Big Brother and Carrier

[Chlorfree]

Did I hear right that Carrier is installing trackers on all sevice vehicles?

[Skinsfan]

I would quit. But get all of your co-worker to go with you. That will stop them, if not it will kill their business. SOLIDARITY!!!!!!!!

[jrbenny]

As if they don't already track you by your cell phones...

They already know where you are. Don't you remember getting an 'upgraded' phone a couple of years ago?

[whec720]

They have already been watching, like jr said. Man, I can not believe how clueless the American public has become. It is no wonder why Hillary will get into the White House.:rolleyes:

[poppop]

They said they would equip all their techs with laptops with payroll capabilties and service manuals ten years ago. We're still waiting for that. Besides, as long as you're where you're supposed to be, what are you worried about?

[cjcargo]

Did I hear right that Carrier is installing trackers on all sevice vehicles?

The company I'm with now has that crap in every vehicle they have. Every time you drive over 70 for like 3 minuets it flags the owner. Nothing, but a baby sitting tool. :mad:
They can tell where each truck is at anytime of the day, and if your sitting in your truck idling the motor. They check the times to see if you started late or left the job earlier compaired to the check in/out times.

[refrtech]

They said they would equip all their techs with laptops with payroll capabilties and service manuals ten years ago. We're still waiting for that. Besides, as long as you're where you're supposed to be, what are you worried about?

Hey poppop will you do me a favor and tell M. McM that " the youngster " said Hi please . He will know who you are talking about . Thanks .

[little john]

I'm so thrilled to be working in a relatively new service dept for a 'mom and pop' type shop. There is none of this retarded-ness on the horizon, believe me.

Of course, I'm making San Francisco UA 38 wages, which are about the top in the nation, so I'm feeling pretty good.

[Chlorfree]

They said they would equip all their techs with laptops with payroll capabilties and service manuals ten years ago. We're still waiting for that. Besides, as long as you're where you're supposed to be, what are you worried about?

Well I guess things dont come your way as quick poppop. Because its fixing to happen. It has nothing to do with if your where your suppose be its just another way of big brother over your shoulder.

[trane]

The only people that worry about this is those that have something to hide. Why would you care if your always where you are supposed to be? I just don't get the responses to these threads.

[maxpower]

They said they would equip all their techs with laptops with payroll capabilties and service manuals ten years ago. We're still waiting for that. Besides, as long as you're where you're supposed to be, what are you worried about?

Let me put a gps in your back pocket. Let me see where your at at any time of the day,everyday. Would you like that?:)

[Carrene #2]

The minute they don't want to pay me the 7.5 hrs the customer has signed for, I'm gone.
I've always been upfront about where I am and whose payin'. No complaints from customers or employer.
I figure I'm lucky to have the customers I have. There again, I'm upfront with them, They all know they pay 3.5, 4, or 7.5 hrs.
No problem with tracking me.

[maxpower]

I guess it fine for you but if they don't trust me and need a gps then I shouldn't be working there anyways.. Its all a matter of trust. Not hiding nothing.;)

[mustardman]

Trane. What good can come from GPS in your service van. Do you think that it is being used to commend your amazing ability to be at a job and account for every minute of your time and make it billable. The argument I hear is it makes dispatching techs easy because they can pinpoint who is closest. I say bulls***t because if a guy is thirty feet away from a call and he is already having problems at another site is he going to respond. I doubt it. It is used to monitor you. Nothing more nothing less and if you can't trust your employees get new employees. Carrier is making a mistake and they will lose staff as a result. JMHO

[refer guy]

They said they would equip all their techs with laptops with payroll capabilties and service manuals ten years ago. We're still waiting for that. Besides, as long as you're where you're supposed to be, what are you worried about?

yeah there is always one that says, "as long your not doing anything wrong then whats the problem" You sound like it does not bother you to be spat on the face.

[whec720]

yeah there is always one that says, "as long your not doing anything wrong then whats the problem" You sound like it does not bother you to be spat on the face.

