New Fake Emergency for 2011!!!

[Bad Robot]

Heard from one of my USIC buddies that a formerly cool Comcast contractor has decided to play the "emergency" card several times this year, and recently in the Joliet area! To be specific, calling in ped to ped CATV bores that ARE ALREADY HOOKED UP WITH A TEMP CABLE as EMERGENCIES!

Cool, drop what you are doing and run, because the crew is on site. One of our customers cannot load porn fast enough, so the world and everything in it has to stop. Get someone else to run your route, because you are here for the duration. Then run for the next two to three days chasing the clock to get your route caught up. For what? Television, digital phone( which I am certain is the "handle" these jackasses need to allege an emergency") and internet.

This is bullshit. Plain and simple. The line has been temped. There is no interuption in service. There is no "emergency". I'll bet you a 10 spot that Comcast didn't even show up to splice in that new line right then and there. Hell, I'll bet you it isn't even spliced in now!

How much longer are we going to put up with this shit! How bad does it have to get before we as locators stop running willy nilly all day for the major utility players and their bullshit " I need to get in front of everyone in line right now ploys"??

And to the USIC techs: What if anything are your managers/ handlers doing about this? My guess would be nothing, because everyone around here knows they are afraid of their own shadow, and God forbid they ever challenge anything suspect that their customers or customers sub contractors pull.

Good luck USIC boys and girls, if this continues your world just got way past what I would put up with for any amount of money.....

[Turk182]

Comed is still worse with emergencies, like calling in faults that have already been by-passed as an emergency at 11 PM, and not doing the work till 5 days later.

[Enjoythefall]

Around here, the water Co likes to call in service disconnects as emergencies. It's a piss off when you have a routine ticket for a location, it's at the end of your list, you are an hour away, and then an emergency for the same location/work pops up. I usually just call them and explain that I already had a routine ticket for it, and politely ask them what changed to make it an emergency. A lot of times, though, they'll just act dumb and say to get there as fast as possible. Even if the crew is on site, I sometimes take the full two hours to show up to those ones.

[TheCableVine]

Emergency... Customers without heat. Need to get out there and locate your lines so the gas company can hook up the gas line. When you show up the house is unoccupied because it isn't finished being built. Just a scheduling conflict with the contractor that was supposed to do the work.

[big boots mcghee]

Heard from one of my USIC buddies that a formerly cool Comcast contractor has decided to play the "emergency" card several times this year, and recently in the Joliet area! To be specific, calling in ped to ped CATV bores that ARE ALREADY HOOKED UP WITH A TEMP CABLE as EMERGENCIES!

This is bullshit. Plain and simple. The line has been temped. There is no interuption in service. There is no "emergency". I'll bet you a 10 spot that Comcast didn't even show up to splice in that new line right then and there. Hell, I'll bet you it isn't even spliced in now!

How much longer are we going to put up with this shit! How bad does it have to get before we as locators stop running willy nilly all day for the major utility players and their bullshit " I need to get in front of everyone in line right now ploys"?

Comcast sub calls in emergency catv bore from ped to ped because customers phone services are affected. Great, Comcast has phone service so they can play the same games ATT and all of their subs play. There was a temp cable, but it wasn't big enough to keep things flowing at proper rates (or so we're told), so thus, the emergency. Due to the cluster**** of buried facilities in direct conflict with the bore the emergency job costs USIC tech almost seven hours out of his day. SEVEN HOURS!!!! Upon completion of locates the new trunk line gets bored in within the hour. And wouldn't you know it, Comcast didn't connect the new trunk that day.....or the next day......or the next, so Bad Robot you'd win your bet. Emergency? My ass. Congrats to that subcontractor, who I've worked with for over ten years. Your word now means jack shit. There is NEVER a reason for Comcast to have an emergency ANYTHING!

Our managers won't do a damn thing. Oh, wait. They'll shift our resources around so that we can scurry and mark out these bull shit emergency jobs and then question what we do with our time. They don't want to rock the boat on any level with our customers, or really any contractor for that matter, but they'll abuse us left and right.

[big boots mcghee]

Comed is still worse with emergencies, like calling in faults that have already been by-passed as an emergency at 11 PM, and not doing the work till 5 days later.

Don't get me started on those guys. For years I've been meaning to get a shirt or sticker made that says "Comed's bitch." They abuse the one call system more than any other contractor I've ever dealt with in my twelve years in this industry.

