How Hauler Contracts Make You Overpay on Waste Expenses: Part 1

Say you’re at Thanksgiving, and your sweet great-aunt Hilda offers you a piece of her legendary pumpkin pie. Of course, you say yes.  

But instead of bringing you pie, she brings you a plate full of green bean casserole. Would you be happy? 

Of course not. 

Unfortunately, this describes a lot of people’s experience with their waste hauler contracts. You thought you were getting a good thing! But you ended up feeling tricked.  

This post will show you how to determine whether you’re getting the short end of the stick on your contract. 

A terrible hauler contract:

1. Allows for unlimited price spikes 

2. Has inaccurate service levels

3. Charges you for additional fees

4. Makes it nearly impossible to cancel 

5. Has no provision for bad service

Even if your hauler contract only does one of these things, it could mean a ridiculous amount of overspending. 

And while reading your hauler contract probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list, it’s completely worth it. You’ll likely be shocked with what your hauler is getting away with, but you’ll also know whether you need to consider renegotiating your contract. 

Download our free Waste Hauler Scorecard!

Price Spikes Allowed On Contract

Your hauler is assuming that he will raise prices at least once a year. Don’t let him get away with that. 

If price spikes happen at least one a year, think about how much you’ll be paying a year from now, or two, or ten. Eliminating the possibility for price spikes now means you’ll be saving more later. 

Getting your price hike situation under control also means that you’ll be able to budget your waste expenses with more accuracy. If you know what to expect, you can factor that into your company budget. 

Now, dust off your hauler contract, and let’s have a look! 

Look in the Payment Terms of your Waste Hauler contract.  It’s typically titled something like “Charges, Payments, Adjustments.”  If you do not find language that limits or prohibits spikes, you need to re-evaluate your contract ASAP. 

Ensure your contract doesn’t allow price hikes, and you’ll protect your company - and your budget - for years to come. 

See all of our resources on how to stop overspending!

Inaccurate Service Levels

If your dumpsters are only half-full when they are serviced, you are paying for too many pick-ups. And if this is the case, you’re in good company: roughly 90% of the companies we’ve worked with over the past seventeen years have containers that are being over-serviced. 

One quick pro tip: even if your dumpsters are full when picked up, you can re-arrange your pick-ups for optimal pricing. If you have five dumpsters, you can reduce your costs by requesting that each dumpster gets picked up at a different frequency.

Contract Includes Additional Fees

Most haulers will pass on the cost any number of administrative and overage charges to you. A lot companies pay these outright because they think they have to. You don’t.

Look for these on your current hauler contract:

• Fuel/environment fees: This fee supposedly helps recoup the cost of gas, but is actually a huge profit center.

• Recycling recovery fee: Covers the fees incurred by hauler to transfer recyclable, but again, is typically a profit center.

• Minimum tonnage fees: Fee charged by the hauler (typically on roll-off or open-top accounts) when a container’s weight upon pickup is below a specific threshold. 

• Administrative fees:  typically charged if a client elects to receive paper invoices instead of electronic delivery of invoices.

• Regulatory Cost recovery fee:  Some haulers, (like Waste Management) will charge this fee to cover costs in other regions - not necessarily yours. They explain it like this:
  “This charge is not specifically tied to such costs to service your account, but instead helps us cover Waste Management’s enterprise-wide costs for host community fees, waste disposal taxes and similar charges to service all WM operating company customers in the United States and Canada, and to achieve an acceptable operating margin.” (From Waste Management, retrieved July 23, 2019.)
  The regulatory cost recovery fee is not “tied to . . . your account.” In other words, you’re helping cover their costs to service other companies. Why should you pay for what you don’t benefit from?

You can reduce or eliminate all of these fees; you don’t have to pay them.  But you have to do it prior to renewing a contract, or getting a new one. It’s extremely difficult to negotiate these fees in the middle of a contract.  

Waste Contract is Nearly Impossible to Cancel 

What’s worse than a bad contract? Not being able to get out of it.

Most hauler contracts are written such that it’s extremely difficult to exit the contract. A lot of haulers probably do this simply because it’s industry practice - not because they’re intentionally unscrupulous. They’re doing what is unfortunately normative in the industry.

But just because it’s normal doesn’t mean you have to roll accept it. This isn’t how transparent people do business. 

And let’s face it: if hauler services were prompt and honest, they probably wouldn’t have to make contracts that trap their clients.

You know what’s best for your business. You should be able to make decisions about which services are the best for your company. If you can’t get out of your contract, you’re powerless to make those decisions.   

Has no provision for bad service

When there are service issues, you should be able to get them resolved quickly and promptly.

When a hauler misses a pick-up, it should be easy to get in touch with them to resolve it. If they’re leaving stacks of garbage around the dumpsters or make a mess every time they service them, the hauler should only need one request to service more conscientiously. But this isn’t often the case. 

Why pay someone for a service who is actually making your life (and your staff’s lives) more difficult? If you had multiple hauler problems with no resolution in sight, you need to know that you have an out if you need one. 

A thorough contract will include steps for resolution - and what will happen if you continue to be dissatisfied with service levels.

You Don’t Have to Overpay for Waste Services

By default, your haulers are going to let these things happen to your contract. But you don’t have to let them. You can solve current problems and prevent new ones from happening - all it takes is effort, and some persistence.

We help companies across the nation find waste solutions and implement changes on their behalf. Don’t be part of the 95% of companies that are overspending on their waste disposal! Drop us a line to learn how you can fix your contract.

Food Distribution Group Slashes Waste Spend by 50%

Not too long ago, Southern Foods was overspending by $38,400 on their waste disposal services. 

They didn’t know could add to their bottom line by adding a recycling stream. They didn’t know they were being overserviced. And they didn’t know they were being overcharged!

But they did know that too much time was being spent on monitoring invoices. And they knew that something had to change.

When we came on board, the first thing we did was perform a waste generation survey, or an audit. We looked at their waste sources, their vendors, their contracts, and their invoices. We looked at service levels, at pick-up frequency, and at the dumpsters and roll-offs on site. 

Southern Foods was originally paying over $70,000 on waste. We were able to cut that down to $33,600 - a 53% reduction!

