Do I have a reason to complain or am I a crybaby

[Jake250ex]

Serious question here.

I finally got a good paying job but the hoops the make us jump thru and the fact that the higher ups have zero regard for the employees is getting to me. You may have seen I just made a thread who lives in alabama a few days ago

Ive been here like 6 months and I was never told anything about traveling, all summer the tune was hurry up hurry up your not working fast enough we are swamped. So we run ourselves into the ground, im talkin 6 12 hour days a week and last month they said hey guys we ran out of work you can either quit or go to alabama we dont care either way. So I've been down here in alabama for a month now, living in a hotel room. I got a 2 year old daughter and gf at home, I go home once every 2 weekends so I get 2 days home a month.


On top of that, as soon as I got hired they took our drive time from us. We used to get paid to drive to the job and back since we were driving company vehicles and they took that away and told us it was a perk that we aren't using our own gas driving to the job when really we are hauling their equipment around for free, not to mention if we get in a crash we aren't covered by their insurance since were not on the clock. All summer our jobsite was 2 hours away so on top of that 12 hour days I'd have 4 hours of driving.

And now on to my main gripe, the situation in alabama. I am on a 2 man crew, I am with this guy all day, when I go to bed, when I wake up... literally the only time Im not right next to this guy is if Im sitting on the toilet. They make us share the same hotel room, we share the same truck too so one of us always ends up stuck at the hotel. Now about this guy... I dont know where to start. I hate cigarette smoke more than anything in this world and this guy is the biggest chain smoker Ive ever met in my life. So I breathe smoke 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Chews with his mouth open, is always spitting on me when he talks, showers MAYBE once a week, didnt even bring a toothbrush, CONSTANTLY has his bare hand in his underwear scratching himself, has week old food laying all over the hotel room and strips down to his undies and lays in bed and smokes cigs till 2am or so until he decides to turn the lights off.


Im really starting to lose my sanity. Ive begged alot of people a long time to get this job and now I got it and its turned into a living hell. The thing that makes it hard to walk away is ive been broke for so long and now I have the money for whatever I want, and Im gonna look like a fool to all of those I promised I wouldnt let them down.

But, I never get to see my daughter, fam or friends, my relationship with my gf is dwindling, and I live out of a travel bag and if I'm not working im staring at the wall in the hotel. I cant help but feel this is no life at all. I know alot of people would kill for this job, but I dont know if its worth giving up my life for. id go right back down the road of making 9 or 10 bucks an hour bringing home 300 bucks a week living at home if I quit...

[beastlywarrior]

If your losing the relationship with your child and gf then its not worth it

[deathman53]

doesn't sound right. The whole thing about the auto/truck insurance is really fishy. Whom ever/where ever that vehicle is driven the auto/truck insurance is in effect. If it doens't have insurance when you aren't on the clock, I wouldn't drive it, its not worth the heavy fines and/or lawsuit you could get in the event of an accident. As far as the co-worker, don't know what to say, that is all a personal matter.

[KKiowaTJ]

After reading that, IMO id punch the trailer trash room mate in the face, Call the boss and tell them fawk off. But make sure you put on gloves when you punch lol so you dont get nut juice on ya.

Yeah you might not have a ton of money that you would most likely piss away but you will have you daughter and gf with you. If you have to flip burgers for a bit until the blue gum jungle bunny is out of office so be it. At least you get to see your family and everything else.

Im not rich by no means, But when work gets in the way of my fun time if its riding or family jeep trip off roading, Ill tell piss off everytime. Lifes too short to waste it working for nothing. There is always a better way to make money, Its how far you are willing to go to make it. Good luck either way but your missing out on the best days of your daughters life

[initall]

You will never get that time back with your daughter. And it goes by very fast.

[crlt250r]

It's always easier to get a job while you have a job. Get on Craigslist, look through, or ask your girlfriend to look through the newspaper. That way you also have her involved, and you are searching together. Find something that suits you, even if the pay is between what you get now, and flipping burgers. You do no good to your family without having a job.

[Quinn4]

You don't owe anything to anyone! If you hate the job I say quit and find a new one, like the others said the time with your daughter is worth more than anything! Not to mention being there for your girlfriend, being a single mom is very tough and a two year old can't be ez all by herself. Just my 2cents but id be in the car heading home a fast as possible.
Best of luck to you and your family!
Stand up fathers are tough to come by these days, you have the opportunity to be one.

[muddy400EX]

i say definitely find something that keeps you close to home. you find out real quick what more money is worth when work is all you do

try to find something before you quit tho, good luck :cool:

[wilkin250r]

Sacrifice.

Are you making good money? Then you USE that time and money to build a future for you and your daughter. You stick with the job for now, and spend as little as possible. Every time your co-worker farts, you just think about your daughter and your future ahead. Every obstacle you come across, you think about your girlfriend and the future you're building.

