Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Gowen on November 15, 2008, 12:34:37 PM
-
I don't know how to respond to this story. I just did not want to do a drive by.
http://www.dailynewscaster.com/2008/08/24/operation-bright-eyes-tattle-tale-utility-workers-spying-on-customers/
Cable provider Bright House Networks launched Operation Bright Eyes in 2005 in Tampa, Florida in cooperation with local and federal law enforcement agencies. So far more than 900 cable service technicians have been trained to act as the eyes and ears of the government by using tattle tale utility workers as “secret police” informing on paying customers and circumventing that pesky Fourth Amendment.
The program according to Bright House company officials has been so successful they have expanded it to Bakersfield, Orlando and Detroit in 2008. As of August 8th, 2008 Duane Brodt of Coles Marketing Communications is proud to announce the snooping program will target cable customers in Indiana.
The first Indiana launch of Operation Bright Eyes was in March after Indianapolis Metro Police Department trained more than 130 service technicians who work in Indianapolis. Two weeks later, the program launched in Carmel after Carmel Police Department trained more than 25 local service technicians. And in June, Operation Bright Eyes launched in Hendricks County following the training of nearly 25 service technicians by Brownsburg Police Department.
“Nearly 25 Bright House Networks service technicians will undergo special training Monday morning in Marion to become extra sets of eyes, ears and helping hands for Grant County residents and local law enforcement and emergency response agencies.” Says, Brodt.
These cable “spies” who receive a few hours of training are not required to notify customers that they are acting as secret informants for various government agencies. They can then act as “Confidential Informants” and with their testimony law enforcement agencies can then ask a judge for a search warrant of your home.
These government sanctioned peeping Toms are part of a larger national program called TIPS, the Terrorism Information and Prevention System the goal of the program is to recruit one million utility workers to spy on American citizens.
“Service technicians are in constant communication with our local dispatcher and with the training provided by our Grant County law enforcement agencies, they’ll know what to do and who to contact should someone need help,” said Cal Blumhorst, area manager who oversees Bright House Networks’ operations in Grant County.
So remember the next time you invite a utility worker into your home you are aiding in the illegal search of your premises and to add insult to injury you will be paying for the “privilege.”
If you oppose these illegal spying operations perhaps you should contact Bright House Networks (661)-323-4892 Email: bakersfield.customercare@mybrighthouse.com or Duane Brodt of Coles Marketing Communications his number is (317)-571-0051 Cell: (317)-417-9322 Email: duane.brodt@colesmarketing.com. More Bright House numbers HERE.
-
Thats messed up! Now I'm almost glad we don't have cable. The water meter is read outside through a plastic thing. The technition just swipes a key reader over it.
In any case, how is this suposed to help fight terrorism? Any smart terrorist would be sure to hide his stuff and blend in with the local, secular population.
-
Service technicians are in constant communication with our local dispatcher and with the training provided by our Grant County law enforcement agencies, they’ll know what to do and who to contact should someone need help,”
I am getting increasingly annoyed at the idea that certain activities are in place "to help" or "for your safety". That's the justification? ;/ Does anyone actually believe this nonsense? ;/
Hey big brother, stuff it. I don't need any "double-naught spy"-types poking around in my business.
-
I think I figured out what I wanted to say. It wasn't GWB that worried me about the Patriot Act, it was who came after him. Guess who will be in charge of national security? Guess who sees all gun owners as dangerous? Guess who will be in charge of programs like this? Guess who will be in charge of the Patriot Act?
-
It wasn't GWB that worried me about the Patriot Act, it was who came after him
My thoughts exactly, years back. I was afraid it would be "President Hillary and her TSA brownshirts."
-
do cable guys get in your house uninvited? make a note hide contraband when they are scheduled
-
do cable guys get in your house uninvited? make a note hide contraband when they are scheduled
So you think we should have no problems with this behavior?
-
if this behavior somehow menaces you you have problems. anytime anyone enters your house they get a look around. hide the bong ammonium nitrate and anarchists cookbook. hide the grenades and kiddie porn too
-
"Yeah, this is super secret deputy cable agent 008, I'm licensed and have my week of training. Anyway, I'm installing cable in an apartment and I can see the guy next door is cleaning a firearm. HE'S GOT A FRICKIN' ARSENAL IN THERE! Send me everything ya got..."
;/
-
if this behavior somehow menaces you you have problems. anytime anyone enters your house they get a look around. hide the bong ammonium nitrate and anarchists cookbook. hide the grenades and kiddie porn too
There's a difference between the casual look people get when they come into the house and someone being tasked to sniff around for stuff.
