Albany General Services Department

I was on my way to work this morning and had to wait 20min while the truck driver parked in the middle of south dove street. He than pulled up next to my car to block me in on Purpose. While he taped it on his cell phone. Absolutely uncalled for in the morning! He had a space to pull his truck off to the side but just wanted to be rude.

My husband & I would like to thank the forestry team at the Dept.of General Services for their terrific work. It was more than 17 months ago that we noticed the tree in front of our neighbor's house was growing into our roof. When I called up, I was assured that they would take care of it at some point. I understand there are priorities. A series of major storms had wreaked havoc in the streets of Albany and destroyed many trees. We're also in a pandemic, so there are staff shortages. Unfortunately, over the 17 months, the tree got much bigger and was beginning to do a number on our roof. My husband and his buddy even considered making a DIY project out of it but realized it was too dangerous. Like the cavalry, the forestry team suddenly showed up to the rescue this week. They came with heavy equipment: trucks, wood chipper and cherry picker. A team of several men, including the courageous young man in the cherry picker. They were polite, efficient, knowledgeable and professional. They made quick work of it in a few hours. They turned a horrible eyesore into a sight for sore eyes. Our roof has been saved. Thank you.

Once again I got quick courteous service from this department. Have never had a bad experience with them. Thank you.

This is a THANK YOU to all of our DGS workers who perform essential services (such as fixing our roads, keeping our streets clear, removing our trash, collecting our recycling and garden waste etc) with a positive get-it-done attitude. While less in the public eye these days than health care, fire safety and police essential workers, these DGS citizens make a big contribution to our quality of life and deserve kudos.

Today at 12: 40 pm I called DGS to see if staff may have turned in a set of keys. A woman picked up the phone and while I was in the middle of speaking she hung up. I called back and this woman picked up again except this time she breathed really loudly on the phone and hung up. Such a distasteful experience. I don’t quite understand how someone can operate this way at work and still manage to keep a job.

Hmm.now they don't answer the phone after closing hours since the pandemic or was it in planning to do so regardless? Maybe too many calls from disgruntled taxpayers who don't get what they are paying for.i hope it will resume shortly after the pandemic.they were getting better at answering the calls and getting the job done and some were more polite and did their job by getting the call through to the night street sweeper it would then be up to to him to get the job done.city workers i know the attitudes of some, lazy and know it.i worked for the city for a short time while doing some program type of work when i was a lot younger.we were able to take naps on the boxes of paper goods for the schools.i was told to take a nap, lol!

I called the General Services Dept.this morning and received help. The secretary who answered the phone was polite. She had to put me on hold a couple of times before I could finish my first sentence, but she explained that she was juggling multiple phone calls. This response is a far cry from my first experience with this office. Previously, the secretary repeatedly hung up on me and I never did get an opportunity to speak to anyone. I'm happy to say that the service has dramatically improved.