We found the gaps in their current waste management process and offered an implementation strategy for results-driven solutions. Our audit revealed that by diverting their recycling materials from their waste stream, they could recoup revenue. The audit also showed they were being serviced too much and were paying for more pick-ups than they needed.

We implemented cost-cutting measures and optimized their service levels, coordinating our efforts with site managers.

Vic Nussbaum was so relieved that his waste worries were gone, he wrote us: “Your thoroughness allowed me to spend time ‘managing’ the operations here at Southern Foods, instead of ‘managing’ our waste bills.”

Vic knew the value not only of protecting his bottom line, but protecting his time. He knew that his time was best allocated to real management. That didn’t include babysitting haulers or reviewing invoices. 

He knew that he could trust us because our process was exhaustive. We found incredible savings - and he knew we would do our part to protect those savings by reviewing and monitoring all of his waste invoices. 

We’ve helped companies in every industry find relief from their waste worries. Our work levels the playing field: you aren’t subject to price hikes, to contract auto-renewals, or to tacked-on fees.  Budgeting for waste expenses becomes easier because you’ll know exactly what you’ll be paying. And ultimately, you have the peace of mind knowing that your resources are allocated appropriately.

How much savings are you sitting on? Find out for free - all of our consults and audits are free. Schedule a no-obligation consultation to see if our services are a fit for you.

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!

3 Steps to Getting an Airtight Valet Contract

What if I told you that ten minutes of your time could yield thousands of dollars in savings? 

Sounds crazy, right?

It’s not actually as crazy as it might seem. By spending just a little time evaluating the long-term efficacy of your valet service contract, you may very well find some ways to save. 

Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be! We’ve broken it down step by step below for you. 

The only thing between you and savings is time - and just a little bit of knowledge. 

Let’s look at the process of evaluating your contract. 

1. Know what a good one looks like (and a bad one!)

2. Evaluate contract specifics: service levels, service provisions, rate stipulations, and terms. 

3. Figure out the next steps: renegotiate the contract or get a new provider. 

Ready? Let’s dive in together!

Know What a Good Contract Looks Like

Most people don’t really know what a good contract includes. A good contract is one that has terms that are fair to the client as well as the vendor. 

Good valet contracts:

• Limit price spikes

• Have accurate service levels

• Are easy to cancel

• Have provisions for poor service

If you have a good contract, a lot of your problems will be addressed before they even begin. A good contract can’t prevent issues, but they can give you immediate recourse. 

A bad contract is, of course, less than ideal. It won’t protect you from increased charges. The service levels listed in it won’t reflect your actual needs, and the contract itself will be really, really difficult to cancel. And - you won’t have recourse for when your valet porters don’t service entire buildings. (Yes, this has really happened before!)

Evaluate your Contract

Pull out your contract - it’s likely just a few pages long. Take a look at the term length, your service levels, and your termination specifications. 

Take a few moments and ask yourself these questions. 

Are my service levels aligned with my needs?

Consider if your current service level is really what you need. Do you residents enjoy having their trash picked up three days a week? They might like having it picked up five days a week. 

Are price hikes capped or eliminated?

If there isn’t language in your contract that wards off price spikes, you’ll almost definitely get them. A $20 increase here or there may not seem like much, but it’s vital to remember that increases accrue over time. $20 hikes over the term of a contract can result in thousands of dollars in overspending. And it can all be prevented by just a few lines in your contract!

Do my rates reflect the market value?

If your rates are too high, you may be getting overpriced services. You could likely be getting the same services for less - in some cases, much less! When we recommend switching valet services, we calculate your contract buyout fee versus the amount you’ll save with a cheaper service. 

But having rates that are too low can be an issue, too! As I write this, we are in the middle of an issue with one of our valet providers. Their rates are below market prices - but their services leave something to be desired. So we’re bid to other providers. Paying bottom dollar isn’t ideal if you’re not receiving quality service. 

Call around to a few other providers to get a feel for what they typically charge for their services. 

How easy is it to get out of my contract?

Termination processes may differ from vendor to vendor, but many have a clause similar to this:

All that fine print boils down to this: to cancel the contract, the company that employs this vendor must send a written letter of termination via certified mail 90 days prior to the end of the term. It’s not as simple as walking away.

Are there provisions for poor service?

What will happen when a valet porter “forgets” to service entire buildings? Or when they leave a trail of garbage down the halls? You want to make sure that you have recourse if service issues happen. We typically recommend that you ask for an invoice credit if service doesn’t happen as it should. And if there are enough issues, you need to have grounds to terminate the contract.   

Know What You Want to Change About Your Current Contract

Make a list of things you want to change about your current contract. Some of these things may include:

• Service levels - the number of pick-ups made by the hauler per week

• Term - the length of the contract

• Fee Caps - language that limits or eliminates ancillary fees.

• Auto-renewal - cancelling your auto renewal puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to whom you entrust your valet services.

Now, prioritize that list. You have to be prepared to not get everything you want - especially if you’re trying to renegotiate in the middle of a term. Having clear top priorities will help you let smaller issues go, if need be. 

Make Changes to Your Valet Contract

If you decide to make changes, you can go one of two routes:

Renegotiating Your Contract - Some companies don’t need to get out of their contract completely; they just need different terms or different service levels. Other companies may not financially be able to exit their contract. Either way, for a lot of companies, renegotiating their contract makes financial sense. 

Finding a New Hauler/Getting a New Contract - Some companies, on the other hand, find that it makes more financial sense to exit their contract, and pay out for the remainder. If you find yourself in this spot, send out bids to other area haulers and see if someone else can provide better levels of services. 

Make Sure Your Valet Contract Protects Your Interests

Go the extra mile with your contract, and you could see big returns. If you evaluate your current contract, determine to fix its gaps, and implement changes, you’re securing a better financial position for your company for years to come. 

But you’re also doing more than that. You’re setting yourself up for peace of mind. So often, when things go wrong with a vendor or service provider, it’s because the right preventative measures weren’t put in place. When issues do arise, you have recourse. 

Set yourself up for success! Take a look at your contract - and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

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What other questions do you have about valet contracts? Curious about their typical length? Not sure what changes you should make? Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below!

How Valet Services Overcharge You - And What to Do About It!

Let’s face it, no one likes taking out the trash, right?