-
if this behavior somehow menaces you you have problems. anytime anyone enters your house they get a look around. hide the bong ammonium nitrate and anarchists cookbook. hide the grenades and kiddie porn too
Oh I see, thanks for clearing that up cassandrasdaddy, because reasonable people think all guns are bad and people that own guns and have children must be reported by the cable guy without a 6th grade education because after all if you are not a lawbreaker why worry?
-
There's a difference between the casual look people get when they come into the house and someone being tasked to sniff around for stuff.
are they being tasked? you gleaned a great deal more info than i did.
all i got was "These cable “spies” who receive a few hours of training "
we're talking the cable guys here they are not a serious threat. anyone who gets in your house can be a co. what are they trained to look for? i mean really not what you imagine they are looking for. iirc they already have the mailman and paramedics and firemen looking.
"Oh I see, thanks for clearing that up cassandrasdaddy, because reasonable people think all guns are bad and people that own guns and have children must be reported by the cable guy without a 6th grade education "
interesting statement not sure where it comes from though. and by the way you gotta at least ged to be a cable guy and has anyone had a cable guy report a gunowner? i mean in real life. i know in your case gunsmith its not the case but so often when i hear folks wailing i wonder if its just they worry about their stash getting spotted
-
are they being tasked? you gleaned a great deal more info than i did.
By which I mean:
Normally, if some guy comes into my house and sees a bong, obviously he's going to report it. But the guy is not going to start looking for the bong if it's not already obviously there. It's not part of his job description. I'm against putting looking for the bong into his job description.
-
There's a difference between the casual look people get when they come into the house and someone being tasked to sniff around for stuff.
are they being tasked? you gleaned a great deal more info than i did.
all i got was "These cable “spies” who receive a few hours of training "
we're talking the cable guys here they are not a serious threat. anyone who gets in your house can be a co. what are they trained to look for? i mean really not what you imagine they are looking for. iirc they already have the mailman and paramedics and firemen looking.
"Oh I see, thanks for clearing that up cassandrasdaddy, because reasonable people think all guns are bad and people that own guns and have children must be reported by the cable guy without a 6th grade education "
interesting statement not sure where it comes from though. and by the way you gotta at least ged to be a cable guy and has anyone had a cable guy report a gunowner? i mean in real life. i know in your case gunsmith its not the case but so often when i hear folks wailing i wonder if its just they worry about their stash getting spotted
Actually, I was a cable guy for a few months, no GED required! All you needed was a truck and a pulse.
The manager was a drug user/dealer ( his heroin dealer was a friend of mine in a 12 step program )
He wouldn't report your stash, he would steal it.
I got angry at the cable company once because they messed up my schedule real bad,& I gave an entire senior citizen complex free cable!
-
so often when i hear folks wailing i wonder if its just they worry about their stash getting spotted
That makes them unpersons and their concerns irrelevant.
-
if this behavior somehow menaces you you have problems. anytime anyone enters your house they get a look around. hide the bong ammonium nitrate and anarchists cookbook. hide the grenades and kiddie porn too
Don't care for the insinuation.
I don't like this because it's one hell of a slippery slope, and could get out of control all too easily. What recourse would I have if a utility worker pursues this, the cops get a search warrant, and find absolutely nothing? My time, wasted, lost? Folks going through my belongings for no reason other than what a utility worker saw or what he thinks he saw? Yep, I have serious problems with that, you're right on that count.
Or, worse yet, knucklehead gets it in his head that he's now some kind of hero and needs to detain me himself?
-
If someone isn't worried about this, I guess they never have a copy of any gun periodicals on their coffeetable.
I guess they might never leave on a desk in another room that has cable anything like a magazine, a box of practice ammo they just bought and had not yet put away, or parts of a firearm they had been cleaning.
I guess they never leave their range bag open because they're going to the range later, so someone can see boxes of ammo, rows of mags, and various safety equipment and targets in it.
If they have a basement, I guess they don't have a reloading bench or steel ammocans where they can be seen from where the connection boxes are. Or even a gunsafe, anywhere, that can be seen.
Because I can just about guarantee you that if a handwringing blissninny sort with little education saw any of that, you'd be reported to the police as having an "arsenal" or "preparing to do something bad". :P
The Costco I go to is right near the Mass line, and there's a lot of Mass plates in the parking lot, they like to buy stuff here without sales tax. I have literally...and I mean literally...seen someone shudder and hurry past a displayed GUN SAFE in an aisle, as if it was going to suck them in and foist lots of evil guns on them or something. The very association seems to terrify them. They'd probably be paralyzed if they saw a real gun even behind glass.
Would you want someone like that going through your house, able to "report" things?
