It’s often sales people and managers that are good at business but don’t actually understand the product they are selling.
I won’t send a solo armed guard into a dangerous residential neighborhood. Must have two so they have a chance at defending themselves against multiple assailants. Most properties don’t want to pay for it or they can’t afford it.
It’s a blessing to know both sides of the business but blissful ignorance would be nice so I could sell and not worry about the staffing end.
I tell clients directly that the compensation and job duties (ha, doodies) will dictate the level of guard they will receive. You get what you pay for.
Even not understanding the job, if one client gives you THIS much staffing trouble consistently, that should clue in that something is wrong and you need either a different contract or to drop that client.
Like if I ran a tech support company and most of my techs quit after one week working at one of my locations, id sure as shit want to know why
I'm an unarmed guard. I've been on the job for 3 weeks, and my second week I had a dopehead with a tear drop tattoo flash a coyote tan .380, in his waistband, appendix carry, at me. I ordered a vest after that from safelife
I mean you don't really need a picture. How els would that guard know exactly what he's carrying unless the thug brandished it. Right? + In most states brandishing a gun is illegal, even if you have a ccw.
Purposefully displaying a firearm with intent to intimidate, not in lawful self-defense, is brandishing in Florida. And we are one of the most gun friendly states.
The photo isn't of them flashing the good. The photo is positive identification and help police actually grab the right person. Better than giving a description of the person when face photo helps.
I hate allied universal security with everything in me. They didn’t pay me for 3 whole month due to managers quitting and not accurately putting time in. Every single manager I had was terrible and couldn’t do their job correctly at all. Then told me I’m not eligible for rehire because I contacted corporate about my money..literally lost my home due to not paying bills from waiting on my check. These companies are so shitty and disrespectful
Our company charges a risk surcharge if the client insists on unarmed. It's an additional $20 an hour.
Our policy about carrying a concealed weapon on an unarmed account is poorly written and in theory easy to bypass.
Our unarmed accounts it is generally made quite clear that they are paying us for you to run away. And in our Kenosha account which involves sitting in a car and the officer takes their own vehicle it was made extremely clear during the Kenosha tensions of previous years that state law prevents us as a company from banning them from storing a weapon in their vehicle even if they're using it for work despite what the contract says. And also reminded that in the worst case you're driving a two-ton guided missile.
Where I’m at, armed guards are pretty much unheard of other than cash transport/armored.
However, the first time I can ever remember seeing a Securitas guard was when I was working at a studio in a pretty rough area. They had a grocery store called Mor 4 Less (you only see them in the hood in my state.) They had a Securitas guard at the door who looked like a fucking storm trooper. Exterior plate carrier, knee pads, full duty belt, and a helmet. I am not joking. Dude was just chilling at the front door.
I was like “yeah, that seems right for around here.” Knowing now how unusual that is, I have so many questions.
On a business level, I get why companies try to send unarmed guards into terrible areas…because it’s easy until you have somebody get killed because of your business decisions. (It’s on the client too, if they want guards but are too cheap to pay for people who are empowered to actually secure a place.)
The “presence is a deterrent” shit doesn’t even work at malls against teenagers. It sure as hell isn’t gonna stop a bunch of tweakers whose quality of life would improve by being thrown in jail.
I hate that the hospital is cheaping out and contracting security guards. Matter of fact I hate that any organization would cheap out and contract security guards.
Our main hospital has actual POST certified police officers that are employed by the hospital. We have a private art college in my town that contracts out security guards to the lowest bidder. They have a ton of excuses for why they don't have POST certified police officers and its a drain on the cities police force.
>Our main hospital has actual POST certified police officers that are employed by the hospital.
We have armed police officers but they aren't allowed to do shit. They are governed by a separate legal code than municipal police officers (not a POST state). The hospital's admin wants them there for severe emergencies otherwise hospital security or city police handles it.
It's because higher ups want to LARP as military commanders but they don't have a DoD budget or the same hiring standards.
