Experienced Captains & Deckhands Needed

Maritime Employment
41

[QUOTE=rshrew;111937]I’m calling BS on you sir! 21/7 does not mean jack shit about what kind of company they are. I think you followed toto to lala land, a lot of good companies work 2&1, off this alone how can you even say their pay is terrible?Pplease hold your reservations before making wild assumptions. The people who work at this outfit are unknown to me & YOU but I would not cast a stone at a fellow mariner and call his company shit without knowing the facts first hand. Just my 2 cents.[/QUOTE]

Come on…WTB doesn’t have people working 21/7 does it? Not year round in any event. Besides you haven’t been down this way to see all the low end companies which operate from a trailer on a piece of dirt on the side of the ICW.

But I will also say that I do get carried away sometimes with the stick so I will forebear on poking at GOM any further. If someone works for this operation and wants to come in here to dispute me, then I will listen to what they want to say without using my weapon.

42

Our work is un scheduled for the most part and people work however much they feel like for the most part. I have been down to the GOM and seen some lame duck outfits but I believe in giving a company a fair shake if I know nada about them which was obviously the case for the one in question that’s all.

43

You seem to ignore the 21 and 7 part. That is most decidedly NOT 2 for 1. I am pretty bad at math. BUT, That is 3 to 1 Great home life. Or should I say: Anyone working for that company soon will NOT have a good homelife."

Phil: I don’t know you, But I most certainly couldn’t work for ya. When an apologist is pining for this quality of employment it smacks of indifference to the worker. THAT is what GCaptain is good at. It brings out the truth in the equation.

You are correct in that I have NO say, interest or vote in the advertising revenue on this site. BUT, having been on here for a little bit I can tell you that over the years the ‘low scale’, ‘bottom caliber’ hiring agents, and companies have tried to use GCaptain like this. It is apparent what is happening to even the most inexperienced hand. I am certainly sorry that you don’t agree. BUT that is why there is a door on your office. So people can LEAVE when confronted by opinions like yours.

44

I don’t know anything about Cenac. I wouldn’t have any interest in working for an inland company. They are obviously in business so they must pay well enough to attract crew. Obviously they find people willing to work that schedule. They need more crew and someone needs those jobs to build skills and gain experience. Not everyone is a top hand able to get a top paying job with the perfect schedule. People have start somewhere and climb the ladder.

I hate to see any employer discouraged from posting jobs on gcaptain. I can see why a company would want to post informally for free before buying a banner ad. Cenac tried it, and given the crap they got, they won’t be buying any ads on gcaptain or bothering to ever read gcaptain again. That’s probably no big deal.

What worries me is that other employers may not use gcaptain for fear of getting the same treatment.

Is it in the interest of mariners for a few of us to help gcaptain earn a reputation as a site that is hostile to all but a handful of top paying employers?

45

any employer can post for free in the Jobs section I believe…doesn’t have to be in the forum at all but if it is, I feel the employer should be aware that what they post will be read with a critical eye here. To be skeptical is a natural human reaction to protect one’s self. Over all the damned years I’ve been in this effing bidness, I have been fed too many lines of we’re offering top shelf 24year old single malt when instead what they were really going to give me was bottom shelf rotgut. I still feel the 21/7 is a HORRIBLE schedule to expect your mariners to work and that was a big telltale as was the “we expect professionalism” bit. The fact that later we find that a captain was canned for safety reasons makes me think they get a low end bunch which does not give me confidence to want to apply (if I was even interested in that sector).

Now, I will say that I do have a predisposed bias against small GoM companies like this GOM and for that I will say that fact colored my views from the gitgo which may or may not have been fair. Still, i believe the overall record for these operators is pretty suspect in this industry as they do seem to end up with a rather large share of blame for maritime incidents in the Gulf region. Who was the tug company that had their captain off chasing down his wife’s lover 1000miles from his boat and left if in the hands of some boob only to end up causing a major spill in the River? That’s the kind of operator I am talking about and they are all over Bourg and Harvey and Morgan City!