I got a new one from them earlier this week. They didn't show up for their own contractor meet and an hour and a half later called in a no show emergency claiming all companies hadn't shown up. Rather than follow protocol and call in a new meet they ordered everyone to show up for an inpromptu meet at the end of the two hour emergency no show. The claim was that the foreman ran late to the meet by ten minutes and everyone was gone. The only problem? I stayed for twenty minutes past the meet time, so they were full it. Then not only does the foreman skip the original meet but he fails to show up to the second one as well. He sent someone over who knew absolutely nothing about the work being done, the prints she was handing out, the start date, etc. She tells the water company that they'll be boring under the road, but then I point out they already hired a sub to put their sleeves in. She tells another locator that they'll be trenching at normal depth, about 6 ft deep. Huh? No way, maybe 3 ft deep. But hey, they're a facility owner so who are they to follow state dig laws, right?

[6feetunder]

You can't do anything about it, try if you want but you can't. Think about it, the people calling in the majority of these are either contractors who work for the utilities and/or municipalities. They are the members of the one-call centers, they are the ones who pay their bills so who are you going to get to do anything about it. It's easier to just call in an emergency when you want to do the job rather than taking the time to plan and coordinate ahead of time. It sucks but that's life and there is nothing any of us can do to change the BS emergencies.

[MasterLocator]

What do you care all that matters is that it's part of the job and if your on call it's all OT. Be glad you have a job in these times I work OT every day and sometimes I will take calls even if I'm not the one covering. Be glad to have a job.

[Bad Robot]

What do you care

I care, because it's a fellow locator getting jacked around. I care because behaviour like this affects everbody in this business.

[Bad Robot]

all that matters is that it's part of the job

What matters friend, is that this is NOT part of the job! If it was an emergency it would be. But it wasn't, so it is not. Did you read the entire post, or...?

[Bad Robot]

and if your on call it's all OT.

Again friend, did you read the original post? This happened during normal working hours. For most contract locators I know, you have to have your 40 hrs. in before an after hours call out is anything but straight time.

[Bad Robot]

Be glad you have a job in these times I work OT every day and sometimes I will take calls even if I'm not the one covering. Be glad to have a job.

I am glad to have a job, and most of the guys on this board seem to be glad to have theirs. What does this have to do with this post? Did you even read the entire thing before you layed into everyone? At the risk of being offensive you certainly come across more like a management type, than someone who understands a locators point of view on a subject such as this.

[Bad Robot]

You can't do anything about it, try if you want but you can't. Think about it, the people calling in the majority of these are either contractors who work for the utilities and/or municipalities. They are the members of the one-call centers, they are the ones who pay their bills so who are you going to get to do anything about it. It's easier to just call in an emergency when you want to do the job rather than taking the time to plan and coordinate ahead of time. It sucks but that's life and there is nothing any of us can do to change the BS emergencies.

I see your point friend, but I refuse to believe that there is nothing that can be done about this.

[Paint'n & Flag'n]

Situations like these the contractor gets special attention! I have a long list of contractors that get extra care when I do locates for them and your scenario is one of the reasons why. I always wait the 2 hour limit before showing up, I'll get there 5 minutes before the 2hrs is meet. When I leave there will be a shit load of cables in the ground. I'll tell the contractor on my way to the truck to dig carefully cause there's plenty there and don't stop for any explanations. I just love the expression on his face once done.

He may take time away from my schedule for some BS emergency ticket but I damn sure well add time to his job when I'm done. Lord help him if there is a road bore cause there will be a few running under the black top as well.

For me, in order for a contractor to get on this list they would have had to abuse the situation on several occasions and after I have asked for explanations as to why the so called ticket is required to be an emergency. After a couple of BS reasons they are forever on the shit list. Do I get complaints from there? Sure, but I just say I have to mark where ever I get a signal. If the boss says something I tell him that if I didnt mark it and there was a damage then this conversation would be going a whole different way.

[UULC]

This is Florida's Law. Excavators will and can be given a ticket for calling in a ticket that is not a true emergency.


Emergency Locate Ticket

In an emergency situation, excavators are required to notify the member immediately. Members will request an emergency ticket in response to an emergency situation.
An emergency is defined by s.556.109(2), F.S., as any condition constituting a clear and present danger to life or property; a situation caused by the escape of any substance transported by means of an underground facility; any interruption of vital public service or communication caused by any break or defect in a member’s underground facility; or any impairment of public roads or utilities that requires immediate repair, as determined by FDOT or another affected political subdivision.

Important: Work-scheduling problems are not considered an emergency.

Members and approved excavators can request emergency tickets using Internet Ticket Entry. Excavators not approved for ITE emergency ticket entry must request emergency tickets by calling 811. Whether by phone or ITE, you will be asked to answer six questions:

Is this excavation necessary to protect life or property?
Is there a material or substance escaping from an underground facility?
Is there a vital public service that has been interrupted?
Was/is there a break in an underground facility?
Has a roadway been impaired?
How does this “emergency excavation” meet the criteria in Florida state law?
If answers to these questions are no, this does not meet the statutory requirements for an emergency [s.556.109(2), F.S.] and a non-criminal infraction may be issued.