"Connectedness" - too much of good thing?

[Local Talent]

I thought about this while posting in the "KISS" thread of the EP/PSD gear subforum.
Am I the only one concerned by the amount of time we spend "communicating" while on the job?
To me a cell phone is a tool and a necessity...to use when I absolutely have to reach someone immediately. In all other instances, I wait to see the person face to face, or use email.

I have heard way too many complaints about agents "spending their shift on the phone" to make the mistake to think it's "OK" to use a cell when in view of the client. I've even seen clients ban on-duty phone use (bummer!) or earpiece wear (BlueTooth) in their presence.

Regardless of the above, fellow agents and employers alike apparently think nothing these days of calling/emailing an agent in the field.
This is a personal pet peeve of mine: a protective agent simply cannot afford to be constantly interrupted/distracted while on the job. That fellow professionals would fail to understand that baffles me.

Sure, I've spent time chatting on my cell while posted at an estate or during a surveillance, and I think that's acceptable. But in the past few months, I've had to take calls, text messages, and emails while in court with a client next to me and working a robbery suppression gig. :eek:
I'm blaming this on Blackberries and iPhones, that I personally won't touch.

When the client addresses you, or the AOP takes places, a vacant stare and a "I'm sorry, what?" probably won't cut it...

If I'm just getting too old and incapable of multi-tasking, let me have it! :D

[Mata-Leão]

I receive phone calls and text messages sporadically throughout my day. I answer every one of these phone calls NOW, because my client passes my number to other colleagues and business associates. (No, I do not appreciate this...) My client is irresponsible with his phone (leaving it at home or in the car) and knows that I have my phone with me at all times which is why he feels comfortable with giving out my number. This is entirely understandable since I work for him.

MANY numbers here are private numbers with no caller ID. But AS SOON AS I identify that the call is of personal nature, I interrupt the caller and say, "I am working at this moment, I will speak with you later..." and hang up. But, If I am at my clients office where most of my time is spent in limbo waiting for him, I will take a personal phone call based entirely on what is currently going on.

Lastly, IF I take a call in the vicinity of my client, my conversation has a strict professional tone. I don't answer the phone with, "WHAT IT DO BIG PIMP!!" While I reminisce about some outrageous detail in my life with harsh, boisterous laughter.

I agree with you. I DEPLORE text messaging while on the job. That takes your attention and tosses it straight into the keypad. Yes, this is because I am not a seasoned texter - I just recently learned how to efficiently use the predictive text and now can blaze through texting like the roadrunner.

Gotta bounce.

[Local Talent]

I'm expecting more responses in favor of phone use, given the number of "crackberry" & iPhone-packing agents I meet. Fact is: as you explain and whether I like it or not, it's just how business is done now.
Our bosses, co-workers, and current or potential clients are constantly vying for our attention...NOW.

Just a few days ago, I received a couple of "restricted" calls in succession. Did not pick up, and no voicemail was left. Since I had just sent a batch of resumes, I suspect it was a prospective employer, who obviously expected me to drop whatever I was doing at that very moment for the promise of the elusive next gig.
I guess I'll never know, but it they can't have the courtesy to leave a msg asking me to please get back to them whenever possible... I probably don't want to work for them anyway. And if they operate in such a state of urgency that they have to get a response from an agent not yet on their rolls RIGHT NOW... same response from me.

Just a while back, a co-worker and I had much fun watching CCTV: the agent posted in front of our bldg, and facing foot and vehicular traffic, was holding his phone close to his body and texting furiously. A close-up revealed his ability to glance left and right every few seconds, as he was aware to be on the job after all, and that was hilarious in its own way. Not so sure how people casing our location would have perceived that, though.

There are of course ways to maintain alertness while on the phone, or listening to the rest of the team chatting away on the radio (another pet peeve of mine), or having a conversation with someone.

I just marvel at the fact that the world can't wait for my response for a few hours anymore. Last time I checked, things were not running that much more efficiently around me. In fact, the constant distractions/interruptions to everyone seem like an endless supply of flies in the ointment.

But like I said (and suspect), I may be just showing what a dinosaur I can be. :)

Oh, hold on...I gotta take this call.

