Duties that have nothing to do with security

[HotelSecurity]

Do others have this problem?

The 2 hotel chains I work for wants newspapers delivered to each room for the morning. They also want copies of the guest's bills slipped under the doors so if paying by credit card they can leave without stopping at the front desk in the morning. We also have to pick up the breakfast cards that they guests hang on their door knobs.

The downtown hotel has an Engineer (Maintenance) on duty 24 hours a day. There is a Houseman (cleaner, person who delivers towels etc) on duty 24 hours a day 5 days a week. We have to do this overnight the other 2.

At the 2 smaller hotels out by the airport there is us & the guy or girl at the front desk. The front desk person can't leave so we do EVERYTHING! Regular cleaning, no. But if someone vomits of breaks a glass, yes.

Out there we used to have to drive the shuttle bus if someone decided they wanted to go to the airport between 1am & 5am. It takes 20 minutes to go & come back. (10 if you go 140km/hour trying to get back to the hotel to respond to a medical call or fire alarm ). A sprinkler pipe broke once while we were out at the airport. They finally figured out it was cheaper to pay taxis & have us stay on the property.

[Charger]

I feel your pain man... I currently work in-house for an apartment complex. We routinely get called out to assist on maintenance and/or groundskeeping issues... Especially at night when the regular maintenance crew is off duty.

Currently, we're getting a lot of rain. One of the stormdrains in the lot is badly plugged, and we're fighting with the city to have them clean it since the clog is a good distance down their pipeline... The manager ended up purchasing a sump pump to handle the flooding this has caused, and assigned it to maintenance. But guess who gets stuck setting it up and putting it away as the weather changes?

[Mr. Security]

Check Threads for Information.

There are a couple of threads already on here that discuss this problem in detail. One is entitled: "The worst security job you ever had?" or very close to that wording.

[EMTGuard]

And a couple months back I started a thread about a want ad I'd seen in the paper looking for a Security Officer who can operate common floor maintiance equiptment. Check it out at- http://forums.securityinfowatch.com/...read.php?t=278

[N. A. Corbier]

The issue here, with these extra duties, is who's guarding the place while your delivering towels or cleaning up vomit?

This is the "diminished standard of care" that liability lawyers look for. They love it. Your delivering newspapers (We did that for a week at one contract. Next week, we sent a nice letter from our laywer to theirs, and we no longer had to do any of it.) while the front desk person is being attacked, or a guest. Or, worse, a water leak or a fire alarm activation.

You are not doing your contracted duties. For those of you who are in-house, unless its in your formal job description, your not doing your primary duties. Lawyers love to play with those, they subpoena them instantly.

If your contract for an apartment complex reads:
"Company shall provide client with employee during the hours specified. Through its employee, Company shall perform the following services: Continiously patrol the client's property; protect the client's property against disorder and criminal enterprise by observing situations and reporting them to the proper authority; complete a chronological log documenting the employee's actions and observations; and perform fire watch duties, summoning the fire department for any signs of smoke or fire on client's property."

Your contract says that your supposed to be patrolling, observing, reporting, documenting, and looking for fires. So, if the management adds more duties, such as "deploy the sump pump when it rains," the company is now performing duties outside the scope of its contract.

You're supposed to be patrolling, and someone gets mugged on your regular patrol route. You were taking towels to the guest in 504, instead of being posted on the outside lobby being a visual deterrant.

Even for companies that offer observation instead of protection, the lawyers love that. The company usually takes an insurance hit, the client takes an insurance hit, and they have to settle before it gets out.

[HotelSecurity]

Unfortunately? in Canada we do not sue as much as in the US. When we do the damages are very low compared to the US.

We are In-House. They say that moving around delivering things gets us moving around inside the building, which is what they want.

I don't really disagree with this. My complaint is that it is bad enough that a lot of people look down on security. You can imagine what happens when 10 minutes after delivering a towel to a room, you have to go back to deal with a disturbance from drunks. "Oh, it's towel boy telling us to quiet down"

[Mr. Security]

Value-added services....

Another catch phrase for 'other duties as required.'

Guest: "Hey towel boy, I'm glad your here. My buddy just threw-up because he's drunk and we need someone to clean it up."

Security: "Actually, I'm here to ask you to keep the noise down."

