Paint happy

[TheCableVine]

I saw this today and it just rubbed me the wrong way.

[Goldenboy]

I'm guessing a newbie. I don't know why it takes so long for locators to realize to paint the yard as if it was your own.:bang: Red paint lasts forever, who wants to have that on their landscape timbers and patio block.

[underground quester]

My boss hates it as well.

When he gets a complaint, he sends the individual back with a cleaning agent and a brush and has them clean it up. Usually only takes once and they learn quick.

[yahoo]

that aggravated me as well.....locaters out there ..please take a long look at this .....this is insulting this is not the type of work that we do... i hope maybe his gun got stuck...b.c he's still using a state issue spray gun like mine....at least the locater could 've turned the rock over .......:scold:

[TheCableVine]

So, today i'm an a back yard with the HO talking about the ticket (excavator called in the wrong yard) and i look down and see that the phone locator has been there and marked the yard. He put a stripe of paint on top of some plants. They looked to me like some kind of herbs or something like that. I pointed to it and said to the HO that I didn't like that. He said he didn't either and his wife had just planted them.

I don't know what people are thinking about. Same general area as the picture above.

[Dracula]

Maybe the ticket was for putting in a basketball goal and they asked for the entire property to be marked?

[UULC]

Maybe the ticket was for putting in a basketball goal and they asked for the entire property to be marked?

I can understand that. If someone said to mark all of property that is what they would get.:ylsuper::ylsuper::escape:

[RoadMap]

I usually respect the landscaping unless they ask me to paint it. The I over paint it. If the home owner is an ass, then I use a couple extra cans on their yard so they can enjoy the colors all year long.:yahoo:

[TBONE]

What a slop job I would be ashamed of that if it was one of mine:hammer:

[TechMaster]

Wonder what Company that was from. I can not stand to see people disrespect someones property. All that does is give us a bad name. All you new locators out there do NOT DO THIS!!!!

[locomike]

when i was in locating class they told us to paint everything we come across to make sure that the company knew we were there they said driveways, mulch,plants, tv peds, fiber cans, transformers,fences, the conduit on the side of the homes, they said you can never have enough paint! but when it comes to nice h.o. i normally flag n little paint but if a real f-n-a-hole comes out they remember the locate! dont f with the locater!

[duke]

I'm a fairly new locator, and I must say that I'm pretty "paint happy." Even in the swank neighborhoods, I always get a couple of inches of paint on the edges of the driveway, because it's guaranteed the homeowner is going to call in the same landscapers year after year to make their dreams come true. And, of course, it will be "STAKE ENTIRE LOT" every time; the usual landscaper laziness. If the people you hire insist on abusing the system, then I will abuse your driveway.

That said, I try to never paint anything that will not clean up in a few weeks. I avoid rocks, stepping stones, anything of that nature. Wood chips are fair game, but I'll usually do dots & flags instead of lines. I'll dot driveways if I think there might be boring going on, i.e., irrigation system or CATV/phone drop going in.

Public roads & easements are fair game as far as I'm concerned. I'll definitely leave "hard marks" on curbs, especially in older neighborhoods with lots of crossings. It's only a matter of time before you come back, and that little reminder can help you out. Can't tell you how many times I've silently thanked another locator for leaving a mark that made me think twice and locate something that doesn't appear on the prints.

I'll paint a ped if it's hidden in the woods. I'll also paint bushes or plants if the homeowner insists on planting large, hostile (thorny or very thick) plants around the transformers/peds. Again, you make life difficult for me, I'm going to do my job in a way that may annoy you without breaking any rules.

[stormgrey]

I personally take pride in a good looking job and that just is ugly!!! Makes us look like we have no idea what we are doing. I have also never puposefully painted someones landscape out of anger, no matter how pissed I got! I get paid by the hour and if someone wants the entire lot for a b-ball hoop, well.......im going to mark it out ,or politly ask if they really "need" the whole lot marked. Fighting with paint is for weaklings:scold:

[UULC]

I tend to agree with Duke. If someone is calling in the whole lot and you cannot determine where the dig is, then by all means if in dought, mark it out. No pavers, painted driveways, decrtive stones. Grass, mulch small plants are fair game.

