Now I was sent the photos of the Mt. Airy location today, Tuesday. If the CSA pick up is on Thursday, are those leftover vegetables and have they been sitting there since then? Blech if true, and does that attract vermin ?
Also rather ironic but I actually have a jar of the lavender honey she sells. On the website it says “Raw Unfiltered Honey sourced from a local apiary company.” Yes, so how do you know that’s true? If you were doing your honey in a partnership with local beekeepers, wouldn’t you tell people where the honey was actually coming from?
I didn’t like the honey at all and I am tossing it. And it’s sold for $12 a jar on the website and it is the tiniest little jar. I love honey, and I buy local honey, but I know where it comes from as in where the hives are located and where the honey is actually processed. Thanks I will stick with Chester County grown and produced honey. Besides local honey is great for allergies.
And speaking of how much things cost one of my readers had left a comment somewhere on this blog about going to visit and finding the hours inconsistent (being kind) in Westtown, and that peaches were $2.00 each?! Were they flecked with gold leaf?
No, I have not gone over to visit in Westtown. I don’t really have any desire to. Maybe as time goes by that will change but for my asking questions, I received vile comments from her supporters and somebody who condones bad behavior like that I’m not going to run out and support, are you?
And something that I keep wondering about is it keeps talking about she’s in this agreement with Westtown but what’s the agreement exactly? How much does she rent the land for? I’m asking because I legitimately don’t know and I have no idea how much it was for the prior farmer Pete all those years. if the land lays follow for three years to become organic, did Westtown offer a period of rental abatement?
And if she’s all down with helping alleviate food insecurity in communities, she is now in Chester County correct? It would be nice if she participated where her business is. Chester County Food Bank, The Lord’s Pantry, People’s Pantry, etc.
One of the topics of conversation this summer all over our area has been trash pick up. The formerly always reliable AJ Blosenski went off the rails.
There is no need to rehash all of our missed pick ups and all of our piles of trash and how hard it is to get them on the phone. Today I only waited half an hour. And waiting half an hour is utterly ridiculous.
A few days ago, I wrote the post to see embedded below.
I really wanted things to work out with Blosenski. I really kept hoping that they would fix their issues but when we had to start again this week with streets just arbitrarily being skipped for pick up with no prior notice and not getting notice until two days later after you had left multiple messages and filled out a missed trash pick up request online. This is why we decided we had been patient enough. We’re paying for a service and trash is stinky. So when you have a couple of weeks where the trash is fine and then the exact same problems start to repeat themselves and you’re the customer. the aggravation point isn’t worth it anymore.
So three days ago I called Opdenaker. I did not sit on hold forever before I spoke to a customer service person, and when that customer service person answered the phone, they were polite and friendly, and wanted to speak with me and wanted to be helpful. Essentially everything you want a customer service person to be.
This morning they dropped off our two new cans. They apologized profusely because they were actually a day late from their normal schedule of giving new customers cans but apparently they’ve been getting a lot of new customers because of the mass exodus from AJ Blosenski. And the man that drop the cans off was just so nice.
My husband had called to break up with A.J Blosenski formally. I had called the very nice regional person from Waste Connections that I have been dealing with to let him know. I wanted to extend that courtesy to him because the regional people have been so nice to us, trying to fix our missed deliveries. The Blosenski office told my husband that they would not be picking up our cans until August 28. Yes, almost a month from now.
I couldn’t believe that was true. So I sat on hold today to find out if it was and it was and I was told by the “customer service”person that arguing with him wouldn’t get it picked up faster I mean really? I wasn’t arguing I was however somewhat incredulous that they could have already charged us for the next quarter of service on an account we had canceled. Oh and we have to wait for that to be refunded, and they haven’t yet refunded the missed pick ups that they owed us for previously.
I’m not trying to be a difficult customer on the way out the door, but this is ridiculous. It’s like they are going out of their way to be as unpleasant as possible, and make this as difficult as possible. And it is indeed, a shame, because the regional person I had been dealing with from Waste Connections couldn’t be nicer.
