Trash collection can be a tricky business. Depending on the company, a surprising number of rules can apply to a person’s weekly curbside pickup. Disposing of an unwieldy item such as a refrigerator or sofa — or even a bundle of branches after a storm — can pose an unusual problem: customers don’t want to leave such items on their property, but they aren’t typically equipped to handle their removal.

With a simple phone call, 1-888-Trash-It!, a commercial and residential junk removal service, provides a solution. Whether the item is large or small, Trash It! provides refuse services outside of the boundaries of other typical servers, while benefiting the environment and the community. (More than 40% of Trash It! collections are recycled or donated).

A Floundering Fleet

Even though Trash It! makes unique refuse problems into simple solutions, the company faced a problem common among fleets: control over fleet vehicles ended the minute they left the garage. Fleet managers had no way of knowing vehicle locations were or what drivers were doing — let alone have a good way of contacting them. This situation led to poor use of time on the road and even employee abuse of company resources, all of which hurt both the bottom line and the customer experience.

“We had a lot of downtime. Directions and mapping were an issue. We used paper atlases manually and it was a very slow, laborious process,” said Sam Jawad, president of 1-888-Trash-It! “There was a great deal of miscommunication and a lot of time spent handling the phones. Also, gas pricing was out of hand.”

Monitoring drivers was equally important as tracking vehicle activity. Without a proper communication and monitoring system, drivers could be anywhere in the city — and not necessarily at a job.

“Sometimes it was necessary to go into the field to make sure employees were where they said they were,” Jawad said.

For a small fleet of five or six vehicles, these problems are bad enough. But as the Detroit-based business drew closer to franchising, company officials knew they needed to put a system in place. And, with their entire business on the road, retooling the fleet management system was critical. Jawad began assessing available options. In the end, he chose TomTom devices for Trash It!’s tracking, navigation, communication, and reporting needs.

Finding the Fleet

Using TomTom WORK, a Web-based fleet management system, 1-888-Trash-It! can easily communicate with company vehicles, assign the right driver to the right job, track vehicle and driver locations, and create reports detailing each customer transaction.

The system works like this: every 10 seconds the TomTom Link telematics device polls the vehicle location and provides minute-by-minute updates via servers, allowing dispatchers and fleet managers to know exactly where a vehicle is at all times. Using TomTom telematics devices, dispatchers can send text messages of up to 500 characters to drivers, as well as one of three types of orders: pick-up, drop-off, or service. Drivers can then accept or reject a job via text messaging.

While some may worry that communicating while driving could distract drivers from safely operating their vehicles, the system 1-888-Trash-It! uses simplifies the process. Drivers can choose from up to 15 preset text messages indicating a response to a job request. Upon accepting a job, the driver is given the option of receiving directions to the location without having to type the address into the navigation unit.

When arriving at a job, the driver can update dispatchers and fleet managers of the job status — arrived at location, started work, completed work, departed destination, order completed — all of which is recorded in the system and can be used to create a complete report of the work order.

“Drivers are assisted with turn-by-turn directions, quick and easy communication with dispatch, and a proven decrease in workload and anxiety when driving to or through an unfamiliar area,” said Ted Morrill, TomTom product manager. “Customers benefit by being able to communicate with an informed office person who provides customers accurate arrival time and the knowledge that the driver will find their address.”

In fact, 1-888-Trash-It! has been able to provide a higher caliber of customer service. “We had a customer who had been calling repeatedly for a job ‘in the boonies.’We could never accept the customer’s job, because drivers couldn’t locate the pickup site on any of their maps, including up-to-date map books,” Jawad said. “Once Tom-Tom WORK was in place, the customer coincidentally called again and immediately, we were able to find the job site. It turned out that the site was a new home that had just been built on a new road; no maps had a record of it. However, TomTom’s maps were so up-to-date, they’d captured the newly built road.”

Making the Metrics Matter

With frequent communication and detailed reporting, fleet managers are able to track key metrics to increase the efficiency of their fleet — and their bottom line. 1-888-Trash-It! fleet managers can determine the route efficiency, monitor gas usage, and identify variances between what employees are reportedly doing and what work gets done.

“An example of where these metrics come into play is that by tracking time spent at a location, our users can spot workers who are taking longer than average to complete their job,” Morrill said. “Often this identifies an internal training issue that can be easily identified and addressed.”

Monitoring these metrics results in less time spent finding a job location, reduced employee abuse of company time, and fewer miles driven, all of which result in reduced fuel expenditures and a positive impact on the bottom line. In fact, 1-888-Trash-It! saw a 20-percent savings in fuel costs after implementing the TomTom system.

In addition to the hard numbers, other benefits result as well. For instance, turn-by-turn directions alone provide drivers peace of mind in getting to a job. Simply knowing exactly where they’re headed can lead to improved performance, less stress, and ultimately decreased accident claims and savings on insurance.

“The incalculables have been huge,” Jawad said. “But most importantly, the customer experience has improved. Our customers have the option to track the trucks that have been assigned to their job at all times. Being able to route the nearest truck to a new job has been a great feature for them. This has been an immeasurable help to the business.”

For an investment of only a few dollars per vehicle, per day, and with an initial training period of only a day or two, 1-888-Trash-It! was able to implement a system that improved conditions for drivers, dispatchers, fleet managers, and customers, while helping the company make dramatic cuts in expenses.

“We save thousands of dollars per month in downtime or travel time saved,” Jawad said. “Our service is now unparalleled, bar none. We have the most technology on our trucks versus the competition.”

Taking the Fleet Abroad

With the system in place, Jawad will offer more to those interested in a 1-888-Trash-It! franchise, while also helping them put a beneficial fleet management system in place from day one.

“We plan to go nationwide at the beginning of 2008. We were originally slated to do this in 2007, but decided to hold back because of upcoming TomTom WORK features,” Jawad said. “When we got it, it blew us away and we’ve delayed the nationwide expansion in order to update the software to include the new features from TomTom WORK, since it gives us an enormous competitive advantage and new and improved service. TomTom Work has enabled us to turn the page and allow our franchise to be set up and run from anywhere in the world."