Yesterday, in the Sydney Morning Herald, an article by journalist Anna Patty noted Coles had made headway in relation to underpayment of contract trolley collectors. It’s admirable for Coles to fix up an issue which resulted in contract workers being underpaid to collect trolleys. Their efforts are being monitored by the Fair Work Ombudsman. In fact, there was an enforceable undertaking given by Coles to the Fair Work Ombudsman. This enforceable undertaking will cease when all Coles trolleys are collected by Coles staff.
Since Coles has stopped using contractors to collect trolleys, the number of abandoned trolleys have increased in Lane Cove. In the Cove contacted the Lane Cove Council who advised they would impound trolleys that were not collected. If there is any evidence that the system is not working have a look at our cover photo taken by one of our roving reporters at the Council Depot in Wood Street. These trolleys have been impounded since before Christmas.
The Coles Trolley Collection system is not working. This trolley below was left outside a house in Riverview on Thursday 1st February. The owner has rung the Trolley Hotline and the Coles Store every day since spotting the trolley and no action as yet.
ITC reported numerous trolley abandoned at 266 Longueville Road to Coles via Twitter on 3 February 2018. Coles responded that they would contact their Trolley Team and get them picked up on the next service run. It is now 8th February and the trolleys are still there.
Is it all Coles’ fault? No, it is not. Residents should return the trolleys or use their own trolley. However, if you’re an enabler, you must take some responsibility.
Coles told the Sydney Morning Herald that:
A spokesman for Coles said it had transformed its trolley collection services.
“Coles is continuing to roll out this direct employment model and is pleased with the progress made,” the spokesman said.
If Coles is taking this in-house, they need to take more responsibility. ITC was nearly cleaned up by a Coles Trolley Driver going straight through the roundabout on Austin Street. You could tell that the driver was not familiar with the streets and he was obviously concentrating on locating a trolley that had been reported abandoned. ITC reported this incident to Coles and has heard nothing back.
This is not just a Lane Cove problem. In July, last year an article appeared in the North Shore Times where a Killara resident was complaining about Coles trolleys.
On 15 November 2017, a Lane Cove Council spokesperson told ITC the following
90 trolleys are now at our depot and last week we tested out the 1800-TROLLEYS service to see if this referral service provided by the store was working, thus far the items we have reported have not been collected. As a result, we are undertaking daily collections this week and will be following up with the store to address the issue which we now understand to be replicated across a number of local government areas due to changes in staff/hours/process/areas of collection.
Yes, there are Woolworth’s trolleys out there as well. However, the local Woolworths Store Manager will take ITC’s call or you can see him in the supermarket and he will take down details and get their trolley people to do more rounds.
Contact Coles
Please take the time to fill out the Coles online feedback form here. Let Coles know they need to lift their game.
How to Report Abandoned Coles Trolleys
You can report an abandoned trolley:
- by calling 1800 TROLLEY (1800 876 553);
- report via the Snap Send Solve app or website; and
- or filling out the online form.
Is this acceptable corporate behavior? Please, Coles, review your system. Abandoned Trolleys are an environmental issue and safety issue. You have fixed up a workplace issue, now fix up this issue.
Do you have a local issue you would like help with? ITC is here to help just email us at [email protected]
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