Security in America, what a joke

[one-eyed-fatman]

Had a friend of mine check out a security job today. Big corporate company who does security for large shopping malls. They were going to charge him $70.00 for a license (two years only), another $75.00+ in case he didn't return his uniforms (comes out of the check right away) and then they were going to charge him $1000.00+ possibility of a lawsuit if anyone did any damage to the security car. All for a $9.30 an hour job. Another corporate American con job.

[flashdragoon]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

Had a friend of mine check out a security job today. Big corporate company who does security for large shopping malls. They were going to charge him $70.00 for a license (two years only), another $75.00+ in case he didn't return his uniforms (comes out of the check right away) and then they were going to charge him $1000.00+ possibility of a lawsuit if anyone did any damage to the security car. All for a $9.30 an hour job. Another corporate American con job.

hey hey now, not all companies are like that. My company (U.S. Security Associates) only charges 50.00 for two uniforms, and thats it, they pay for the gaurd card and all that. and remember without us our PD would be far to overstretched and normal ppl like you and me might actually end up using our weapons in self defence a lot more then we have to now.

[one-eyed-fatman]

There's got to something wrong out there, they have a police substation in that mall. Out of all the cops in this town only two are willing to work in that mall. None of the other cops come near the place.

[FrankW438]

Originally Posted by flashdragoon

hey hey now, not all companies are like that. My company (U.S. Security Associates) only charges 50.00 for two uniforms, and thats it, they pay for the gaurd card and all that. and remember without us our PD would be far to overstretched and normal ppl like you and me might actually end up using our weapons in self defence a lot more then we have to now.

All my uniforms and equipment are provided. All I have to pay for are my boots and my state license, which is about $55 for three years. The only problem is that I am working for the lowest bidder, so my equipment is the cheapest they could find. I've replaced a lot of my gear out of my own pocket.

The security industry really is a cut-throat business. Profit margins are pretty small, so they cut corners where they can. Employees are disposable. Most customers really don't like paying for security services, because we're an expense that doesn't show any profit at all. Ever.

-- Frank

[flashdragoon]

Originally Posted by FrankW438

All my uniforms and equipment are provided. All I have to pay for are my boots and my state license, which is about $55 for three years. The only problem is that I am working for the lowest bidder, so my equipment is the cheapest they could find. I've replaced a lot of my gear out of my own pocket.

The security industry really is a cut-throat business. Profit margins are pretty small, so they cut corners where they can. Employees are disposable. Most customers really don't like paying for security services, because we're an expense that doesn't show any profit at all. Ever.

-- Frank

Yeah true indeed, unless you count the countless beer runners we stop, or the robberies our very presence prevents, or the million other small crimes our presence prevents. *sigh*

[FrankW438]

Originally Posted by flashdragoon

Yeah true indeed, unless you count the countless beer runners we stop, or the robberies our very presence prevents, or the million other small crimes our presence prevents. *sigh*

That's just the problem. You can't put a dollar amount on what MIGHT have happened. There is no way to put a dollar amount on the deterency value of a good security presence.

[Knight-SG7]

I am so glad my future job has free uniforms...

Teamasg.com

[east_stingray]

I worked "security" for the Mitsubishi motors plant in Bloomington while I was doing my undergrad. We were all licensed medics, which is the real reason we were there, but they had us handle security as well. It never made sense to me to contract the safety (and keys, alarm codes, etc.) of your facility to the lowest bidder.

[one-eyed-fatman]

$9.00 bucks an hour and free uniforms... how could anybody refuse such a generous offer. Would ya like fries with that?

[FrankW438]

Years ago, I worked for a nasty little company that would do anything to make a buck.

In the early nineties we had a guard sitting in a booth watching a parking lot. Well, he was attacked by some local youths and left unconscious in his booth for more than 2 hours before somebody bothered to check on him. He was taken to the hospital with a mild concussion. Nothing serious, thank goodness. But here's the catch:

The docked his check for the two hours he was uncounscious.

-- Frank