So this is almost closing the door on A.J. Blosenski for us.
The trash photos you are seeing are all different examples of missed pick ups all over the area. There are some corporate acquisitions that go smoothly, this isn’t one of them. I am kind of shocked actually because prior to this we had a great service from them. But I guess the people that work there can’t handle being part of a larger, corporate structure. I hope it gets figured out. But we are moving on.
One month ago, I wrote about A J Blosenski which was sold to Waste Connections. My email went all the way up the corporate ladder. I spoke with some really nice people at Waste Connections, whom I thought had straightened out my neighborhood’s trash dilemma but apparently NOT.
Once again AJ Blosenski just arbitrarily skipped recycling in my neighborhood. I don’t do trash left on the street in the summer. I don’t do trash left on the street at any time when you’re paying for a service so I’m actually pissed now.
I was mildly annoyed before but then my husband looked in our account and although Waste Connections said we were going to get credited for the three weeks of missed service we experienced before, we never got a credit and they were happy happy happy to take money today for the next month yet they skipped recycling and didn’t call didn’t email didn’t text. And our service has been reduced to one pick up a week, which is really no big deal, except there was no reduction in cost. There was a vague promises of an extra trash bin, but that never materialized and then there’s the issue of the three weeks of missed prior service we were supposed to get credit for and we never got credit for.
Fool me once shame on you. For me twice shame on me. That being said, Opdenaker, would you care to dance? Yes I am calling them tomorrow. I had checked y’all out before because you offer rather good recycling. Like all other refuse and recycling companies you also have mixed reviews. But you aren’t Whitetail Disposal whom I found incredibly offensive with the hard sell door to door ignore the no soliciting signs during COVID.
I have been pretty good trying to give Waste Connections/ AJ Blosenski a chance to improve after I wrote my last post.
Thursday marked an end of an era officially when the Hunan name came off of the facade at 47 East Lancaster Ave. in Ardmore, PA.
At some point after Covid, one of my favorite places in the whole world, Hunan restaurant in Ardmore, closed their doors .
I had been going here since I was 11 or 12 and like everyone else I think the pandemic has just worn them out. It is no fun being a restaurant. First you couldn’t be open. Then you could only be takeout. Then you could re-open but a lot of places found their employees scattered.
The family that owned this restaurant (the Foos) are family friends to me and we had so many celebrations there, My sister and I used to have birthday parties there upstairs when we were younger, and so on. And for many years up until A couple of years before they closed, many of my birthdays were still at Hunan.
I was gladly part of the Save Ardmore Coalition when Ardmore was threatened by eminent domain for private gain, and it was specifically because of Hunan and the Foos I got involved in the first place. I still have a very distinct memory of the Friday evening. I went into Hunan for dinner, and Betty came up to our table and said with tears in her eyes “They want to take our building.” Betty then asked me to get involved with a new group that was forming, and I said yes.
I can tell you that living in Chester County sadly made this restaurant just far enough away for weekly visits, and Ardmore has the worst parking ever thanks to Lower Merion Township.
This family however prevailed through everything. And for 50 years they served us their food, some of the best food imaginable. I used to love when Chris their son and chef would let us order things he was trying out off the menu. This is a place where every time you went in the door it was one of the nicest vibes possible. Everyone was welcomed whether it was the first time or the 500th time they had been in.
From the time I was a kid, there was nothing more fun than introducing new people to Hunan restaurant in Ardmore.
Also, once upon a time, Betty taught cooking classes. My mother and I took one. It was awesome.
Dumplings. The dumplings here, whether they be regular, special like curry or something else were legendary and no one will ever beat Hunan in the dumpling department. And the sweet and sour soup was the best there is. And then all the other things like the dishes with duck, or dishes made with little tiny, fresh sardines, or really spicy, minced pork with peppers that were hot enough to make the roof of your mouth come off.
And something else you always had to have were the Chinese vegetables. It was what was seasonal at the time, and always delicious. In the vegetable department, the spicy string beans, and the hot and sweet cabbage, which was essentially pickled, were amazing.