In the past few years, valet services have become increasingly popular. No longer do multifamily residents have to haul their own trash to the dumpsters - they can just leave it outside their door! A valet employee collects it and disposes of it. Sounds dreamy, right?

Trash valet services are a fantastic amenity to offer to your residents. But they aren’t always fantastic when it comes to pricing. 

As with so many other areas of the waste industry, vendors will often increase prices because they can - or charge fees way above market level!

How can you make sure this doesn’t happen to you?

In this post, we’ll go what valet services are, some ways you might be overcharged, and what you can do to prevent overspending. 

Psst! Ever wonder why you should care about waste in the first place?

What exactly is Trash Valet Service?

Valet services are a really fancy way of saying “doorstep trash pick-up.” In most situations, it happens exactly as is described above. Residents leave trash outside their door, and a valet employee picks it up and disposes of it. 

Different locations will have different frequency needs. Some will only offer valet waste once a week; others offer it every day during the week. 

Most vendors will service your location at night so that your residents aren’t disturbed - and so they have time to place their trash outside their door. 

How You’re Overcharged for Valet Waste Services

Your trash pick-up provider can be sneaky - just like waste haulers, unfortunately! In fact, valet services are one of the top ways that multi-family complexes overpay on their waste expenses.  

Providers often overcharge you because they think they can. Most multi-family management companies don’t evaluate the valet invoices they receive, or they just don’t know how to ensure their contract is in their best interest. 

What you don’t know can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over time - but it doesn’t have to!

Your rates may suddenly increase. Every so often, you’ll see an uptick in the rates listed on your invoice. It can be as little as 5%, but it can also be much more. But even a 5% increase compacts over time! If you’re charged an extra $20 each month, during the term of your contract you may overpay by hundreds of dollars. 

Rates can increase as much as 1-2 times a year! Your fees can raise whenever your vendor feels like it. Not all vendors will take advantage of this - but some undoubtedly will. 

We recently worked with a multifamily developer/manager who offered valet services at their properties.  The WCI Project Manager noticed that the price per unit seemed to be awfully high. We were able to introduce a new vendor who was able to save them $28,800/year at just 3 properties!  

Rate increases compound over time. Before you know it, you may be significantly overpaying. 

Because there’s so little information out there about valet services and how they do what they do, you may think it’s normal. Or even something that you should expect. 

But just because everyone else is paying at these rates doesn’t mean you have to as well. 

Make Your Waste Valet Contract Airtight

The two best ways to prevent overpaying? Get a feel for the market, and then evaluate your contract.

Find out:

• What are other area trash valet services are charging? Get at least one or two estimates. 

• What are other area multi-family complexes being charged? Get in touch with a contact, or just make a cold call - you’d be surprised how far a friendly voice and cheerful attitude can get you!  

Then, take a good hard look at your contract and answer the following questions:

• Are price hikes capped or eliminated?

• Are rates locked in?

• How easy is it to get out of my contract?

• Are there provisions for poor service?

It can be expensive to stay in a bad contract - or have continual service issues with no recourse!

In the end, you may need to weigh your options. If you have a terrible valet service provider who is not interested in lowering their prices, it may be worth it to break your contract and get a cheaper service provider. 

Protect your bottom line! 

Fix your valet contract, and you’ll not only prevent overspending - you’ll know how to budget for years to come because you’ll have fixed rates. 

You can have peace of mind knowing that you’re not going to be trapped into paying outrageous prices. And you’ll have a contract to protect your best interests. 

Don’t wait until a price spike hits to worry about your valet services!  

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Do you use valet services at your multi-family property? Thinking about getting them at some point in the future? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Top Three Ways Multifamily Properties Can Save

The waste disposal at multi-family properties can be mind-numbingly complicated. There are so many locations - and often just as many haulers. 

So we’ve compiled the top three ways that multifamily properties can save.

This is no simple list. These are actionable steps that we’ve taken at hundreds of properties nationwide. These three things have saved companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. So we know they work - and that they’ll work for you.  

Here are the top three ways you can save are:

1. Get an airtight waste contract

2. Review your valet services

3. Do a utility audit

I can’t overstate how critical all three of these are to your bottom line. We typically save 20-40% on waste disposal expenses - when you add in utility audits, those savings can double. 

We don’t want you to leave any savings opportunities on the table! Let’s take a deep dive into each of these ways to save. 

Get an airtight waste contract

When it comes to your waste expenses, an airtight waste contract is the very best way to prevent overspending - and waste issues!

A good waste contract will:

• Prevent price spikes

• Have great service provisions

• Prevent fee charges

• Is easy to cancel

• Has appropriate service levels

When you contract has these provisions, you’ll have recourse. When you find a price spike, you can successfully fight it - and get a credit. When your hauler starts charging ancillary fees, you can likewise get a credit. And if the quality of their service levels start dipping, you can keep them in line. (A bad contract can be such an expensive mistake!)

Your contract represents an enormous savings opportunity. Don’t overlook yours.

Review your valet waste services

Valet services are an often overlooked way to save. When we complete a waste audit for multi-family clients, we always look at the valet services. 

Valet services is a fancy term for door-to-door trash pick-up. Valet service will pick up garbage bags outside the residents door and dispose of it for them. It’s a fantastic benefit to offer residents because, let’s face it, no one loves taking the trash out. But valet services are often overpriced! 

Let me give you an example.

We recently worked with a multifamily developer/manager who offered valet services at their properties.  The WCI Project Manager noticed that the price per unit seemed to be awfully high. We were able to introduce a new vendor who was able to save them $28,800/year at just 3 properties!  

Make sure you’re not being overcharged for your valet waste services. They can be a huge profit center for valet companies - but you don’t have to fall victim to them.

Examine your contract, and get a feel for market rates. Reach out to other area multi-family residences and ask what they pay for valet services. This will give you a really good idea about whether your services are overcharging you. 

(Or, reach out to us for a completely free waste audit! They make savings simple - and they’re guaranteed cash-flow positive.)

Complete a Utility Audit

As successful as most utility audits are, it’s surprising how few companies know about them!

Consider the odds of winning the lottery - typically, there’s a one in a million chance. But if you know that your odds were better, wouldn’t you go buy one? What if your odds were 80% or higher?

