Hey guys. As some of you know I work for a rather large excavating company here in Edmonton. Today I got a call from a foreman of another company that I am friends with. He has an opening for a hoe operator and I guess I'm the only man for the job. I haven't got all the specifics yet about the job, but it's a raise from what I make now, more hours, and pretty much guaranteed year round work. Normally I would have told him I wasn't interested. But lately we have been having some issues in the company. I have been having trouble with my packer operators, my foreman is a dink, and I kind of like the idea of a change of scenery. I am torn on what to do. I am meeting with my friend tommorrow night for a coffee to discuss some details. Right now I run a 973 Track Loader, and I do love my job. But I am growing tired of my foreman who thinks everyone is dumb, my packer operator that is dumb and constant flak from the pipecrew. This job is with a earthworks crew running a 600 Deere hoe. Any ideas?
dude do what makes u happy theirs no point of working doing something u dislike. like my father has always said your going to work for the rest of ur life might as well enjoy it.
first off, i love your posts. now is the time to listen to your heart. in the grand scheme of life this decision is small, so be happy. do you want the same old same old or do you feel up to proving yourself to a new company and yourself? i quit the best job i ever had to prove a point to myself and the company and i would do it all over.
If you feel like you need the change, then go for it. But I'd caution you to be careful about going to work for a friend. I have noticed that an easy way to lose a friend can be to work for them, not always, but it can happen pretty easily. Brian
Will they let you take pitchurs??? )Ron G
I'm right there with you Burnout. Going through the same thing. Unfortunately I don't have a friend calling me offering me an alternative, or I'd be tripping over myself to get there. I just keep my eyes and ears wide open all the time, and I always have a plan "B" in effect in case I need a parachute. If the bad outweighs the good in your current place, and you're getting offered more of something elsewhere, it sounds like a no brainer to me for sure. I'd been told years ago that "jobs are like your Fruit O' The Looms...you gotta change them once in a while". Best of luck to you on it.
just remember promises,promises,everybody has year round work if they have a job to do that is.i left a job after working with them for 12 years it was tough going in as low man on the totem pole of a large company,but i've been with them for 9 years now and i am much happier.if your not happy run for the light.
Ok.... my mind has had some time to simmer on this little situation. I had a lovely chat with the girlfriendly unit last night, and sat in my track loader most of the day thinking about things. We are SLOW at Sureway, not super slow, but slow enough that we won't be working up until christmas this year. And as I said my packer operator is a pain in the bellypan. I was talking to my foreman today and I get the feeling he still thinks im just a punk kid doing an old mans job. I am finishing up a site right now, I am pretty well done the backfill so I have been going around doing pre grading for the road. The boss told me how to do things which made no sense to me. His grand scheme was to do my fills of 1-2" all over the roads with exactly that much dirt. Normally when I have a fill that small I will make myself a small pad the size of my machine and then build a pile of dirt in front of me, and then scream down the ditch with the bucket level following the grade stakes. He told me I didnt know what I was doing...I did it my way anyways and in one day finished about 1500ft of road. The grading foreman for earthworks came up and said I finished it faster than he could have with a 627 and 14H. Now he has some small cuts in most places. My boss...... still thinks im an idiot. I talked to my buddy again and things are sounding better. They have the benefits plan we used to, the pay will be good, hours good and he wants me basically to be his right hand man. They will be looking for another foreman next year and he and another foreman I know there think I would be a good candidate. I am thinking about trying it out for the winter... going soon spending the winter to see how the wind blows and then make my final decision in the spring when Sureway heads back at it. I am a company man. When I start working for someone I do nothing but help the company. This year many employees have gone down different paths because of some issues we have been having. The biggest of our issues is a feud with Flat Iron Construction over 10 657G's. My mind is still not made up. As for my posts... I have been taking pics for awhile and not posted any. I even have a nice 8 minute video of the 385 working, and a 5 minute video of me cutting into an auger pit with my 973.
i know u things on ur mind but u also know u cant talk about pictures and videos like that and not think knowone will say something. so post them hahaha
Hey Burnout follow your heart.................the rest will sort itself out in the end!Good luck in whatever you do, i know all of us here at HEF are pulling for you!
I have to to say it just because it hasn't been said the grass is always greener on the other side. The new job will have its own set of headaches too. Especially if you getting into a foremens position then your going to be the dink that thinks you hands are idiots. I do think you have the right idea about trying it out of the winter it Sureway doesn't have any work for you. What about trying to get moved to a new crew?
HA HA moved.... thats funny. There is a sad reality when you start running a track loader here....it becomes your prison. Because I run a 973 I can't leave it. There are no other jobs that pay as much, and no one wants to jump in one. So if you want out you have to quit. As for moving to another crew, all the other 973 operators have piles of seniority on me because I am the only guy doing it under the age of 45. As for the grass is greener... it is about the same shade at this point. I emt with my buddy and we discussed things. They will meet my current pay scale to get me, their willing to hire a rock truck driver or 2 from Sureway if that will please me, and work all winter. They took me out to the site, for now I will be un a 450 Hitachi. I fired it up, took a couple buckets, showed off a bit and thats when they decided it was me or bust. Right now at Sureway I basically am a foreman, well at least a lead hand. I run the backfill crew, those people answer to me. The only difference between me and my real foreman, is I make more than he does, but he gets a nice dodge pickup to drive around.
