Sorting your load before you get to the yard

I am gonna vent so I want to apologize ahead of time if this offends anyone.

I visit my local scrap yard at least 4 times a week and I always see the same problem. I half way blame the yard for allowing this but I also blame the tweaks as well.

What bugs me is when you get to the scrap yard and there is a line to get in and unload. I don't mind waiting for people to unload but when you do get in and see two or three people taking up spaces because they want to strip everything off of what they have collected, it really grinds my good nature. People need to prepare there loads before they get to the yard, it is not supposed to be an all day event to unload your vehicle, collect your money and leave. I have talked to the owner of my local yard about it but since he runs two locations, and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees, the problem does not seem to get any better. I will admit, sometimes I will take a min or two and cut the power cords off of appliances I am dropping off but that is not causing people to wait. What I am talking about is these people who bring piles of crap, sort through it, stand around and talk and then try to break everything down with the wrong tools just for a little piece of copper pipe or some additional wires.

My second issue is people who walk around and look in other peoples vehicles to see what they are bringing. I actually had a guy come ask me if I would give him some metal from my load. I looked at him like he was joking and said I will give you this washing machine for that big bucket full of copper pipe. He looked at me like I was crazy and walked away. I have a hard time respecting people when they come off so stupid like that. I don't mind helping people with loads but that only happens when I have no room in my truck. I get paid first before some one else takes my profit.

No need to apologize 916, if someone is offended they probably are guilty as charged. I agree...yard is not the place to breakdown, do it before you get there. What's even worse is folks in the non-ferrous line with a mix thrown in the back of the truck and they are scrambling to separate as they unload.

My yard has a 10 items or less express line. I usually am a rebel and bring 11 items. Oh wait, that's the grocery store.

Try going at an off time then. We break down some things at the yard. But, we don't f around. It's usually as you mentioned a few clips, a few swings of the sledge. The biggest line ive waited in was three trucks. The downtown yard line goes on for blocks; that's why we don't go there. I haul between 1 and 2 ton at a time. Plus our non ferrous is on sometimes.
It comes down to people just being rude and inconsiderate. It's not getting any better. If your yard allows them then there is nothing you can do, or find a new yard.

We unload as I said between 1&2 ton by hand with any breakdown and sorting usually within a half hour. Time is $$$$$$$$.

Time is $$$$$$$$.[/QUOTE]

You got that right. I am the same way. I get in, get paid and get out.. If I am not scraping, I am not making any money...

It's your yard who shouldn't be allowing it. I don't know how they'd deal with it, but have seen signs "no onsite sorting allowed", probably due to the practices you're referring to, and like has been mentioned, if your yard won't deal with it, maybe time to find another yard.

I've seen people do it to some minor extent while sitting in long lines waiting for the scale. Even once was out looking over my load while waiting, on a blistering summer day, and a guy waiting nearby came over and showed me a few things i could break down better

and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees,...what does race have to do with people not sorting their loads are the non sorters also mexican,or do you just have a problem with the yard being staffed by mexicans....andrew916 ................

If you try to do break down here you will be stopped and told sell as is or told to come back. I always bust the scale guy especially close to closing time.("hey Jim , guy outside breaking AC units" he always falls for it. I figure thats because he sees it all the time. They always move people in and out quickly. I am in a small city and most times no line.

As long as Starbucks has people lined up 20 minutes to fork over five bucks for flavored coffee...

In any business, when people are willing to wait in line, management is under no pressure to make any changes. When management sees a line, they perceive that business is hopping...especially if they see the same guy willingly join that line four times a week!

Agree with the replies above, find another yard. But it seems you are partial to this one for whatever reason...so after a month, you might send the owner a letter via US Mail explaining your departure, and attach photocopies of all your slips from his competitor. Explain that it is the business the competitor got while the wannabees were sorting screws in his yard.

Couldn't Agree more, have your stuff pre sorted, into buckets before you get there. I usually take a while in the yard due to the fact I only cash out the non ferrous bout every 4 months so I have a good volume and probably 8 to 10 varieties of non ferrous. But it's all sorted all out in buckets. Being squared away at the yard makes it easier on me and the guy at the yard and ensures I get max bang for my buck because it's all sorted correctly.

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Originally Posted by huggybear

and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees,...what does race have to do with people not sorting their loads are the non sorters also mexican,or do you just have a problem with the yard being staffed by mexicans....andrew916 ................

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I mentioned that because most have a language barrier and can not enforce rules. I don't have a problem with races, I just think if there was not a language barrier, Some one might be more willing to approach the violators and explain to them they need to have there load broken down before entering gate. That's all

Everything I get is sorted and broken down when i bring it home or a week later, Depending on how lazy i feel like being. I see guys braking things down at the yard when i get there and are still doing it when im leaving. The stupidest thing i saw was a guy smashing 2 large plastic spools of wire the size of 5 gallon buckets with a sledge, Why wouldn't he just unravel it? Or strip it for that matter?

