My Search….
I started this blog out of frustration. After being told of a position that I had supposedly landed, I received an e-mail telling me the position was not available after all… Now, that is and of itself isn’t a real big deal… What is, however, is that I received this e-mail while stopping at a buddy’s house half way across country on my way to the project I was hired for..!!!
Nice, huh..??
Now in our beloved Cable TV Industry, I’m sad to say, this is not unusual. You ask any contract Lineman out there and he’ll tell you a story just like it…
Hence; My search for a Company or Engineering Firm that is, how should I put this…. Honest.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had alot of fun and made some very close friends over the last 21 years. I’m not bitchin’ about that. I don’t have many regrets.
What I am doing, though, is post my experiences looking for the elusive “Company with Integrity”….
I’ll let ya know what happens…..
Click on the “My Search” link above to read all the comments.
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November 4, 2007 at 8:04 am
Well, 8 months have gone by since I started this blog. In that time I’ve worked for a Locating company that hired me as a Supervisor only to have them not even come close to keeping their word…. I worked as an As-Built/QC Engineer for a MAJOR Prime Contractor whose GM was into false billing…. Now I’m a Supervisor for a Contractor whose owner is a mirco-managing prick…!!! He likes to display his power as owner by clipping paychecks and justifying it with whacked-out, convoluted explanations… It’s either go with it or kick his ass….
The search continues…… I’ll keep ya posted….
Later,
LPL
November 14, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Hello again….
I’ve just been offered an opportunity to set up and run a Pre-Construction/QC Department for a Prime in Phoenix, AZ….
Sounds pretty good…..
As always, I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
December 31, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Hey there,
Well, so far, so good…
Every promise this company has made has come true.. They’re not afraid to spend $$$ to make $$$….
They pay their splicers more than anyone here in the valley. Management is way cool… Willing to listen to ideas and willing to let folks manage themselves.
As with any project, there are a couple boneheads…But they won’t last.. If one keeps sleeping with my splicers, she’s gonna get booted… As for the other, he’s gonna spontaneously combust…. Too stressed out…..
So, all is good…. Could it be I’ve found what I’m looking for…???
Time will tell….
I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
January 5, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Hello again,
Shoulda seen it coming….
While the company I was working for is a good one… Everything I ever wanted in a Contractor…. The project is being run by an ex-inhouse manager…
The poor guy hasn’t a clue on how to run a construction project….
He’s the above mentioned stressed-out individual….
He has absolutely no problem throwing someone under the bus to cover his mistakes….Something that, just a few short years ago, woulda had an old linedawg in a rather unfriendly state of mind….
So… I put in my notice and got hired the same day by a large contractor to do, essentially, the same thing…. For $13,000 more per year…
The new company is a billion dollar corporation. They’re willing to spend $$$ to make $$$…..
So far, it feels right….
Again time will tell……
Ya know, there’s something I don’t understand: why is it that the back-stabbing, weak people in our beloved industry are usually in positions of authority..?? These are folks who wouldn’t know a pair of hooks from a fork… Yet, they seem to get to the PM positions….
I’m certainly not saying that all PM’s are like this, but damn, there sure a lotta them….
I dunno……
I’m aware of the fact that most Linedawgs are a bit wild and live fast and hard, but damn, we sure can get the job done…
Hmmm….
If I had a project to be run, I’d get someone who has lived the life knew how to run it… Not someone who can fit in a suit….
I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
February 15, 2008 at 3:59 am
…..and the hits just keep coming…!!!!
Why is it our beloved industry has become managed by Used Car Salesmen…???
The manager for this last company couldn’t tell the truth if ya paid her to.
I could go on and on about all the “untruths”, but I don’t wanna type that much…The least of all the issues involved is the fact that they decided to pull the plug on the project without so much as a moments notice….
Nice, huh..??
If ya really wanna know, e-mail me at LostPlanetLineman@gmail.com and I give ya the whole story….
Ya know, I’m really beginning to wonder if the 4 things I’m looking for in a company really exist.
1 — Honesty
2 — Knowledgeable Management
3 — Pay-checks that are consistently good
4 — A steady work-load
For the above mentioned qualities, they get from me:
1 — 22 years experience in Cable TV Construction, Field Engineering and Supervision among other things
2 — My loyalty, honesty and integrity which is 100%
3 — 110 % effort and then some.
The search continues…
As always, I’ll keep ya posted….
Later,
LPL
February 16, 2008 at 9:10 am
I’ve always seemed to be able to find work when I have to…..
Today I hooked up with a company that is doing Node swaps.
Now, splicing is not something that I’ve put a whole lotta effort into over the years. While I can splice, I wouldn’t dare call myself a Splicer.
This company said that they were willing to help bring my splicing up to speed and teach me how to cut in nodes.
I look forward to the challenge, but I’m all too aware of what I’m in for.
I will admit though; I think it’s pretty damn cool of these folks to give me a shot at something I was totally upfront about not being very good at….
The pay…??? $50,000+ per year to start…!!!