Well it is done, I made the decision and gave my 2 weeks notice on monday morning, tried to do everything nice and proper. Yesterday at lunchtime a float showed up with another 973.... it was my old beater from last season. They swapped it for my nice one I have had all season thanks to my foreman who is still and always will be a ****. Today I overheard my foreman with our co-ordinator mentioning did I know it was my last day today. I asked him straight out at coffee break this morning and he lied to my face. At the end of the day he told me today is my last day, yada yada yada pretending he knew nothing about it. So I said fine, I am going in for my orientation of the new job monday morning now. I got a call 15 minutes ago, it is my foreman. The other track loader operator also found another job so they need me all next week now. Too bad, so sad.... blow me. I am officially done with Sureway. I have no grudge or malfunctions with the company itself. Just my loser foreman, and our co-ordinator who didn't have the stones to tell me that this morning. Good company, but now that I am no longer a part of it, I am allowed to say there are a lot of losers that work there. I am off to better and brighter jobsites. Might not be as awesome as I am hoping. But it's work, and Sureway has none of that.
Good luck with the new work Burnout...I don't think I could handle a single week with an incompetent foreman. What will you be running now?
burnout, i gave up my "real job" with buddy barry so i can return to my life as the King of Obsolete, marketing my lifestyle. it was the best thing i ever did, money doesn't buy happiness. since i have return to my lifestyle, i have bought a pair of ladie's undies on ebay from catchick (the money went to breast cancer research and the panites went to ottawa for another fund raiser). just relaxing in the KINGDOM writing my 3rd book and enjoying life. keep us posted and keep them pictures coming. also a couple picture of your lady friend would be nice too, LOL thansk KoO Published Author
We could always get a pair of theo's undies and see what we can get for them on ebay......I can sign them...
That is some BS I always try and give 2 weeks, but all but three times it has has bit me in the butt. I've had a lot of jobs... If I where you if there is someone you can trust in the office. I would give them a call to try and see what they are putting in your file since you did give you 2 weeks.
It sucks getting crapped on doesn't it? That's BS though, I mean you did the nice thing and tried to give them the upper hand, too bad they couldn't be cool about it. Those kinds of things make you realize in the end that they were never really behind you in the first place, which leaves a bit of a hole in a guy's pride. I would like to think that if I worked that long for someone they'd give a little more respect when it came time to move on. Makes you feel a little unappreciated after all the time you spent there, that would be the worst feeling for me personally. That's straight up juvenile and bad business, IMO. Time to move on, sounds like you made a good choice.
In this company your file doesn't matter. I know quite a few guys who have quit 5 or 6 times with no notice and their still hired back for some unknown reason.... and half of them couldn't operate a shovel much less a dozer or excavator. It has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but realistically I don't care. I know I will get a call back in the spring, and I am going to tell them thanks but no thanks. It will definately be interesting though, because I gave my 2 weeks for layoff, they have to continue my benefits for 6 months, then again it doesn't matter since I get benefits at the new job right away.
The move is complete, I'm done at Sureway and started with the new company. I called them told them I can come a week earlier if need be.... it's done. Went to the jobsite today, jumped in my 450 Hitachi.... she's no 600 but I love the 45 ton machines. She has speed, precision and a radio. Someone has been buffing the counterweight with the spill pile but we're gonna fix that up right quick here. I haven't got any pictures or videos of her yet, but soon to come. I have 3 rock trucks at my command, all Deere 300D's and all 3 are driven by chicks. They all seem to be good drivers, and they know what their doing, so now the shortcoming on the crew is gonna be me. The foreman has been talkin me up for the last week, so they actually think I know what I'm doing..... little do they know I'm just an idiot that runs a track loader :drinkup
Sounds like you might be in a good spot, hopefully your drivers are good. We've got some pretty good female drivers, or did... come to think of it I haven't seen any in a while:beatsme How are the Deere trucks, I've never run one? Sounds like you better stock up on some counterweight cutting edges or Hitachi paint:cool2 LOL. Looking forward to seeing the photos.
Just smile and act like you know what your doing and you'll be fine. Congrats on the new job... When will the picture session begin??
ya sucks being the f.n.g but it will rub off,congrats and good luck.
:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup best of the irish Burnout have a ball
jim I can only think of 1 as a driver (brandy) the rest are just barely a pulse away from being brain dead
hey buddy havent talked in a while . this sucks bro but youl prevail. I left a good co when i went to cali 4 years ago lucky for me they took me back. send some picts damit love the orange diggers
Hoeman, Shows how far out of the loop I've been. I forgot that the good ones don't work for us any more... :beatsme:Banghead
I'll be workin on a video for the first day....lol You know me and videos. Yeah I know I have left a good company, but the BS is getting a little deep over there at the moment. I haven't got a ton of seat time in the stuff with orange paint, but lots with the yellow. As for counterweight cutting edges..... we won't be needing any of those. By the time my new hoe is in next season... this one is gonna be the prettiest machine in the fleet.
Get some pics of the drivers )Ron G
:iagree:jerry:jerry:jerry:iagree
Easy there boys..... 2 of them are married and the other is kinda stuck up. I tried hitting on the buggy operator the other day. Apparently my Hitachi ain't good enough for her. :ban
Just turned down a job as foreman on a road project did anyone see a brain around???? Well not really it was s 9 month contract only