[Mata-Leão]

I have found myself watching B&W CCTV so long that Godzilla himself could have walked past the camera holding 2 dozen lit roman candles and I might not have noticed it. Watching CCTV by yourself can be beyond mundane.

If I take the time to record an adequate outgoing message (in my case, in English and Spanish) I expect a message to be left. I am amazed at the number of missed calls I get, due to bad signal, in which I am left with no message.

And yes, the world society is growing impatient on everything. The thought of looking something up in a book now seems in-conceivable. Everything is all about RIGHT NOW - that is what is being pushed by the Media as well. Instant gratification. Sending a letter in the mail now by your own penmanship is just about obsolete.

I hope you are not planning on saying something negative about listening to i-Pods at work. I think a solid 8 hour marathon of Jim Nabors puts me in the right state of mind to maintain that edge we all need.

[Local Talent]

I hope you are not planning on saying something negative about listening to i-Pods at work.
Well... since you bring this up... (just kidding!) :D

Seriously, I think it's all about the threat level. I've worked 16-hour shifts alone at some VIP's estate inside a gated community and in a well-to-do area... and you bet that the TV was on.
In fact, I knew a movie producer who would be a little offended if he caught you not watching the TV he had paid for (he enjoyed discussing programming with his security).

What I'm mostly addressing is interruptions/distractions while actively engaged in protective duties, such as escorting the principal from the courthouse to their car or posted at the door of a business that you know to be the target of a gang of robbers.
I've been known to ignore my phone altogether in those occasions... or respond to a caller with a terse, "I'm working." (I'm sure I've missed out on a few bookings because of this attitude.)

I agree entirely with your observations on modern life, BTW.

[Mata-Leão]

Absolutely about threat level for sure! It all depends on the scenario. No matter what you are doing or where you are, there is an on-going threat assessment in progress in your mind.

For instance: Recently (3 months ago) my clients business partner had a cousin who was kidnapped in a very close proximity AFTER he left the partners home. Car jacked at gun point by 5 guys wearing and using communications equipment, kevlar vests and driving a late model silver sedan. The whole episode took almost all night and ended in a very peculiar way. It is a super long story that won't be explained, but the point is, this incident raised massive awareness with my clients partner and his family.

When the kidnappers blocked him in and exited the vehicle, they fired 2 shots in the air and then proceeded to pistol whip him in the face before putting him in the backseat of his own car and driving off. They drive for over an hour without stopping. The cousin is in the back seat pleading with them to take him to an ATM to pay them off, they said, "we dont want your ATM money, dont you get it...this is a kidnapping, we are getting money for you."

It is understood that the only affluent individual that the cousin knows is my clients partner. Which leads you to assume that the money would possibly be extorted from the partner. After a night of confusion and driving this guy to multiple locations, he overhears the gunmen arguing that the would-be holding house is not available and they need to find somewhere else. After frustrations, they take him back to his apartment BACK in the city and rob his apartment. They took only a few items, but one of the items was my clients partners Digital Camcorder that had many videos of his new young bride and the entire contents of his large estate.

Put the guy back in the car and drove him on the highway. Arguing the entire time to simply kill the guy. The cousin mentioned that one of the gunmen convinced the others to simply leave him out in the middle of nowhere on a highway and threaten him to NOT go to the police or O.I.J. They put his automatic transmission in 1st gear/low and ran it until the engine or transmission blew - and left him in the back seat.

So, I had to take on an extra detail going everywhere with the new wife and attending her night college classes with her. There is more to the story, but what it boiled down to was the fact that she was most likely the next target, SHOULD they be interested in extorting money from my clients partner. This is very popular here. This put everything on the highest alert and I treated her and the environment around her as if she was a SUPER VIP. It was important that if she was being cased, that an obvious protective effort was visually in progress by a very efficient, motivated person. I didn't care for standing for 3.5 hours at the doorway to her classroom, but I felt it was a necessity. You have no problem staying completely alert because of the severe burning in your feet and sheer excitement of counting the drops of sweat rolling down your back because you are wearing a suit in Central America.