This is exactly the opportunity a utility audit offers you. We find savings on utilities 80% of the time - and if we don’t find anything, you’re not charged a dime. I like to tell people that our audits minimize your resources and maximize your savings potential. 

How exactly? Our audits work: we typically find savings through tax exemptions, rate adjustments, and eliminating unused meters. 

A utility audit is the best way to know that you’re taking advantage of every savings opportunity available to you.

Stop overspending today!

We typically find that multifamily property managers have problems they don’t even know about. These problems typically cost thousands of dollars every year. And most of them are completely avoidable.

Make sure your waste contract is airtight. Ensure it eliminates or regulated price spikes! 

Make sure you’re getting fair pricing for valet services. This is a huge savings bucket that companies typically ignore. 

Make sure your utilities are under control! So many companies nationwide overspend. And they don’t have to. 

Our risk free waste and utilities audits are tailored to your industry and your time constraints. 

Why not reach out today? We’d love to show you your unseen savings opportunities - and how you can start taking advantage of them! 

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Have you ever heard of a waste or utility audit? What other questions do you have about them? Let me know in the comments below! 

Medical Waste Invoices: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In this section, you’ll learn how to see the hidden problems on your medical waste invoices. This can be daunting, but you can use this information to your advantage: these problems actually point to savings opportunities!

Medical Waste Invoice Line Items

Your medical waste invoices should be itemized so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. Invoices that list one lump sum obscure your rates.

Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.

Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.

One of the first things we review for our new clients is their medical waste invoice history. Itemized invoices make it easy to see when your rates increase and which fees increase. Maybe your fuel fees stay static, but the energy charge goes through the roof. Or maybe your late fees suddenly start increasing.

If you don’t have an itemized invoice, you won’t know what fees have changed and which remain the same. This becomes critical for our clients because the medical disposal service contracts we negotiate always contain language that eliminates or caps these fees at a certain rate. If we can’t see the fees, we don’t know if the hauler is charging according to the specifications in the contract.

We make sure that our clients’ invoices are transparent and that their contracts protect their interests - and their bottom line! Are you a good candidate for a waste audit - and invoice monitoring?

How Invoices Help Us Hold Waste Vendors Accountable

Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps. 

Base service rates: Your invoices will show your rate for your services - but it won’t show how much those rates have increased in the past six months. To find that, we look at your contract and your invoices history. The rate specified in your contract shows what you should pay each month for your services. But what’s not in your contract actually tells us more than what is. If you don’t have language prohibiting price spikes, we know you’re almost always going to get them. If you don’t have terms capping rate increases over the term of your contract, your base rates are going to rise. We quickly remedy these gaps in coverage for our clients when they sign up for a waste audit!

Most vendors will increase rates at least once a year, which means that over the term of your contract your rates can increases more than 100%! Is your contract protecting you from these?

Billing discrepancies: We review every one of our clients waste invoices for every location in their portfolio. So if the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, we’ll see it and get the necessary billing credits on your behalf. We find invoice errors occur 10% of the time - are you and your staff catching them?  

When you sign up for a free medical audit, you’re putting our industry expertise to work for you. We find where you’re being overcharged, and we find the solutions that are right for you, your locations, and your industry.

Medical waste invoices can show where you’re overspending

Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps. 

Benchline red bag disposal pricing: These fees give us an idea of what you should pay each month for each of these categories. If the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, you’ll know that’s abnormal - if we’re paying attention to the monthly invoices.

And if you’re familiar with your invoices, you’ll know when errors happen. (We estimate that invoice errors occur 10% of the time - and can sometimes be incredibly costly.) 

Waste contract gaps: If you notice that you’re consistently getting price hikes, or that your fuel charges suspiciously increase every few months, you need to take a good look at your contract.

Another way to prevent price hikes? Make sure your contract is airtight; make sure it does not allow disposal companies to increase their hikes over a certain percentage. 

This is part of the reason offer monthly invoice monitoring. Medical disposal companies are notorious for randomly jacking up their disposal fees - just like waste disposal companies! 

Do these vendors charge for their services? Absolutely. They provide a vital service, and there are a lot of valid services that are legitimately billable. But that doesn’t mean you should be overcharged. 

Safety and savings are not mutually exclusive when it comes to medical waste disposal. 

What do your invoices show you?

Take some time to go over the last six months of your invoices and ask these questions:

• Are my disposal fees steady? Or is there a rate increase?

• Are  there charges I can’t explain? 

• Do my prices reflect market costs? 

Familiarizing yourself with your invoices can tremendously impact your bottom line. 

Short on time? You’re probably a great candidate for a professional medical waste audit. 

Our professional, exhaustive audits will find every savings opportunity available to you - and they’re guaranteed cash-flow positive! 

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What questions do you have about medical waste disposal management? Sound off in the comments below! 

Medical Waste Disposal 101: How It's Done

Maybe you’re not sure what exactly happens to your medical waste. Or maybe you just want to make sure that you’re handling yours in the safest way possible. 

Put those concerns to rest! In this article, I’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the red bag waste disposal process. 

Not sure what medical waste is?

Let’s look at how medical disposal is sanitized and disposed of and how often it’s typically picked up.

At the end of this article, you’ll know exactly what happens to your medical waste - and the pros and cons of different processes!

The Medical Waste Disposal Process

Medical waste must be picked up from your site by a licensed biohazard waste hauler. They take it to a special facility where they first sanitize the waste so that it can then be disposed of. This sanitization process happens through either autoclave or through incineration. 

Incineration is exactly what it sounds like - it burns the waste products. Unfortunately this process produces gases that some companies have released directly back into the environment, which is less than ideal. It also creates ashes, which often can’t just be thrown out with regular waste. More medical waste tends to be neutralized through autoclave, but particularly dangerous materials tend to be incinerated. 

Autoclave is more expensive, but it’s more efficient - and, some would argue, safer. All the medical waste goes in a drum that is then pressurized and heated. This process kills germs and micro-organism, and the waste becomes like any other trash - it’s safe to throw it away or recycle it. 

Scheduling Services for Medical Waste

When it comes to scheduling, there are some ways in which medical waste is a lot like other waste: if you have lots of it, schedule more frequent pick-ups. 

