Dumb Policies

**locator00566** · June 1st, 2011, 09:02 PM

Alright, its officially the busy season for us locators. Which means USIC management is out in full force with their "dumb policies". I will be naming one dumb policy per day that I experience in my district.

Dumb Policy #1: Even though it is 100 degrees outside and most techs are sitting on 50+ tickets, no one is to start work before 8:00 and no one is to work overtime unless its after 5:00. Which means you must take an hour lunch if you want to work OT.

**Faded Marks** · June 2nd, 2011, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by locator00566

Alright, its officially the busy season for us locators. Which means USIC management is out in full force with their "dumb policies". I will be naming one dumb policy per day that I experience in my district.

Dumb Policy #1: Even though it is 100 degrees outside and most techs are sitting on 50+ tickets, no one is to start work before 8:00 and no one is to work overtime unless its after 5:00. Which means you must take an hour lunch if you want to work OT.

Why bash the company you work for? If you don't like it - quit. If you can't quit because you need the money, have the decency to keep it to yourself or approach one of your managers. Nothing personal but I could never figure out why people anonomously slam the company they work for on a public forum. Nobody on here can do anything about it and I'm sure the people in your company that could do something about it aren't coming onto this site. There are other people that work at USIC who may happen to like the work and the need the pay. Just a thought. Carry on.

**locator00566** · June 2nd, 2011, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by Faded Marks

Why bash the company you work for? If you don't like it - quit. If you can't quit because you need the money, have the decency to keep it to yourself or approach one of your managers. Nothing personal but I could never figure out why people anonomously slam the company they work for on a public forum. Nobody on here can do anything about it and I'm sure the people in your company that could do something about it aren't coming onto this site. There are other people that work at USIC who may happen to like the work and the need the pay. Just a thought. Carry on.

Well said. Just stating the facts about USIC in my district. These policies may not be the same in other district. I do this in order to educate others who are in the industry or who are thinking about getting into the industry how USIC operates. I'm no spring chicken and I have been in the locating industry for decades. What USIC is doing to this industry will effect every contract locating firm in this nation. You better open your eyes and get prepared of whats to come.

But since you brought it up, I will start a new thread on some of the good things about USIC....... Hows that?

**big boots mcghee** · June 2nd, 2011, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by Faded Marks

Nobody on here can do anything about it and I'm sure the people in your company that could do something about it aren't coming onto this site.

Oh, they look. They surf. They log on and pretend to be technicians while they gather their information. They just don't care.

**locatelocatelocate** · June 2nd, 2011, 09:02 PM

well good. if a managEment from usic are reading this. USIC THE UPPER MANAGEMENT AND THE SUPERVISORS SUCK. USIC WILL BE SOLD TO SOME SUCKER REAL SOON ONCE THEY PROVE TO A NEW INVESTOR THAT THEY ARE PROFITABLE WILL STILL SCREWING THE MOBILE WORK FORCE THAT MAKE THE COMPANY MONEY. STUPID ****S. MANAGEMENT!... YOU AND YOUR BS POLICES SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALL LOCATORS IN 1 CREW JUST WALKED OFF THE JOB WITH OUT ANY NOTICE 30 OVER DUE TICKETS PER LOCATOR AND A COUPLE OF HUGE DAMAGES HAPPEN WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE? YOU SCREW THE EMPLOYEES, YOU JUST END UP SCREWING YOURSELF IN THE LONG RUN. YOU USIC MANAGEMENT, YOU WAIT AND SEE. AND GUESS WHAT USIC MANAGEMENT? TRY AND FIGURE OUT WHAT DISTRICT I AM IN AND WHO I AM EXACTLY. GO AHEAD I DONT GIVE A SH*T. BECAUSE I DONT WORK FOR YOU OR YOUR GARBAGE GOING DOWN THE TUBES COMPANY. I HOPE YOU END UP LOSING EVERY MAJOR CONTRACT 1 BY 1 IT WILL ALL COME IN TO PLACE.

**sprayandpray** · June 3rd, 2011, 06:11 AM

Originally Posted by Faded Marks

Why bash the company you work for? If you don't like it - quit. If you can't quit because you need the money, have the decency to keep it to yourself or approach one of your managers. Nothing personal but I could never figure out why people anonomously slam the company they work for on a public forum. Nobody on here can do anything about it and I'm sure the people in your company that could do something about it aren't coming onto this site. There are other people that work at USIC who may happen to like the work and the need the pay. Just a thought. Carry on.

This is a Forum, not an ASS-kissing site. If you don't like someone's post, Don't Read it! Or did you print it and run show it to your supervisor?

