Unmanageable Bureaucracy

Re “Sanitation” Department: collection problems.

As if you don’t receive enough of this, let us tell you a few more reasons why the “Valley” just has to get away from the immense collective stupidity of city “government” as it now exists.

All we needed to do was to call and report a broken wheel (caused by excessively rough “operator” handling) on our blue container. That’s when you hit “babble city.”

First, there is a phone number on the side of the trash container. It is real cute: (800) 773-CITY. Cute, but stupid. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that the numbers on a phone dial are a lot larger than the letters; therefore, it is easier to see and operate by persons with vision deficiencies.

Second, that phone number does not respond to a rotary telephone.

Third, even after you make the first response, the recordings go on for three more “levels” and then give a busy signal. These various levels of explanation and response take at least five times longer than a simple response by a human operator; therefore, fewer calls can be served in any given amount of time. It seems there is some sort of contest among city agencies to hide more effectively from a needy taxpayer.

This thing must have been set up by a nitwit with zero regard for the concept of services.

We are joining the growing ranks of those thinking citizens who finally conclude that the “city” of Los Angeles is unmanaged, and probably unmanageable.

ROGER WING, Reseda