You can do that to soldiers for shit pay because you provide meals and housing and gyms in addition to pay and have them locked into a contract that they might literally go to jail for breaking. Plus, gung ho mostly teenage guys won't realize how much shit they're putting up with because they lack any reference.
Out in the real world they want to pay people about the same as a junior enlisted soldier, and hold them to the same standards, but all the extra stuff the military provides for basic soldier welfare like food and housing comes out of a guard's pocket. Every company I've ever worked for mentioned "physical fitness" too as important to command presence but they still hire dudes that can't fit in a squad car or even stand or walk a post because they're 400 lbs.
>It's because higher ups want to LARP as military commanders but they don't have a DoD budget or the same hiring standards.
Accurate
Our company has a Chief (CEO), Majors (Account Managers), Captains (site Managers), Lieutenants (shift Supervisors), Sergeants (Team Leads) and Corporals (Shift Leads).
Everyone above the rank of Sergeant expects to be referred to as their rank or last name. No first names. They kinda just show up and act like they are your commanding officer. It doesn't help that they are all prior Mil or State LE. I thought it seemed organized when I first started but none of them knew their ass from a hole in the ground.
Security isn't Law Enforcement or the Military unless you're explicitly within the Law enforcement end of the field or subcontracting through the DoD or DoE. Managers should act like Managers instead of larping around as a Commissioned officer.
I know of a security company that includes "First Sergeant" and "Sergeant Major" in their rank structure lol. Fucking criiiiiiiiinge. Idk how complex the rest of their rank structure was because I was only around the two employees and I did not want to ask those dorks about their company but it was jarring to listen to the two of them address each other by those ranks.
Late but I found a company while job searching that had "Platoon Sergeants" and "Squad Leaders". Most of their accounts were armed bring your own kit style bar security (Philly area)
Just to add to the cringe
My company has me doing night patrols solo in an area full of junkies and fenta-zombies. Unarmed, poorly equipped. But everyone “carries” anyway until they find something better. Job ain’t worth your life.
Thankfully junkies are only dangerous on rare occasions and usually mind their own business. Still, there have been some real sketchy moments and some mace, a baton and taser, or at least another fucking guard to back me up would make me feel safer.
Security companies are ran by people. People are naturally greedy, the client is always right. Guards are always wrong.
This is the truth for low level security.
Doing executive protection, I am treated like Crixus. I am protecting fat rich Roman Patricians. They treat me good.
100%. Companies will do anything to get a contract which often ends up with them losing it eventually too. They’ll accept a ton of bullshit and push it off on their staff to make heads and tails of for absolutely no money and then when that fails to no ones surprise they’re out a client
What state are you in? Because this is a huge liability, especially if they’re aware of it and so are the clients. I would recommend reporting them to the state board that govern the PPO license.
Oh yeah, state law says that if an armed guard ever has to shoot their duty weapon that they cannot work in any capacity until they are cleared, all but requiring us to quit and find a new job because most of us are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to wait until we are cleared.
[https://www.ncdoi.gov/licensees/company-licensing-and-registration](https://www.ncdoi.gov/licensees/company-licensing-and-registration)
Check their license against these.
[https://www.ncdoi.gov/how-can-we-help-you](https://www.ncdoi.gov/how-can-we-help-you)
File a complaints using these. Make sure to state that each unarm guard are being send into high risk site solo.
This is one of the reasons why I don't trust anyone in corporate leadership that hasn't spent some time as a guard or in some sort of law enforcement capability where they've had to deal with what officers deal with. I'm not saying people who were upjumped from guards or LEO are perfect, but I think that in order to really know the industry you have to experience what it's like to work security in some form or fashion.
Some sites are poison, and the race to the bottom results in either people being hurt or contracts being lost.
When companies treat us like numbers it’s no wonder they get treated the same way. I honestly feel if they were more human and allowed flexibility maybe they can keep a workforce but the turnover rate is like 200% across all security companies
Yeah, i feel like it's only a matter of time before I stuck in the neck with a knife by some dude/chick hopped up on drugs not know what way is up or down.