But unlike regular trash, medical waste can pose health hazards if too much time goes by between pickups. (Don’t believe your mom - regular trash get smelly if it’s not taken out, but it’s not likely to kill anyone!) 

Some kinds of red bag waste can damage human tissue - or it might be radioactive. Suffice to say, you don’t want to just leave this type of material lying around for too long. 

If anything, it’s best to err on the side of too many pick-ups. This isn’t the kind of waste you want to handle haphazardly. 

Make Sure Your Medical Waste Disposal Is Safe

We help companies safely handle their red bag waste - but we also make sure they pay fair prices. None of the processes we’ve described above are wildly expensive. Yet medical waste bills can be exorbitant.

Why not schedule a free consult? It’s the perfect way to find savings - and ensure the safety of all those who visit, work, or live at your locations.

Evaluate Your Current Medical Waste Management Process

Medical waste disposal is a highly regulated process and it ensures the safety of those on your site, as well as those who handle the waste.

To make sure your medical waste management process is airtight, do these three things:

1. Make sure your team is properly trained (or retrained) in waste disposal techniques!

2. Schedule frequent pick-ups. 

3. Make sure that all waste materials make it into the designated containers.

You can rest easy knowing that you’re doing everything you can to ensure that dangerous materials are disposed of safely and effectively. 

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What questions do you have about the medical waste disposal process? Sound off below!

Medical Waste Disposal 101: Can an Audit Help?

You’re the perfect candidate for a medical waste audit if you:

1. Generate medical waste

2. Have not evaluated your invoices in the past 6 months

3. Have experienced any price increases in the past 12 months

4. Cannot explain any of the fees on your medical waste invoices

An audit will certainly benefit you if any of the above is true. 

Do you generate medical waste?

If you’re generating waste, there’s a 90% chance you’re overspending.

Why? Because regulated medical waste often comes with “special” pricing. Medical waste services are notorious for their exorbitant fees and frequent price hikes. 

I wish there were some good reason for this - a lot of people assume there is! They think that red bag disposal is expensive because the process requires people to handle dangerous materials. Or they think that paying higher prices means better quality of service. (It can - but it doesn’t always!)

Medical waste service providers will often hike prices because your contract allows them to do so.

Because of this, audits - and constant monitoring - are imperative. You need an independent third party to review every aspect of your medical waste management process. Your current vendor isn’t going to disclose your current savings opportunities. They’re not going to tell you that another vendor in your area charges 95% less (as we recently discovered for one of our clients)! They’re not going to show you what terms in your contract are costing you thousands every year.

We will.

Sign up for a free consultation today, and find out how our medical audit can help you save thousands.

Most companies are sitting on savings opportunities - and they have no idea. 

After we find your current disposal problems, we typically recommend the following to save on medical waste invoices:

• Renegotiating rates

• Capping price increases

• Requesting credits

• Removal or reduction of ancillary fees

We complete all of these services on your behalf - you don’t have to put in any extra effort. After our audit is complete, we show you what you’ll save once our recommendations are in place.

These savings are often significant. We recently conducted an audit for an assisted living management company with 20 locations.  At just one location, we were able to reduce their medical waste expenses from $875 per month down to only $45 per month! They’re saving 95% each month - $830! That’s almost an extra $10,000 every year. How much could you be sitting on?

Are you monitoring your medical waste invoices?

If you haven’t thoroughly reviewed your invoices in the past six - don’t worry! You’re in good company. Most companies don’t have the time or the resources to thoroughly review paperwork that seems non-urgent. 

If you’re not looking carefully at your invoices, you may not notice price hikes or billing discrepancies. An unfortunately, these are pretty regular occurrences. In the 17 years we’ve been in business, we see errors about 10% of the time. This can add up to hundreds of dollars in missed savings or credit opportunities for just a single location. 

If you can’t connect your invoice fees to actual services, there’s a good chance you’re being overcharged.

Have you experienced any price increases recently?

If you have had a significant price increase in the past 12 months, it means that your contract most likely has less than ideal terms. It means that you’re paying your vendor more than you should.

Your contract needs to have rate increases capped at a certain amount or eliminated altogether. This will be entirely dependent on whether your vendor is willing to provide these terms. If you are nearing the end of your contract term, they may be willing to include these modifications in your new contract. But few service providers are willing to make significant adjustments to terms in the middle of a contract. Some may - but not many.

Do you have unexplained fees?

A fair cost of service should always be included on an invoice. However, most invoices will include additional fees on top of regular service costs. Many companies will simply tack these fees on because they can - your contract does not limit them. They’re not transparent because they’re not always legitimate fees.

These fees may have difficult to understand names like, “cost recovery” fee, or “regulatory” fee. These names sound official, but they’re not always associated with the cost of providing service. In fact sometimes, they occur on your invoices simply to increase revenue.

If you can’t connect your invoice fees to actual services, there’s a good chance you’re being overcharged.

These fees are not required to be on your invoice. Many service providers are willing to forgo them completely if a favorable and fair contract can be installed! You don’t have to pay them if your contract specifically prohibits them from occurring on your invoices.

Do you want to find savings?

If you want to know for sure that you’re not sitting on savings opportunities, you need an independent auditor to evaluate your waste streams. It’s so easy to unintentionally overpay on your waste expenses and expert analysis will find where you’re overspending.

If you want to find savings, look for an auditor who will provide a free initial audit. This means you can take on zero initial risk in order to ensure your medical waste disposal services are efficient. This consultant model is guaranteed to be cash-flow positive since you will only pay the auditor out of the savings they have found for you. It’s not an additional line item, making for easier budgeting.

Medical Waste Disposal 101: What is it?

Medical waste or red bag waste is a critical part of your overall waste management process. It often involves hazardous materials that must be disposed of with care.

In an effort to protect theirs residents, visitors and/or staff, at least 50% of companies nationwide are overpaying on their medical waste disposal. You don’t have to be one of them.

You can have high-quality medical waste disposal service at a reasonable rate - do you? How would you know if you were overpaying?

In this article, we’ll go over the basics of medical waste disposal:

• What it is

• How it’s disposed of

• Your expensive, hidden problems

• How you can save on these services

You’ll also learn about just a few of the potential savings opportunities you may be sitting on - and how to take advantage of them. As we’ll see, medical waste safety and savings can go hand in hand.

