DumpsterBossPro Blog — Pickups & Swaps

Relocates: Scheduling a Dumpster Move Without Wrecking the Day

"Can you just move it over twenty feet?" Every roll-off driver has heard it. The customer thinks it is a two-minute favor. In reality it is a full truck visit, and if it is not scheduled like one, it quietly wrecks the rest of the day.

Why Relocates Happen

Relocates come from changes on the job. The concrete crew needs the driveway. The roofer finished one side of the house and wants the can on the other. A contractor wrapped up one phase and wants the can moved to the next building. Sometimes a can has to move because a neighbor or a property manager complained about where it sits.

Whatever the reason, it is a real job. Mark it as a Relocate in DumpsterBossPro so it shows on the Waiting List, the dispatch board and the driver app as exactly what it is. Like the dump & return described in Dump and Return: Scheduling Same-Can Service When a Swap Will Not Work, it brings the truck back to a site where it has already been, so it needs to be planned.

Same Site or New Site

There are two kinds of relocate, and they schedule differently:

• Same site: the can moves to a different spot on the same property. The truck goes there, lifts, sets down, leaves. Short, but it still takes the truck off its run.
• New site: the can moves to a different address, often for a contractor moving between jobs. That is closer to a pickup plus a delivery, without the dump in between.

For a new-site relocate, put the new address on the job clearly. For customers with multiple job sites, make sure the relocate is attached to the right site so the next pickup goes to the right place.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Relocates go wrong when the driver arrives and the new spot does not work. Ask:

• Exactly where should it go? Get a landmark, not just "the side yard."
• Is the new spot clear and reachable by a roll-off truck, with overhead clearance?
• Is the can loaded, and how heavy is it likely to be? A full can of concrete or roofing is not one you want to drag around.
• Is there anything that changes the debris rules at the new site?

Put the answers in the placement and access notes. A photo of the new spot through two-way texting saves a lot of guessing.

Fitting Relocates Into a Run

A same-site relocate is short, so it slots in easily when the truck is already nearby. Look at the map: is there a pickup or swap close to the relocate? Assign them together to the same driver and roll-off truck in one step, and let auto-routing find the order.

Do not drop a relocate into the middle of a loaded leg. If the truck is carrying a full can to the transfer station, it cannot also lift the relocate. Place relocates between cycles, when the truck is empty.

Watch out for the relocate that should really be a swap or a pickup. If the can is nearly full and the customer wants it moved to the other side of the building, it may make more sense to haul it, dump it and set it back down in the new spot as a dump & return. That costs the truck more time, but it avoids dragging a heavy can around a soft site and gives the customer an empty container in the new location. Ask the question before you book the job type.

Pricing and Billing a Relocate

Decide whether a relocate carries a fee and say so at the start of the rental, not when the customer asks for a favor. Many companies charge for relocates because they cost a truck visit. Whatever you decide, add it to the job so it lands on the invoice along with any extra rental days or overweight charges when the rental ends.

For contractor accounts billed monthly on one invoice, relocates roll into that monthly bill alongside their swaps and pickups.

Keeping the Customer in the Loop

The customer usually wants to be there when the can moves so they can point at the spot. The on-the-way text from the driver app gives them warning, and the live driver map in the customer app shows the truck coming. The driver can take photos after placement in the driver app, which helps settle questions about where the customer asked for it.

To see how relocates fit with pickups, swaps and dump & returns on one board, visit DumpsterBossPro dumpster pickup and swap scheduling software.