What Monte said is very true! Dogs are by far your biggest nemisis!
If I come to a yard where there is a snarly dog, I CGA it (cannot gain access) All CGA's get done at a later date, when the homeowner can be pre-notified to put their dog up before the tech comes out to survey.
I have surveyed in less desirable parts of the cities. So far, I haven't had a bit of trouble. The people there are used to having meter readers, telephone repair people, electric co. people, etc., etc., come around all the time. You are dressed in a safety vest, usually carrying a clipboard, and have a piece of equipment with you that makes you look like you fit into the above category of service workers. Heck, most people think you are the gas meter reader.
On the rare occaision when I am questioned as to what I am doing, I just tell them I am doing a safety audit on the gas lines/meters to make sure they are up to code. I haven't had one person not tell me how glad they are I am there to make sure they're meters are safe.
If I am walking around a house, and come upon someone unexpectedly, I just say, good morning/afternoon, to them and let them know I am there to inspect their gas meter. Most of the time, they just say OK, and that is it.
If they ask for identification, I show them my badge and I even encouage them to call the gas co. if they feel they need to verify I am legitimate and not just someone stalking around their neighborhood up to no good. After all, there are a lot of shady people out and about these days. One can never be too careful about verifying the legitimacy of a service person if they feel the need.
Walking around people's houses has made for some funny (ha ha) situations though. My husband walked inside a back gate one time, rounded the corner, and came upon a girl who was sunning herself next to her pool. Only thing was, she wasn't wearing any clothes! I asked him what he did and he said he just said "hello, I'm here to check the gas meter", kept his eyes down, and headed straight for the gas meter, like nothing was wrong, surveyed the meter, then turned around and walked right back out the gate.
He said the girl looked up, said OK, and went back to reading her book, like he wasn't even there.
One would have to know my husband to know this was truely a funny story. He is very shy. He said it embarrassed the heck out of him but he had to get to the meter and he was already too far into the back yard to turn around. He just made the best of it and acted like everything was normal.
With all that said, SCC doesn't want you in a hazardous situation any more than you want to be in one. If you feel an area is unsafe, you tell them so, and move on. There are other people who will handle places where it may not be as safe to survey.
* This post was
edited 08/13/07 09:42pm by janree *
Sounds interesting. If those already doing this don't mind, could you give a ball park hourly or yearly pay? Thanks very much for passing this job info along.
2005 Cedar Creek 362BBS
2005 F-350 Crew Cab Lariat 4x4 Diesel Auto
Linex - Retrax - B&W hitch - Trail Air Pinbox & Centerpoint
Enjoy'nRV'n wrote: Sounds interesting. If those already doing this don't mind, could you give a ball park hourly or yearly pay? Thanks very much for passing this job info along.
To start:
$8 per hr
$36 per day per diem (5 days a week)
$2.30 per hour if you use your vehicle on the job
Comes to a little over $15 an hour (combined) if you get the vehicle allowance.
All this discussion has been around jobs in the SW; what about the SE like FL, GA, TN and AL. Also, the website says jobs normally last 3-5 months but it sounds like jobs of a month or so are not uncommon! So 2 questions -
SE locations and length of jobs. Any comments appreciated.
bobsea and BJ
On the Road Again
2003 Holiday Rampler 38 ft with triple slides
2003 Jeep Liberty with 2 Wilderness Systems Kayaks on top
bobsea wrote: All this discussion has been around jobs in the SW; what about the SE like FL, GA, TN and AL. Also, the website says jobs normally last 3-5 months but it sounds like jobs of a month or so are not uncommon! So 2 questions -
SE locations and length of jobs. Any comments appreciated.
Bob,
The length of the jobs varies so much, it would be very difficult to give you an honest assesment. I would say most jobs are as the website says, but there definitely are plenty that are much shorter in duration.
I think the only reason the discussion on here has been about the SW is because most of us have currently been in that area.
SCC has jobs all over the country. I think the current load is jobs in 30 something states.
In regards to jobs in the SE, we just came from one in Birmingham, my DH's first assignment was in Brownwsville, TN (between Jackson and Memphis), and we both trained in Chattanooga. Both Birmingham and Chattanooga are large, yearly jobs. They have lots of work there. Additionally, they have lots of work in GA, some in MS and AR. They have work in FL but it is handled by someone local who lives there full time, so they don't generally send "travelers" to work down there.
They are selling work all over the place, so you never really know where they will have jobs available. It changes all the time.
hi everyone
I have worked as little a one day and as long as a year as far as I know there is not much work in fl,all ways work in GA around Atlanta some work in al. TN work around Chattanooga I think the only way to know for sure is to talk to SCC. they are all ways getting knew contracts and losing contracts
The only thing that is sort of a pain is having to drive 2 vehicles to every job site. One of us drives the RV, towing the Jeep and the other follows along behind driving the Honda. Haven't figured out a way to legally tow both cars behind the RV yet. Don't expect I will.
Having to be in separate vehicles when traveling makes us have to take more breaks that we normally would. But I guess that's not a bad thing for us to do anyway.
We did find a company that makes a special double car carrier trailer where we could carry both cars behind the RV, but the price was $17,500 for it. A little out of our price range to say the least. It would be perfect though if we could afford it.
Maybe we'll cross paths someday.
If you have a Jeep and a Honda I would bet you could find a trailer that would carry both for a lot cheaper than that.
2004 National Tropi-Cal T-350, Class A, Triple slide, 330 HP Cat DP. 2006 Dodge Dakota 4x4 or
2002 Harley FLSTF Fat Boy on a Trailer or
2004 Polaris Quad on the Trailer
[quote=msmith1199][quote=janree]
If you have a Jeep and a Honda I would bet you could find a trailer that would carry both for a lot cheaper than that.[/quote]
If you, or anyone else knows of one, by all means let us know.
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