Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Should have kept my mouth Shut??

We have been on the sidelines for about two weeks and are starting to get a wee bit antsy. We try to keep in touch with the gate guard community and it paid off. We got a call from a fellow gate guard who said her boss was looking for some good hands. It turns out that it was only a short gig; just a few days to cover a rig move. I told the man to give me a minute and I'd call him back. You see, I have this thing about loyalty and I wanted to run the idea by my boss. Actually, as a contractor he's not my boss. I guess you'd call him the liaison for the company we contract out to. Whatever! It shows the respect we have for the man that we keep him up to date on what we're up to. Well we talked for a bit and he allowed as to how he'd prefer we not be off doing something else in case something popped. I countered by saying that he ought to put us on some sort of retainer if he wants us to sit here and play tiddly winks. He offered to pay for at least a week of our charges at the RV park where we are situated. That's not near the income we'd make on a gate, but it was enough to make me sit a bit longer. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this whole contractor thing when it comes to relations with the folks you work with. I tried to do right by the last company we worked for when we were contemplating leaving and the liaison/boss was a real jerk. I took solace in the fact that I tried to do the right thing. I even sent a thank you note to corporate and a couple of e-mails out to folks I'd worked with. I didn't want to burn any bridges. I never heard from any of them. People will tell you that none of that matters as a contractor. Some folks will tell you I should have kept my mouth shut and jumped at the opportunity to work for a few days. I'm never sure who I'm beholden to; but on the gate I try mightily to keep the company man happy along with the folks who work for the exploration company. I figure if they aren't complaining my boss/liaison will be satisfied. Like many things in gate guarding, little is written in stone for you. There are no manuals and you had better keep an open mind and ask lots of questions if you want to succeed. Or; maybe I should have kept my mouth shut?

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