When you have a little nest egg, you find something else that allows you to stay home. Right now, you're laying the foundation for the life you want in the future. It's a stepping stone, not a goal. Use it as such.

[hrc450er]

Switch to a non smoking hotel and stand up to him and tell him to pick his **** up. I wouldnt quit til i had another job locked down. Even if you have to relocate where she lives if its another good paying job. I wouldnt live miserably, ive done it and it isnt worth it to me. The more you make the more you spend is what ive learned. You would be better off working at a place like lowes or something that has a high turnover rate. If you stick around a place like that for awhile you'll move up the chain if you show promise. Make it into a managers spot and once you have that title from what ive seen most managers make solid money and can go on to a diff business. Just an idea

[chucked]

I'd be outta there in a heartbeat

[Ruby Soho]

if it was me, with the extra time you have @ the hotel think about what else or where else you could go. tough it out and search @ the same time. if nothing comes up i would still tough it out. it might be **** right now but like someone before me said, make yourself a good net to fall back on and make a career choice, that way if you dont end up working right away you got alot to sit on while you flip burgers or whatever. and hustle around until you get a position at another job.

im almost in a similar situation. i moved to florida, started ironworking @ a family businiess. difference between us is i love my job, but i hate florida. i decided to try it, but its not for me. so i decided in may that I would be coming home, in september. that way i can bank every penny from then till september so incase i dont get employed as an ironworker up in ct right away i have plenty of money set aside to pay bills. and again like somebody else mentioned, theres always work out there its just how willing you are to go get it...before i left ct i wasnt near as willing as i am now to travel and do what i have to do to work up there. now that i saw the grass isnt greener on the other side im more than willing to do what it takes.

[derekhonda]

I don't know where to start.

1. If you are in a company vehicle, doing company work: You are an agent of that company. If you get in a wreck, their insurance will be the one to pick up the tab. Hell, even if you are a pizza delivery boy, and you drive your car, but you are delivering pizzas, its company insurance should anything happen.

2. About drive time, I've heard it both ways. I feel as though it should be covered, but if they don't, they don't.

3. I would do exactly as wilkin and crltr suggested. Have you're girlfriend pick up the paper and make sure she knows you are trying to get back home, but in the mean time, save every penny. No idea what kinda cash you are talking about but if you can set $500 a week, or $1000 a month, or whatever aside and get through it a while longer, you'll be in a better position to come home and start up a $10 or $12/hr job when one presents itself and work your way up again.

[slightlybent47]

Id be gone like the wind. I would never take that abuse to keep a job. I would go into my bosses office and tell him like it is. If he doesn’t like it he can bit me.

[crlt250r]

Just remember above all else, you are worthless to your family, if you can't support the family.. I used to laugh at the guys that quit their jobs here, with families at home, when they didn't have another job to fall back on. Now, it pisses me off, because I, along with other responsible workers, have to pay that familys Medicaid, food stamps, and crap because work was too stressful on their family. Find a job that suits you and your family, and don't milk the system...

[Jake250ex]

Ive never got a dime of welfare, food stamps or even unemployment. Hell I've been here 6 months and still dont even have health insurance.

Before this job I worked on a damn trash truck all last year making 11 bucks an hour, come home covered in trash juice, have maggots crawl on me, stand in the middle of a busy street picking up trash off of it cause the bag busted open, puke/cramps/diahrea from heat exhaust all summer, and not to mention absolutely DESTROYED my wrists in the process.

I know about having a crappy job, but at this point i dont feel like im working so I can live, I feel like im living so I can work

[KKiowaTJ]

So it souds like your last job followed you to alabama and is your room mate lol.

I still say finish the week and go to your family. If your hard up for money, Go pick up beer cans etc thats free, easy money. No alot but enough if you were broke to buy food.

There are decent jobs out there, Might not pay what you want, But better than having a phone family. If you can drive a car, You can sell car parts at advance or autozone plus its inside and a/c.
I understand the others point about get another job before quiting, But how can you show up for an interview when your where? Not a bad idea to line things up, But worthless if you cant start tomorrow if a job comes up.

Im sorry but its not just money that supports a family. Get back to yours and figure out a good plan of attack for your(s) future. Id rather be dirt poor and have my son than be hours away in a chit hole making a few dollars. You can always liquidate assets and buy them again down the road.

[CJM]

I wouldnt stay, I dont think i could put up with that kinda crap. Find another job, but dont quit this one till your solidly in with a new job or you could be sorry.

Do you know anyone that has a govt or county type job you could get into? Theres always openings for friends, the hours and pay are usually quite good and its an ok job. Friend of mine works for the county as a carpenter, he used to be a contractor but he got in with the right people and works half as much and makes much more money.

My job sucks, I deal with abuse daily from people. My boss is a drunk, my coworkers suck. But I am my own boss basically out on the road, I drive a decent company truck, my time flys by should it be busy or I can catch up on Z's or whatever if its slow. I dont dislike my job nor do I like it, I treat it like prison. I go in, in the morning-serve my time and go home at quitting time. Im in it for the money these days, I stopped caring about the bs.