-
i read a gun mag at the police station the other day nothin happened
heres some reality
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA624472.html
'Bright Eyes’ Recruited in Tampa
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 7/11/2005
Bright House Networks’ Tampa Bay division will work with local sheriffs’ offices to roll out a neighborhood-watch effort the division has dubbed “Operation Bright Eyes.”
In the first phase of the program, about 500 of the cable company’s technicians will receive crime-watch training.
Ultimately, 2,500 field employees will receive training from law-enforcement officials in seven local counties.
The goal is to train field employees to recognize suspicious behavior and to quickly report possible criminal activities to the appropriate authorities.
The initiative was announced just before the July 4 holiday by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Child Protection Investigation Division in Largo, Fla.
The effort might be in response to a report that local citizens continue to be concerned about crime in their neighborhoods, even though statistics show crime is dropping in the Tampa Bay area.
“Operation Bright Eyes really gives us the chance to take a proactive role in public safety and address a true community concern,” division president Kevin Hyman said in a statement. “We’re not asking our people to be vigilantes or put themselves in harm’s way. We’re merely deploying 500 extra sets of eyes and ears to help keep our neighborhoods and residents safe.”
The workers will be provided with a comprehensive list of emergency numbers to call. The division anticipates that all appropriate workers will receive training and join the program by year-end.
There is a growing trend in public-affairs initiatives by cable operators.
In May, Comcast Corp.’s operation in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, Md., and Washington, D.C., agreed to become an active part of the regional Amber Alert network. That system, designed to quickly provide information about missing or abducted children, will transmit key details directly to the cell phones of the region’s 800 field service personnel, who will use that information to watch out for the child and/or abductor.
And even without a formal program, field technicians have responded positively to emergencies, proving their value as eyes and ears in local neighborhoods.
Comcast field techs Ryan Thornhill and Todd Hickam were credited with saving the life of a 10-year-old in June in Des Moines, Wash., after they heard a woman crying for help there. The technicians retrieved the boy and resuscitated him before paramedics arrived.
http://www.mybrighthouse.com/about_us/community_involvement/brighteyes.aspx
To enhance public safety in communities throughout Bright House Networks service areas, we launched a neighborhood watch initiative called Operation Bright Eyes. With help of local law enforcement agencies and Crime Stopper chapters, more than 900 of the company’s service technicians have been provided community-based training that empowers Bright House Networks service technicians to lend a helping hand to members of the community and also encourages them to take a proactive role in emergency situations including Amber Alerts.
Bright House Networks first launched Operation Bright Eyes in 2005 in Tampa, Florida. Service technicians have rescued young children who wandered away from their homes, helped hit-and-run victims, reported house fires and attempted residential break-ins and much more. The programs success in the Tampa Bay area prompted the expansion of the program in other communities the company serves including Indianapolis and Birmingham. We plan to launch the program in Bakersfield, Orlando, and Detroit in 2008
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=24150
Press Release
Avon, Ind. -- Nearly 20 Bright House Networks service technicians recently received special training to be extra sets of eyes, ears and helping hands for police departments, emergency response agencies and local residents, allowing Bright House Networks to launch Operation Bright Eyes in Hendricks County.
Bright House Networks’ Operation Bright Eyes is a unique mobile crime watch and community service initiative. Training by local law enforcement personnel teaches Bright House Networks workers how to report potential crimes in progress, spot suspicious behavior, report an accident or lost child, provide help to injured or elderly residents and much more. Training also equips Bright House Networks workers to be key communicators in the event of a communitywide crisis or emergency.
Brownsburg Police Department staff led training at Bright House Networks’ Avon offices on June 20. Following the training, during which service technicians were taught to follow certain procedures given certain scenarios, workers were equipped with an extensive list of local emergency contacts before beginning their shifts.
“Our service technicians are in touch with our local dispatcher at all times and now they’re armed with a comprehensive list of local contacts, including police, fire, rescue and emergency management officials,” said Lou Zimmerman, area manager who oversees Bright House Networks’ operations in Hendricks, Hamilton and Boone counties. “One of our workers may witness an accident or come across an elderly homeowner who needs medical attention – thanks to their Operation Bright Eyes training, now our service technicians know the best practices and procedures to handle such situations and be more valuable assets to the Hendricks County communities they serve.”
Service technicians must undergo Operation Bright Eyes refresher training once a year. Participation in Bright House Networks’ new initiative is mandatory for all service technicians.
“The Operation Bright Eyes program enables all of our law enforcement agencies to utilize more resources to protect and aid local residents,” said Brownsburg Police Department Chief Steve Carroll. “I believe this program – and the concept that it is a mobile crime watch and community service initiative – will make an immediate and lasting difference in the safety and well-being of Hendricks County residents. It is a win-win for everyone.”