O.I.J was notified and we heard nothing more after that. I feel like I wrote a jumbled synopsis of the event, but I hope it conveyed the idea.

Some days are more lax than others, without actually being lax - just differing shades of threat level. If everyday meant me standing post wondering when my feet were going to need an operation, I might not appreciate this job. The Secret Service guys have it ROUGH I bet.

By the way, Terse is a new word for me. Thanks.

[SCBA Admin]

look technology is advancing faster in this age than it has throughout history, practically combined.
In my lifetime, there were no cell phones as the norm... extremely rare and very expensive - but now everyone has one, I saw a 6 year old yesterday pick up her phone and call her friend, wth? It is only going to get worse, technology will advance so far that we wont need them, they will be implanted in our brains.

Want to be the next gazzillionare? Invent something that will help people get more lazy - like the remote control for TV's, that guy has to be rich lol

Anyways, I think cell phones on the job are critical, like you guys have mentioned, what if a client's cell gets lost and there is an emergency? I carry an iphone as the applications have come in handy - example -

A visiting client comes in last minute and I dont have time to speak to them for an advance - i can easily use my phone at some stop to plan out the next location - you can get local movie apps, local dinning apps with reviews, navigation, language translation apps, tip calculators (for you math challenged agents lol), and more.

I do NOT text while I am on the job, and I screen all calls to determine if I answer the call... when working in a team, it is important to have everyone's contact information along with a coms protocol - establishing a line of communication ahead of time - advance work 101.

And yea... answering your phone - "Sup playa..." is NOT acceptable, and yea, ive seen it first hand

:coolguy:

I never thought I would figure out a way to logically insert that into a thread, lol

Local Guy did you introduce yourself in the new member section yet? What part of socal are you in?

[usabodyguard]

In our academy we cover the gamut of communication examples - radios, cells, visual coms and more... but where most agents fail is client coms... I have first hand seen many agents cross the line with clients... no, they arent your friend, no they dont need your advice on life matters, they have enough friends and people who kiss their ass... you are paid to be professional at all times - that professionalism may differ in style according to the client, but it remains constant in protocol.
The client comes first, if that means taking a call from another agent on the job, you do so, becuase you know the agent is calling for purpose, again, this can be configured to each client situation.

Training is critical, you'd better be confident in YOUR abilities, your client depends on it.

[Local Talent]

[...]where most agents fail is client coms...[...]
Totally agree. Forget size, combat skills, etc. That's where I've seen most guys fail and bounce off a job. They're not reading their client.

I often say that we're constantly performing - for the clients, their employees and associates/family, the public, potential threats, the cameras, the paparazzi, etc. So our guard should always be up, esp. around people who pay us.
The clients must feel that they have our full attention, as they often communicate non-verbally with us. And by that I don't mean that we should stare at them - typical rookie mistake - but be in tune with their every need and sometimes mood.
A good EP agent is a perceptive individual.

That's where I was going with my frustration with modern life's intrusions. They get in the way of The Mission. The German Shepherd at your feet doesn't take calls... ;)

I also know that this point of view is a bit excessive and that coms with the rest of the industry, and esp. the Team, are necessary. But they should be kept to a minimum, which ain't the case in my world.

When my boss calls to ask how I feel about next week's schedule, I feel that he could have instead emailed me, or at least sent a text asking whether I could talk.
Now a call from my advance guy, or to advise that the relief will be late, I wanna get right away.
See what I mean?

[Local Talent]

Anyways, I think cell phones on the job are critical, like you guys have mentioned, what if a client's cell gets lost and there is an emergency? I carry an iphone as the applications have come in handy - example -

A visiting client comes in last minute and I dont have time to speak to them for an advance - i can easily use my phone at some stop to plan out the next location - you can get local movie apps, local dinning apps with reviews, navigation, language translation apps, tip calculators (for you math challenged agents lol), and more.
[...]Local Guy did you introduce yourself in the new member section yet? What part of socal are you in?
Point taken. I also do think that cells are a powerful tool. I've just mostly seen people show off their "cool" apps and transform this tool into an entertainment center (toy)...

