5. Reviewing on-going invoices

We’ve found substantial savings in just one of these buckets - and in all of them combined. It all depends on the specifics of your company. Let’s take a detailed look at each of these buckets.

Finding and implementing your ideal service levels

When we conduct our waste and utility audits, we often find that companies are not receiving their ideal service levels. 

Psst! Download our free guide to savings!

We’re actually in the middle of an audit with one of our clients right now where we’re evaluating this very thing. This particular client has over a dozen hotels in the Midwest, and we’re going to determine if we should negotiate contracts with seasonal clauses. 

Since hotels are typically booked more often during holidays and summer, their waste needs will likely fluctuate. They’ll benefit from service levels that reflect this fluctuation. So we’re crunching numbers and reviewing invoice history to figure out how much usage fluctuates over an eight month period. We’re comparing the number of overages to the occupancy rates to see if there’s a correlation. 

Sound like a lot of effort? It is! But this level of scrutiny is what makes our audits so effective.  

Changing on-site equipment

When we do a waste audit, we frequently find that by changing the kind of on-site equipment, the company can realize substantial savings. 

Consider this example:

A recent client was using a 20 yard roll-off container on their location. These containers are often used at construction site for debris. They were using this size container at two different locations at the same property, but after analyzing their cost and the waste stream we determined that neither of these containers were a good fit.  

We knew 8 yard dumpsters would be cheaper - and we knew that they’re easier to work worth, take up less space and look much better!  We recommended replacing both of them with 8 yard dumpster to be picked up once per week.  

The result? This simple fix saved the client $997/month!  

 Finding utility and telecom credits

Just this past month, we partnered with a client who had signed what turned out to be a pretty decent waste service agreement. They had specified in their contract that they were not going to be charged for a fee called Regulatory Cost Recovery. But guess what? A few months after the contract took effect, their vendor charged them for it - and didn’t stop! 

We found several hundred dollars in credits, addressed the issue with the vendor, and got the client their credits in the span of about three weeks. 

We apply this level of thoroughness to every aspect of your portfolio - whether it’s waste, utility, or telecom audits. Your bottom line deserves nothing less. 

Reviewing meter usage

Meters gauge your energy consumption and your power quality measurements. Their readings are gauged and the electric company reads them to know what you should be charged each month. 

How often do you check your meters? As companies grow and jobs change hands, meters can be forgotten in the shuffle. 

The more meters you have, the more likely it is that you’re being incorrectly charged for them. You may be charged for meters that are no longer in use. You may have too many meters on your site. 

We’ve seen this time and time again - companies grow, and buildings change hands. It’s easy to forget things like meter usage in the tyranny of the urgent. There will always be more pressing things to think about. 

But the beauty of what we do is that whatever savings we find compounds. It’s not just about the savings you get in the first month; but in the overall savings you benefit from over time. 

Saving $100 every month on your utility bill may not sound like much, but in the first year you’ll save $1200. In the next four years, you’ll save almost $5000. So in the life of your property, you can easily save thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Audits are zero-risk investment that compound over time.  

Reviewing on-going invoices

We know it's not enough to find savings for you - we make sure your savings are protected. First, we ensure that your invoices are in accordance with the stipulations in your service agreement. As in the example above, sometimes service providers agree to one thing, then charge for another! Your vendors need detailed oversight.

Second, we seek credits on your behalf. We’ve come to realize that support staff and administrators often are pressed for time. They don’t always have the time to spare; they don’t have several hours over the span of a week to work out issues with their hauler. So we make those calls for you; freeing up your time and your staff’s time - and ensuring that you get whatever credits you’re due. 

Read more about how we fight for credits! 

How long will you wait to start saving?

We’ve tailored our process for cost-conscious companies that want to find savings, but who are short on time. 

Our risk-free audit process requires zero capital outlay, and is guaranteed to be cash-flow positive. In other words, we’ve made sure you have nothing to lose - and everything to gain!

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Want to learn more about the effects of our audits? What questions do you have waste or utility audits? Want to know more about them? Let me know your thoughts below!

Multi-Family Management Saves $143,000 Annually

Have you ever looked at your waste invoices and thought: This is way too complicated!

Maybe you have dozens, even hundreds, of locations. Maybe you have stacks of hauler contracts, all with different service providers and terms. It can be near-impossible to monitor invoices - much less review service efficiency!

Jeff Holoman was well aware of this. As president of Partnership Property Management, he had multiple waste vendors and different contracts for all 250 of his company’s properties. 

He wanted to find a way to streamline his disposal process. He was spending over $800,000 on waste disposal per year, and Jeff knew he could do better.  

We helped Jeff fix his waste worries - permanently. Our exhaustive analysis showed exactly where the gaps were in Jeff’s current waste management model. We presented resolutions to every problem we found. 

After we got Jeff’s go-ahead, we renegotiated hauler contracts for many of the properties, and made sure that pricing was regulated. We also ensured that PPM was getting ideal contract terms that were actually in their favor - not their haulers’. 

As a result, PPM saved over $100,000 each year on their waste expenses. 

Jeff no longer overpays on waste expenses, and he can rest easy knowing that current and future problems have been eradicated. Our on-going billing audit services ensure that their invoices are accurate, so their savings are secure.

Jeff was thrilled - he wrote us, 

“I would like to thank you for your continued service and vigilance on our behalf. It is comforting to know that we have a trustworthy company monitoring the complicated nuisances of our waste contracts.”

No matter how complicated you think your waste situation may be, there is absolutely recourse for you. 

You don’t have to be held hostage by confusing contracts and an onslaught of invoices. Investing just a little time in learning the ins and outs of your contracts (or how to renegotiate your contract!) will help you pinpoint exactly where there are shortcomings in your current waste management process. 

Knowing the problem is the first step to solving it - and in this case, it’s also the first way to find savings you’re currently sitting on! 

Property Management Company saves $116,000 - Annually!

Would you like to save your company $100,000? What about over $1,000,000 in four years? 

Scott Alderman of Landura Property Management did exactly that not too long ago.

(He’s not the only one. Tad is saving $6,500 a month, and Lisa is saving $65,000 in gross savings.)

Scott was able to accomplish this even though Landura had a lot of variables. They had 4,500 units in 9 states. They had different waste vendors and lots of contracts - and bad ones at that. The logistics were complicated, to say the least. 

And, to top it all off, they were spending $440,000 on their waste spend every year. 

Scott really wanted streamlined waste management at a fairer price point. So we helped him get there. 

We did a comprehensive analysis. We looked at each location’s invoice history, the fine print of all the contracts, and area hauler pricing. We found the holes in their contracts, and found where they were being over serviced.  

We were able to help Scott find relief from waste headaches. We reduced his waste spend to $324,000 annually - a cut of 26%, or $116,000. 

His contracts were made air-tight, and his services were standardized.

“The recommendations you implemented resulted in these expenses being reduced by 25%.

Besides the savings, I appreciate the excellent communication you and your staff have given us

and the fact that you are monitoring our bills each month.”

- Scott Alderman, Landura President

We love helping companies find freedom from waste worries. Our clients become the exception to the rule - they are part of the 5% of businesses who don’t overpay on waste expenses. 

Find out more about how we share in savings with our clients (which ensures we find the most savings possible), or read more about how companies nationwide are overspending on waste - and how you can stop!