Next Time....I'll listen...

[jbaerbock]

So many of you warned me about an Armored Truck job. I shoulda listened and I will in the future. They did not tell me the crap rust buckets I would be driving that barely stay on the road, or the cranky people I'd work with, or that even though I'm a driver I have to load tons of very heavy boxes of coin into a cramped back. I have spine problems so yeah this is not helping. Suffice to say I'm looking for another job, hopefully I'll find one.

In the future, I'll listen!

P.S. Oh yeah these things aren't very sealed so your toes and legs freeze in the MN winter.

[integrator97]

So I've never noticed or paid attention. Do armored cars usually follow a set route consistently. I found out they service a particular location same day & time. I would think think would shuffle it up.

[NRM_Oz]

Not sure about the weight of the coin bags but 40lbs is not uncommon to be average weight here. I have previously posted my interview for the Branch (Depot) Manager's role with a national CIT company. 0400 starts and working 15 hour days with children is not my idea of fun. Outside the depot, I walked into a stop work (strike) meeting for 2 hours. Seems a S/O had red coloured t-shirt under his uniform and refused to remove it as asked by the depot manager so he called a union stop work. The staff know they had the boss by the marbles as he had clients to collect $$ from and lost time would be made up in O/T. Learn from the experience and in your next application add "I am looking to work with a forward planning and established employer" in your application - you will have another job before the others. Best of Luck !!

[bpdblue]

Everyone make mistakes, what else can you do but learn from them.

Watch out for your back while still working for the armored transport company, as there would be no good coming out of you ruining your back now, for a company you want out of.

GOOD LUCK.

[JB diligence]

I did armored car for a few months (right before starting this career). I can relate to the winter driving, the vans we used handled like toboggans in the snow. Coins are heavier than hell, and there's a lot of responsibility/liability just hanging over your head. I remember a story from aome crew mates where a kid in some small town pulled a toy gun on their crew, fortunately the crew member's, after drawing on him, realized it was a toy gun and all got to go home after the shift.

Not to mention being in the drivers seat for 15 hours at a time with the exception of a pee/lunch break. The novelty of armored car stuff where's off fairly quickly, at least for me it did.

As for your spine problems, Stay away from heavy jobs Armored car gigs being one of them. I see to many guys at work with back problems that are going to suffer for life, some are young guys too (under 30), it's sad really and it doesn't take much to hurt you back.

But hey, you learnt a great life lesson so DO NOT look at it as a failure.

I know you will find better.

[HotelSecurity]

I did armored car for a few months (right before starting this career). Coins are heavier than hell

Did you work before or after Canada replaced it's paper dollar & 2 dollar bills with coins?

[jbaerbock]

Thanks guys, always appreciate the support. The bags aren't as much of a problem oddly, it is the little compact boxes that are heavier than hell and hard to grip. Our trucks are very messy on the road (especially on ice...go figure) and they are not well sealed so today I almost couldn't feel my toes by the end of the shift.

Also we do not get breaks. Go go go all day and if you manage to eat a sandwich on the go then good for you. Basically a poorly managed company with poor working conditions. I think this could be a decent job if there was a decent company out there that cared about their employees.

[LiveNlearn]

manage by crisis the the motto of armored security - at least in MN, i've seen it with Loomis, AT, American, Brinks, almost all of them.

Keep the coin close to your body, use your legs, try not to bend over too much and your back will be good to go. You can even force the company to supply you with a brace if you get a doctor to say you need it.

The crew in the car is just that, a crew, unfortunately the new guy tends to get the stupid stuff. just don't fall for the - go ask the supervisor for the hammer we need to check for soft spots - you will not find soft spots - on the other hand it is funny to watch the guy ping away at the side of the truck.

other - try to figure a way onto a route with lots of ATM's - cassettes are allot easier to move and load than coin - 1 large quarter weighs in at almost 30 pounds.

[NRM_Oz]

Coins are heavy

1 week I was dumb enough to accept a CIT job around the train kiosks and being newspapers and drinks it was mainly coins. I had the compulsory 10lb steel case and alarm trigger and went from kiosk to kiosk and hit the bank with the manager. I swore it would have taken a few line backers to lift this bloody case as it took 2 hands to lift it and thankfully being in a suit it would was not such an issue. The regular bloke did it for 5 years and he had obvious curvature of the spine when I saw him later on.