On a past gig, I've had to jump in a car with relatives of my principal to take them to a hotel I had never heard of. A quick call to my boss while driving netted me address and directions. My Thomas guide, meanwhile, was still in my own vehicle in another town, useless...
And another time, I had missed the existence of two parking structures while doing a quick advance and reported to the wrong one to meet the clients. Another quick call to my partner (who had found the other lot) and I made it to the location. A few minutes later, I found myself on the phone again, giving street by street directions to the client this time (also lost) so that he could meet us.

Sometimes I wonder how we ever got anything done before cells! But I also suspect that our ever-growing reliance on them makes us lazier and lazier, as we know we can just call someone or get online to get any answer, instead of doing a minimum of homework.
Ever heard the word "approxidate" (apparently not in the Webster yet)? It relates to people agreeing to meet at a vague time, in a general area, and relying on cells to make final contact ("are you there, yet?" "what's your 20?"). That's another example of how technology makes us so lazy that we're not even able or willing anymore to set a rendezvous and stick to it.
Having to exchange endless calls to put together a simple meet annoys me to no end - esp. when dealing with people in our profession, whose word should mean something.

Sorry for the long-winded rant, but I can't help but thinking that we're often looking for hardware solutions to a software pb.

But please keep giving me more examples of how useful new communications technology can be, guys. I know that I'm swimming against the current and it's a lost fight.
On another forum, agents explained how the iPhone in particular, esp. the 3G"S" (with its video recording capability), could be used as a remote surveillance device.

I decided to finally introduce myself a bit in the proper thread, socalbodyguard. Thanks for the reminder!

[Local Talent]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I gots me some examples lately...

Exhibit 1: I'm currently keeping 15 email messages in memory (I normally delete anything not current or print out the vital stuff). These are meaningless exchanges with one company regarding an employment ad of theirs. We still haven't made one interview happen in spite of all this back-and-forth.
They already had an ad out 6 months ago, that I also submitted a resume for, BTW. The reply then was, "Looks great. Will call you tomorrow." That call never came and I assumed they had changed their mind. Since they lost the resume I sent again 2 weeks ago, and apparently do want to meet me, it's obvious that they were just disorganized, or to be generous, too "busy".

Exhibit 2: During a recent gig, the boss litterally bombarded me with emails: heads-up on an assignment, advisory of forthcoming details, revised instructions, change of plans, additional details, forwarded message with intel from another source, his forwarded response to that source, advice and details, etc.
Another agent on that detail even called me so that I'd give him an overview (!), since he didn't have time to go over all that material himself.

Exhibit 3: (PG-13 version - edited for content!). About a year ago, but how could I forget?
It's my day off, I'm very busy, the phone rings. The name of one of my company's principals shows up on my caller ID. I apologize to my girlfriend for forgetting to turn off the phone, and she looks at me like I'm crazy: "But... it's your job!"
"I'm not POTUS: people can wait, m'kay babe?"
So I angrily finish what I've started, then check my VM on the off chance it's important. Hardly: I'm being asked whether one of the agents on my detail has his gun permit yet. I don't return the call. [Note: for those not in Cali, we have a state website with a very easy-to-use, even for a manager, "look up a license" feature.] The agent is not on there, therefore has not been sent his hard copy, and therefore cannot legally carry on duty. End of story.
But why, with all these wonderful modern resources at our fingertips, run a check when one can just call a non-exempt employee on his day off? :mad:

I rest my case: it's out of control! People don't know how to use the phone for immediate contact and email for matters that can wait, they don't know to delay until they have all the facts and send incorrect or incomplete intel out, and they're so busy (no wonder with all that typing, call-handling, and message-checking) that their word means nothing: they forget appointments and plans, waste people's time, and cause delays, since everything has to be said or sent twice or thrice.
When they delegate, they call non-stop, which defeats the purpose and offends subordinates. Cells are such a boon for micro-managers...
And if that wasn't bad enough, they have to stay on the move (uh, why?), which compounds the above problems with misunderstandings due to bad cell reception, more delays until they reach their office, etc.