This is the Nanny State we live in. It sure is nothing new and is only getting worse with time. I'm against such "spying", but realize, America is no where near the free land it once was.
Next up; cameras set up at each job site. Don't worry.....it is just to prove billable hours and protect the boss from lawsuits....:rolleyes:

[refer guy]

exactly.

[Chlorfree]

Some of these guys that dont mind the trackers are the ones that if they are not on the job they are at the office kissing ass. So they are always where they are suppose to be!!

[mustardman]

To expand on my previous post a little to me GPS is a trust issue and I think it goes both ways. It shows the employer doesn't trust the employee and it makes the employee suspect the motivation of its use. The end result is morale amongst the crew will drop. When morale is low productivity drops and it hurts everyone. Owners and employees alike.

[Carrene #2]

Chlorfree,
"Some of these guys that dont mind the trackers are the ones that if they are not on the job they are at the office kissing ass"
That's a classic statement from someone with no spine.

Refer Guy,
Spit in my face, there'll be someone layin' on the floor.

[trane]

There are more reasons than checking where you are compared to where you should be. Lets assume it is for confirming your location and hours. You might not be a problem but what about the rest of the employees. Every hour wasted in a week costs money. One hour for you is not to hard to cover but take that one hour times several guys and you will see this could be a very valuable tool for large companies with many trucks.

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about. If you don't like it move on and start your own business.

[DrumCrazy]

Our shop put them on the vans but it was because of after hours useage more than where you are during the day. The vans were doing work 45 miles out of our area on nights and weekends. I get a biscuit when I want one, stop at the cable company to pay a bill or go to the doctor just like I always have but, my vehicle does not move at night or on weekends unless on call just like they asked. I still crank my van up to warm it and do my paperwork with the A/C on in the summer. Never a word said in 2 years. As usual a few fubar it for the rest of us. And yes they know where I am and I don't bill them for the doctor visits etc. but they look after me because I look after them.

[AtticAce]

Carriers mistake here is letting their employees know about the GPS.
I use GPS intermittenly, but only on trucks that use a lot of gas, and get little done.

If you guys want to moonlight, use your own truck. Don't tell the boss you are sick when you score a quick buck install, because he might see your truck moving down the road when you are sleeping. You know who you are, and the boss has the right to confirm his suspicions. Trust must be earned, I don't trust anyone who hasn't earned the right.

[acjourneyman]

You guys wanting GPS are pathetic, why the hell don't you hire good skilled guys that are worth a damn instead of trying to hire semi qualified guys and pay them nothing. You guys always want it both ways, screw GPS, you want me to sell sh!T, fix sh!t and install sh!t , yet you want to pay us sh!t. I got another way of looking at it, if you don't like the way I am doing things, fire my ass.Don't put GPS in my truck, because you know what, you think I give a rats ass.News flash, AHHH NO.

[Carrene #2]

ACjourneyman
Professional Member

All I can say is; seems to me you might be one of the reasons there is GPS on vans.

Proffesional????

[acjourneyman]

If you only knew how far from the truth that was, but I don't like any BIG BROTHER watching over us.

[Carrene #2]

Didn't sound like it.
Sorry.

[acjourneyman]

OK, let me put it to you this way. Technician A has genareted 350,000 dollars a year for over 7 continuous years with a 98% contract retention rate, technician B has generated a 100,000 for the last 2 years with no customer skills but does what the sheet tells him and he is on the job for the hours the sheet says.Technician A , much more skilled and educated does said job in 4 hours and heads off to another job to look at extra work.GPS alets company and tech gets reprimanded, not believing what the tech is upto.Thereby handcuffing a very good tech and making him bound by the same rules as a useless tech.The fact is, they are taking a very important job away from a good tech, customer relations.If I finish a job early it is impossible to get a job # to go look at something else trivial. Sorry, I know what I am doing, I work 8 hours a day, I bid jobs by the 8 hour day and I get paid 8 hours a day, even if the job is done in 7 hours.

