Background
We wanted to address some recent concerns expressed by several departments about services provided to university departments by our preferred supplier for confidential shredding, Shred-It. Issues brought to our attention include service quality, billing issues, and overdue notices being sent to departments that they did not belong to. We understand the importance of reliable service and accurate billing and we want to assure you that we have taken proactive measures to address the issues and improve the service going forward.
Contacting Shred-It - Reach Out to the University Dedicated Representative
All communication with Shred-It must now go through our dedicated university account representative, Jean Cantrell. Jean can be reached at 937-212-2109 or jean.cantrell@stericycle.com . When reaching out to our account representative, please be sure to have your Shred-It site number available. This can be located on all invoices from Shred-It as shown below.
Avoid Using the General Customer Service Line
You may notice a 1-800 number that is listed on Shred-It bins and invoices. Please DO NOT call these numbers, as they are routed to a general customer service line. This general line is used for customers that do not have a dedicated representative, and you will not get accurate information for our university account.
Billing Issues - Why and What We've Done to Fix It and What You Need to Do to Keep it Updated
The Procurement team requested information from our dedicated representative of all recurring university sites and their corresponding purchase order and departmental contact information. The information that we received from Shred-It was out of date, which was causing many of the overdue invoices as well as communications to campus about collection attempts.
We have provided Shred-It with current purchase orders and contact information for each one of the university sites. If you have staffing changes within your department that require a change in a PO owner for Shred-It or create a brand-new purchase order, please ensure you reach out to Jean so that she can promptly update your site information accordingly.
Annual Verification of Information and Invoicing Process
The Procurement team will annually request information from Shred-It, at the beginning of each fiscal year, to ensure the accuracy of their records and prevent future discrepancies.
Additionally, we have advised Shred-It that all University invoices, per our contract terms and conditions (terms) must be sent directly to accounts.payable@ohio.edu . This practice ensures that all invoices are paid within the contract required payment terms of NET30 days, and so that we can work with Shred-It directly if an incorrect purchase order is used.
Service Issues and What Departments Need to Do to Ensure Shred-It Can Provide Services to You
Many of the service complaints that we received consisted of instances where Shred-It arrived outside of the normal business hours of the department, or a department was billed when no service occurred. We have confirmed with Shred-It their standard service timesfor each of our campus locations that have purchase orders with Shred-It:
- Athens Campus (serviced every week)Thursday, 8AM-2PM EST
- Dublin Campus (serviced every 8 weeks)Tuesday, 8AM-12PM EST
- Zanesville Campus (serviced every 4 weeks)Tuesday, 8AM-12PM EST
Please do NOT reach out to Shred-It to request a specific time to meet their driver. Their pickups are on a service route, and they are not able to guarantee an exact time that they will be at your site. Each department MUST ensure that they have a staff member on-site to give the driver access to their secured locations during the entire service time, as listed above. We do not give service providers campus wide access to our facilities. If Shred-It comes on-site and cannot access the location of your confidential recycling bin, your department will be billed for a pickup attempt.
Resource Information
Please consult the Confidential Shredding Service webpage for service details, service request process, cost projection spreadsheet, service request form, and contact information.
Continuous Support
We are here to help! If you encounter any service or billing issues with this preferred supplier, please reach out to us. Procurement is committed to resolving any concerns you may have. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we work towards enhancing the service experience with Shred-It.
Questions? Please contact financecustomercare@ohio.edu