HESITANTLY, CARL (not his real name) reached for the button control as he eased up to the next cart in the row laid out for his training. Was he exactly lined up for the arm to grasp the container? He pushed the button, and the arm picked up the cart.

With more assurance now, he pushed the button commanding the container to tip into the side hopper. Unfortunately, the cart fell into the hopper. Slightly panicked, Carl quickly stopped the packer mechanism and jumped out of the cab. Vaulting onto the ledge next to the hopper, Carl fished the cart out in the nick of time, undamaged.

Six years ago, Carl's first day of training with a fully automated system had its ups and downs. Today, however, Carl is thriving under automated collection. So is his employer, Goodrich, Texas-based Pro Star Waste.

In fact, we recently received an unsolicited letter nominating Carl, who is known to patiently answers customers' questions about the system, position the carts of new customers for pick-up and even hand out dog biscuits to neighborhood canines, for “Ambassador of the Year” for his care and personal touch with customers. The impromptu designation stuck, and Carl now is known as “the Ambassador.”

So why did Pro Star Waste choose to go fully automated when it was formed in 1999, given the rural Texas nature of its service area, the many poor roads its drivers encounter, the challenges of managing individual billing, the expense related to staging carts and getting service agreements signed, and all the internal tracking of carts, routes and driver maps? One word: Profitability.

The costs of automated trucks and carts, a trained in-house mechanic staff, parts stocking and inventory management, and specialists to coordinate and track individually billed residential cart service are outweighed by having to employ only one person per truck. In addition, we can hire brains instead of the brawn needed to lift unwieldy items into rear loader trucks. When seeking new drivers, we put a strong emphasis on men and women with the smarts, alertness and the personality to talk with customers, and our drivers are told to think of themselves as the owners of their routes.

So how do we sell our largely rural customer base on the benefits of once-a-week, automated service as opposed to twice-a-week, manual service? The biggest selling point is the elimination of rural animal problems. The smartest raccoon cannot stand on the attached lid of an automated cart and open it at the same time. In addition, the benefits of not having to place trash in garbage bags by the curb and exposing the bags to the weather are another plus. Warehousing trash in the Texas summer heat is enough to cause marital discord, and the odor control provided by placing waste in the automated cart with the lid closed over the built-in raised lip just might save marriages.

A while back, one of our managers was driving around observing one of the automated routes and was flagged down by a customer who admitted, “I want you to know I never thought these $%#@ carts would work, but I like ‘em!” Comments like these often are made to our drivers or are written on billing statements.

Each day, the drivers have updated maps that are color-coded to indicate new customers, customers whose service has been suspended for non-payment and customers who no longer use Pro Star Waste. Drivers are trained to review their maps before starting their day's routes. The maps allow any driver to drive any route. We may automate our route monitoring operations as technology becomes increasingly simple and affordable, with global positioning system (GPS) tracking and daily DVD recording of stops serviced. We always view with interest what other companies are doing and try to adapt new technologies to improve efficiencies.

In summary, purchasing, “tricking” out, and maintaining automated trucks is expensive, but this is more than offset by needing only one driver per truck. If you don't purchase quality vehicles, modify them as appropriate and maintain them properly, they will not last very long. Short- and long-term repair expenses will eat up the profits quickly.