I'm generally not the type of person to bother with Yelp! reviews, but several of the astoundingly obnoxious comments posted on this SoCal Recycling page prior have inspired me to contribute my thoughts...
As a business establishment, the SoCal Recycling site located in the far corner of the parking lot at the Pavilions shopping center in West Hollywood is refreshingly friendly, professional, considerate, and amazingly tolerant of the several obnoxious members of the public who seem to expect personal pampering at a place meant simply to weigh your recyclables and give you some quick and convenient cash in return.
The attendant (Freddy) deals with a range of customers, from the homeless population to people who drive up in BMWs. And the latter are usually the more difficult to deal with, expecting that Freddy should be a servant to wait on them hand-and-foot, unload their cars, separate-out their recyclables, fold their bags, and then pat them on the back with gratitude for deigning to accept cash in exchange for their trash. Such entitled people with their airs of superiority should stay over in Beverly Hills, a place they obviously can no longer afford if they're recycling bottles and cans like the homeless people who really need this service in order to get some cash for food. Think about it, people!!!
Freddy cannot control the weather. He cannot control how quickly the site runs out of money on any given day, forcing him to give IOU's. He cannot control when the truck comes to pick-up the day's haul, after which he can no longer accept your recyclables (no matter how much you complain). And check the "Hours" sign, people. Offhand, I can't quote the hours of operation but I know it's not open until 5 p.m. as someone asserted. Don't rely on the website for this information. Ask Freddy and he'll be glad to give you his best guess as to how things will run on any given day. He's an employee, not the owner, and so his best guess will have to suffice. And yes, he needs a bathroom break and a lunch break every so often, so if the service is on pause for 10 minutes when you arrive, just wait. It won't kill you.
As an on-site customer service worker for the company, Freddy has a sense of humor; he can and does converse about things going on in the community and the world; and he operates the only recycling facility in the nation that has its own THEME SONG! (We do group sing-alongs once a week - it's good for morale!) That's how unique and friendly this site is. People actually bond here and enjoy a quick chat in the middle of their day! Just ask the Pavilions security guard "Officer Muffin" who walks his dangerous beat and vigilantly keeps us all safe.
I have NEVER - NOT ONCE - been short-changed on the money I've received for my recyclables at SoCal Recycling. If anything, Freddy rounds-up and gives you the few extra cents towards the higher dollar figure. And what does he get in return for his efforts? Whiners, complainers, people expecting him to unload their cars for them; a few erratic (to put it nicely) homeless people who rant, rave and threaten him; and one Eastern European woman (we call her "Mrs. Putin") who drives up in her nice car, parks in a no-parking lane where it will inconvenience as many customers as possible, pushes her way to the front of the line, screams that she's being treated unfairly because she isn't given priority, literally chases Freddy around the site threatening violence, then and promises to do all in her power (including putting in a call to the KGB and husband Vladimir in Moscow) to have the recycling site closed because she can't be the Queen Bee. (In reality, her air of superiority and entitlement hides that fact that she feels insecure about needing the extra money that recycling provides.)
We are SO LUCKY - and should be so APPRECIATIVE - not only to have this SoCal Recycling site so conveniently located for our public use here in West Hollywood, but to have it staffed with a personable, helpful and friendly attendant (Freddy) who doesn't judge the many poor people for whom this facility is a desperately needed economic lifeline. He also bends over backwards to hold his tongue when confronted and abused by stuck-up, wanna-be rich people who come with their snobbish noses high in the air, thinking they're too good for recycling. And these are the same people who would never think to, God forbid, leave a tip!
Well, folks (and Mrs. Putin), if you can't appreciate the BLESSING and BENEFIT that this site is to the community...if you have a problem adjusting to the flexible hours and conditions necessitated by the nature and logistics of the business...if you can't leave your pissy attitude at home and be a little patient...and most of all, if you're so self-centered and entitled that you can't treat the attendant and the other customers with RESPECT, then take your trash elsewhere! (Maybe there's a recycling center in The Kremlin.) Don't ruin it for the rest of us! read more