The first Indiana launch of Operation Bright Eyes occurred in March after Indianapolis Metro Police Department trained more than 130 service technicians who work in Indianapolis. Two weeks later, Operation Bright Eyes launched in Carmel after Carmel Police Department trained more than 25 local service technicians. Bright House Networks has plans to launch the program in Grant County in the near future.
Operation Bright Eyes originated in 2005 in Tampa, Fla. Since, the Bright House Networks initiative has grown into one of Florida’s largest public safety programs. Service technicians have rescued young children who wandered from their homes, helped hit-and-run victims, reported house fires and residential break-ins and much more.
Bright House Networks Indiana is one of central Indiana's leading digital video, high-speed Internet and digital phone service providers and has served the Indianapolis community for more than 24 years. Managed by Advance / Newhouse Communications, Bright House Networks is a privately held company. In Indiana, Bright House Networks has more than 450 Indiana employees and provides services to more than 120,000 customers in Indianapolis, Carmel, Zionsville, Avon, Pittsboro, Lizton, Fortville and Marion, Ind. For more, visit indiana.mybrighthouse.com.
has someone been snitched for having a gun mag? in real life i mean or is this all of the worldnet newsmax genre
-
I briefly encountered the truckers' version of this. The flavor I got, and get from this article, is "Condition white WILL NOT DO! (Where have I heard that before?) Pay attention to your surroundings and, if you see something worth reporting, report it." What I have heard of the so called training is that it amounts to a reminder of what bears reporting, most of it in the "Well, DUH!" category.
I do enjoy one name I have heard: The Gladys Cravitz Brigade ('though I thoroughly dislike having gotten the reference!)
-
If they have a basement, I guess they don't have a reloading bench or steel ammocans where they can be seen from where the connection boxes are.
The satellite dish installers walked right past my reloading bench (press, other related tools, several pounds of powder, etc), but only managed to steal my FRS radios during the one time I left them alone for 5 minutes. :mad:
Chris
-
what no black helicopters? no one kicked your door down and shot the dog stomped the cat?
-
what no black helicopters? no one kicked your door down and shot the dog stomped the cat?
I think your house is due to be thoroughly inspected from top to bottom by min-wage employees who couldn't get a job better than "cable installer", who have trouble figuring out a door latch, who can't remember which is positive and which is negative, and who can't even get your account number right. They'll recieve minimal, substandard training, they'll report anything "suspicious" outside their very limited comprehension, and they might even take a few items of yours as a bonus.
They can report anything from any guns that could be "illegal" or even a "machine gun!!!" because they saw it in a movie and the bad guy had one like it and he killed cops, to some loose green tea that might be "pot".
Deal? What do you have to hide?
-
I
think imagineyour house is due to be thoroughly inspected from top to bottom by min-wage employees who couldn't a job better than "cable installer",
fixed it for ya
-
Wait, so first off I don't like this situation because most likely I have something to hide
if this behavior somehow menaces you you have problems. anytime anyone enters your house they get a look around. hide the bong ammonium nitrate and anarchists cookbook. hide the grenades and kiddie porn too
and now it's because
1. I need a reality checkheres some reality
2. My tinfoil is too tight and I am concerned with black helicopters and JBTs? what no black helicopters? no one kicked your door down and shot the dog stomped the cat?
You misunderstand me, and my concern with this.
-
maybe i do what are you concerned about?
-
Folks going through my belongings for no reason other than what a utility worker saw or what he thinks he saw.
-
c and s daddy - I gotta run, or I'm going to hit overtime. Pick it up again tomorrow? =)
-
maybe i do what are you concerned about?
The real issue here is the law thinking they somehow need to expand their area of influence/power, and using random civilians to do it.
Do you seriously think this isn't a load of complete BS?? :rolleyes:
-
IANAL and I do not play one on tv.
If individuals are trained to snoop and provide information to police agencies then they are agents of said police and are covered under the 4th amendment? Of course the PAtriot act might have eliminated parts of it for our own safety and security.
Anygunanywhere
-
the law has always used info from various folks invited into homes. this makes em a lil less random and hopefully gives them a clue as to how to act. we had a mensa candidate out here with a grow op in his house. cable guy dimed him. he showed up as cops were bringing out his plants said" oh you found the dope? i thought you found the gun..... " cop turned around and brought the convicted felons 357 out.
and this genius knew the cops were there when he came home he'd been called at work and told about it
-
what are you concerned about?
I don't know maybe a private co. you are paying to provide a service pretending to be law enforcement?
To paraphrase "Government and law enforcement are like a septic tank, big chunks float to the top."
-
IANAL and I do not play one on tv.
