stay or quit???? that is the question.

[goingnuts]

i have been working for a locating company for only three weeks after five weeks of class training and four ride alongs. to begin with my dm more or less called me a liar when i said it took me an hour and a half to clean the truck they gave me and forty dollars out of my own pocket. there was so much paint in the bed i had to use lacquer thinner and a steel brush to get it out. my first week in the field the company gave me a computer the kept locking up on certain maps. it was new, but every time i tried to move the map around it froze. then it up and quit working on me. after a week they finally discovered that it was the charger cord was going bad. one week down. week two, transmitters constantly keep going nuts or just quit working. when i try to approach them about it they look at me as if it is my fault and that it could not possibly be there crappy old equipment. they give the new comers the old crap that has been beat all to hell and the longer term locators the new equipment even though they mistreated and abused what they already had. so by week i had went through two transmitter and one receiver. weeks three. another transmitter goes bad and i am told to smack it around to get it to work, oh and by the way, even though i am new, and had little training on the computer, which took me two weeks to get to know and i still have not been trained in one of the utility maps i have to use on a daily basis, i am told to get "x" amount of tickets done by a certain time even though my equipment keeps crapping out on me and i have to keep running around to get more crappy equipment . so....should i quit and go back to my previous job? or should i stick it out with this company or find another locating company with better judgement and equipment??

[UULC]

Sound like you work for USIC.

[goingnuts]

lol, any advice???

[Turk182]

lol, any advice???

It's not going to get any better, trust me, I know.

[6feetunder]

Sound like you work for USIC.

Exactly what I was thinking. No it doesn't get better , it only gets worse because the more you learn the more you see what goes on and the more sick and disgusted it makes you. If you have opportunity you should get out.

[TheCableVine]

I agree... It won't get any better. They aren't going to change their ways for one person.

[4x4jw87]

I dont know a single person that isnt looking for either a different company or job right now. Not sure where your from but its really bad here. Seems like they forget what all they preach in training and in their emails, then in person or on the phone where nothing is documented they tell you to do what ever it takes to make their money, anything. sounds to me like usic is in the market to build the company up and wipe their hands free of it.

[locator_smbk]

Sound like you work for USIC.

Thats what I was gonna say.

There aren't many locating companies left that are better than USIC. If there is one, USIC will put them out of business jsut to get the contracts they wanted.

I am still using the same equipment that I was originally issued when I started with my current employer. That was over 6 years ago. As far as cleaning the company truck, I have to pay to drive the damn thing home, it gets dirty on company time, therefore if it gets clean, it will be on company time.

These companies do not care, plain and simple. Sounds like the OP got the short end of the stick when it comes to support from his supervisor and upper management. Hell, I can't even get my sup to answer his phone during working hours. At least the OP can talk to his sup and DM.

New Acronym for USIC -- Underwear Stuck In Crack...just like a wedgie from the football team back in your High School days....

[[HAF]Foxtrot]

Go to CUS. They get brand new Vivax's and vehicles ect. if your a new hire and no eye in the sky to question your every move.

[Isotopes]

Lol I bet I know where you work. Seriously they do give pure junk out of class. I have been threw so so many PCs that I know they though I was a liar Thank god so many people quit that I got a brand new truck and rd8000 out of it. I never, ever wash my truck unless they pay for it. My truck looks like it came out of a swap all the time lol.

I only have have 3 months in the field but I like the job. I hate the on call and its just to many hrs. If I could get down to 40hrs a week I would love this job. But I have noticed a few thing that will always be there that will drive you nuts. This week they made us only work 8hrs and the vets even less the last day of the pay period just to screw us out of over time. As if we wouldnt have to work 12 the next day because we went home early??

Being sent out of your area to help a new guy just to have your board pile up is major stress, and with the turn over rate its always going to happen no matter what they say.

All the being said I still look for a new job. I think this job makes you look good on a resume if nothing else. And I have talked to other small time locators, if you get a job locating with anyone else its a very very gravy job. I say Get some time uner your belt and get a job somewhere else locating.

[Mke]

Goingnuts.... don't blame the vets for treating the equipment badly, they deal with crappy equipment too, they just learned that the bosses won't replace is so they deal with the quirks. As for cleaning out the truck..... I wouldn't of put that much effort into it. As my trainer told me when I first started... " Oil changes only, They don't pay for anything else, you don't give them anything else."

I do have to agree that nothing will get better. Even if you change companies, some are better at some things, some are worse... all in all you have to have intestinal fortitude to keep with it.

Good Luck

mke

[Goldenboy]

i am told to get "x" amount of tickets done by a certain time

It drives me nuts that they tell the newbies they have to do a certain amount of tickets. Management don't remember when they were new and everything was different and confusing and extremely time consuming. The sad thing is the only way to make numbers is to cheat and they shouldn't be forcing newbies to cheat because they will get cut up.

As far as staying or leaving you can do what you want but everyone here has been locating for years and with this job you get tons of job opportunities and all locators seem to stay locators but love to bitch about being locators. I do believe to be a contract locator you need thick skin. They'll tell only work 40 with one breath and then 2 minutes later ask if you can work Saturday. You just have to learn how to ignore everything,collect your paycheck, and don't get cut up.

[Dave72]

Hang in there until you get some experience. After 2 or 3 years, you can start shopping around. Its a good field, and an interesting career. If you get lucky someday, you'll snag a union / inhouse locactor job. (ours make 30/hr plus very good bens, and you're expected to do a proper locate.. if it takes more time, then time will be rebooked.. etc.. we expect (and other than the odd tel drop) get no hits at all).

As for washing the truck on your own time ? We get paid to do it, but.. I bet I would wash it on my own time if it came down to it.
Yes, its a company truck.. but people see you the operator.. do you want to look professional or haphazard ? Clearly, the company doesnt care which way..
If the company doesnt provide a uniform, do you just wear old ripped up jeans and a greasy tee shirt ?

[ProfessionalLocator]

If you take the truck home as a commute vehicle then by federal standards the time spent gassing or washing the vehicles need not be paid wages. But if the employer requires you to wash or gas the vehicle on your own time may be a different matter.

The company you work for sounds like USIC which is like Utiliquest on PCP and Meth. Since USIC is fairly new their practices have not caught up with them.

The practices of Utiliquest, adopted by USIC and intensified, has resulted in a lot of lost contracts recently. This is the cumulative effect of years of implementing these practices.

Give USIC time and there can be no other result. Utiliquest has been beating itself on the head with a hammer for years, USIC uses a bigger hammer.

It was good advice to use USIC to develop your skills so that you can later, asap, change employers. Locators of any experience level are usually the first choice of companies that are hiring. If you stick with them a year or two you have a good resume.
Even if you work someplace else after USIC those few years locating make you a good candidate for the locating firms.

[mikeinnella]

I was taught that if you dont have anything nice to say dont say a thing........
My advice.....
Run!!!!!!