Too much info ends up background noise that no one hears anymore. In the service, I was taught to think about what I had to say before actually getting over the air. In combat, noise, or vital info becoming noise, can get people killed.
We just seem to assume that our acquaintances and co-workers have nothing better to do than communicate with us.

The worst part of it all is that, like zombies and vampires (should've thought of this post a few days ago!), they want to turn you into one of them. "Get a Blackberry!", "Where've you been!?"... :rolleyes:.
I keep reminding myself of that police chief, in some Dirty Harry movie, showing Callahan a (then huge) pager, and telling him that he's gotta take the damn thing everywhere, "even in the can", because the mayor keeps calling about a case: "I haven't gotten out of my shoes in 48 hours!"
Well today, we're all that guy.

Sure, coms are vital, but it would really help if people, and I'm talking about "professionals" here, started using them with proper discretion and protocol.
20 years ago, only cops, doctors, and drug dealers had pagers. Now we've all become so important that we're packing talking computers!

And are we any richer or more efficient bodyguards for it? I don't think so.

Again, don't get me wrong: I love my toys too, and hope I never have to stick a greasy pay phone on my face EVER again. Just like with guns, the problem isn't the tool, it's the tool who uses it.
Sorry about the: :rant:

And I know I'm a loner who'd be happiest in a cave, but I can't possibly be the only one feeling like this...

[Local Talent]

Greg Giraldo making part of my point, in a nutshell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_82zjIBd1A
:)

[Local Talent]

Working another robbery suppression gig, in the ghetto this time, for a new employer. I spend my time with my nose down, nervously reading non-urgent messages or texting back, in a neighborhood that reminds one of Somalia. :mad:

Looks like I'm going to have to get an unlimited texting plan for that one... :mad:

NOT :cool:.

[Mata-Leão]

Working another robbery suppression gig, in the ghetto this time, for a new employer. I spend my time with my nose down, nervously reading non-urgent messages or texting back, in a neighborhood that reminds one of Somalia. :mad:

Looks like I'm going to have to get an unlimited texting plan for that one... :mad:

NOT :cool:.

Sounds like the employer needs to consider relocating bro.

[Local Talent]

Sounds like the employer needs to consider relocating bro.
The deal is that several retail corporations (mostly cell phone stores, due to the outrageous price tag of their gadgets, but also banks and others) have seen their branches become the target of armed robbers. It's been going on for a while in SoCal, but it's actually a national pb. For some reason, this has not been much on the news and you have to Google cell+phone+robbery to start getting an idea of what's going on. There's been several shootings already, by police and security personnel, but again, most of it is under the general public's radar:
http://lapdblog.typepad.com/lapd_blog/2009/08/robbery-spree-ends-with-suspects-in-custody.html

So businesses have had to beef up their security and "robbery suppression" has been booming. You're of course not safe anywhere, but in bad areas (we happen to have a few in L.A.... ;)) things can be downright hairy. Cocked, locked, and ready to rock...

You know, I started this thread because I was wondering whether it was just me being unable to adapt to new technologies (likely) and whether others felt like me. Distracting an agent working the front door of a targetted store seems irresponsible to me.

But as time goes by, it's beginning to dawn on me that people (employers, supervisors, co-workers) are just relying more and more on our increased "connectedness" (we're tethered, people) to let loose with their need to control others and assuage their insecurities.
I think there's more and more folks with anxiety issues, also, and that may be a sign of the times. If you're so worried about people leaving for work on time, then showing up on schedule, pay a little more and hire pros (that you can then leave alone) is what I'm saying.

I think we're in a transition phase, though. In the (near) future, as some have pointed out in this thread, we'll just have chips in our brains and contact lenses that'll give us 24/7 access to internet, entertainment, and... others.
To me that's scary as hell for a lot of reasons no matter what. But in our line of work?! I was floored the first time I saw a patrol cop driving while talking on his cell phone. EVEN if one is a multi-tasker, I don't believe for one second that one can, say, drive safely, yak on the phone, and pay 100% attention to one's surroundings.
L.A. Sheriffs take pride in driving with their windows down so they can hear and "smell" the streets. A cell stuck to one's ear clearly does not send the same message.