I remember when we were in the restaurant on my birthday in 2014 when the actress Kate Flannery stopped by. She had worked in Hunan as a waitress when I was in high school or somewhere around that time.
Every time you went into Hunan, no matter where you had been, it was like coming home. And we were treated like family.
There are so many memories for me, associated with Hunan from all different stages of my life. And that is the way it was in this restaurant for so many.
The Foo family also survived a fire after surviving Lower Merion Township’s failed attempt at eminent domain for private gain.
If I back up to the days of eminent domain in Ardmore for a moment, we had most of our meetings on the second floor of Hunan. And Betty and E Ni always fed us. We even introduced Congressman James Sensenbrenner to Hunan once upon a time.
When we were fighting eminent domain for private game against Lower Merion Township, then US Congressman for the sixth district, Jim Gerlach, bought Congressman James Sensenbrenner to town. Getting national attention on our “local issue” that is still a national problem really helped.
After eminent domain, and after the fire, Hunan rebuilt. An architect who was part of Save Ardmore Coalition helped them create an updated look. The updated Hunan was gorgeous and the walls for the most part we’re lined with Dr. Foo’s artwork.
It was July 2010 when they re-opened. And it was packed and beautiful. I still have photos so here I’ll share some:
So the sign coming off the building this is so much the end of an era. And it’s not just for those of us who loved this restaurant, it’s an end of an era in Ardmore as well because this was a business that stuck with this town through thick and thin, quite literally.
I know businesses can’t stay in a place forever. And I actually accept that, but this was a place that was just so special. So thank you to the Foo family for the memories and for feeding us for decades I hope whoever goes in here does well now that the building is sold.
Hunan was one of those places that even if you didn’t live in the area anymore, whenever you were in town, you would come back and go there. I secretly wish that they would create a cookbook. It wouldn’t be the same as eating there, but it would be something so worth having in a cookbook library in your home.
So Kevin Mahoney is the reason Penn Medicine at Valley Forge exists even if I don’t like that campus particularly. Mr. Mahoney is also the reason Chester County Hospital was saved. My sources tell me that he loves Chester county and he used to be on the Tredyffrin Easttown School District school board as well.
What this means is Penn Medicine is acquiring Brandywine Hospital from Tower Health. And Penn Medicine is saving our VA hospital.
Hopefully this all moves quickly because I had a friend who went to the ER at Chester County Hospital recently and it was as crowded as well, Walmart on Thanksgiving for the pre- Christmas sale. Paoli was a zoo too, and they ended up at Bryn Mawr. If this had been something like a stroke or heart attack my friend might not have been so lucky.
So turn all your glasses over for luck Chester County that this goes smoothly. Yes turn your glasses over. A wise older woman named Sherma told me that years ago.
Thank you Penn Medicine, now if you could please do something about your phone system it would be terrific.
The cavalry arrived in my neighborhood yesterday a little before 6 PM
A few days ago I wrote about the problems we’re having around here with A J Blosenski. They used to be like clockwork, no problems, and for whatever reason since they were acquired by their new corporate overlord Waste Connections, there have been growing pains. And staffing shortages and you can’t get people on the phone easily anymore and people are having a hard time all over the region getting their trash picked up.
Now, I think part of this has to do also with Covid and when Republic Services dumped our area. And when Republic left, some of us got notice, maybe a week to 10 days in advance that they were leaving, others got no notice whatsoever. And you couldn’t get anybody on the phone to talk about it and that has been a problem for months leading up to this decision by Republic Services.
I still remember the day when Republic came through after hammering us that we had to return their cans. They told us they were taking their cans back. I guess to move them to other areas but literally we watched as their trash truck picked up our trashcan garbage and all, and just threw all of it into the big back mouth of the truck. It seemed so wasteful to me, especially since a lot of us at very new cans that they had given us not that long before.
And then, even though Republic Services dumped all of their customers in various parts of our region, it took months to get them to stop sending bills which was extraordinarily frustrating. They told you they were breaking up with their customers. You had to find a new hauler and scramble to do so, yet they were still sending you a bill…for services no longer rendered.
