SM&P Hiring Freeze

[beyond help]

In talking with good friends in the Locating Dept at Nicor. I beleive that there will be looking elsewhere for there locating needs. There feel that USIC can not focus on there locating needs as long as there doing four plus party locates.

It depends on how much time is left on the contract. We damn near lost most of ours this past year. But all have reupped.

[Locatingart]

If Nicor wants out of the contract there have away out.

[beyond help]

If Nicor wants out of the contract there have away out.

Everyone can get out of a contract, question is, do they have enough cash to do it, and who will the turn to?

[frostypeters]

Everyone can get out of a contract, question is, do they have enough cash to do it, and who will the turn to?

There are enough outs written in any contract to get out in 30 days if need be. If NiCor wants out, they'll get out.

Plus, there would be no shortage of contract locate companies willing to get into the market.

[big boots mcghee]

There are enough outs written in any contract to get out in 30 days if need be. If NiCor wants out, they'll get out.

Plus, there would be no shortage of contract locate companies willing to get into the market.

And all it would take is one contract locate company getting their foot in the door, performing well, and potentially picking up additional contracts from other facility owners who feel the same way. It's the circle of life of the locating industry. USIC may be the largest locating company now, but it won't last.

[frostypeters]

Anyone who has spent time in the industry can confirm it is cyclical. Remember when CLS was the mac-daddy? Or SM&P before the SBC "incident", hell even UtiliQuest was the BIG player for awhile.

The format however is still broken & until the "big boy" on the block makes the changes necessary, we will continue to have this cycle of life.

[underground quester]

Anyone who has spent time in the industry can confirm it is cyclical. Remember when CLS was the mac-daddy? Or SM&P before the SBC "incident", hell even UtiliQuest was the BIG player for awhile.

The format however is still broken & until the "big boy" on the block makes the changes necessary, we will continue to have this cycle of life.

Yes Frosty you are absolutely correct. The Consortiums basically dictate who will be king and who will be the joker based on bids and what any company biding on a contract may be willing to give up to get the contract.

Its sad, its broken and I predict it will not change in the foreseeable future.

[frostypeters]

Yep, the good thing is as a locator, you can just change the t-shirt you are wearing everytime the contract changes hands.

With all the warts on the industry, we have a necessary & desired skillset. If you are good, you are always employable. You may have to relocate, but if you can always work once you become a locator.

[USIC1]

Just wait until some of the utility owners find out how

badly USIC is to there employees...

If you had a large contract with someone protecting your facilities would you

like to know how bad the employees feel about there company and the risk of jeopardizing those facilities???

I dont think so either...


Thats where the big squeeze of USICs gonads will ultimately be

tested...When the digruntling remarks get aired out to the facility reps in the field...

Just wait and see...

Who will do there part when the short changing escalates???

[shovelhead]

The longer I am in this biz, the more obvious some things seem to me. One of which is this:

They already know how everyone is treated. And for what it's worth, some of the folks I've talked to really seem to feel for us. But there is nothing they can do. As long as they are saving money, and there isn't any negative press, I don't think the folks who make these decisions for the utility customers care how the work gets done. They are just trying to hold on to what they have left.

Because not so long ago, things were better for them too.....