Guest: "Whatever towel boy. Just clean up the mess, will you?

[ozsecuritychic]

i am expected to move the radio station that comes in on thursdays tables and they are supposed to help me as it is at least a 2 person job.they go home anything to 1 hour early so they dont have to do it.that means that at 1900 when i have a heap of kids running around being a pain in the butt i have to try and drag 2 heavy tables over uneven floor by myself.

[Echos13]

[ycaso77]

We recently started doing vehicle escorts for students. It started last fall as a University bldg to University bldg type of escort. Now its turned into a take me to the atm, bar, restaraunt, pizza place, dry cleaners,grocery store, my friends house, the train station/airport/limo stand, to my house because I don't want to drive my own car. We even transport non-students and employees who we know have no affiliation but it would be politically incorrect to say no. Thats bad enough but some want the officers to carry thier luggage, go into restaraunts to get them, wait 20 minutes because they want one more glass of wine with thier friends, etc. When they're told no they whine and threaten to complain about the officer. We tell them you asked for a ride the rides here- the officer isn't wearing a redcap and the car isn't painted yellow. You're not at home with Jeeves doing your bidding. Consider we have a full University transit bus service. We went from appx. 100 escorts a month in Sept. to almost 3000 last month done soley be security. Yup, worst thing I've ever seen in a security department.

[Tennsix]

We recently started doing vehicle escorts for students. It started last fall as a University bldg to University bldg type of escort. Now its turned into a take me to the atm, bar, restaraunt, pizza place, dry cleaners,grocery store, my friends house, the train station/airport/limo stand, to my house because I don't want to drive my own car. We even transport non-students and employees who we know have no affiliation but it would be politically incorrect to say no. Thats bad enough but some want the officers to carry thier luggage, go into restaraunts to get them, wait 20 minutes because they want one more glass of wine with thier friends, etc. When they're told no they whine and threaten to complain about the officer. We tell them you asked for a ride the rides here- the officer isn't wearing a redcap and the car isn't painted yellow. You're not at home with Jeeves doing your bidding. Consider we have a full University transit bus service. We went from appx. 100 escorts a month in Sept. to almost 3000 last month done soley be security. Yup, worst thing I've ever seen in a security department.

That is why security officers don't receive the respect they desrve, BS like that!!!

[N. A. Corbier]

That is why security officers don't receive the respect they desrve, BS like that!!!

Tennsix, just be glad they don't have your agency doing that. Seriously, though, think about it. Its a large university, it has university police, and university security.

It sounds like the university security is having to justify its presence. Do Yale University Police have any extra duties?

[Mr. Security]

It happened to me. I resisted the client's request for security to inspect and, if necessary, empty the rodent traps at the facility. I did so because of the potential health risks associated with rodents, coupled with the lack of training and PPE. In addition, the site only has one guard for access control and other security functions. The client kicked me off the site and my security company refused to back me even though this duty is not in the post orders. I did the right thing, and I would do it again if I had to.

[N. A. Corbier]

It happened to me. I resisted the client's request for security to inspect and, if necessary, empty the rodent traps at the facility. I did so because of the potential health risks associated with rodents, coupled with the lack of training and PPE. In addition, the site only has one guard for access control and other security functions. The client kicked me off the site and my security company refused to back me even though this duty is not in the post orders. I did the right thing, and I would do it again if I had to.

Give it to Mikey. He'll eat anything!

Seriously, though, checking rodent traps in a professional setting is something that a trained exterminator should be doing, or a maintenance professional trained in humane disposal of nusance animals.

There are laws in just about every state that require a trained professional to humanely terminate any nusance animal (not insect) discovered in a trap. To not humanely terminate the animal consititutes animal cruelty, and can be anything from a citation to a felony charge.

This is one of the big things that trained exterminators are reminded of by state licensing boards: Your job is to kill nusance animals, or relocate them. You must kill the animals humanely if they are in your custody.

That's why glue traps, in most states, must be checked every day, so that the animal is euthanized without prolonged suffering due to axphixiation or starvation. Live traps must be checked every day, as well, as the animal will starve in the trap if food is not provided.

[1stWatch]

The company I am currently weathering has the heavily emphasized duty of picking up and bundling up people's mail when they're out of town. They consider that more important than responding to calls or conducting the actual patrol.