I had worked for Cablevision in the Bronx for a little under 20 years. I ended my career with them as a Quality Control technician. Essentially, our team served as the link or liaison between Cablevision and the contractors. There were other miscellaneous duties like running multiple down drops, handling customers disputes and other BS I will not mention. But when it came to Cablevision's' treatment of contractors, here's what I can tell you. And believe me, it made me g-d damn angry. Back in 2010, I was lucky to catch a glimpse of a contract between Cablevision and one of our contracting companies. For a single-box install, the contracting company was paid $68.00, with the contractor earning $22.00. Three boxes.... $31.00. So it is safe to say that the contractor's portion is about a third. In 2013, Cablevision renegotiated the terms and brought it DOWN to $44.00. That's $15.00. Would you like to know what you get for a change of service..... $6.00 !!!! Six---- f--k--g dollars! And Cablevision would wonder why a 2nd drop wasn't run. Or, perhaps he decided to take "shortcuts". Also, keep in mind..... TEAM WORK IS GONE! Because of low pay, you'll be concentrating more on completing your work FIRST, since you'll be paid by completed work. You won't be able to help your buddy. If a customer later complains or has an issue about the install you did yesterday.... YOU WON'T BE PAID until it is fixed. Cablevision held back payments for work done for all customer complaints. Now, YOU have a go-back and you won't be paid for it until YOU make it right or correct "the issue". HUH??? You can argue till you're blue in the face that it was the most beautiful install you ever did.... YOU LOSE. I've seen contractors look at their workload to try to figure out how much their take-home pay would be..... ASSUMING.... everyone is home.... nothing goes wrong..... and the work is done at a reasonable time. And that's another issue.... ya' don't know when you'll be getting home. You no longer have a 7-4PM, 8-5PM schedule. Yes, you'll report in at around 8AM, but finishing time... who knows. I know when I left 2 years ago, the customer surveys kicked their a--. Negative surveys meant even less money. Will your contracting company have a company truck? If not, get your private vehicle mounted with a ladder rack, your insurance and plates changed to commercial. Oh, and don't forget to be leery of parking tickets.... they're yours. Jesus Christ people.... get the F---* OUT and learn a new trade.... a trade you'll know will be needed and useful for years to come. Consider it for you and your family's sake. IT'S NOT TOO LATE !!!
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Hey Anonymous... I guess you can call it a "force of habit," I had a habit of speaking my mind when things didn't look right or were just DEAD WRONG. Some of the s--t that's happening is of no surprise. We use the same "logic" in our own homes and families. We cut down when finances say "no can do." We search for cheaper items because, hey, "it's cheaper." I made it a habit to visit contractor warehouses frequently. And the look on their faces is unforgettable. When a tech updated his route and found out that the 5 jobs they had scheduled, 2 were reassigned. They'll plead asking if there was anything I can do. And I was totally helpless. Little did they know, those jobs were simply reassigned to in-house. Not enough trouble calls. Here I am, trying to motivate them to do a good job. And their retort would leave me speechless.... "you get paid hourly, no matter what you do. You KNOW what you're getting every week. " And that's the killer. The uncertainty of how much you're taking home. Will you be able to make that car payment, car insurance, cell phone bill, rent, electrical bill, and so on and so on? As you're trying to finish an install and you're running late, that next job will be reassigned to another contractor or in-house. Money gone. Now you're desperate and so you'll take shortcuts, or you won't change that fitting. All the while, you wonder if your vehicle is still legally parked. And once all is done.... the dreaded HEALTH CHECK. Now's the time to believe in Jesus and ask the customer if there's a spare matress. You're making yourself at-home. After sweating it out and busting your butt, as you're putting your equipment away in your vehicle, you notice an orange and white envelope tucked under your wipers. HOLY S--T !! Why did you even bother to show up for work today? I'm pleading with ALL my ex-fellow technicians to SERIOUSLY CONSIDER a different profession. How much longer will you be able to carry that 28-footer on your shoulders, trying to navigate through backyards and MDUs. Or lines running over other properties. Now you need access. And you know that's not the customer's concern. No access... it's not done. Not done.... no pay. If you guys want to call this a "wake up" call..... THEN F-----G ANSWER THE PHONE!!!
I was on the management side of the contractor management for years and your right cablevision did screw them. But remember this is not cablevision it is Altice and since all they want is more $$ I am sure they will be worse. For anyone reading this I would say that if your on the fence consider this. Altice has a number of techs and sups/managers that they want to get to once they hit that number I am sure that the nice 2 or 3 weeks per years of service is going to be gone. Then what will you do, I say get out while there willing to pay. I did and from what I hear it is a good thing.
nice to see you chiming in again RM.
These brainwashed fools decided to vote for Altice in the midst of all of what they've been doing.
these techs will keep on trusting management right up until they get screwed.
they have no foresight!
Barry will continue to have them thinking they're the best techs in the industry when they'll be nothing but a glorified contractor.