Again, there's no fighting "progress", but I'm shocked that industry pros wouldn't rein in their impulses to interrupt/distract their agents with non-emergency calls, emails, etc.
I'm old enough to remember when distractions on the job were a no-no. I guess we must live in a less dangerous world...

[Local Talent]

Funny, I just got off the phone with a former co-worker who now works for The Man. I was his team leader at an estate protection gig I've talked about here and I mentioned this thread to him. So naturally we started reminiscing about how I always left him alone when on my days off.

Probably conditioned by micromanagers addicted to crackberries, he was always surprised not to hear from his boss for a couple of days!
I used to tell him that he was a great agent, that I trusted his judgment, and that he was very capable to handle most situations without the need for me to get involved.
Of course, in case of a snag, he had my number, but I wasn't going to play the "hey, just checking on things" game. That way, he was able to grow professionally (by using his own initiative and shouldering responsibilities alone) and I got to recharge on my time off.
The guy graduated at the top of his FLETC class and is now a successful investigator, BTW.

This way of treating subordinates is obviously foreign to most bosses I've been having lately.

I'm 45. I don't need a mommy. Don't bother me - I'm working (and soon turning off my phone while on the job). ;)

[Mata-Leão]

Hahaha, Crackberries...

I am finding more and more that a lot of managers, bosses, superiors are most of the time guilty of a few unnecessary characteristics that specifically deter forward motion.

For instance. A lot of them experience power trips at certain given moments to simply drive the point home that they are your superior. And, the one that I have experienced the most is: threatened by their lowly employees ability, that might actually surpass their own within a small amount of time. I have been around bosses that see you as a danger to their own position. That YOU make them look bad. When in actuality, this is not the case - you are their employee and make them look fabulous (in some cases) by exuding such prominent efficiency in your work. But, sometimes you have that boss/manager that now has nothing to do, BECAUSE YOU don't need to be hovered over like everyone else. Now, he starts finding superfluous items to change within your methods simply to validate his position. I have a huge problem with this because in my eyes, everyone's goal should be practical efficiency with utmost quality.

Got to bounce man. I usually read this forum over a morning chilled coffee my wife makes for me. Never was a coffee guy, but this only has about 4 - 5 ounces of coffee in it and the rest is milk with a small amount of natural chocolate she makes from scratch. (not a milk guy either). But dammit, it's enjoyable.

[Local Talent]

That wife of yours sounds like a keeper, brother! She followed you to Costa Rica and fixes you little treats... :thumbs:

About that issue you mention, I haven't noticed it much stateside where, as you say, the American Business Model encourages bosses and supervisors to seek good employees and encourage them to grow. Everybody moves up, everybody succeeds (as long as they pull their weight).

This is very much an Old World problem, OTOH and IME, where people traditionally inherit positions of power, and where careers are therefore much more static. An employee who stands out threatens the status quo by exposing the lazy and the undeserving.
Such societies foster entitlements and stagnation, and it's no surprise that they favor left-wing politics instead of embracing capitalism. "Survival of the fittest" can't appeal to career civil servants and incompetents owing their positions to nepotism and cronyism.

No, what I've been personally bumping into in the U.S. is meddlers (micromanagers) and hyperactive self-promoters. And this is where the issue of connectedness sticks in my craw.

Because basically, I don't care what my superiors' character flaws are (insecurity, anxiety, ADD, pathological hyperactivity), as long as they let me do the job they supposedly delegated to me.
They can get high on energy drinks, toot their horn, or sweat bullets about what's going on in the field all they want - it's when they harrass me with visits, calls, and emails that I take issue.

The American Business Model has been enormously successful precisely because it borrows extensively from military doctrine. Well, generals do strategy, while officers do tactics, and soldiers do the fighting. So I want my boss to handle money matters and work on client relations, then leave me the hell alone to deal with day-to-day operations.
There's a world of difference between a boss who shows he cares by having an open door policy and keeping the communication going, and one who keeps interrupting you to "check on things" and sticks a camera in your face "for your safety".
Annoying enough when you're at a boring estate gig, clearly unacceptable when the threat level is high.