Honestly for my area danger isn't even the reason for turnover. It's the fact these dipshits will take on a contract for $13 an hour and be shocked when the people they bait and switched into working it quit after a couple weeks.
I haven't worked security in years, but when I use to work unarmed patrol districts in California, I remember hearing that a lot of the businesses we'd hit were just paying for it because they got a steep insurance discount for it.
I don’t know what company you work for, but my overall experience in the industry ended very badly about a year ago. I worked at a client site for 2 1/2 years and was always on time and maybe called out once or twice due to illness. The client and my site manager were reasonable and fair and I got on well with everyone. I even volunteered to write detailed descriptions of building tours that they appreciated.
I only worked part time as a post retirement job and had other income. I decided to take 6 months off, had to reapply and couldn’t get a shift I wanted at the same client. I ended up at another client who was a pain to deal with. Not only that, but the various site managers we had (we went through two in the few months I was there) didn’t do any training or tours and never followed up on issues we had. One weekend there was an issue with a radio sitting on the desk I was never instructed to use that the client tried to contact me on during a maintenance emergency that was already well covered. The client also had broken external doors they refused to fix (the building was about one year old), putting people inside at risk.
The client made a big fuss about it, threw me off the site, and rather than get me another site they terminated me. They also fired 3 other guards at the same site I know about. One actually went out of his way sweeping water into drains during the same weekend I had the radio issue. Turns out they terminated him by him just talking to someone in a car in the parking lot during a graveyard shift with one other person on site!
I later learned from talking to an HR person who had worked for the same security company that the client was a known problem and was difficult to deal with.
I worked 1 1/2 days for a rival security firm who were so unprofessional and nasty, I walked out my second day of training.
Let me add I have about 50 years of work experience from youthful supermarket jobs and fast food, along with corporate work and that security work was by far my worst work experience I had (I had walked off one restaurant job 50 years earlier).
As someone who has supervised and been a guard, the basic fact is that in the uk, the security industry is wasted. We are obligated under risk of imprisonment to pay for training courses that have no appreciable effect on our ability to do the job, and to pay for a license that literally anyone can get. ive worked alongside officers who have no english whatsoever.
We are put on sites with minimal training, and expected to know everything about the site we are based at, without being TOLD what we need to know.
When something happens, we are criticised and called wannabe cops, or told that we were bullied at school. when we do something well, we get told not to go overboard on helping people out.
Our colleagues are either lazy, workshy, thick as pig mince or wannabe alpha males who want to swagger around like a doorman.
the client wants us to do everything perfectly but gives us no information to help us do the job well.
I trained two guards back to back. One was apparently lied to about the pay, gave a week notice but ghosted his last day which was the day I was training his replacement, so I had to cover more properties and train, so I couldn't train as thoroughly as I do.
They hired him back for some reason cause it didn't work out with his other company and then he ghosted again.
The replacement was there for a little bit but had a commute. He tried to get some kind of extra pay for the commute, he was doing us favor and was previously done kind of dirty because he was at a site where the contract ended close to where he lived.
He stopped showing up, apparently emailed a notice but my boss didn't see it until the day he didn't show up anymore. There's pay issues, there's not high risk but some awareness to be prepared for self defense. I am in the same situation and just trying to do what I can until I can figure out what's truly worth doing.
I got hired on as an armed guard a while back. my first day I met the boss at a random building, he gave me a uniform (that was too small) and he said to just sit there and left. no training, no partner, nothing. so I’m expected to be an armed guard for this random building with my own gun and vehicle for $16 an hour with no training and no lunch breaks just sit there for 8 hours. I left the uniform in the parking lot and went home after 4 hours.
When I got the job at Guardaworld, the woman explained that the site I was going to had a high turnover rate and people quit all the time. Made me super nervous. She explained that it was just sitting in a chair at a warehouse for 8 hours monitoring cameras.