In 1985 we got the $1.00 coin here and in 1988 we got the $2.00 coin here. It is not that - but the bloody silver that people dropped for a $1.00 drink or paper. As I was paid above most others, this high risk job gave me a further $2.90 an hour nett which paid for my train fare and a drink. I swore never to do it again after this, as did the other replacement for the following week. No firearms were permitted after the company lost it's firearms licence.

[jbaerbock]

Our routes are the same day in and out. We even have deadlines to meet at Banks, so yeah easy to figure out. Our trucks are such Bondo rust buckets I doubt they could stop a mosquito much less a bullet, but ah well. I'm applying to new jobs everyday so hopefully someone will bite and I can get out of there.

Oh and they do not have set people for set routes. Every week they make up a new schedule though you never know what the hell you'll be doing till the monday of that week. Which means you never know when you'll be done either (which means forget any kind of planning in your life).

[integrator97]

So judging by what you guys are saying about the heavy lifting, and the hours, not knowing your route and what time you'll get done.... You'd have to be nuts to want to do this for long. No offense to any who are. (are nuts or who want to do it )
My UPS driver, who has to lift heavy stuff, who never knows what time he'll be done, BUT who rarely has to worry about being held up, makes 80 grand a year. Versus maybe 20 for the armored truck. I know which way I'd go.

[LiveNlearn]

I can tell you that once you do know where your stops are at, it becomes much easier. you may have a route to follow as far as where you have to go next but you can always travel a different road or come in from a different entrance to vary things some.

I had mentioned earlier that turnover is high, just as it is in most security companies, but tends to be higher in Armored because of the fact that you really have to work. A lot of people now a days really don't want to work for a living. Not saying that about you just a generalization. Once you get to know your stuff, you are fully capable and are armed. Talk to the company about a raise, or a "team lead" type pay incentive. If you know the routes, know the clients, train the clients that you are going to be there inside a particular time frame - but not always the exact same time - you are very valuble to the company and can make things easier on everyone.

I worked on the trucks for a couple years before I moved upward into management and it was not great but not all bad either. Yes the trucks suck, cold in the winter, hot in the summer, leaky, loud, vibrate like crazy, that is how it is. But, you can always refuse on the basis of safety, if a truck is unsafe to take on the road, don't take it. document it on the pre-trip and if it becomes unsafe during the route, the post trip inspection - these have to be done, state law. you have to be professional about your approch but the company can't make you take an unsafe vehicle on the road.

Make the best of what you have, have fun with what you do, and take things in stride - every job has downsides, as well as upsides. You have to capitalize on the good stuff.

And some people are just not ment to do certain jobs. I tell that to everyone that comes through a class. What ever it is, firearms, verbal judo, first aid, whatever, some people might not be able to load a pallet of coin, or tote the hopper's bag (always, Always, ALWAYS use the bag) or even drive a straight eight. Everyone makes the decision what what they can and what they are willing to do.

On a side note if your routes are going into the double digits on drive time, look into the DOT regs on comercial drivers. just because you are on a Class D does not mean you arn't regulated for daily and weekly maximun wheel time.

[NRM_Oz]

Ironic I have just been asked for a business plan to help out the younger brother of a good friend. He is working as a subcontractor for a courier firm and is locked into a contract for another 3 months. It was not factored in that the cost of the fuel (between $4.00 - $4.50 US a gallon) had to be paid for by him so his lovely $30 US / per hr suddenly shrunk to $20.00 US /hr + maintenance + taxes + 401k equivalent which means closer to $12.00 US an hour working his ring off with no time for a pitstop or a break. At 1 site, many of the couriers would ring to ask for the kettle to be put on so they could fill up their thermos or would rush to have a pitstop as their deliveries were made. Channel in the cost of the business, the new vehicle and running it as a company .................. not worth the hassles.

[integrator97]

Under the current circumstances I think anyone doing a contract involving using your vehicle, should ask for a clause to adjust for fuel costs. It's just way to iffy.

Possibly, if the relationship is good, your friend can discuss this with them. Possibly not. I have some customers that I have a relationship with, that I could approach. Some understand, and want to be fair. Others, they don't want to see you fail, especially if they like you, and/or they are successful. Of course some are successful and rich because they squeeze every nickel, in which case you're screwed.

[jbaerbock]

Well the tire treads on this one are terrible, rust holes everywhere, steering is all but shot and the shifter is hanging on who knows how. Taking this thing on a highway is psychotic above 50 and even then it becomes interesting to handle. Some of the people there love the job, personally I think it is insane to not give anyone a real break or health insurance for a job such as this.

I don't have anything against working hard, I just demand companies to treat me like a human being and not an expendable number (which this one does).