**locator00566** · June 3rd, 2011, 02:15 PM

USIC Dumb Policy #2 You must contact your supervisor before backing your truck.

**locatethis** · June 3rd, 2011, 04:22 PM

Come on locatelocatelocate, loosen up, let go, and tell us how you really feel!!!

**UULC** · June 3rd, 2011, 04:24 PM

I am sure the USIC Supervisor's hate that rule just as much as you. What a waste of the locators and supervisor time.

**Isotopes** · June 3rd, 2011, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by locator00566

USIC Dumb Policy #2 You must contact your supervisor before backing your truck.

LOL.

Ya know I was rather pissed about this job myself a while back. Put my 2 weeks in and that came and went. If your good at what you do and they need you just try to quit. They wont let you. They will work with and seriously kiss butt to keep you. Its helps when the people in management are good people.

**ProfessionalLocator** · June 3rd, 2011, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by locator00566

USIC Dumb Policy #2 You must contact your supervisor before backing your truck.

That's just plain funny. Locators sitting in parking lots, or where ever, becasue they cannot back out of a parking space until their supervisor returns their call.

**sprayandpray** · June 4th, 2011, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by ProfessionalLocator

That's just plain funny. Locators sitting in parking lots, or where ever, becasue they cannot back out of a parking space until their supervisor returns their call.

I remember having a car when I was a teenager that had no reverse for a couple of months. I just had to always make sure I could go forward whenever I stopped. I guess if we miss an address we can always circle the block. That will increase the time at each locate and use more fuel. Oh well.

**locator00566** · June 4th, 2011, 09:17 PM

Dumb Policy # 3 No idling truck during lunch! Even if you brought your own lunch and its 100 degrees outside. Having AC is a priviledge not a right.

**4x4jw87** · June 5th, 2011, 05:20 PM

i think '' faded marks'' made the you tube video about how 'great usic is.'

**Enjoythefall** · June 5th, 2011, 06:48 PM

You know, Faded, I'll be the first to talk when I see something really stupid happening. To my Sup, DM, peers, and anyone else who will listen at the company. Once I'm done with that though, there's no reason to censor myself in my personal life on a public forum.

If you think it is "dirty laundry" and should be kept in the company, then take a step back and look at it. Should these decisions be made the way they are? Are they really helping anyone, saving the company money, or increasing safety? Is it hurting locators to implement such policies?

I think you'll find that a lot of USIC's policies that are talked about on here are talked about for good reason. They're put into play to make whatever manager drew them up look good, and not to actually improve anything.

It sounds like in some areas the wrong people are in charge. Instead of having passionate leaders who actually care about what they're doing and have the experience to back up their words, we have a bunch of people who struggled through a four year degree because they had no Idea what they wanted to do in life, and while doing so grew a hefty sense of entitlement. Just throwing answers out there, whether they make sense or not worked in school, so they assume it'll work here. Who are we to tell them they're wrong? In their eyes, we're lower than low.

If the company honestly thinks that they are going to improve anything by making a locator call his boss every time he wants to back up, then I'm afraid someone very stupid is very mistaken.

Don't get me wrong... I can follow the beancounters' logic with almost every one of these decisions, but in almost every case they take a basic idea that is fundamentally sound and run with it. They expand upon it so much that the actual truth they started with isn't recognizable. Even if it conflicts with common sense.

All the while the real boss is glad to see something that looks like progress, but either doesn't care enough or has too much on his plate to recognize the trash. Either way it is unacceptable. Everyone is faking their way to a paycheck. Except us. If we tried that, we'd damage out in a week.

The more times a company is bought by investors, the further from its roots it gets. These guys don't REALLY care about the business. They saw an investment opportunity, and jumped on it. Now they're adding a bunch of red tape because thats what they think will help them earn more money. Meanwhile the folks on the bottom who have sunk years of their life into this business, and care about what they do and who they do it for are brushed aside because of their company title.

It is wrong. This type of mentality is what why we have these stupid policies within USIC, it is why there are so many people faking their way through school, and it is why we have a 14 billion dollar national debt with no end in sight. Those on top with rise further, and those on the bottom will just sink deeper.

The only way to win for us would be to opt out... but I got bills to pay.

Having said all that, I can tell you that I haven't heard a peep about a single one of these policies. Maybe I got a particularly awesome bubble of management, but these things aren't effecting me in the slightest.

The management in my area (With very few exceptions) seems like a group of dedicated people who did their time in the trucks, and know their shit. They don't want to piss anyone off, and they know who pays their bills. Sadly, that doesn't seem the case for most of USIC.