If a girfriend calls me 10 times a day, she gets dumped for reason of control and trust issues, and neediness. :)
A former supe of mine once said that you "point LT in the right direction, pull the trigger, and don't worry about a thing". And that's exactly what I would like people to do: be clear on the mission and open to questions should they arise, then wait for the freakin' report.

I hope this doesn't make me sound difficult, because I'm a pretty easy-going guy. I just hate it when people try to push their own stress onto me, and, this is where this ranting thread originates: new communication technologies are in my view needlessly used as a tool to do just that.

[Local Talent]

Giving CPR to another old thread to add this: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/crime-and-public-safety/md-state-police-officer-shot.html ("Brown appeared to have been shot without warning as he spoke on a mobile phone [...]") and that: http://www.nsc.org/pages/nscestimates16millioncrashescausedbydriversusingce llphonesandtexting.aspx ("1.4 million crashes each year are caused by drivers using cell phones and a minimum of 200,000 additional crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting.")

I can tell that most people consider the risk just another of modern life's evils. I see my partners show up for work and their phones start ringing off the hook (so to speak, for cells), as though no one considers them on duty or can at least leave them alone at relief time. Instead, I was thinking about that the other night, as I was obviously expected to wait patiently during the many interruptions before being able to head home. A while back my relief even showed me the text that his GF had sent him": "This guy -me, his detail supervisor- still talking?" :rolleyes:
I actually suspect that so-called pros schedule phone and #2 head calls after they come to work on purpose, to "save" time. #2 on the job is another pet peeve of mine, BTW. Unavoidable under some circumstances (I won't go there), but definitely not something I want to do.

Co-workers and bosses are all complicit in this. They really seem to think we have nothing better to do than talk on the phone to keep them in the loop. Hard to sell to the clients that we're too busy to help them out with a bag when we're busy playing switchboard operator for company and family! And forget that, I don't wanna have to find out one day how quickly I can draw when caught in white with a phone screwed in my ear. Do we let the iPhone hit the asphalt or go for a tactical reholstering?

So... y'all think I'm just an old fart fighting "progress", dontcha?! :D
:rant:

[Local Talent]

13th post out of 20 in my own thread... Talking to myself? Affirmative!

I keep finding more and more examples to reinforce my stance, in real life or on the job.
Just in the past couple of weeks, I fielded two phone calls from co-workers. One wanted another agent's phone number and the other to confirm a SOP. In both cases, the information should already have been in their possession or memory, and was written down at the post anyway, inches from them. But calling someone has become the default action to access information, rather than memorizing, or opening a passdown folder. I'm surprised they didn't try Google! What has technology done to us?

I was on a day off in both cases, and again, ahem, very busy with a young lady in the first (which doesn't happen nearly as often as I make it sound - it's just that "Murphy" knows where I live!).
Reaction of the girl: "You're not picking up? But... it could be important! You're a bodyguard!"
Me: "Nah, it IS work and I KNOW it is also BS."
And after checking the voicemail a few angry minutes later: "Told ya. Sigh."

Connectedness? That kind I could do without. Lost fight? Yeah, I think so.

[Lone Wolf]

People rely to much on being connected... and while the WHAT IF GAME needs to be played and replayed at all times.. People have gotten fat and lazy its easier to pick up a phone call someone on their day off and ask them about something that is written in policies and proceedures or some other form of documentation.. People seem to think that their question is UNIQUE... Me personally as a supervisor I have had the tendancy to go off on people for not using that thing that sits on top of their shoulders.. BUT.. I always answer the questions.. There have been times where I literally wanted to throttle someone for calling me on my oh so few days off and usually late at night.. Man.. Anyway.. Life goes on and so does work... People will always be people and not think before they act.. Again COMMON SENSE.. seems to be verboten.. Dead Kaput....

[Local Talent]

Yeah... I bitch for 3 pages here, but I'm always very patient too, super or not, and tell people what they need to know and that the "door is always open". The job has to be done, and well.

What gets me is that, while we know that people are people... and without sounding too elitist or something... in the security industry, and at the level of EP, you'd expect common sense. Cutting corners, taking the easy route, speaking without thinking, not being prepared... all that crap is NOT acceptable from us.