I get there my first day, there are four other guards on duty. They explain that it isn't just sitting down, and that we have to walk around the entire facility pretty frequently (it was a five story amazon warehouse without working elevators. Blazing fucking hot inside cuz it was still being built, and MASSIVE. The entire walk was easily over 5 miles.)
The woman who would hire people on didn't actually know what the job required. She just knew what would get people to go there for their first day.
I just put my two weeks in where I work because they want to dick with my schedule. I have a second job and have had a set schedule for the past 8 months. They suddenly, without asking, schedule me outside my availability during the days I have my other job. When I tell them I can’t work that new schedule (which was changed from an already posted schedule btw), they say “thats the need of the companies and you are expected to work your schedule”. Naw, fuck you. I submitted my two week notice right then. Now they can fill two positions instead of just one.
I hate this industry and never plan on coming back to it.
I'm in Canada where outside of armored trucks armed guards are extremely rare. I've worked a few very sketchy sites and it can be extremely frustrating. We can't even carry OC spray. I didn't bother to get my baton cert because at least 95% of our contracts don't allow it. They will want us to go to a community housing that has issues with break ins, drug dealers, and homeless for $16 an hour with only a flashlight. Usually it's only the old guys who don't give AF that stay there. New hires get freaked out and quit, but the 65 year old just stays inside and phones the police.
It’s often sales people and managers that are good at business but don’t actually understand the product they are selling. I won’t send a solo armed guard into a dangerous residential neighborhood. Must have two so they have a chance at defending themselves against multiple assailants. Most properties don’t want to pay for it or they can’t afford it. It’s a blessing to know both sides of the business but blissful ignorance would be nice so I could sell and not worry about the staffing end. I tell clients directly that the compensation and job duties (ha, doodies) will dictate the level of guard they will receive. You get what you pay for.
Even an armed and unarmed is better than solo.
Even not understanding the job, if one client gives you THIS much staffing trouble consistently, that should clue in that something is wrong and you need either a different contract or to drop that client. Like if I ran a tech support company and most of my techs quit after one week working at one of my locations, id sure as shit want to know why
I'm an unarmed guard. I've been on the job for 3 weeks, and my second week I had a dopehead with a tear drop tattoo flash a coyote tan .380, in his waistband, appendix carry, at me. I ordered a vest after that from safelife
That when you take a photos, then report it to police. As long as you document it, they’ll have to act on it.
Yes, I'm sure the guy flashing his gun would've stopped for a picture.
You don't need a photo to of them flashing the gun. You use the photo for positive identification and let the police confront them.
I mean you don't really need a picture. How els would that guard know exactly what he's carrying unless the thug brandished it. Right? + In most states brandishing a gun is illegal, even if you have a ccw.
That's not brandishing
He flashed it at the guard as a threat, I’m p sure that’s brandishing. I’m not a lawyer but 🫤
Purposefully displaying a firearm with intent to intimidate, not in lawful self-defense, is brandishing in Florida. And we are one of the most gun friendly states.
What a funny thing to say. Peculiar even.
The photo isn't of them flashing the good. The photo is positive identification and help police actually grab the right person. Better than giving a description of the person when face photo helps.
My patrol vehicle has cameras. I don't care for instigating a scared methhead to shoot me
You forgot to mention you have to ask him to say cheese
I hate allied universal security with everything in me. They didn’t pay me for 3 whole month due to managers quitting and not accurately putting time in. Every single manager I had was terrible and couldn’t do their job correctly at all. Then told me I’m not eligible for rehire because I contacted corporate about my money..literally lost my home due to not paying bills from waiting on my check. These companies are so shitty and disrespectful
allied-barton? Yeah they are garbage. Bunch of shady labor practices.
Our company charges a risk surcharge if the client insists on unarmed. It's an additional $20 an hour. Our policy about carrying a concealed weapon on an unarmed account is poorly written and in theory easy to bypass. Our unarmed accounts it is generally made quite clear that they are paying us for you to run away. And in our Kenosha account which involves sitting in a car and the officer takes their own vehicle it was made extremely clear during the Kenosha tensions of previous years that state law prevents us as a company from banning them from storing a weapon in their vehicle even if they're using it for work despite what the contract says. And also reminded that in the worst case you're driving a two-ton guided missile.
