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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To phone the council on the shouty sweaty bin men

71 replies

GirlWhoWearsGlasses · 08/07/2015 11:33

'Fucking close the LID!' 'Oh for fucks sake!' Etc etc. I think they are annoyed the lids aren't on the recycling bins because they're full. Fair enough. I might be guilty as charged (not today) and if there's extra and I'm in I try and go out and ask politely if they'll take the extra boxes that aren't in the bin. They don't come super early morning on this street

AIBU to think it's a bit much and intimidating to have the loud swearing?

OP posts:
diddl · 08/07/2015 13:40

It does sound a bit PA of thm.

They should just leave it imo.

Then people will learn to do it properly.

meglet · 08/07/2015 13:41

yabu.

worra I do like shouty bin men too.

they're doing a grotty essential job in all weathers. let them make some noise.

paulapompom · 08/07/2015 13:50

My refuse collection operatives (politically correct! ) are very loud and shouty, but i never hear them swear and if I did I'd be cross. I hate it when people 'let of steam' where children can hear, just selfish.
Where I used to live we had a bin man who was transgendered and used to wear a blonde wig

TheHouseOnBellSt · 08/07/2015 15:06

Meg nothing wrong with a bit of shouting....I wouldn't accept the swearing though. There are some really elderly people on my street and they'd be upset by that. They just would. Our binmen are lovely though.

lem73 · 08/07/2015 15:28

Personally I hate hearing people swear but I have a lot of sympathy with people who get up at the crack of dawn to do a smelly dirty job for very little money. I'm sure it's not their dream job.
Our binmen are lovely but maybe that's because we make their life easier by organising our rubbish properly.
As for the comparison with nurses swearing at patients, it's not exactly the same as these guys aren't swearing directly at residents.
I remember I went out with a junior doctor years ago and he and his colleagues had code words for PITA patients. I think I'd rather have the swearing. At least you know where you stand.

ShirleySmears · 08/07/2015 15:36

"crack of dawn to do a smelly dirty job for very little money". Think you'd be surprise just how "little" bin men are paid lem.

gallicgirl · 08/07/2015 15:40

Bin men have a decent wage, don't worry about that. It's not a fortune, but they certainly aren't on minimum wage!

Could you do a light-hearted "keep it down mate, there's kids listening" next time you hear them?

ThatBloodyWoman · 08/07/2015 15:41

I think the fabric of society will not crumble over a few shouty swear words.
I wonder how much praise has been offered to the binmen working in the heat,doing what is a very physical job,while perhaps on a 3rd year of pay freeze,or reduced staffing....
Not a lot I don't suppose.
But the great British public can't resist making a phone call to complain.

gallicgirl · 08/07/2015 15:50

They run/walk around 10 miles a day.
Think I'd swear a bit too.

Goshthatsspicy · 08/07/2015 15:51

I wouldn't bother. Probably come back to bite you! Grin
Interestingly , they are very friendly round here. I guess people just vary,and nothing to do with the job.

Notso · 08/07/2015 16:00

Ours swear to each other if they think no one is listening. I am externally grateful for them as that job would be my worst nightmare plus they always smile and wave at my two youngest which makes their day.
However I would complain if they swore directly at you.

nooka · 08/07/2015 16:16

My dh was a 'shouty, sweary' binman for a while way back when. It was a hard physical job and he got fantastically fit. He was a temp and not at all well paid, and I suspect that apart from the drivers a lot of bin men now are from agencies. As a student job it wasn't bad, better than being a dishwasher for the hospital anyway (another assignment).

He had great stories about maggoty bins...

I got the impression that his crew were pretty respectful, lots of favours being done etc. Big Christmas tips for the permanent crew which was probably a good incentive.

Where I live now we just have the one truck for both rubbish and recycling and it picks up the wheelie bins with grabby arms, no men required (just a driver). If your bin is too full or not positioned right it just gets missed.

lem73 · 08/07/2015 16:35

Maggoty bins ...urgh. You'd have to pay me a six figure salary.

ReginaBlitz · 08/07/2015 18:06

Bin men aren't forced to do the job Ffs and believe me they are NOT on shit pay! Some are ok and some are twats that's life, and as for the so called waste disposal council worker who piped up on this thread, well aren't you professional!

whois · 08/07/2015 18:14

Oh the poor ickle wickle bin men need to shout and swear, you probably should go out and offer them tea and coffee OP

BabyFeets · 08/07/2015 19:06

I wish my bin men came later, they come around 6-7am so if I forget to put the bins out night before then im fucked!
Oh and don't complain just in case they don't take your bin as revenge or something

GinaLinetti · 08/07/2015 19:10

Ours won't take your bin if the lid doesn't close!

YABU.

WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo · 08/07/2015 19:14

as for the so called waste disposal council worker who piped up on this thread, well aren't you professional!

what's that supposed to mean? I was only commenting to say that we get lots of complaints about bad language, we tell them not to swear but nothing changes.

maddening · 08/07/2015 19:16

Wheredo - if you send round a polite "please act responsibly when representing the council" massage and still get complaints then doing the same again is doing f all and you are failing in the aspect of your job which appears to be (from your post) dealing with complaints - if you do an experiment and it doesn't work it would be idiotic to do the same again - in which case you need to address the reason for getting multiple complaints about the same thing happening again and again despite your simpering emails - otherwise you are a waste of public money!

lilacblossomtime · 08/07/2015 19:18

My binman let me back my car out ahead of his lorry, and politely advised me my reversing light wasn't working the other day. They aren't all rude.

EponasWildDaughter · 08/07/2015 20:04

we tell them not to swear but nothing changes.

After the ''telling'' comes an official verbal warning, then a written one, then the sack IME of adhering to work place rules.

Imagine the councils reaction to someone not paying their council tax ... ''we keep asking but they just wont pay ... what can you do? ''

I think not.

Icelandicsuperyoghurt · 08/07/2015 20:08

YANBU
There are SO many jobs where you have to deal with people who don't do what they're supposed to do or should do or would be considerate for them to do. They can wear when they're out of earshot of customers/users/etc, not where they can be heard by them imo

Notasinglefuckwasgiven · 08/07/2015 20:24

Bin men in this end of my town are delightful on the eye ( except for two less fortunate more senior bin guys ) and have been topless lately as it's been warm....don't know if they swear. I haven't noticed been perving

Ethylred · 08/07/2015 21:18

I don't mind sweary binmen enough very much.

I do mind sweary mumsnet posts though. Not this one, I mean the ones with foul language in the title. No excuse.

Happfeet2911 · 08/07/2015 22:02

Ah, bless! I've obviously not led the fabulous, charmed life that some of you delicate little flowers have- thank god!! How anybody can get worked up over a few men letting rip with a few choice words is beyond my comprehension - I know this phrase is overworked but - get a life!!

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