If individuals are trained to snoop and provide information to police agencies then they are agents of said police and are covered under the 4th amendment? Of course the PAtriot act might have eliminated parts of it for our own safety and security.
Anygunanywhere
Under the circumstances described in the article, they are probably not agents of the government in regards to the 4th Amendment. In order to be "agents", there would probably have to be more specific direction, such as sending them to certain homes or having them dig through people's stuff.
-
It's bad news on several fronts.
Surveillance sans warrant?
How admissible are their "findings" in a court of law?
Umm, Oversight Program, anybody?
I saw a lot of stuff when I worked for Dish Network.
Had I wanted a baggie or even small bale of Wacky Terbaccy, many of the places I did installs in had the stuff laying around. (This was Madison, of course...)
I did not report them. Wasn't my job, nor should it be the job of Jim Carrey Cable Guys.
This sets a dangerous precedent - no two ways about it.
-
This sets a dangerous precedent - no two ways about it.
(^ Quoted for truth, no in response to)
That's the friggin point! If you don't understand why this is a Bad Thing, I can't help you.
I drive a delivery truck right now, and on occasion, see Illegal things. Guess what? None of my friggin business! They aren't hurting anything!
-
In all the years I have been going into peoples houses I have had to call the law exactly one time. And this was do to large bruises/welts on a 3 yr old little boy. That was the roughest thing I have had to deal with. I personally don't care one iota about your dope stash or whisky still. Now if you baking crank or making stove top meth. Then I am calling the law. But realistically very few of those types call to have something repaired.
Just think if your sister was caught in a hell hole of a abusive relationship and the cable guy was her only chance to get help. Wouldn't you want the guy to drop the dime for her?
Jim
-
the other operation Bright Eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vqm43Frk28
-
Now that this program is getting press attention, I wonder how many cable service reps will start "disappearing" after seeing things they shouldn't see....
Risky program....and I bet the health plan doesn't cover it, either...
-
note to self buy more alcoa
they've been issuing press releases about it since before it started. got any disappearances or kicked down doors to tout? black helicopters? maybe it was the cable guy who dimed the liberty dollar fellar. any guys in wookie suits vanish? the door kicked down over the gun magazines was a good one
-
Trotting out the tinfoil, black helicopters and JBTs AGAIN?
You must think rather little of us. =|
Address these items with valid arguments or I guess I'll run along back to my tinfoil conspiracy sites... ;/
1. Folks going through my belongings for no reason other than what a utility worker saw or what he thinks he saw.
2. Surveillance sans warrant?
3. How admissible are their "findings" in a court of law?
4. Umm, Oversight Program, anybody?
5. This sets a dangerous precedent - no two ways about it.
(Now that I think on it, I haven't been to Alex Jones' site in a while. That's always entertaining. :laugh:)
-
I actually attended a seminar once a LOOOONG time ago (way before terrorism became a watchword) involving ALL the various service company types being on the lookout for evidence of animal fighting (dogs/cocks) and reporting it. That's like electricians, plumbers, carpenters etc etc. So really, this isn't all that new. I've been entering people's houses for nigh on to 30 years now. Can't recall EVER finding anything that might be termed "illegal" except maybe the one broad who kept her poor neglected cat in the basement living amongst it's own waste with no food or water to speak of. I was too young and dumb at the time to think of reporting her, though I should have. One thing I DID learn, there are some REAL slobs out there. ;/
My question is, what if you manage to piss off the cable guy? Might he/she not report you as somehow being suspicious just to get even? ;)
-
re 1 and 2 what has changed with this program? they already can get a warrant based on whats someone you invite in sees. all this does is try to give these folks a clue and if you notice the focus isn't on kicking in your door if they see guns and ammo. as a matter of reallity can anyone point out a problem as a result of this program that has actually occured?
you invite these folks in anything anyone you invite in sees is fair game
re 3 they are classed as ci's
re 4 what kinda oversight you want?
5 the precedent was set long ago and the danger is grossly over rated
-
you invite these folks in anything anyone you invite in sees is fair game
It may be legal, but that doesn't make it okay.
-
My question is, what if you manage to piss off the cable guy? Might he/she not report you as somehow being suspicious just to get even? Wink
kinda like pissing off the cook
-
Note that I don't personally need to fear cable guys for the obvious reason of not having cable.
-
It may be legal, but that doesn't make it okay.
don't invite em in thats the rough part of being part of society you have to make choices one might be no cable or fixing it yourself
-
don't invite em in thats the rough part of being part of society you have to make choices one might be no cable or fixing it yourself
Or electricity? Or gas?
You do know that if gas service is interrupted, a gas person has to come in to do the water heater and all, right?