I know: Sounds too good to be true….Probably is….
But as usual, I will give it my absolute best…
Gotta love this industry of ours, huh…???
As always, I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
February 26, 2008 at 5:33 pm
The above guy can’t even pay his phone bill..!!! His phone is out…
The search continues….
I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
March 6, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Two and 1/2 weeks of companies looking for people and they can’t return phone calls….
However, I think I’ve found a gig permitting…We’ll see if this guy’s word is any good….
I’ll keep ya posted..
Later,
LPL
April 20, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Ok… The waiting has paid off..!!
First lemme say that I’m quite aware that my long hair and tattoos make it difficult for some employers to look at me without at least some reservations…. I am, after all, an old Lineman…. With biker tendencies.
However, my faith in my fellow man is restored from time to time when someone looks past the exterior.
An engineering firm has just brought me on to do a ton of permitting in the Phoenix, AZ area.
They decided to bring me on based on my experience, not appearance.
Now, I don’t think I look too scary, but I guess some folks do…
So, it appears that the waiting and the disappointments of the last year or so have paid off…
As always, I’ll keep ya posted….
Later,
LPL
April 20, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Ya know, I’ve gotta ask: How many folks out there in the CATV Industry have encountered dishonest contractors..???
Post your stories here on LostPlanetLineman.com.
As it seems, I’ve finally found a good company to work with.
They seem like genuinely good guys. I hear that they are honest and are very talented at what they do….
I’ve heard nothing negative about them as people or in the way they do business. Oh…And their check always seem to be right and right on time…
Now, it is for a company with all the above traits that I will, not only work my ass off for, but my loyalty will be rock-solid….
I sincerely hope that this is the last company I will ever have to work for….
Anyway, if you have anything to add or have had experiences with shit-head contractors, by all means, let me know here on LostPlanetLineman.com….
Thanx,
Later,
LPL
May 11, 2008 at 1:56 am
Well, another project shot to shit… These guys cut me loose….
In their defense, I am still a bit rusty… I guess it was kinda frustrating to put up with me getting up to speed…
In my defense, they sure wanted a lot for nothing… Way to much running around the Phoenix metro area to pick up their as-builts from all the different municipalities… Something I’ve never been asked to do as a Field Engineer… Not to mention there was no pay for all the hours of running around…
I’m a bit disappointed to say the least…. I’ve never had an Engineer not happy with my work…
Oh well, better things are on the horizon….
I really love this kind of work….
In all honesty, I have to admit that it is partially my own fault for not being up to speed when I took this position…..
The search continues…..
I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
May 15, 2008 at 5:00 pm
……it just keeps gettin’ better……
The guy I was working for has decided that he doesn’t have the $$$ to pay me….
It’s only about a grand, but it’s MY grand…..
I figure that if he doesn’t pay me in the next few days, his name is gonna be all over all of my sites… I don’t want my fellow Dawgs to get caught up in this guy’s inability to pay…
Not to mention, if I have to, I’ll go to the MSO and see what they can do about it…
I don’t wanna be vindictive, I just want my money….
Any suggestions…????
I’ll keep ya posted..
Later.
LPL
May 16, 2008 at 1:25 am
Ok… I need a little input here….
Seems the guy I was subbing from isn’t gonna pay me my last check… I get all kinds of excuses….
So, being closer to 50 than 40, I haven’t had to kick anyones ass over not being paid in quite a few years. I’m not really sure I even wanna ever have to do that again….
It seems that my only recourse is to go to the MSO and let them know that one of their contractors employs a sub who isn’t paying his people.. Namely; me.
Now, the Prime that this guy is working through is, ultimately, responsible for paying people who work on his project. If I go to the MSO, that company will be shit-canned in a heart-beat. I don’t really wanna do that to them….It’s like I said in an earlier post, I’m still a bit rusty and they didn’t have the time to spend on me getting my legs back…. I can understand that and I hold no animosity towards them for that…
So, with all that in mind, I’m kinda at a loss on how to handle this…. I can tell you this, though; I’ll get my money. I usually do.
Anyone have any thoughts on this…???
I’ll keep ya posted….
Later,
LPL
May 21, 2008 at 12:48 am
Alright….
I know what I’m gonna do: Our beloved industry, as small as it is, affords the opportunity to see people time and time again throughout our careers…
With this in mind, it is a warn fuzzy feeling that I get when I realize that I’ll see this guy again…Sometime soon…. and I’m gonna beat the livin’ shit outta him….
Later,
LPL
June 17, 2008 at 8:11 am
Well, the above individual sent me some of my check…. A bit less than I had coming..
The search continues…
As usual, I’ll keep ya posted…
Later,
LPL
August 12, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Hey LPL,
Sounds like we’re Twin brothers of different mothers. I am amazed that after 28 years in this industry I’ve been out of work for 3 months and I have almost the same shit as when I started; a harley and a pickup truck.
Lately I been looking for a way out… But its always to little money or not enough daylight! I know something will come up but the sweet girl isn’t convinced. Anyhoo, good luck with your quest.