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Originally Posted by greytruck

The stupidest thing i saw was a guy smashing 2 large plastic spools of wire the size of 5 gallon buckets with a sledge, Why wouldn't he just unravel it? Or strip it for that matter?

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Depending on how much wire there was, that could potentially be a faster method. It's the same idea behind not unraveling TV yokes. Just smash/separate. However, these clowns should be doing it on their own time, not holding up other people from getting in and out in a timely manner.

Either way something to do before you get to the yard

When my storage space was just the back of my truck, I spent minutes instead of seconds on unloading. Having a scrap space in my yard makes some difference. I expect big containers will make a bigger difference. Cheap and free containers can be found on craigslist, but they may be listed as trash, garbage, refuse, or storage bins, cans, boxes, barrels, or containers, in household, farm & garden, tools, or general, so searching all of those terms in all of those sections takes some time that I'd rather spend scrapping. If I search for barrel, I always get a few results of "wheel barrel."

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The stupidest thing i saw was a guy smashing 2 large plastic spools of wire the size of 5 gallon buckets with a sledge, Why wouldn't he just unravel it? Or strip it for that matter?

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Maybe it was stolen???

I never sort at the yard. From time to time a bigger piece of alum may get thrown in the back of the truck on a shred run (thanks to my neighbors kid, who struggles to identify metals) and i'll throw it on the side to bring back home...but even if I pick up a truckload of stuff, and something that needs to be broken down winds up buried under shred, i'll unload the truck in my driveway to get the item out.

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Originally Posted by andrew916

I am gonna vent so I want to apologize ahead of time if this offends anyone.

I visit my local scrap yard at least 4 times a week and I always see the same problem. I half way blame the yard for allowing this but I also blame the tweaks as well.

What bugs me is when you get to the scrap yard and there is a line to get in and unload. I don't mind waiting for people to unload but when you do get in and see two or three people taking up spaces because they want to strip everything off of what they have collected, it really grinds my good nature. People need to prepare there loads before they get to the yard, it is not supposed to be an all day event to unload your vehicle, collect your money and leave. I have talked to the owner of my local yard about it but since he runs two locations, and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees, the problem does not seem to get any better. I will admit, sometimes I will take a min or two and cut the power cords off of appliances I am dropping off but that is not causing people to wait. What I am talking about is these people who bring piles of crap, sort through it, stand around and talk and then try to break everything down with the wrong tools just for a little piece of copper pipe or some additional wires.

My second issue is people who walk around and look in other peoples vehicles to see what they are bringing. I actually had a guy come ask me if I would give him some metal from my load. I looked at him like he was joking and said I will give you this washing machine for that big bucket full of copper pipe. He looked at me like I was crazy and walked away. I have a hard time respecting people when they come off so stupid like that. I don't mind helping people with loads but that only happens when I have no room in my truck. I get paid first before some one else takes my profit.

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When hauling non-ferrous I always have all of my buckets labeled, weighed and graded. When I load the trailer I group the various containers so it is easier to unload. If I am hauling 1500-2000# I can be on the scales, weighed and paid within @ 20-30 minutes. There always seems to be someone that wants to cut in line because they have a little bit and don't want to wait their turn. I've seen it in NC, Fla. and Tenn. I did haul an old boat trailer once that still had the rims and tires on. The guy told me I could pull out across the street in an empty lot and remove those and return. Otherwise I would have been docked for the rubber. I like to make it easy on me as well as the guys at the yard, and sometimes it pays off. I got a premium payout the other day above the normal price paid. I have gotten where I'm selling all my non-ferrous to one yard.

Scrappers first world problem

I got a better question since I was apparently on vacation when this thread was started with no internet or phone. Yeah it was great. WHY ARE THEY LETTING PEDDLERS BREAK DOWN MATERIAL AT THE YARD PERIOD. You should have that done at home or your place of business before you cross the scale and enter the unloading area. I would flip out if I saw a roll off or lugger truck waiting to unload because someone was snipping off wires or a copper pipe. Do it somewhere else. People also do this at the retail non ferrous area to. They constantly get yelled at because its taking up time should have been done already. Example pulling off a pipe or piece of metal off a ACR so they get a clean price and not dirty. That really irritates me.

The yard I use does not allow any type of breaking down of any type of material. Period. Also, if you are not either at the scale on the non-ferrous side, or on the scale for shred, or actually unloading shred at the shredder, you are not allowed out of your vehicle. If you are caught doing something against their policies they will give you one verbal warning, after that you are banned for 60 days !!!

I agree with the rest of you. All breaking down, sorting etc should be done before you ever leave to go to the yard. I have everything processed, sorted and loaded in a logical manner before I ever leave my driveway and the scale man and the inspector love it. When you do business this way and are polite, you can actually make friends with the scale man \ inspector ... which makes for higher profits!!!

at all my yards when it goes through the gate it is what it is. mixed metal or sorted.

I go to the non-ferrous dock and ask if the will take computer power supplies.

"Bring me one to look at"

I grab one out of the truck.

"Yeah, I can take that but you would do better if you removed he wires. I will give you 25 cents for the box either way but I can give you more for the wire if it is removed."

