“We‘re a service business that just happens to collect waste. I never get out of the bed in the morning thinking I’m in the waste industry. Never, ever, ever. I don’t go to the waste management trade shows. Personally, I can’t think of anything worse to do. It doesn’t inspire me. But I will read every book about the service industry. I want to know what’s the best service industry in Asia. I want to know what’s the best service industry in the US. What’s the latest thinking in service? And then apply them to our little waste industry.”

We're republishing one of our "Culture Classics" featuring Gene Browne, founder of The City Bin Co., a standout in waste management and a five-time Deloitte Best Managed Company winner in Ireland.

In this episode, Gene shares how City Bin began in 1997 as a bold experiment in service excellence, driven by his obsession with delivering exceptional customer experiences. He reflects on the mix of luck, naivety, and resilience that shaped his journey, including surviving a ruthless competitor who literally burned down his warehouse. From expanding into the Middle East to watching middle management struggle with a culture of autonomy, Gene doesn’t hold back. More than two decades in, his fierce commitment to customer service still drives everything, from tying bonuses to customer satisfaction to sending flowers as apologies. For Gene, company values aren’t posters on the wall. They’re as personal and specific as a fingerprint.

Listen to this episode to discover:
· How City Bin started as a customer service experiment
· What it took to rebuild after a competitor burned down his warehouse
· The cultural tensions of expanding internationally
· Why autonomy can challenge traditional middle managers
· Aligning employee incentives with customer satisfaction
· Real-life gestures that build customer trust (like sending flowers)
· Why "aspirational values" miss the mark, and what to focus on instead
· Gene’s pledge to support his team’s educational dreams

Further resources:
· Gene Browne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genebrowne100/
· City Bin Website: https://www.citybin.com/
· Good strategy Bad Strategy, by Richard Rumelt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11721966-good-strategy-bad-strategy
· Building the Happiness-Centred Business, by Paddi Lund: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10088113-building-the-happiness-centred-business
· Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, by Verne Harnish: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120.Mastering_the_Rockefeller_Habits