From Charles City, to the Raintree area in Henrico, Darrel McNeil has been doing a lot more than what’s in his job description. “I just love doing my job. I love my customers with all my heart, I really do,” McNeil said. “I’ve been doing it for 24 years.” Neighborhood pets seem to love him. “The people call me the biscuit man,” McNeil said. “I go to the store, I buy dog biscuits about every week no matter how much it costs.”
But man oh man, to the kids on his garbage route, especially Bodhi and his little brother Carden, he goes by a different name. “Mr. Darrel, Mr, Darrel!” the kids call. Allie Albright and her two boys have developed a bond with Mr. Darrel. “We usually start camping out at around 8:30 a.m. waiting for him,” Albright said. “I’ve got my coffee out there and we’ve got our trucks and we just wait for him.”
McNeil even puts a little time in to show them the truck and let them look inside. But it didn’t stop there — he wanted the boys to enjoy the truck even when he’s not there. “He was looking at other garbage trucks his company makes, but they have metal or dangerous parts to them and he didn’t want to get those for the boys,” Albright said, “so he went to Walmart and bought them a different truck that was more age appropriate.”
He even threw in a couple of coupons for ice cream. “For him to take that extra step to go, in his free time and with his own money, buy the boys a truck was just incredible,” Albright said.