What is medical waste?

Medical waste is anything that could contaminate blood borne pathogens. (See a full list here.) But this doesn’t necessarily mean anything that’s been in contact with blood! To be considered medical waste, materials have to “contain enough blood or potentially infectious materials” to be hazardous to those who may come into contact with it.

Band-aids, for example, aren’t usually considered medical waste. Gauze covering a gash on an arm? That’s a different story!

Medical waste exclusively comprise items and materials that contain or are saturated with blood or other infectious materials. Medical waste isn’t only sharps or needles! 

When waste items fit this description, it becomes what’s known as regulated medical waste. Regulated medical waste simply means that certain rules apply to the disposal process to ensure that no person is exposed to potentially hazardous materials. 

It’s important to note that different states may have slightly different ways of referring to medical or red bag waste:

• New York and Rhode Island refer to it as “regulated medical waste”

• Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada all typically refer to it as “infectious waste”

• Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine and Washington State refer to it as “biomedical waste”

Keep in mind that addition medical waste can also be referred to as hazardous waste.

There’s no other way to say it; medical waste is gross - but that’s exactly why it’s critical to ensure that medical waste is disposed of safely and efficiently. We can’t overstate the importance of having secure waste disposal methods!

 Who produces medical waste? 

A wide range of industries produce regulated medical waste. The EPA notes that such industries may include:

Health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories.

Hospitals alone produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year, or about 30 pounds of waste per bed each day. 

In our experience, many assisted living and retirement facilities often produce medical waste as well. But tattoo parlors and labs can also produce waste that falls in this category.

How is medical waste regulated?

Surprisingly, the federal government does not supply regulations for proper red bag waste disposal - the states do. 

Individual states often require that you register as a medical waste generator. These are:

• Alabama

• California

• Delaware

• District of Columbia

• Florida

• Maine

• Michigan

• New Jersey

• New York - NYC

• Ohio

• Pennsylvania - Philadelphia

• Rhode Island

• South Carolina

• Washington

• West Virginia

Find your specific state regulations here! 

Why is proper medical waste disposal important?

Proper disposal of any medical waste containers is absolutely critical. 5.2 million people worldwide die from conditions related to poor medical waste disposal - and this could be completely eradicated with proper procedures in place! 

Do your part to ensure that medical waste is safely and effectively disposed of. You are protecting the lives of everyone who enters your facilities. Learn more about how to protect your staff and your visitors with a thorough medical waste audit.

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What concerns do you have about red bag waste? Let us know in the comments below! 

Real Talk on Utility Audits: Why Ours Work

You can save on your utility and telecom expenses by getting a free audit. (We only bill after our cost-cutting solutions reduce your utility spend.) Our utility audits successfully find savings for 80% of our clients because they are thorough, savings-oriented, and safe guarded.

Below, we’ll go into detail about each of these categories.

Every audit we do is:

• Strategic

• Savings-oriented

• Safeguarded

Thorough Utility and Telecom Audits

WCI’s audits are carefully calibrated to yield the maximum amount of savings opportunities for you and your company. 

We are thorough: We examine your bills, your rate structures, and trends in your 12 month invoice history. We also look at tax exemptions, standard pricing options, and vendor options. We often find credits - take this manufacturing client for example. 

This client, an auto parts manufacturer in North Carolina, partnered with us about two years ago. We scoured three years of invoices - and secured a refund of $82,720.41

They were paying a tax that they were excluded from due to their NAICS classification. And they had no idea!  

We find recommendations that make the most sense for you and your company by examining all the options available to you given the market you are in. After we complete our review process, we provide recommendations to maximize your savings. We show you how to take advantage of cost-reduction opportunities - but we don’t stop there!

After we get your go-ahead, we set them up on your behalf and ensure all implementation goes smoothly. After that, you can start collecting on the savings!

Our Utility Audits are Savings-Oriented

Our audits are so thorough that they routinely find savings. Over the years, we’ve found how to find the unique savings opportunities that you’re sitting on.

Recently, we partnered with a mattress manufacturer. They had facilities in six states, and like the auto parts manufacturer above, they didn’t realize how much savings they were sitting on. We audited their utility and telecom expenses and were able to uncover significant savings opportunities by disconnecting outdated and unused phone lines and securing better pricing on their energy contracts.

We’re so confident that our audits will find savings opportunities for you that we don’t require payment until we’ve implemented cost-cutting measures. You don’t pay us until your savings appear on your invoices. It’s another way we try to protect your bottom line - we don’t believe you should pay for something that does not (or has yet to) benefit you.

Utility Audits Safeguards Your Savings

We don’t stop at simply finding savings; we ensure that those savings are protected. 

We make sure vendors abide by any new changes that have taken place in your contract. After all, what’s the point of making cost-cutting changes to your utility management 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!

Our audit services are different from others because we monitor your utility and telecom invoices post-audit. When we find a discrepancy or error, we call the company and have any issues credited to you. So you can always rest easy knowing that your billing is accurate - and your savings are secure.  

Could an audit help your company? Join the discussion in the comments below!

5 Reasons You’re a Great Candidate for a Utility Audit

Who is the best candidate for an audit? Someone who is short on time - and sees the cost-reduction potential in an audit!

Most people don’t know they’re sitting on savings. What they do know is that they don’t really have the time or resources to find them.

We help companies champion their bottom lines through our exhaustive audits.

Let’s take a few minutes to examine five aspects that make you a great candidate for an audit.

You have:

1. Not evaluated your invoices in the past year

2. Multiple utility meters

3. Expense line items that you can’t explain to your fifth grader

4. Multiple telephone lines 

5. Multiple locations

Sound familiar? If one of these rings true, you’re likely sitting on savings.

Your Invoices Aren’t Monitored

So if you haven’t really looked at your utility invoices recently - don’t worry! You’re in good company. With all the different responsibilities you have, sometimes there simply is no time.  

(Curious what an audit is?)

Our services are perfect for people who don’t have the time or resources to complete their own audit. We do all the work for you, then show you the exact steps to take to save.

But even if you aren’t going to do your own audit, it’s still helpful to know what to look for an your invoice.

