Free recycling day was just a load of junk
Mark Twomey had a detailed article in the Irish Examiner's Money & Jobs section on Friday, September 17, detailing the location, times, requirements (consumer or small business - which I am), types of equipment accepted, etc.
Dell have a very vague outline on their website of a take-back event that will be happening at some stage.
On Friday, September 24, I tried - unsuccessfully - to confirm by telephone or email that the event was going ahead.
It is very difficult to get any contact number for Dell Ireland other than sales.
However, since it was stated clearly in the press a week ahead, I felt confident heading off for Limerick on Saturday.
I and hundreds more found a dumbfounded and embarrassed security guard manning an automatic barrier and turning people away without any explanation.
He merely pointed to a very small notice on an A4 sheet hastily pinned to an approach sign at the plant entrance advising that the Dell take-back had been postponed and they regretted any inconvenience caused.
The notice invited people to contact dell at environment-policy@dell.com - there was no suggestion as to when the event might happen, no telephone number to contact, just a poorly printed notice that suggested total confusion.
For the record, I was one of the many hundreds of people (I saw four others in the few minutes I was recovering from my annoyance) who arrived at the barrier to Dell's base to find that I had spent four hours of my valuable Saturday driving from Carrigaline to Limerick (a 150-mile round trip) for absolutely nothing!
What a public relations foul-up.
And as regards cleaning up the environment, how many tons of fuel were burned by people like me needlessly driving to Limerick and back last Saturday?
On my return on Saturday I scoured the Irish Examiner and the Dell website to see if there was any notification about a postponement that I might have missed - not a thing.
Neither party warned an unsuspecting public that they would be wasting their valuable time by going to Raheen.
From one very annoyed (and misled) Irish consumer...
Mary O'Callaghan
Maridon Ltd
Castledowns
Boycestown
Carrigaline
Co Cork