-
don't invite em in thats the rough part of being part of society you have to make choices one might be no cable or fixing it yourself
So you essentially argue that 'society' can impose whatever obligation it chooses on me in exchange for the wonderful privilege of being part of it?
-
My question is, what if you manage to piss off the cable guy? Might he/she not report you as somehow being suspicious just to get even? Wink
kinda like pissing off the cook
You said a "mouthful" there! :laugh:
-
So you essentially argue that 'society' can impose whatever obligation it chooses on me in exchange for the wonderful privilege of being part of it?
no i say you impose it upon yourself when you avail yourself of the benefits being part of society offer. you know schools roads grants etc.
-
The point is, that if it is illegal for the government to spy on American citizens, how are these paid informants any different?
-
ummm because they aren't paid informants?
-
no i say you impose it upon yourself when you avail yourself of the benefits being part of society offer. you know schools roads grants etc.
So, pray tell, do you think these impositions are unlimited? Or is there after all a limit to what society can do?
-
sure you can limit your involvement/dependency of course thats like revolution MUCH easier talked about than even attempted
-
sure you can limit your involvement/dependency of course thats like revolution MUCH easier talked about than even attempted
That's now what I asked and you know it.
-
I come down on the side of "don't like it at all" just because I'm old enough to know that if you give some people an inch or less they will take much farther than a mile. Some dork who feels inadequate in every other facet of his life will use the "power" he thinks he's got to mess with someone on his customer list for the most piddling of reasons, just so he can feel superior for a moment.
Now that I've got that out of the way, and speaking of that last, I'd like to ask what makes people think it's OK to sh*t on others about the way they make their living?
"cable guy without a sixth grade education" "min-wage employees who couldn't get a job better than 'cable installer'"
I suppose you sneer "McJob!" at the people who make your burger and fries or your taco and burrito, too. Is your own self image so bad that you have to put other people down to make yourself feel better? Whatever they're doing and whatever it pays they're out working and trying to make a living. It's honest work. Leave 'em alone about it.
Save your put-downs for people who deserve it, say...the ones who think they know better what to do with your money than you do.
-
Now that I've got that out of the way, and speaking of that last, I'd like to ask what makes people think it's OK to sh*t on others about the way they make their living?
That irked me a bit as well. I used the term "utility worker" only to differentiate these folks from trained LEOs.
Whatever they're doing and whatever it pays they're out working and trying to make a living. It's honest work. Leave 'em alone about it.
My feelings exactly. I could easily make a 6 figure income, but choose to stay where I am as my schedule allows me lots of time with my kiddo. Not everyone is motivated by a fat paycheck and their name on a door.
-
Now that I've got that out of the way, and speaking of that last, I'd like to ask what makes people think it's OK to sh*t on others about the way they make their living?
"cable guy without a sixth grade education" "min-wage employees who couldn't get a job better than 'cable installer'"
I suppose you sneer "McJob!" at the people who make your burger and fries or your taco and burrito, too. Is your own self image so bad that you have to put other people down to make yourself feel better? Whatever they're doing and whatever it pays they're out working and trying to make a living. It's honest work. Leave 'em alone about it.
Save your put-downs for people who deserve it, say...the ones who think they know better what to do with your money than you do.
Clue for you. Comcast installers deserve their reputation.
They are not satellite installers or electricians, who tend to be far more skilled. Satellite installers have to know how to aim the dish, gas people are at least efficient, have chirpy phones and know how combustion is meant to work. Comcast installers...I don't know where they get them, but goddamnit, are they STUPID. I mean, in a "How do these people remember to breathe?" blank-eyed sort of stupid. They've burned out countless electrical systems, broken countless walls, hooked up things wrong and had no idea it was their fault, and even blew up a house.
-
ummm because they aren't paid informants?
Well, it is made to be part of their job and they are paid for that job... Does it matter where the paycheck is coming from?
I personally have no real problems with the situation as presented. I doubt there is much on the job encouragement. Just a few hours of a seminar telling you the proper numbers to call for various things. I don't think this is much different than the old 'see something, say something' program.
Are these people given badges or even a direct phoneline different than the general public for reporting? As I see it, they are just being informed as to proper reporting procedures. And as for the false reporting to get back at jerk customers, well, any indication they won't be held accountable for false reporting?
Anyways, always tip the cable man and offer him a soda.
:police:
-
And as for the false reporting to get back at jerk customers, well, any indication they won't be held accountable for false reporting?
If it gets you a no-knock raid, does it matter?
-
Clue for you. Comcast installers deserve their reputation.