So then post Republic break up, we all settled into a nice routine with A.J Blosenski. Then we heard about the corporate acquisition, and since spring hit, it’s been difficult at times to get the trash picked up. Some neighborhoods it was recycling like mine, other neighborhoods, it was trash, and then there were other places all together where everything was missed.
It’s been bad in East Whiteland and I know it’s been even worse in Tredyffrin, and there have even been issues in West Whiteland where they are that township’s designated hauler.
As I had indicated in my prior post, it’s very frustrating to try to get somebody on the phone. And feeling less than satisfied after another missed pick up on Monday I’ve decided to take action on my own. So I literally did Internet research until I came up with a corporate phone number for Waste Connections who acquired A.J. Blosenski.
After I looked up the corporate phone number, I researched to some of the officers of Waste Connections. I researched what their emails were and how to format them. And then I called and had a really nice conversation with a woman down south in the executive offices. After my conversation with her I sent my email outlining all the things that had me going wrong in my neighborhood. They told me that they would make it right.
Yesterday at a little before 6 PM, Waste Connections and AJ Blosenski made good on their promise. They cleared the trash in my entire neighborhood.
I also learned today that hideous Whitetail Disposal has applied for soliciting permit in my township and I’m sure many others. Here’s hoping they know what no soliciting means this time around.
I don’t like Whitetail and I wasn’t the only one that had problems with their door-to-door soliciting. They completely ignored another friend’s no solicitation sign and then when she said no, they came back another day and that was part of their M.O. the last time around. I also remember they asked someone else I know if her husband was home to make the decision. Yeah just call all us ladies Donna Reed, Whitetail (said with major eye rolling.)
Since Whitetail Disposal first broke into this area, what I have noticed, is they leave cans in the middle of the road and they often leave bits of trash in the middle of the road. I always hear about people complaining that they have missed pick ups, and that they are sloppy and inconsistent. Their average rating on Google reviews alone is 2.6 stars out 5. On the Better Business Bureau website also bad reviews. I also found a curious thing on the Attorney General’s website for PA:
Whitetail Disposal is only applying for permits to solicit around here again because of the problems A.J. Blosenski is experiencing which is kind of like what Whitetail Disposal reviews are like all of the time. My opinion is they are like opportunistic parasites.
So today A.J. Blosenski was featured on NBC10 news with Deanna Durante. It was an honest reporting job of what consumers are experiencing.
I will continue to give A.J. Blosenski a chance. I am not going to say I am not frustrated by the issues that they have been having. But I’ve been reading about people talking about Whitetail disposal for a couple of years now and they have these problems all of the time, so I will stick with who I know at this time.
A.J. Blosenski got bought out by a big nationwide company called Waste Connections and now it’s a long road of missed pickups. This is after a lot of us got dumped by Republic when they had a meltdown and White Tail just sucks.
We’ve been missing recycling, others straight stinky garbage, and yet even more are missing both. It’s a sheit show. You spend hours calling and get shoved to a voice mail for customer service that doesn’t return phone calls so do they even listen to the messages? I got through twice and essentially was lied to as to when pick up was actually occurring. The trash just sat.
We finally did get a pickup this past Monday but are still behind on pickups so you have to wonder are customer accounts being adjusted properly to account for these issues?
It seems like the once dependable A.J. Blosenski is experiencing merger pains because of their new parent company Waste Connections. It’s summer and while one wishes to be understanding, we’re talking about TRASH. East Whiteland Township looked into it for their residents and this is what they sent out yesterday:
AJ Blosenski Update
Please READ AJ Blosenski Update – They are experiencing staffing difficulties and have brought on new staff which is undergoing training and certification. They expect to be back in full operation by August. In the interim, they are recovering missed routes as quickly as possible. (Recovering means they use overtime and reroutes to get to missed areas)
They are offering to drop off a larger recycle container to your homes ( 96 gallons) to hold larger amounts of recycles until pickup.