If a company is going to come here looking for people like Mr. Cenac did, then they should do it with full knowledge that we are not going to be pie eyed little newbs who are going to lap up their words without question or comment. This is still a forum afterall.

46

Tugsailor: While I agree with you about encouraging companies to post here, what is NOT lost on the forum is…

[B]The companies that pay well, That treat their employees well. And Dare I say, are equal time are NOT desperate for help. [/B]

That speaks volumes.

Yes, A new guy who needs to get their foot in the door may use one of these other companies. But, I had a Rebbi to give me sage advice when I was starting out. He’s dead now. I WISH GCaptain was around 30 years ago. The advice here is: go, get started wherever you can get a job. BUT pay attention to the working conditions around the waterfront, don’t assume that your employer has [B]your[/B] best interests at heart. They don’t. They have THEIR best interest front and center. MOST don’t give a damned about who is running their boats, as long as there is a crew aboard. In that case, I expect a Good, fair paycheck, with benefits, and scheduled time off. If the ad says 21 and 7 then move that one directly into the circular file.

As a guy who came on here a couple years ago asking about Bouchard wondered (both in the forum and in a couple PM.s to me) what could be SO wrong with Bouchard. Well, he was pretty much completely informed. Yet he went to Bouchard anyway. About 8 months later guess what? He was back here confirming everything that was told to him on this forum about ‘Mortys Navy’.

So, while it is nice you want involvement, there is a reason why the truth hurts. Because some companies are somewhat less than desirable. If YOU wanted the truth, should I keep quiet? Or should I honestly share my opinion? NO, I have never worked at the mentioned place. But, I have heard enough anecdotes to let me see through the smokescreen of doublespeak. I wouldn’t stay silent about this type of company. out of respect for the mariner. I hate to see someone getting taken advantage of. Be honest, don’t you dislike that too? If YOU asked me in a PM what I thought about this post, would you want me to be honest with you? Why should I tiptoe around it in public? Honesty is the best policy.

47

[QUOTE=cappy208;112021]Tugsailor: While I agree with you about encouraging companies to post here, what is NOT lost on the forum is…

[B]The companies that pay well, That treat their employees well. And Dare I say, are equal time are NOT desperate for help. [/B]

That speaks volumes.

Yes, A new guy who needs to get their foot in the door may use one of these other companies. But, I had a Rebbi to give me sage advice when I was starting out. He’s dead now. I WISH GCaptain was around 30 years ago. The advice here is: go, get started wherever you can get a job. BUT pay attention to the working conditions around the waterfront, don’t assume that your employer has [B]your[/B] best interests at heart. They don’t. They have THEIR best interest front and center. MOST don’t give a damned about who is running their boats, as long as there is a crew aboard. In that case, I expect a Good, fair paycheck, with benefits, and scheduled time off. If the ad says 21 and 7 then move that one directly into the circular file.

As a guy who came on here a couple years ago asking about Bouchard wondered (both in the forum and in a couple PM.s to me) what could be SO wrong with Bouchard. Well, he was pretty much completely informed. Yet he went to Bouchard anyway. About 8 months later guess what? He was back here confirming everything that was told to him on this forum about ‘Mortys Navy’.

So, while it is nice you want involvement, there is a reason why the truth hurts. Because some companies are somewhat less than desirable. If YOU wanted the truth, should I keep quiet? Or should I honestly share my opinion? NO, I have never worked at the mentioned place. But, I have heard enough anecdotes to let me see through the smokescreen of doublespeak. I wouldn’t stay silent about this type of company. out of respect for the mariner. I hate to see someone getting taken advantage of. Be honest, don’t you dislike that too? If YOU asked me in a PM what I thought about this post, would you want me to be honest with you? Why should I tiptoe around it in public? Honesty is the best policy.[/QUOTE]

There is a big difference between a company posting that they are hiring, and a poster asking what it is like to work for a particular company.

If someone asks what is it like working at company x? Then by all means, I hope people who know will share the truth.