To find your ideal usage status, all invoices need to be analyzed for:

• Meter usage vs energy usage

• Line item status

• Potential errors

When we find discrepancies in any one of the categories, you are owed credits!

And to really find where you’re overspending, your invoice history needs to be reviewed. We typically examine the last 12 months of all utility and telecom invoices for each of your locations. We occasionally go beyond the last year, but most states operate under a statute of limitations of 36 months.

This means that if we found that you were due a credit on a bill that is more than  36 months ago, you probably aren’t legally eligible to receive it.  

You Have Multiple Meters

The more meters you have, the more likely it is that you have billing errors for them. Meters gauge your energy consumption and your power quality measurements, but they can also show device inefficiencies. 

Examining your meters can yield billing credits or savings as the result of finding inefficiencies. 

You Have Inexplicable Line Items

In order to understand your bill, you have to know what you’re being charged. That can be really difficult, because line items aren’t always clear. 

Examples of some telecom line items are:

Access Recovery Charge: this is basically a made-up charge; it’s not technically associated with any real cost. It’s not a tax, and it’s not a government fee. Telecom companies charge it to make up for lost revenue. 

Universal Service Charge: this charge supports telecommunications services at affordable rates for people in high-cost or rural areas. 

Minimum Monthly Charge: you incur this cost when you don’t make long distance calls. 

(Find more information about these charges and many others here!)

Some of these charges are legitimate, others are not. 

To tell the difference, ask your telecom provider for help deciphering your phone bill. Don’t be afraid to ask about reducing or eliminating some of these charges from your phone bill - they may be willing to work with you.

You Have Multiple Telephone Lines 

If you have more than just a few phone lines, you’re likely an ideal candidate for a utility audit. More lines = more savings opportunities.

Say you have 100 phone lines, and you find a $1.00 fee reduction for every line. You’re already saving $100 a month with just that one change!

You Have Multiple Locations

More locations can mean more savings. You can get better rates and any changes you make to your utilities will have a bigger impact. 

If you have multiple locations, you can take advantage of standardized pricing. Suppose you have three different office buildings, but they’re all getting charged at different rates by the same electric company. You can ask the utility provider to provide standard pricing for all three.

Standardizing the pricing will help you save - in the short term and in the long run! You won’t be overpaying at any of your properties once the new pricing takes effect. And you can also budget with confidence since you’ll know what your prices will be for the foreseeable future.

Savings Can Be Yours!

Did these scenarios ring true to you? If so, why not reach out for a free audit? It requires zero-capital outlay from you, and the results can positively impact your organization for years to come.

Our audits work! 80% of companies in the US are overpaying for their utilities and telecom. Why be one of them?

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What do you think about utility audits? Let us know in the comments below!

3 Questions to Ask a Utility Auditor - Before You Sign on the Dotted Line!

Suppose you bought a brand-new car. It’s shiny, beautiful, and everything you were looking for.

You drive it off the lot, make a right hand turn - and it inexplicably dies right there in the road. 

I’m guessing you would be less than thrilled.

In some ways, audits are like cars - they’re worthless if they don’t do what they should. 

You want one that is thorough and effective. You don’t want to leave cost saving opportunities on the table; you want to be able to come away with all the savings available to you. 

To make sure you’re working with the best auditor, ask them these three questions:

• What does your audit process look like?

• How do you bill us?

• What on-going services do you provide?

A so-so auditor isn’t going to cut it. Let’s take a look at each of these in-depth. 

What does your audit process look like?

The more thorough the initial audit, the less you’ll overspend. It’s just that simple. 

You don’t want to partner with someone who is going to find $2000 worth of monthly savings, but miss the $4000 opportunity by not bothering to check your tax exemption status. 

To really delve deep into the audit process, ask them a few additional questions: 

What’s the turn-around time or time commitment? Audits can take quite some time - anywhere from 90 - 120 days. Be suspicious of someone who tells you they can complete their audit in less than two weeks.

What do you analyze during the audit process? Your auditor needs to be exhaustive. They should look at your meter usage, your contracts, and the past year of utility and telecom invoices for each location. 

How do you share your findings? Will you get a copy of the audit results? What will the next steps of implementation look like? How much will your input be encouraged and accepted? You don’t want to partner with someone who isn’t forthcoming about these topics.

Curious if your company could benefit from an audit? Why not schedule a risk-free, informal call?

How do you bill us?

We really believe in performance-based pricing. You should only pay for services that benefit you.

If we don’t find you any savings, you don’t owe us anything.

We share in the profit with you only after you have implemented our recommendations. We share in the savings fifty-fifty.

What on-going services do you provide?

A thorough audit is the ideal way to find where you’re overspending - and to stop! 

But to protect your savings, your best bet is to have an auditor conduct a monthly check-up on all locations associated with your account in order to verify that the savings remains in place. 

This ensures that your bills are checked for discrepancies, and that you get any credits you’re due. 

A audit program is exactly what you need! 

Your utility and telecom audit program should benefit you by providing detailed audit services, transparent billing practices, and on-going services. 

You can have peace of mind knowing that you aren’t wasting resources or capital on ineffective services.

The three questions above are ones we answer for clients on a pretty consistent basis, and we’d love to discuss them with you too! 

Get in touch with us today, and let us know what you’d like to get out of a utilities audit.  We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.

Audits can yield unexpected savings - how much are you sitting on?

Utility audits help prevent overspending

The more you know about audits, the more likely you are to not overspend on your utilities. 

Find out what an audit entails, and why you need one! 

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What do you think about these three questions? Let us know in the comments below!

Real Talk About Utility Audits: Why Do You Need One?

If you knew you had an 80% chance of winning the lottery tomorrow, would you buy a ticket? I sure would!

Based on our experience with utility audits, we conservatively estimate that 80% of companies are overspending on their utilities. 

You need an audit because there’s a really good chance you’re sitting on savings. 

You’re likely overspending on your utilities because - through no fault of your own - you don’t know what you don’t know. You:

• Likely Need a Different Utility Rate Structure

• Have Invoices with Errors

• Could be Missing Out On Tax Exemptions  

• Likely are Paying for services or Meters that are not needed or not used

So we’ve compiled our best market knowledge in this post to help you. The more you know, the more you’ll see savings opportunities. 