[Jake250ex]

as I type this, this dude is laying in bed with his work clothes still on boots and all, smoking a cig and eating a microwave pizza smacking his lips loud enough to hear from outside the room. He has a perv comment about every girl that comes into his line of vision, whether their 14 years old or 400lbs, screams and fights arguing with his equally trashy wife on the phone all day, then takes out all of the outcomes of his piss poor decision making on me. I wouldnt take it but technically he is my foreman, Im his employee. This is BY FAR my biggest hang up working here. I swear to god Im going to get lung cancer

This company just isnt willing to work with you on anything. They told us theyd pay us for the drive down here cause it was a 12 hour drive, they paid us alright - 6 bucks an hour. How is that even legal thats less than minimum wage?

They put this new douche in charge and his job was to make us run more efficiently and his idea of that was shave off every second of time that he could. I dont mean cut off actual working time - we still work the same amount if not more we just do it for free now. It sucks because the first month I had this job it was a dream come true, and every since he's been in charge its been something I wake up dreading everyday.


I know alot of you may compare this to being in the military like "well guys in the army are gone for years at a time", yeah thats true but they also knew that when they signed up. All the respect in the world to our troops but I didnt know Id be and on the road dad when I took this job and no one bothered telling me that till my first day on the job.

sorry for the whining i feel like a chick whining about my day at the office but im gonna explode sitting here with this pig

[89trx250r]

Dude honestly the more time you spend with someone the more you find the things you like or dislike about them...Sounds like you dislike everything about him. Like others have said try to find a job while keeping your current job. If you arent having any luck with that then invest in yourself. What I mean is learn a trade...Welding,Painting(automotive),General contracting. It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and you just wanna provide a good life for your family while still being able to see them :)

Dont let that guy get to you...He probably feels the same way as you and hes just trying to make the best of it by doing what he does at home lol...No one wants to be stuck 12 hours from home for months with some random dude sharing a single hotelroom.

[quad2xtreme]

How big is this company? I think you are sitting on a gold mine.

/Jon

[Jake250ex]

Their pretty big. They cover probably over half the country, I install natural gas pipe. Im home this weekend but I'm goin back to canton mississippi monday.


Hopefully I can just tough it out and they dont keep bouncing me around. Nothing is worse than sitting at home broke with all the free time in the world and not a dollar in your pocket while everyone else around you is living it up. I will tell you this it makes me appreciate coming home and seeing this dead brown Indiana grass, riding my dirtbike, seeing my fam and friends and driving my own truck around so much more when I've been deprived of it all. The rotten egg smelling well water is even pleasant to the nostrils :)


I do want to stay here and hopefully end up being an operator, that was the goal before I ever even started.

[quad2xtreme]

If you are in a large company, I can promise you that the HR department is not aware that you are being forced to share a room with a smoker. Supervisors often think they get to make up the rules and do in fact end up exposing the company to financial settlements/lawsuits because of their position of authority.

I'd be surprised if your company doesn't have a policy against smoking especially if they are making employees share hotel rooms. I can't even begin to tell you the liability they carry having you share a room in regards to other incidents like the guy accidently exposing himself to you.

[JForestZ34]

I would call your HR department like xtreme said. They are probably not aware of the situation and trust me they will fix it quick!!!!!!

Back in the early 80's I was a training and safety supervisor for a refueling company at Newark Airport in NJ. Being I wasn't in a union when the union fuelers went on strike they would use the supervisors to fuel the planes.

One year Dallas Fort Worth Airport came up for contract renewal and the union was threating to strike so they flew 20 of us out of newark and from all the other refueling station we currently owned. So maybe 250 supervisors flew into dallas.

I enjoyed it at first because I made my normal salary plus my per diem, and strike duty pay. I was down there for 3 1/2 months. I was making close to $2000 a week and the money was AWESOME but missing the family at home was the roughest part. Seeing the bank account grow as fast as it did was nice but then after a while it got old.

I was lucky because I roomed with a guy that was a good friend of mine but it was crappy being so far from home.

Just remember if you can't provide for your daughter your GF might have an issue with that. I say eat some $%^@ and just deal with it for the short term if you can. But first things first, call HR and tell them that your roommates cig smoke is making it hard for you to breathe and that you would like another room if possible. I'm sure if you let them know that you don't like cig smoke they will move you pretty easily.. Good luck, let us know how you make out.


James

[tw1976]

I've worked gas distribution work since the day after I graduated high school. This June made it 18 years. (That makes me feel old)

I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but there will always be travel in this line of work. If you look at every state between Iowa and New York I have worked there.

This line of work will provide you with a hell of a good living, but at times it's going to come at the price of a home life.

[tw1976]

Tried to send you a pm with a couple questions/suggestions but it says your inbox is full.