:icon_eek:

:blahblah:
:happy:

[Goldenboy]

I just don't understand why you'd have to go all paint crazy just because you can't figure out what they needed marked. You have to remember the majority of the time the one call center is the one that typed "mark entire lot".

And last time I checked we are paid by the hour. Who cares if your marking the entire lot for a basketball hoop.

Just paint the yard as if it was your own.

[sprayandpray]

I just don't understand why you'd have to go all paint crazy just because you can't figure out what they needed marked. You have to remember the majority of the time the one call center is the one that typed "mark entire lot".

And last time I checked we are paid by the hour. Who cares if your marking the entire lot for a basketball hoop.

Just paint the yard as if it was your own.

Golden, I agree about the over painting, but if it says to mark the entire lot, you either mark the entire lot or get a signed Meetsheet stating otherwise here at SM&P/USIC/CLS. Marking less than what the ticket calls for is a big no-no now:scold::rules:

[underground quester]

Golden, I agree about the over painting, but if it says to mark the entire lot, you either mark the entire lot or get a signed Meetsheet stating otherwise here at SM&P/USIC/CLS. Marking less than what the ticket calls for is a big no-no now:scold::rules:


We have the same issue here. If it says mark the whole lot, we mark the whole lot UNLESS I find someone home and they tell me otherwise. Then I make a note on the ticket and have them sign it. If no one is home, well, I mark the entire lot.

We spray grass and dirt only. No plants, pavers, customer walks, mulch, nothing UNLESS the customer is available and tells me otherwise. If they tell me to go ahead and spray the walk, etc. I usually put small dots in the crevices, or on a weed growing in a walk, something like that.

I flag mulch, decorative stone, etc. only and usually try to take measurements off something fixed.

[locomike]

i did mark my yard when i first started, i got in so much trouble due to the paint stick with the stuck trigger:scold: n that wasnt a gr8 night for me. haha

[yahoo]

i love this job but got to hate when the trigger sticks.......what do i want to be when i grow up.......................:tease:

[UULC]

The only job that you can paint graffiti legally.

:applause:

:stop:

[duke]

I just don't understand why you'd have to go all paint crazy just because you can't figure out what they needed marked. You have to remember the majority of the time the one call center is the one that typed "mark entire lot".

And last time I checked we are paid by the hour. Who cares if your marking the entire lot for a basketball hoop.

Just paint the yard as if it was your own.


Yeah, I'm paid by the hour. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of leisurely staking entire lots all day long. It's easy to stake entire lots when you work an urban area with small lots and "logical" utilities...try staking nothing but enormous ($1,000,000+) multi-acre estates all day long. I'm not exaggerating. A "stake entire lot" on that job, 4-way ticket, you're looking at close to an hour, regardless of what an efficient locator you may be. Add more time if it's on a road that serves as a thoroughfare for multiple buried cables or fiber runs.

I'm not complaining about the area I work, but there is clearly a huge time difference between "stake 10' radius of driveway" and "stake entire lot". Who takes the damage when the homeowner decides to lay down an entire basketball court instead of just installing a hoop at the top of the driveway?

It's not that I "can't figure out" what needs to be staked. Sometimes, there is no one to contact regarding the job, be it the contractor, the homeowner, or anyone else who might be in the know. If all your contacts always answer the door/phone, more power to you.

I'll "paint the lot as if it's [my] own" when it IS my own. Until then, I've got 25 more tickets to get to today.

[AUPS]

Something I hate to see are marks on a straight utility that are crooked! If the line is straight mark it out like this - - - - not like this / / / / !!!!! Pisses me off to see that. Its just lazy and confusing to the contractor.

[sprayandpray]

Something I hate to see are marks on a straight utility that are crooked! If the line is straight mark it out like this - - - - not like this / / / / !!!!! Pisses me off to see that. Its just lazy and confusing to the contractor.

May be that some of us are less anal than others:peace:

[Metroman]

Looks like a simple case of paintstick trigger sticking and a locator not paying attention(darn mp3 players)LOL