You Likely Need a Different Utility Rate Structure

Utilities bills are different that other bills - like cable, for instance. You can usually pick your internet and cable provider, but you won’t typically get a choice with your electric company. 

For most areas of the country, utilities companies are, in effect, state-controlled monopolies. What they charge is carefully regulated and monitored.  In other areas of the country, utilities are deregulated and you can pick your vendor. In either case, a utility audit can turn up substantial cost reduction opportunities.  

But while the government mandated prices are fixed, the rates you pay are not. You may be paying at a tier you don’t necessarily need to be paying. 

There are three parts to utility rate structures: customer charges, demand charges, and supply charges. 

We find the best rate structure that’s right for you. We keep in mind typical market rates so when we see charges that are significantly above the normative average, we know that’s a sign of potential savings. 

(Curious if our extensive audit program could be a fit for you? Schedule a quick, informal call today!)

Your Invoices Have Errors

Few companies have the resources to review and monitor their invoices. It’s one of those things that can easily get lost in the sight of more urgent tasks. 

Reviewing your utility bill history makes price hikes and errors apparent. Say you’ve been charged $500 a month for the past six months, but this month you get a bill for $700. You’ll know you need to investigate! Maybe the larger bill is the result of a usage spike - or maybe not.

Know your bill history, and these anomalies will stand out to you. 

 You’re Missing Out On Tax Exemptions

When it comes to tax exemptions, it’s often ideal to have expert help. Different business can qualify for different statuses - depending on which state you’re in and which government regulations apply. 

Tax codes can be complicated and overwhelming, but the business that know how to take advantage of the savings opportunities in them can come out ahead - way ahead, in some cases!

 Business utilities can be tax deductible. Some companies can include them on the “other deductions” line item on their tax return. But you’ll want to make sure that filing as such complies with state regulations. 

You’re Paying for Unnecessary Services or Meters

Over time, companies change. They get larger, and responsibilities change hands. In the process, some details can get overlooked. An audit can find services and meters that are no longer in use, but are still being charged.

Sometimes it takes another set of eyes to find these overlooked details!

Utility Audits Yield Savings

Reviewing your rate structure, your invoices, and your exemption options can yield savings.

Utility bills are non-negotiable - everyone has to pay them! But they’re also recurring, so the savings you enact today will affect your companies bottom line for years to come. 

Curious if our extensive audit program could be a fit for you? Schedule a quick, informal call today!

Real Talk About Utility Audits: What are They?

Our utility audits find the ways you’re overspending and find the solutions you need to stop.

Most people aren’t aware that a utility and telecom audit is even an option for them. So today, we’re going to discuss what a utility audit is, and how it can help you.

A utility audit is an extensive analysis of all electric, gas, water and sewer bills. The audit finds billing discrepancies and reviews rate plan efficacy. 

There are three parts to a utility and telecom audit:

• Research - We take a look at all service agreements and your invoice history in order to get a clear idea not only of what you’re currently paying for, but what your true service needs really are.

• Review - We conduct a remote review all possible aspects of your utility and telecom processes. We speak with site managers to clear up service questions, and we get in touch with your service providers if there seem to be billing discrepancies.

• Recommendations - After reviewing your services, we present your tailor-made solutions. We may be able to renegotiate your contracts, or we may recommend other less expensive service providers. We implement the solutions on your behalf, but only after your full approval.

This process is tailored to find every savings opportunity available to you to reduce and eliminate expensive or inefficient utility and telecom services.

There are thousands of utility auditors out there, but we share the goal of helping our clients save on utility and telecom expenses. Specific processes may differ from auditor to auditor, so the audit process we describe below may not describe every auditor’s approach. Below, we’ll give you an inside look at our audit process and show you the different aspects we analyze.

Research: Gather Needed Information for Utility and Telecom Audit

In our utility audit program, we first gather all the documents they need to review your utilities. We need 12 months of bills for all utilities: electric, gas, water, and sewer. 12 months may seem like a lot, but it’s necessary. Looking at 12 months of history gives us the context we need to evaluate what your bench line costs currently are. 

We are typically able to get started with just the most current invoice copy for each account and then pull the historical invoice copies from your utility vendor’s online billing portal.  

Most companies are able to get us invoice or log-on information in just a few hours.

Review: Examine All Utility and Telecom Bills and Options

Once we have all necessary documentation, we do the following for each location or property:

1. Analyze the energy usage number vs. the current meter reading. Is there a discrepancy in these numbers? Is one much larger than the other? That would be the first indication that something is off. 

2. Look for billing errors. Do your rates or fees jump in the past year? Are there typos? Does everything add up like it should? Looking over the past year of expense trends makes price fluctuation much clearer. 

After we’ve reviewed the documentation, we’re able to take a step back and evaluate rate structures, trends, and tax exemptions. 

A lot of companies have inefficient rate structures - and you may not realize that a better rate structures are available to you. We look at all opportunities available to you so you can stop overspending. 

We also evaluate growth trends - and not just once. Price jumps may happen seasonally, as with electric bills. But there can be other reasons for utility price hikes. The utility supplier may have made a mistake, or you may have just renovated one of your buildings. A third-party auditor will find the delineation between charges that are fair and those that are questionable. 

A good utility auditor won’t just stop with examining bills, rate structures, and trends. They’ll also look into tax exemptions. Different cities and states have different exemption opportunities in place, so a utility auditor that goes above and beyond will find the best options available to you. 

Recommendations: Take Advantage of Savings Opportunities

After we’ve looked over all of your utility and telecom bills and reviewed additional savings opportunities, we present them to you.  We always show the bottom line: how much you can potentially save in each utility area by taking these recommended steps.

And based on your unique situation, we may show you some or all of the following:

• Different vendor recommendations

• Rate structure options

• Tax Exemption options

• Credits due 

The findings vary, but identify cost reduction opportunities for over 80% of the companies that engage in our services. 

Most of our audits take 30-90 days, depending on how many locations are in your portfolio.

You may not have the time or expertise to complete a thorough utility audit, but you can absolutely reap the benefits of one. Utility audits can massively benefit your bottom line - and can ease any residual fears you may have about billing mistakes and price spikes. 

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Could more industries benefit from audits? Let us 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!