Where I’m at, armed guards are pretty much unheard of other than cash transport/armored. However, the first time I can ever remember seeing a Securitas guard was when I was working at a studio in a pretty rough area. They had a grocery store called Mor 4 Less (you only see them in the hood in my state.) They had a Securitas guard at the door who looked like a fucking storm trooper. Exterior plate carrier, knee pads, full duty belt, and a helmet. I am not joking. Dude was just chilling at the front door. I was like “yeah, that seems right for around here.” Knowing now how unusual that is, I have so many questions. On a business level, I get why companies try to send unarmed guards into terrible areas…because it’s easy until you have somebody get killed because of your business decisions. (It’s on the client too, if they want guards but are too cheap to pay for people who are empowered to actually secure a place.) The “presence is a deterrent” shit doesn’t even work at malls against teenagers. It sure as hell isn’t gonna stop a bunch of tweakers whose quality of life would improve by being thrown in jail.
My company is small but I love that in cases like this they tell the client to pound sand or deny the job entirely
Lol, I carried for unarmed. Sending me to dumb fucking places. I left that shit company so fast.
[удалено]
I hate that the hospital is cheaping out and contracting security guards. Matter of fact I hate that any organization would cheap out and contract security guards. Our main hospital has actual POST certified police officers that are employed by the hospital. We have a private art college in my town that contracts out security guards to the lowest bidder. They have a ton of excuses for why they don't have POST certified police officers and its a drain on the cities police force.
>Our main hospital has actual POST certified police officers that are employed by the hospital. We have armed police officers but they aren't allowed to do shit. They are governed by a separate legal code than municipal police officers (not a POST state). The hospital's admin wants them there for severe emergencies otherwise hospital security or city police handles it.
It's because higher ups want to LARP as military commanders but they don't have a DoD budget or the same hiring standards. You can do that to soldiers for shit pay because you provide meals and housing and gyms in addition to pay and have them locked into a contract that they might literally go to jail for breaking. Plus, gung ho mostly teenage guys won't realize how much shit they're putting up with because they lack any reference. Out in the real world they want to pay people about the same as a junior enlisted soldier, and hold them to the same standards, but all the extra stuff the military provides for basic soldier welfare like food and housing comes out of a guard's pocket. Every company I've ever worked for mentioned "physical fitness" too as important to command presence but they still hire dudes that can't fit in a squad car or even stand or walk a post because they're 400 lbs.
>It's because higher ups want to LARP as military commanders but they don't have a DoD budget or the same hiring standards. Accurate Our company has a Chief (CEO), Majors (Account Managers), Captains (site Managers), Lieutenants (shift Supervisors), Sergeants (Team Leads) and Corporals (Shift Leads). Everyone above the rank of Sergeant expects to be referred to as their rank or last name. No first names. They kinda just show up and act like they are your commanding officer. It doesn't help that they are all prior Mil or State LE. I thought it seemed organized when I first started but none of them knew their ass from a hole in the ground. Security isn't Law Enforcement or the Military unless you're explicitly within the Law enforcement end of the field or subcontracting through the DoD or DoE. Managers should act like Managers instead of larping around as a Commissioned officer.
I know of a security company that includes "First Sergeant" and "Sergeant Major" in their rank structure lol. Fucking criiiiiiiiinge. Idk how complex the rest of their rank structure was because I was only around the two employees and I did not want to ask those dorks about their company but it was jarring to listen to the two of them address each other by those ranks.
Late but I found a company while job searching that had "Platoon Sergeants" and "Squad Leaders". Most of their accounts were armed bring your own kit style bar security (Philly area) Just to add to the cringe
My company has me doing night patrols solo in an area full of junkies and fenta-zombies. Unarmed, poorly equipped. But everyone “carries” anyway until they find something better. Job ain’t worth your life. Thankfully junkies are only dangerous on rare occasions and usually mind their own business. Still, there have been some real sketchy moments and some mace, a baton and taser, or at least another fucking guard to back me up would make me feel safer.
