Well in the Security department you work with a bunch of people who act like they know everything even know they've never worked a day of Security anywhere else prior, very small minded place. Most of the 'employees' sit in the guard shack or rec center playing video games all day instead of real work.
There was no interview, they just hired me outright, I wasn't drug tested even though they said I would be, I wasn't properly trained at all, maybe since I have more security experience than all of them they didn't bother? They had someone drive me around for a night through the community, didn't actually show me anything or teach me, especially when it came to the computer system where there's no useful programs, just outdated excel files to store property owner information all over the place, something a lot of places have moved on from years ago because of inefficiency & there are actual data storage programs out there that do it way better nowadays.
Management doesn't care about improving the place, very outdated & inefficient systems in place, there's no Patrol Log to keep track of things for patrol officers, they just write a quick summary at the end of shift in the computer's daily log, the program they use for daily logs is some horrible outdated unheard of application that barely works, instead of just using excel like everyone else in the world.
They still do handwritten passes in 2023.... most gated communities moved on from this a dozen years ago not just because of inefficiency but also data storage on computers is 10000x better than scattered papers in a filing cabinet.. Their gate system doesn't even store owners information like Card Access would, so you have little to no information of the cars who are passing through the owner gates. The exit gate you have to open manually, never seen that anywhere before (and I've been in/around 30 gated communities) Very annoying & unnecessary job for the gate guard, do you know why it doesn't open manually ? It's so that Security can collect the pass for their records.. you know, something a pass program in a computer would store automatically when a pass is made... Just very outdated operations all around.
If you're working gate don't expect cars to pull up to a window for a pass like everywhere else, you're suppose to weave between traffic & walk Infront of/around cars while they're driving into the community to fill out the outdated paper passes, not only inefficient but unwise & potently dangerous as well.
The only time the manager listens is when someone cries loud enough about something small/not important then she accommodates them so she doesn't have to hear it, any real suggestions or complaints are ignored.
There is no rank system in place, so no shot at getting promoted or having your hard work pay off, so nothing to work towards or care about at the job, also as a result some of the regular officers thinks they're in charge there when Chiefs on duty, even though they're not.
There's no official breaks like every job ever, you're suppose to just take one when it's not busy, but you'll get in trouble if you stand still for 20 minutes... & they expect you to report every time you park the patrol vehicle or go to the bathroom now, again caring about unimportant things & not improving/focusing on things that actually need changing.
They will schedule you for hours & days you can't work (and you told them you can't) & expect you to come in & not complain about it. People wont show up for shifts & then you're stuck their longer than you expected to be & nothing is done about the people who didn't show up for their shift. Very sloppy & lazy place, not to mention it's ugly & outdated. You're better off anywhere else honestly. read more
