WAUPUN, Wisconsin – A Fond Du Lac County nonprofit says it received poor terms from its garbage collection service.
Steve Soodsma, interim manager of thrift store Bargains Galore, emailed reporter Jenna Rae in July, saying his store unknowingly paid thousands of dollars extra for the service, and it didn’t just happen on one invoice.
Waste Management has been picking up trash and recyclables from Bargains Galore for more than two decades.
It is a service funded by this non-profit organization.
“Before I came here as interim manager, the accountant at Central Wisconsin Christian Schools, the school that Bargains Galore Thrift Store is part of, had received some information from this other vendor and said, ‘Steve, look at this, it looks like it’s a neighborhood,'” Soodsma explained.
A competitor offered the thrift store the same services at a price 80 percent lower than the store had previously paid.
Waste management invoices since 2021 show that the thrift store paid between $1,000 and $2,100.
“I checked another provider’s prices and found that we were significantly overpaying,” Soodsma said. “I brought this to Waste Management’s attention again and they immediately wanted to lower their prices,” Soodsma said.
A new service contract from Waste Management calls for a monthly fee of $415. Consider that the business has paid up to five times that amount since 2021.
“Do you feel taken advantage of?” asked Rae Soodsma.
“To a significant extent. It’s just unethical. If we had maintained their current pricing structure for the last three years, we would have overpaid them by over $40,000,” Soodsma responded.
“They owe you $40,000,” Rae asked again.
“Yes. I offered to settle the matter by simply taking a $25,000 donation from them and saying, ‘Shame on us for not paying attention and shame on you for ripping us off,’ but once again they were unwilling to do anything,” Soodsma explained.
We called and emailed Waste Management on Wednesday.
A spokesperson sent us the following statement:
“Our customers are WM’s top priority. This customer is currently out of contract and we were able to offer them a better rate through new contract negotiations. We are reaching out to Bargains Galore Thrift Store to discuss their account further. We genuinely care about our customers and look forward to further discussions with Bargains Galore Thrift Store.”
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