Is the grass really greener on the other side?

**Goldenboy** · February 19th, 2011, 08:24 AM

After reading alot of the posts lately and listening to everyone bash the company they work for I thought I'd point out the obvious for everyone. The grass isn't always greener on the other side most the time. Most of the locators that are bitching about the company they work for have actually worked for multiple big name players. If you know the industry you know one company follows the others and in reality they are all the same so why do the same guys jump from one company to another and then complain so much.

Most of us work for contract locating companies and have made tons of contacts in the field and could leave the locating field with one phone call. But I love locating like most of you and don't want the job digging trenches or boring in cables. I've had multiple contractors offer me jobs because they can see how dedicated I am, I just politely decline but take notes just in case I ever need a job.

After one year of locating I left this field to find my career path(I thought electrician). I was back locating in less than 30 days. Pulling wires through holes all day was too boring and being stuck in one small space all day sucked.

I know this isnn't in the poll section but I'm going to add a poll as to weather you've ever left the industry and came back to locating.

**Mke** · February 19th, 2011, 11:52 AM

Great Poll GB. As my trainer told me on more then one occasion..... "There is two types of people in this world. Weasels and Weasel Slappers." It still holds true in most situations. I am a self proclaimed, lazy american. I do complain about certain aspects of my career, but only to a selected few. I have worked for companies that have treated their employees like slaves, and I was told by many people that I was stupid for staying with them. I had one employer that threatened to sue a utility company if they hired me. That Utility company even offered money to my employer and he turned it down. And after that I still worked for that employer for another 3 years. Did I complain? Yes. Did I bitch about it? No. There is a difference.

Mke

**nopaint4you** · February 19th, 2011, 09:49 PM

First chance something just as secure and without everlasting oncall comes along im out of this. I dont get paid enough to put up with this kinda crap. Its a great skill but this (buy All ) company is making it so i cant take it anywhere else And the better you are at what you do, the more (clean Up) you do for the ones who ride the (pain in the @ss) train to skatesville. Monopoly is wrong, not paying what your worth and responsibility is wrong, not paying you anything while shackled to your phone oncall (call or not) is wrong. Great job just run by people getting fat off the backs of the people busting their @ss. Like the oscar the grouch situation. Locators are the grouch in the can and this company is the guy carrying us in a suit. Yeah So they give me a paycheck, well my work pays for theirs. All i can say is if they don't get their hands out of their pants soon they're gonna have bomb of quiting tenured locators saying enough i'll do two stupid jobs instead of this. It was better before some of this new junk they throw at us now Thanks to the locators abusing things they shouldn't. I think just about everyone has a complaint or two about where they work. however the way this place is I dont know how i get up and do it every morning anymore.

**locator00566** · February 20th, 2011, 09:41 AM

Everyone needs to know how bad a company is, whether its called complaining or not. I loved locating, never complained a bit. Then my company started to try and tell us how to locate and manage our own areas to their way of thinking. Then the policies came, more work, more steps, less pay, lying,poor management, on call pay cuts, idle time, gps, auto eclipse,audits, more production. And for what? No damages in 4 years, always on work on time, no problems from me and this is how you repay me for all my hard work?? Yes I am bitter but also grateful for USIC for leading me down another career path. I thought locating was going to be my career. but thanks to USIC , I have chosen another path. Good Luck to you all.

**orangeboots** · February 20th, 2011, 07:17 PM

I'm in it til I die or retire and since I just bought a new house before selling my old one bring on the ot and callouts

**Turk182** · February 20th, 2011, 08:29 PM

I left last week to take a job that fits well with my skill set, offers a guaranteed 40 hours a week year round, and does not require Saturday work, it also pays quite a bit more per hour than what I was making. I liked locating as a job, I did not like my employer, their policies, or the way they treated employees, and I am planning on filing suit against them for backpay for unpaid standby pay that they were legally bound to pay and did not.

**pianoman** · February 20th, 2011, 09:15 PM

I too left the locating business, about 3 weeks ago. I will miss the work because I enjoyed being out and meeting people. But after I and my co-workers were continually lied to about raises, and the continued low pay, then I made it my mission to find another job and move on. One of my co-workers stated he hadn't had a raise in 3 years. New hires are making more than locators that have 1-2 years under the belts. This is just wrong in my opinion. No wonder in the year plus I worked for USIC that 45% of the people in my immediate area moved on to other jobs, this all within one year's time. For management, it must be totally frustrating to continue to hire new people year after year only to retain maybe 1 out of 5 people they hire. I know how to fix this. Pay people what they are worth, then you will get quality employees that will stay on and not leave before they get their first year in. I would rate my short stay with USIC as the worst job expierence of my life, but that is only because of management's tactics.

**yahoo** · February 20th, 2011, 09:47 PM

I left and I do miss it but I do love what I am doing now! good luck to all of you who stick it out!!

**nopaint4you** · February 20th, 2011, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by pianoman

I too left the locating business, about 3 weeks ago. I will miss the work because I enjoyed being out and meeting people. But after I and my co-workers were continually lied to about raises, and the continued low pay, then I made it my mission to find another job and move on. One of my co-workers stated he hadn't had a raise in 3 years. New hires are making more than locators that have 1-2 years under the belts. This is just wrong in my opinion. No wonder in the year plus I worked for USIC that 45% of the people in my immediate area moved on to other jobs, this all within one year's time. For management, it must be totally frustrating to continue to hire new people year after year only to retain maybe 1 out of 5 people they hire. I know how to fix this. Pay people what they are worth, then you will get quality employees that will stay on and not leave before they get their first year in. I would rate my short stay with USIC as the worst job expierence of my life, but that is only because of management's tactics.

I knowsomeone who had to "ride with" a new trainee. While they spent a week riding in the same truck he found out the trainee who knew nothing really about locating made more than him. What the hecks with that? Tenure training a new guy making more than him...

**bearmaiden** · February 22nd, 2011, 09:55 PM

Be careful, that "trianee" might just be someone's new supervisor or DM. Management likes to put their perspective candidates in the field for a minimal timeframe so they can claim they have locate "experience". Can you imagine they didn't get a drop of paint on their boots the whole time they were in the field? As for the grass being greener on the other side -- it is; but you gotta wonder how much cow dung it took to get it there!

**TheCableVine** · February 23rd, 2011, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by bearmaiden

Be careful, that "trianee" might just be someone's new supervisor or DM. Management likes to put their perspective candidates in the field for a minimal timeframe so they can claim they have locate "experience". Can you imagine they didn't get a drop of paint on their boots the whole time they were in the field? As for the grass being greener on the other side -- it is; but you gotta wonder how much cow dung it took to get it there!

Good point. I would be very cautious about discussing sensitive issues with someone you didn't know.

**daman1** · February 23rd, 2011, 05:46 PM

Should I have asked for hazard pay or was time and a half for on-call pay ok.

**daman1** · February 23rd, 2011, 06:05 PM

And this time we'll try it WITH the picture.

**nopaint4you** · February 23rd, 2011, 07:56 PM

That trainee was just a reg. traineee who did not make it. however a person in line for part of management was working in a crew and asked a question. the person answered what are you stupid. yah that did not go well.