They are not satellite installers or electricians, who tend to be far more skilled. Satellite installers have to know how to aim the dish, gas people are at least efficient, have chirpy phones and know how combustion is meant to work. Comcast installers...I don't know where they get them, but goddamnit, are they STUPID. I mean, in a "How do these people remember to breathe?" blank-eyed sort of stupid. They've burned out countless electrical systems, broken countless walls, hooked up things wrong and had no idea it was their fault, and even blew up a house.
Whatever rep a group has, if you treat them like idiots then you'll get what you expect from them, as well as what you deserve. Self-perpetuating, is that.
FWIW, the Comcast guys who installed our TV and Internet last week were polite and professional. So was the guy they sent a few days before who couldn't do the work assigned because the office staff had screwed up the work order.
-
Whatever rep a group has, if you treat them like idiots then you'll get what you expect from them, as well as what you deserve. Self-perpetuating, is that.
FWIW, the Comcast guys who installed our TV and Internet last week were polite and professional. So was the guy they sent a few days before who couldn't do the work assigned because the office staff had screwed up the work order.
Alright, I'll treat them like geniuses when, both times, they swore the new DVR must be "bricked", and they'd have to try again next week, until I just picked up the remote, went through the setting menus, got it to renew DHCP lease and it came right online. Or when they swear that the internet won't work with a Mac, that you have to have a PC for that.
-
wrt making cable guys angry, they can turn off the cable for an entire neighborhood in less then ten minutes.
-
Nothing personal, 'wolf, but what I mean is treat the proven idiots like idiots, they deserve it, just don't lump 'em all in together based on your experience with a few nor on tales from elsewhere.
And while I'm replying:
If it gets you a no-knock raid, does it matter?
Damn good point.
-
Nothing personal, 'wolf, but what I mean is treat the proven idiots like idiots, they deserve it, just don't lump 'em all in together based on your experience with a few nor on tales from elsewhere.
Ditto. Especially the "nothing personal" part.
I did my time in fast food/service sector hell, and remember all too well what it was like.
-
This is why threads get locked. Knock it off. - mtnbkr
-
If I were a service tech, I wouldn't report anything except the most egregious violations of the law . . . something really extreme with a good chance of hurting others, like a bomb factory or meth lab.
For one thing, I wouldn't be getting paid extra to be a snoop for the .gov, would I?
-
Or electricity? Or gas?
You do know that if gas service is interrupted, a gas person has to come in to do the water heater and all, right?
Not here. When Mike and I replaced my water heater in 2004, I had to have the City send an inspector, but I was still able to light it and have hot water. Theoretically, I could've not called and nobody would be the wiser. All he did was eyeball the connection and make sure it was done properly.
When I replace our gas stove, I didn't even call as it wasn't required.
Or did you mean something more substantial such as the gas being turned off at the meter?
Chris
-
Not here. When Mike and I replaced my water heater in 2004, I had to have the City send an inspector, but I was still able to light it and have hot water. Theoretically, I could've not called and nobody would be the wiser. All he did was eyeball the connection and make sure it was done properly.
When I replace our gas stove, I didn't even call as it wasn't required.
Or did you mean something more substantial such as the gas being turned off at the meter?
Chris
When gas had to be turned off for a local linebreak near my parents' house, a gas rep knocked on the door of every house and had to either light the pilot on the furnace and water heater, or just check if they were lit that they were lit properly.
-
Directed to the original post:
Instead of debating this issue I figured I would post this link.
Service Locations (http://www.mybrighthouse.com/areas_we_serve/default.aspx)
Above you will find a link to the company's service areas, as far as I can tell this program is limited to Bright House networks customers.
If you support this program and live in the area, put your money where your mouth is and buy a subscription.
If you hate this idea, you only have something worry about if you live in one of the service areas. For now (cue ominous music).....
-
I will admit that the installers are not among the best and brightest. AS a Head End Tech, I've had to work with them closely, because I was in charge of the Cable system telephony. That mean off the cuff troubleshooting, provisioning, etc. The installers, on the whole, that worked for my company, left a lot to be desired. We had a few that tried real hard or had some talent, etc.
Comcast does have some fairly minimally trained installers & techs and they won't hire seasoned techs. I know that from experience. It took me three months to get a return path cable plant problem resolved. If I had the proper equipment, it would have been resolved within an hour.
-
I will admit that the installers are not among the best and brightest. AS a Head End Tech, I've had to work with them closely, because I was in charge of the Cable system telephony. That mean off the cuff troubleshooting, provisioning, etc. The installers, on the whole, that worked for my company, left a lot to be desired. We had a few that tried real hard or had some talent, etc.
Comcast does have some fairly minimally trained installers & techs and they won't hire seasoned techs. I know that from experience. It took me three months to get a return path cable plant problem resolved. If I had the proper equipment, it would have been resolved within an hour.
