To taxi or not to taxi….

[Quick_Mick]

Hit me with the pros and cons of taxi work. I got a decent job offer from one of the top taxi service outfits in my area. Big change from my old crawlers on long term, slow paced jobs. They’ve got very nice equipment, from boom trucks on up to 300 ton ATs…I’ve spent some time in mobile cranes but I’m looking for any insight on the inner workings of a taxi service. What can I expect?

 

[crane operator]

Cons: Lots of moving. Lots of set up and tear downs. Very little long term work. More weekend and night work. Much faster pace (clock is money). No one wants to pay for a bigger crane than you need, so always running up against chart.

Pro's: You'll typically be home every night, no perdiem, no nights in a motel room. Get to work a lot of different jobsites and a lot more variety of items. You get to be "captain of the ship".

I've found the guys that really like taxi work, don't tend to do really well at long term jobs (they get bored). But I find its even worse for the guys that enjoy long term jobs- they very seldom enjoy the taxi work. (they get sick of the constant moving, and the lack of skilled people that you're working with).

I don't think one is harder than the other, they are just different, guys will usually find out which they like better.

 

[Quick_Mick]

Thanks for the reply crane op. I’m leaning toward taxi work, I’m a young guy still and get pretty bored on long term jobs. I also spent 6 months out of town this year living out of hotels. With a family at home it weighs on me pretty heavy. I think I’ll set up a meeting with these guys, they’ve asked me to come down and see their facility/equipment

 

[Natman]

I guess I'm a "taxi operator," this week alone, so far, I've worked with 4 different tag line guys that I think never saw a rope before. They were the riggers too (setting trusses), so you can imagine the times I had to jump out of the cab and back, and yelling, to make sure they got it right. The town driving sucks too, though it helps a bit if it's YOUR name in big letter on the side of the rig, or so I tell myself.

 

[Quick_Mick]

Some people just can’t grasp the concept of the tag line, and that you can’t push rope. Another reason I thought about doing some taxi work was the thought of someday owning my own rig, and working for myself. Getting a taste of the work and how these larger companies operate would give me quite a bit of insight for the business.

 

[Natman]

I had a lap pool to set for a doctor the other day, over his neighbors house and into his backyard. I got there early, setup and ready to go at the appointed time. No pool, after 30 minutes I called the pool place and was told they were on their way. 45 minutes later I got a text from a different employee saying they were loading it up now and would be there in about an hour. That's when I told the doc, who had taken time off to supervise, "that's it, I'm outa here." I went to my next job, and ignored 2 or 3 texts and phone calls from the pool company for the next few hours, partially because I was real busy and also just because. They set a time for the next day which I could meet, and I agreed. An hour later I texted them again and said I would need acheck for 1 hour of my crane time for the missed appointment, and to bring it with them the next day. The doc was paying me himself. Next day, I pull up EXACTLY on time, just as the on the hour news came on my radio, which the doc fully got and appreciated. The pool guy handed me the 1 hr check, I lifted the pool, the doc gave me his check, and we all parted friends, and the pool guy will use me again. If I was working for someone rather then for myself, this would have turned out different maybe, the best thing I did was to cool off before talking with the pool guy, I was annoyed to put it mildly. And I kept my 3 other jobs that day all right on time.

 

[Quick_Mick]

That’s interesting because I was just going over this “what if” scenario in my head the other day. My hypothetical resolution was,leave to keep the other lifts on time, until the phone blows up to reschedule the perpetrators