I take them home and remove the wire and when I go back it is $7.50 more in my pocket than if I had sold them as is. But I never even considered doing it there on the dock.

Bill

What yard was it Andrew916? I used to go to a couple in that area and noticed this problem as well. Another irritating thing is when they employees go on break or lunch or whatever and you have to stand around waiting forever. When did scrap yard people become union workers?!? They literally drop everything and business shuts down. Nobody really approached me before in line or whatever but I did have a guy that owned a sign company give me a bunch of scrap alum. signs once because he didn't want to wait. That was a good day.

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Originally Posted by andrew916

I am gonna vent so I want to apologize ahead of time if this offends anyone.

I visit my local scrap yard at least 4 times a week and I always see the same problem. I half way blame the yard for allowing this but I also blame the tweaks as well.

What bugs me is when you get to the scrap yard and there is a line to get in and unload. I don't mind waiting for people to unload but when you do get in and see two or three people taking up spaces because they want to strip everything off of what they have collected, it really grinds my good nature. People need to prepare there loads before they get to the yard, it is not supposed to be an all day event to unload your vehicle, collect your money and leave. I have talked to the owner of my local yard about it but since he runs two locations, and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees, the problem does not seem to get any better. I will admit, sometimes I will take a min or two and cut the power cords off of appliances I am dropping off but that is not causing people to wait. What I am talking about is these people who bring piles of crap, sort through it, stand around and talk and then try to break everything down with the wrong tools just for a little piece of copper pipe or some additional wires.

My second issue is people who walk around and look in other peoples vehicles to see what they are bringing. I actually had a guy come ask me if I would give him some metal from my load. I looked at him like he was joking and said I will give you this washing machine for that big bucket full of copper pipe. He looked at me like I was crazy and walked away. I have a hard time respecting people when they come off so stupid like that. I don't mind helping people with loads but that only happens when I have no room in my truck. I get paid first before some one else takes my profit.

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Some people get offended no matter what you say, if only to be mad that you spoke at all.

You should be pre-sorting and prepping your load.

I get super fast service cause we have a wholesale account and back into a dock with its own scale not used for public.

Loads have to be sorted.

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I did haul an old boat trailer once that still had the rims and tires on. The guy told me I could pull out across the street in an empty lot and remove those and return

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offtopic but it reminded me of this pic and got me thinking how the hill i got that trailer up there by myself, lol
http://imageshack.us/a/img72/3654/photo077s.jpg

also if someone is doing something you disapprove up, you should speak up your mind, just so they can be aware. sure it may bring upon confrentation but hopefully we all have the will to remain calm and back off once the message has been conveyed

one time at the grocery store some guy in front of me had a 30 second conversation with his mom over EVERY item they were purchasing. i spoke up and mentioned they should have decided what they want to keep before getting in line and the dude got SUPER BUTTHURT and started yelling at me when he saw me again in the parking lot, i just continued on towards my car. he called me a scum sucker, lol

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Originally Posted by mrbillbus

I take them home and remove the wire and when I go back it is $7.50 more in my pocket than if I had sold them as is.

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Gas and time it took to go home and back + time it took to remove the wire >> Was it worth the $7.50?

Time and Gas are money also

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and the yard is staffed with Mexican employees,...what does race have to do with people not sorting their loads are the non sorters also mexican,

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im guessing hes refering to a communication issue where they quite how to go about asking them not to do that.
-mexican

when i drive scrap straight from the source to the yard, ill just keep in my truck whatever i want to further breakdown if i cant break it down right there within a couple seconds

When I am unloading and I see something that I should have broken down, I will just leave it in the truck and take it back with me. Where I am at, I really haven't had to wait it in line very long at all. My normal yard sees me come in and most of the time they will check to see how big my load is and if it isn't all that big then they just leave me to unload myself. If I have a bigger load then they come help and BS for a bit if it isn't busy. The other yard in my town is pretty quick as well, but if you need help unloading, you better tell the scale lady that you don't need any. I went in with a 1700# load a couple months ago and told her I will need a hand with unloading. Threw off the smaller stuff and kinda waited around....NO ONE came. I was kinda pissed. Started throwing fridges off the trailer as far as I could get them. Didn't even feel bad when one of them started spraying freon. (I was told they were all drained and checked the first few to see the lines were cut. I am not a fan of releasing it that way.)

It drives me nuts when I am waiting my turn for non ferrous and there are two people ahead of me that have to spend 20 min sorting their load at the scale. I used to bring non ferrous in a 6x8 stake rack and it was all weighed in 15 min or less.

The guys in the garage love to see me because they know i am sorted and don't have crap mixed in.

There is one that allows it around here I only go to it if I have a load on Sunday it's where the crack heads go because they buy everything

Everyone's pretty good about having their loads sorted before they get to the yard. What bothers me, when someone follows me right up on the scale... Had one do it the other day. I told him he had to back up, then kept motioning for him to back up until he was completely off the ramps. Another guy came in, and got in front of him. Then leaving out, I noticed the guy was up on the scale with the other guy....:&