I have submitted a few stories from my time with Securitas Security Services at a property that I have come to call, here, “The Lower Valley.”
I was a guard on this property from 2013-2016 then took over as the site supervisor from 2016-2020 when I finally left for something miles better.
In my time my scheduling concerned many of you as I have mentioned that I worked 16 hour shifts, sometimes 7 days a week, my record being 32 days straight due to understaffing and the uselessness of our main office.
You may say “That’s illegal! They can’t do that!” and you are right, they can’t, but I can. As the person who created the schedules for the property I would sacrifice myself to lessen the blow on my staff, ensuring that they got time off over myself. You see, me self making the schedule meant that I was automatically volunteering to work the hours.
My staff did step up, they stepped up in great strides, allowing me to take time where I needed it at the expense of themselves and in the end, this was the reason I left.
Working over 100 hours a week to bring home a paycheck that sometimes broke $1,000 was ridiculous.
The only person who had it worse than me was my direct boss, the client, our Property Operations Manager, which is where me doing things that weren’t my job came into play.
Now I can’t tell a full story for every single one of these things, but let me list out the duties I undertook.
What I was hired to do: “Provide round the clock security for an industrial site, observing and reporting vagrant activity, security breaches and safety concerns. Monitor and manage a staff of 8, create schedules covering the properties hours to the pleasure of the client. Duties to include roaming patrols, foot patrols and administrative work indicative of managing a staff encompassing creating reports and handling employee performance.”
What I did
The above: I did everything I was hired to do, including medical reports and property hazard assessments, ugh.
Patching Chain Link Fencing: We did not have a maintenance team, so I took on the responsibility of patching holes in our fencing with tools that were not exactly designed for it. This involved slicing fence off of rolls of old fence and making patches to hog tie to the damaged ones.
Repairing Gate Arms (Physical): People can’t drive, and when they can’t drive they hit gates. I took on the duty of removing the damaged arms and taking them to a tenant to get chopped and drilled. I would then reinstall them.
Repairing Gates (Electrical): Probably the main thing that I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DOING! Here in Hawaii we have a shortage of vendors to do each job, as a result there are only like 2 companies that can do the thing you need to get done at any given time. There were times when the gates (which were from 2008) were malfunctioning. The property management above my ops manager (who always had my back 100% 100% of the time) either could not find someone to repair them, or, were sandbagging getting someone in because of the cost.
To make my job easier I used the printer THAT I BOUCHT WITH MY OWN MONEY BECAUSE SECURITAS DIDN’T GET ME ONE to print out the 850 page manual for our gates and learned how to reprogram, wire and read them myself.
It is likely that I saved that property tens of thousands of dollars in the time that I was there self repairing the gates.
Plumbing: Repairing and replacing parts on toilets.
Landscaping: Our sales team asked myself and the OPS manager to do yardwork one time. . .and we did for some reason, hahaha.
Prepping Bunkers for Sale: Cleaning out a 5000 square foot bunker. We did this multiple times.
Cutting Down Fences: Legit, entire fence removal, poles and all.
Breaking Locks off of Delinquent Units and inventorying the contents: Sales team!?
Clearing 2 entire bunkers of arcades: This took 3 years.
Loading Containers: Why was I loading containers for tenants!?
Steaking out yard spaces: My OPS manager and I went out and measured and steaked out fence placements for about 30 storage lots across the property. This was neither of our jobs.
Dead Chicken Removal: So. . .there were like 40 chickens on the topside one day, then two wild dogs showed up and there were no longer chickens. Guess who had to do biohazard removal with the OPS manager? I don’t eat chicken anymore.
Wasp Extermination: Pro-Tip? 4 times concentrated Dawn Dish soap mixed with water kills wasps faster than wasp spray, and it won’t make you sick if the wind changes direction and causes the spray to back blast you.
This was all in unison with the job I was supposed to be doing on a property prone to flooding, rockfalls and mudslides in bad weather. See: Men injured by falling rocks in Waikele - YouTube
In the end my time here made me who I am today, enabled me to get my current job, but GOD am I glad that it is over.
I’m sure the property is loving paying for all the things that the OPS manager and I used to do for free, but, those days have long since passed.
The OPS manager and I are still great friends, he was with me every odd job, every step of the way, suffering with me, hahahaha.
Never again though, I don’t care if they offer me $60/hr to come back as an Assistant OPS manager, ect.
Never ever again.
Did I mention I had to get a restraining order on a guy after he threatened to kill myself and my staff?
By myself. . .the company didn’t help.
You know who did?
The OPS manager.
Get you a boss like my OPS manager and every day will be a good day even when it’s the worst day of your life.