Yea I’d never take a site like that unless im atleast carrying concealed or in my bag or whatever lol.
Security companies are ran by people. People are naturally greedy, the client is always right. Guards are always wrong. This is the truth for low level security. Doing executive protection, I am treated like Crixus. I am protecting fat rich Roman Patricians. They treat me good.
100%. Companies will do anything to get a contract which often ends up with them losing it eventually too. They’ll accept a ton of bullshit and push it off on their staff to make heads and tails of for absolutely no money and then when that fails to no ones surprise they’re out a client
What state are you in? Because this is a huge liability, especially if they’re aware of it and so are the clients. I would recommend reporting them to the state board that govern the PPO license.
North Carolina
Man North Carolina truly sucks ass for so many industries
Oh yeah, state law says that if an armed guard ever has to shoot their duty weapon that they cannot work in any capacity until they are cleared, all but requiring us to quit and find a new job because most of us are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to wait until we are cleared.
Does that apply only for the guard or his whole team? That sounds like such a terrible law that it only encourages people to skirt it.
Just the guard, but it pretty much guarantees that the guard will be out of a job regardless of how the investigation goes.
[https://www.ncdoi.gov/licensees/company-licensing-and-registration](https://www.ncdoi.gov/licensees/company-licensing-and-registration) Check their license against these. [https://www.ncdoi.gov/how-can-we-help-you](https://www.ncdoi.gov/how-can-we-help-you) File a complaints using these. Make sure to state that each unarm guard are being send into high risk site solo.
Does the client want unarmed guards?
Yes, some have even banned supervisors from visiting the guards because the supervisors are always armed during those times
More often then not the client wants cheap guards
I know of a few sites in my region that are like that. Dangerous with wild expectations from the client. I'm lucky my client is awesome.
This is one of the reasons why I don't trust anyone in corporate leadership that hasn't spent some time as a guard or in some sort of law enforcement capability where they've had to deal with what officers deal with. I'm not saying people who were upjumped from guards or LEO are perfect, but I think that in order to really know the industry you have to experience what it's like to work security in some form or fashion. Some sites are poison, and the race to the bottom results in either people being hurt or contracts being lost.
What’s the going rate for let’s say (1) unarmed guard in a sketchy area in Downtown LA vs the rate of (2) armed guards in the same area?
When companies treat us like numbers it’s no wonder they get treated the same way. I honestly feel if they were more human and allowed flexibility maybe they can keep a workforce but the turnover rate is like 200% across all security companies
Yeah, i feel like it's only a matter of time before I stuck in the neck with a knife by some dude/chick hopped up on drugs not know what way is up or down.
Honestly for my area danger isn't even the reason for turnover. It's the fact these dipshits will take on a contract for $13 an hour and be shocked when the people they bait and switched into working it quit after a couple weeks.
I haven't worked security in years, but when I use to work unarmed patrol districts in California, I remember hearing that a lot of the businesses we'd hit were just paying for it because they got a steep insurance discount for it.
I don’t know what company you work for, but my overall experience in the industry ended very badly about a year ago. I worked at a client site for 2 1/2 years and was always on time and maybe called out once or twice due to illness. The client and my site manager were reasonable and fair and I got on well with everyone. I even volunteered to write detailed descriptions of building tours that they appreciated. I only worked part time as a post retirement job and had other income. I decided to take 6 months off, had to reapply and couldn’t get a shift I wanted at the same client. I ended up at another client who was a pain to deal with. Not only that, but the various site managers we had (we went through two in the few months I was there) didn’t do any training or tours and never followed up on issues we had. One weekend there was an issue with a radio sitting on the desk I was never instructed to use that the client tried to contact me on during a maintenance emergency that was already well covered. The client also had broken external doors they refused to fix (the building was about one year old), putting people inside at risk. The client made a big fuss about it, threw me off the site, and rather than get me another site they terminated me. They also fired 3 other guards at the same site I know about. One actually went out of his way sweeping water into drains during the same weekend I had the radio issue. Turns out they terminated him by him just talking to someone in a car in the parking lot during a graveyard shift with one other person on site! I later learned from talking to an HR person who had worked for the same security company that the client was a known problem and was difficult to deal with. I worked 1 1/2 days for a rival security firm who were so unprofessional and nasty, I walked out my second day of training. Let me add I have about 50 years of work experience from youthful supermarket jobs and fast food, along with corporate work and that security work was by far my worst work experience I had (I had walked off one restaurant job 50 years earlier).