Thank you, yes. I had not meant to imply that all cable techs are idiots. It's that the ones Comcast hires are often idiots, because they won't hire and pay skilled ones with experience. That's the company's problem, and a lot of people have had the same experience.
-
Stuff like this makes me glad I have no reason for service people to come in my house. What might they see? Let's see, gun magazines, infant formula, pile of AR parts on the table, internet poker going, rugrat gleefully playing with AR buffer spring.
Obviously I am cutting heroin with baby formula, running an internet gambling ring, employing child labor to build assault weapons for illegal sale all in an effort to raise funds to overthrow the government.
Or maybe I'm spending a quiet snowy day at home with my kid, relaxing and playing some poker and learning how to put together my AR on AR-15.com.
Sinister. :rolleyes:
More people in this world need to mind their own business.
-
Thank you, yes. I had not meant to imply that all cable techs are idiots. It's that the ones Comcast hires are often idiots, because they won't hire and pay skilled ones with experience. That's the company's problem, and a lot of people have had the same experience.
I must've got lucky, then, and got the three guys with a clue, or the company operators in my area have a clue and hire good people. I hope it holds up if there're problems in future. Sorry y'all have such nimrods doing it in your area.
-
Is it really a prejudice if the observation/opinion is reinforced by every contact with one of "THEM?"
Perhaps, perhaps not, but the process sure is producing some ugly, and off topic, posts here.
(Uncle Bubba, Nimrod got a single mention in the bible as being a mighty hunter.)
-
I suppose you sneer "McJob!" at the people who make your burger and fries or your taco and burrito, too. Is your own self image so bad that you have to put other people down to make yourself feel better? Whatever they're doing and whatever it pays they're out working and trying to make a living. It's honest work. Leave 'em alone about it.
You forgot to ask him if he wanted fries with that.
-
What everybody here seems to be ignoring is that, anytime you let a person into your house, they can report anything they see to the Feds, the local PD, or the crackhead down the street. I'd be willing to bet the crackhead pays better anyway. If you don't like the idea, don't leave stuff out where they can see it.
When I was a service tech, and a couple of other jobs that required going through every nook and cranny of people's houses, we reported child abuse, animal abuse, and that was about it. OTOH, there was no way the company could stop us from reporting anything we found suspicious to the proper authorities, who would then have the option of following up on it or not. Frankly, even with my detailed inspections it wouldn't be hard for someone wih two brain cells to rub together to come up with several hundred cubic feet worth of places I still wouldn't need to look in the average house.
Now, as for false reports, IMO those should be handled as harshly as possible, but legitimate reports have been happening for a long time and will continue to happen.
-
on the sub, sub topic of being seemingly condescending to "sixth grade" cable guys, let me reiterate, I was one!
except that I got my GED from uncle sam in 1978 at ft Gordon.
Some of my fellow cable guys were really smart tech wise but couldn't stop injecting illegal opiate products, others were alkies but unlike moi, they were not in AA.
Of the 20 I worked with 3 or 4 were normal non drug/alky regular joes.
Of the substance abusers, most were pretty dumb, but there were a few really smart criminals in the group.
I don't know, do you want a smart criminal or a dumb one messing with your modem?
-
I made damned good money as a Dish Network installer, but it ended up being 7 days a week with the ungawdly amount of overtime. The NFL Network monopoly made us very popular in rural Wisconsin.
Climbing icy roofs to install the dishes, as well as breaking frozen ground to put dish masts up and trenching the cables, was the straw that broke this camel's back.
I'll never forget what I learned, and what I saw in the 3 or more installs I did each day. I remember one old fellow who left the house totally untouched for a year after his wife died, as if she was going to come back any day.
There were some homes I wanted to make a return appointment to, just to bring a shop vac and some disinfectant.
The one residence that reminded me of a head shop would've been sad, had it not been so funny - right down to the offer of some bud as I'm trying to snake coax through a false ceiling in the basement. I politely declined.
-
Or electricity? Or gas?
You do know that if gas service is interrupted, a gas person has to come in to do the water heater and all, right?
Nope, He does have to do a leak test. If it passes and you want to light your own pilots there isn't anything he can do about it.
Jim
-
You forgot to ask him if he wanted fries with that.
? =| ?
-
wrt making cable guys angry, they can turn off the cable for an entire neighborhood in less then ten minutes.
Really?
Where do I sign up to get them to do that? =D
-
Can't be true. I was reliably informed by our media TIA program (DoD) was strangled in the crib by our protectors in congress.
-
Can't be ture. I was reliably informed by our media TIA program (DoD) was strangled in the crib by our protectors in congress.
It's a trick. Get an ax.