I rent a portable toilet for the horse facility I own.

Every month I pay for the rental, and things like EOW Service(assuming this is the actual cleaning out of the unit), Two Environment/Energy/Compliance items (they are identical in the description but have two separate fees) plus since Covid an Enhanced Safety Fee.

In my latest bill, I noticed that there were only two line items:

The rental fee

EOW service fee

And the rental fee doubled in one month! Doubled!

So I waited on the phone for over 20 minutes to get to the bottom of why a company would, without notice, double their rental fee.

When I got someone, who moved me on to someone, the supervisor told me that they had been getting so many complaints about their bills, they decided to roll it all into the two line items. Then they were touting that they made things simpler.

What it appears like to me is that this site services company is handling their complaints by keeping us in the dark about what we are actually paying for.

So, complaining, in this case, means hiding things in one big roll-up.

The man I spoke with has no power, can’t adjust my costs, and attempted to appease me by telling me that I’m getting a lower fee because I’ve been such a long-time customer.

What I said back to him was my truth. I know he is not anyone to be angry with, I realize he is in a position to get all the flack, however, I have a very bad feeling/impression and attitude about this company.

I now feel as if they are hiding costs, able to raise fees without notice, and have very little loyalty from me. Sigh…

Lesson and question: What are our clients/customers complaining about? And, how are you communicating with them about it?

Secondly, how does your team communicate any changes in your pricing? An excuse, an apology? Or a real explanation and how you came to the decision?

I would really like to know how you do this for your clients/customers. Maybe it will restore my faith!