They have advised to have their customers contact them with complaints and requests for the larger recycle bin through their website, as their phone lines are jammed recently.
Contact https://www.ajblosenski.com and use the contact us link which is forwarded to several offices to insure a timely response.
Ok thank you East Whiteland Township for looking into this…one thing though – AJ Blosenski’s customer service form only works if you choose “General Inquiry” because the “Existing Customer” choice doesn’t actually have a comment box! The work around is the parent company Waste Connections customer service form:
It might be helpful if consumer affairs reporters looked into the refuse of it all. This is happening in many places. If a large company with MORE resources acquires a smaller company that once worked just fine and now doesn’t, something needs to be fixed.
I have been hearing so many similar bad tales from realtors I know from all over the region, that I feel compelled to write this post. And it’s about behavior.
It used to be if you saw a house that was for sale that you thought it was adorable you might drive-by and you might take note of who the listing was with and the phone number. But you wouldn’t trespass onto the property. Not one toe.
Today, it’s like all boundaries and manners and social norms are out the window. If you have a for sale sign on your property, people trespass. I have heard of stories that people look up from whatever they are doing in their kitchen or sitting in their family room, or even working in their garden to find strangers looking in the windows, even attempting to enter the house if the doors open or garage door is raised. Even walking onto decks!
What is it people don’t understand about what the word trespass means?
tres·pass ˈtre-spəs -ˌspas. : an unlawful act committed on the person, property, or rights of another. especially : a wrongful entry on real property.
And the thing that is even more astounding is that sometimes the people doing the trespassing are realtors. And sometimes realtors with their customers in tow.
So that is to say they are just arriving unannounced and uninvited without an appointment. Forget about the ethics of it, it’s also illegal to trespass.
And properties that are for sale often have these lockboxes with a key inside. I’m also hearing the stories of realtors purposely jamming up the boxes so other realtors can’t get in on the appointment after them. And then they’re also the stories of the realtors who show up in a time slot that has been reserved for someone else, and just kind of piggyback on whoever else is showing the house in that moment, and not waiting their turn.
And then, when you want to look at a house and you have a realtor today, most of the appointments are made online with whomever has the listing. So you have a couple different scenarios. One scenario you have is when a realtor wants to sell it within their office and they just block out appointments to keep other companies out. Another scenario that you have is when a realtor from the outside who blocks out several appointments although they only actually have one client at one time coming through not multiple. And that’s also done to keep people out.
It seems since Covid the real estate industry has gotten even more uncivilized than it occasionally used to be. You have a lot of people who decided they were going to become realtors during this time and they really don’t have the experience or the polish so they really don’t know how to behave. And then you have the super aggressive house hunters.
And then there’s just the general lack of manners that people have when simply contacting a realtor. I keep hearing all of these stories told to me about realtors getting phone calls at one in the morning from other realtors and people who want to see a listing and they’re all within the same time zone so you can’t say that somebody was calling from California and messed up the time zone. And if they don’t get what they want, when they make the phone call or send a text, they’re just terribly rude, and even use quite the colorful combinations of profanity.
Along with the late night phone calls and text messages, come the early morning phone calls and text messages. Since when does anyone think unless it’s a relative bleeding on the street or in the emergency room that it’s OK to call someone before 6 AM for example?
This is why people used to do a lot of quiet listings. That is to say a property was for sale, but there was no sign out front. I think it’s almost worth developing as a new real estate trend. This is also why some realtors don’t want to do open houses anymore.
Moving is stressful. Getting your house ready for sale is also a stressful and often quite an emotional time, so for people to be so rude as to just stroll up a driveway and peep into windows and worse because they know there’s a sale sign out front is wrong.
And I encourage people who are selling their properties to just call the police when they see these people trespassing. Let them explain to the police and get charged with trespass.
I also think phone etiquette needs to be adhered to. And who is anyone to call up a realtor and berate them on the phone because their listing sold fast? I mean for real?
I think this is happening often enough that one would wish that the local and regional boards of realtors would act on this, but they are not.