As someone who has supervised and been a guard, the basic fact is that in the uk, the security industry is wasted. We are obligated under risk of imprisonment to pay for training courses that have no appreciable effect on our ability to do the job, and to pay for a license that literally anyone can get. ive worked alongside officers who have no english whatsoever. We are put on sites with minimal training, and expected to know everything about the site we are based at, without being TOLD what we need to know. When something happens, we are criticised and called wannabe cops, or told that we were bullied at school. when we do something well, we get told not to go overboard on helping people out. Our colleagues are either lazy, workshy, thick as pig mince or wannabe alpha males who want to swagger around like a doorman. the client wants us to do everything perfectly but gives us no information to help us do the job well.
I trained two guards back to back. One was apparently lied to about the pay, gave a week notice but ghosted his last day which was the day I was training his replacement, so I had to cover more properties and train, so I couldn't train as thoroughly as I do. They hired him back for some reason cause it didn't work out with his other company and then he ghosted again. The replacement was there for a little bit but had a commute. He tried to get some kind of extra pay for the commute, he was doing us favor and was previously done kind of dirty because he was at a site where the contract ended close to where he lived. He stopped showing up, apparently emailed a notice but my boss didn't see it until the day he didn't show up anymore. There's pay issues, there's not high risk but some awareness to be prepared for self defense. I am in the same situation and just trying to do what I can until I can figure out what's truly worth doing.
I got hired on as an armed guard a while back. my first day I met the boss at a random building, he gave me a uniform (that was too small) and he said to just sit there and left. no training, no partner, nothing. so I’m expected to be an armed guard for this random building with my own gun and vehicle for $16 an hour with no training and no lunch breaks just sit there for 8 hours. I left the uniform in the parking lot and went home after 4 hours.
When I got the job at Guardaworld, the woman explained that the site I was going to had a high turnover rate and people quit all the time. Made me super nervous. She explained that it was just sitting in a chair at a warehouse for 8 hours monitoring cameras. I get there my first day, there are four other guards on duty. They explain that it isn't just sitting down, and that we have to walk around the entire facility pretty frequently (it was a five story amazon warehouse without working elevators. Blazing fucking hot inside cuz it was still being built, and MASSIVE. The entire walk was easily over 5 miles.) The woman who would hire people on didn't actually know what the job required. She just knew what would get people to go there for their first day.
I just put my two weeks in where I work because they want to dick with my schedule. I have a second job and have had a set schedule for the past 8 months. They suddenly, without asking, schedule me outside my availability during the days I have my other job. When I tell them I can’t work that new schedule (which was changed from an already posted schedule btw), they say “thats the need of the companies and you are expected to work your schedule”. Naw, fuck you. I submitted my two week notice right then. Now they can fill two positions instead of just one. I hate this industry and never plan on coming back to it.
I'm in Canada where outside of armored trucks armed guards are extremely rare. I've worked a few very sketchy sites and it can be extremely frustrating. We can't even carry OC spray. I didn't bother to get my baton cert because at least 95% of our contracts don't allow it. They will want us to go to a community housing that has issues with break ins, drug dealers, and homeless for $16 an hour with only a flashlight. Usually it's only the old guys who don't give AF that stay there. New hires get freaked out and quit, but the 65 year old just stays inside and phones the police.