[mustardman]

ac you couldn't have said it better i dont know about you but my timecard gets filled in at the end of the day.

[trane]

You guys wanting GPS are pathetic, why the hell don't you hire good skilled guys that are worth a damn instead of trying to hire semi qualified guys and pay them nothing. You guys always want it both ways, screw GPS, you want me to sell sh!T, fix sh!t and install sh!t , yet you want to pay us sh!t. I got another way of looking at it, if you don't like the way I am doing things, fire my ass.Don't put GPS in my truck, because you know what, you think I give a rats ass.News flash, AHHH NO.


Refer to my previous post. If its that bad why don't you quit. Unsupervised employees are few compared to those that go to work every day with direct supervision. You act as if you own the truck or van and the owner shouldn't get to know what its up to.

[acjourneyman]

If GPS is brought in I probably will quit, and take my 16 years of Trane experience at TRANE with me. It is not my van and I don't use it other than going to work but does the owner need to know I went over 73 MPH on the interstate, or stopped for 45 minutes for lunch. It is just a tool that offices use for babysitting, to make up for the fact that they can't hire qualified people to begin with.

[drivewizard]

I think a lot of the disagreement on this subject is caused by the fact that Pro GPS folks are possibly from Residential or small commercial shops. There may be a place for GPS in those shops for dispatching purposes. JMO

In the large commercial/Industrial arena I think it has no place.
It would be detrimental in fact.
I don't think it would change my "MO", but if management started *****ing about me leaving the job 1 or 2 hours early or going 5 miles out of my way on the way to a job, then it would be time to move on. That would indicate to me they have no clue as to what my job entails.
All of you that do large commerc/indust work, hell even residential to some extent, know that you have to research parts, safety equip., rigging, recovery equip, stop by other jobs to check on something, etc, etc....



I may take a customer to an hour or longer lunch, across town.
What is that worth in future business????
To the anal retentive bean counter watching his GPS screen back at the office, I'm just F---ing off!!
At times I leave the job early, but spend time at home working on paperwork, writing up repair quotes, Identifying parts, etc...
This is work that I could not comfortably due on the job.

If I felt I had to spend every contracted minute on the job, this part of the job would likely not get done, or done very well. Is the customer getting shorted, no, this is part of the job they paid for.


If employers can't trust their employees, they should get new ones!

[geodude]

I'm not sure what the fuss is about, it keeps an honest man honest. The truth is if the company provides cell phones like nextel, they have gps tracking in them. (gps enabled) I can look up every cell number I have and see the phone location. Caught one of my guys installing garage doors ( side job) for a contracter when he was supposed to be installing a furnace for my company, yes I provided the truck and power tools. He is now unemployed. Ever seen the commercial about agitating the dots? There are rfi trackers in a ton a stuff now, tires, clothes,dvds, cars, shoes ect. Big brother is here man, not saying I like it, but its here. I almost never use the tracker. But it is just a tool and can be abused.

[refer guy]

drivewizard is right, i have been in the position where you have lunch with a restaurant manager, when these guys say let me buy you lunch or i buy them lunch....who gives a rats ass how long of a lunch i take or even if i just want to take a lunch for 30min, 1hour, 1hour and half, who cares, last time i checked i dont even get paid for a lunch. Now what happens when your in the middle of your 30 min lunch and there is a service call, ohhh thats when your expected to to stop your lunch and respond right away, thats is ok with the idiot keeping track of you.

If i wanted this much attention when i made my career choice then i would of became a cop or a news reporter or something like that.:eek:

[aruddick]

There are more reasons than checking where you are compared to where you should be. Lets assume it is for confirming your location and hours. You might not be a problem but what about the rest of the employees. Every hour wasted in a week costs money. One hour for you is not to hard to cover but take that one hour times several guys and you will see this could be a very valuable tool for large companies with many trucks.

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about. If you don't like it move on and start your own business.

Then in a year or so when they have employees; they will say " I thnk GPS in the trucks would be a good investment". It looks different from the side paying the bills;)