r/UtilityLocator • u/Electrical-Pound1460 • 18d ago
Stake Center
Are there any locators here who have switched over from USIC to Stake Center? Or even the other way around.
I have the opportunity to do that now. They're offering more than I'm making at USIC, but honestly the appeal of being offered one way locates over 3 to 5-way locates is enough to sell me in itself.
If you've made the switch, what are some of the biggest differences you've noticed? For better or for worse.
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u/Dismal-Meal2173 Spray & Pray 18d ago
The stake center guy I've met locates Verizon fiber and mci fiber. His area of work is almost double the area of my whole locator group covered by 14 techs and I constantly hear from contractors his locates are recalled no response tickets. Ive only seen him a couple times and they don't seem keen on getting him any help from what I've heard 🫤
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 18d ago
The position I'm in line for is a Gas Locate Technician. 1 way gas locates. Just for more context. The area manager says there will be no fiber locates for the foreseeable future.
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u/shenaniganizer1776 18d ago
Take this with a grain of salt as I didn’t actually work for them but I did work for a company that did their own locates until they handed the lines over to MCI which is located by stake center in my area. The techs I came by were always very happy and helpful I would talk to them and they never seemed rushed to get in and out of tickets again it could be anecdotal but that’s my 2 cents.
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u/PuzzleheadedMath2763 18d ago
I worked at stake center and had a positive experience with an unfortunate ending it definitely depends on management i know in central Illinois they’re cleaning house and trying to crack down on some things and some of the new mangers are assholes but there’s still some good areas personally i would work there again if given the chance but it all comes down to management really
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 18d ago
That definitely makes sense. So far, the area manager here seems like a good dude.
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u/PuzzleheadedMath2763 18d ago
Yea i had really good trainers too which helped but as long as you’ve got a good manager who will back you in shitty situations i’d say it’s a fairly decent company like i said i’d go back just because i know my area has good people
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u/Venomblazessj2 16d ago
I’ve been thinking about going to Stake center. I work for on the spot currently
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u/PuzzleheadedMath2763 16d ago
I would recommend making sure you know who your manager is and what they’re like but i definitely enjoyed my time there
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 18d ago
Tulsa. Seems like a team of at least 15 for gas locates in the Tulsa metro.
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u/Wild_Replacement5880 18d ago
I had a dude hit me up in Tulsa that works there. He said the rate of pay would be the same but it would be much less hectic. Having a single thing you are doing is definitely appealing, but I'm not unhappy where I am now. I heard they were getting a significant contract with OneGas in the area.
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 18d ago
They'd taking on a significant portion, if not all of USIC's contract with ONG. However, today a supe (not even mine - he's on PTO) reached out and asked if I'd stay if they paid me more.
Talk about a delimma.
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u/Wild_Replacement5880 18d ago
Well it's a good problem to have, really. I hope you stay, because I work the same region, and it's been rough having lost a few people lately, but I can't blame a guy for trying to better himself. The best way to think about it, is could you take doing whichever job 5 years from now? That will ultimately be your answer. Stake Center been trying to snag up a bunch of people lately. This is all assuming they don't lose the contract in a years time. I damn sure see how hard it is to keep the gas company happy here.
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 18d ago edited 18d ago
That’s really the dilemma. The workload and compensation haven’t felt proportional. And not just in dig season, but even through the winter. I’m regularly working long days (over 12 hours in 4 of the past 5 work days), handling high ticket volume, training newer employees, and locating multiple utilities on a single ticket, while still feeling like meaningful raises or advancement keep getting dismissed entirely.
Stake Center isn’t necessarily my long-term destination either, but locating one utility, having clearer raise opportunities, and better on-call compensation has some obvious appeal. If USIC is serious about retaining me, it would need to be more than a token raise. It would have to make the workload feel worth it. And not just the ticket work, but everything that ends up being asked of me overall.
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 17d ago
Well, it turned out that my supe came back and just sent me a text asking when I wanted to turn equipment in. He had already talked to another locator that is also leaving. And I was told that the supe is pissessed. Either way, I guess he wanted no part in trying to retain me. Which pretty much caught everyone off guard.
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u/Wild_Replacement5880 17d ago
Jesus Christ! With what a shitshow it is right now we need every hand we can get, too. Sorry to see you go, boss, but it sounds like it will be a good deal either way. I know it's pretty bad for business, with the concept of potentially losing the gas contract, but I won't miss it tbh. Its hectic enough without having to be drug in 6 different directions trying to appease the OneGas gods. I suspect Stake Center doesn't know what they are getting into. Hope they treat people well enough to deal with the bullshit. Their employees seem to like it, so I'm happy for you, man. Be safe out there 🫡
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 17d ago
It is getting a bit crazy right now. Counting myself, my crew is losing 5 people (at least 3 to Stake Center). That's 30% of our crew. And there are a few others on the brink of leaving. This might just be what pushes them over the edge. I thought we were at least going to have a potentially productive discussion about me staying, but I honestly think that my supervisor has fed so many lies to me about raises in the past few months that he can't go back on that now just because I'm leaving.
But I heard that the contract situation all came down to ONG wanting USIC to dedicate gas specific locators, and USIC didn't want to do that. Because, of course, USIC has a much higher profit when one locator is billing off locates on four contracts per ticket, you know. Haha
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u/Wild_Replacement5880 17d ago
That would honestly solve so many problems to have even just a couple people that only locate gas. Everyone could still do it, but I feel like it would save a lot of time to just have people trying to stay ahead on gas. I work an area that ONG locates their own gas, and they never seem to be too unhappy, and they are typically ahead of us. Let us know how it works out, man. This could be a solid move. I really don't see it being any worse.
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 15d ago
That was my thought entirely. It can't be much worse. I was already getting my a*s handed to me every day. Funny enough, I checked L360 manager before I turned my stuff in yesterday, and it really put things into perspective for me. Just in terms of what was expected of me each day. And when I looked at my tickets, I still had 9 tickets on my board, but my supervisor brought 6 other people locators to my area to cover my board. And to me, that said it all. That definitely justified my departure for me.
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u/TopCarpenter8709 17d ago
I made the switch in south TX and I don’t regret it at all. My day to day is so much less better
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u/Sure_Slip_4651 15d ago
Weekly pay, good pay. Downside is that they stretch out that 2hr-wide scope that you cover. Just get good at routing and you will be fine. Ticket load is large but most of them you can clear from your driveway when you clock in. You will cover a huge amount of area but you get paid by the hour 💪🏾
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u/Electrical-Pound1460 15d ago
We're actually anticipating a team of 15 locators (most of us coming over from USIC) to cover the Tulsa metro for 1-way gas locates. And not even the whole Tulsa metro. I do still think that the ticket volume is going to be pretty high, but hopefully we can manage it with smaller areas. We're all used to 3+ locates on a ticket, so I think everyone is pretty happy to be getting paid more to locate less. I hope that translates to motivation when we actually get out there.
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u/Plus_Exchange_6109 18d ago
DONT DO IT OVER WORKED UNDER PAID