25 February 2008 9:00-5:00 This week: 8 hrs. Total: 32.5 hrs.
I have begun to fall into a routine of working in the office in the morning, then going into the field for the afternoon. This week, I got the opportunity to go out into the field and do some surveillance with Mr. Bob Estes. It was a domestic case with a somebody suing their neighbor for apparently no good reason. The plumber was there though, so there wasn’t much action, as the guy stayed at home with the plumber.
The ‘politics’ in the office are pretty straightforward, as far as I can tell. Kurt has most of the investigation experience and heads up the technical aspects of the business, and appears to be the head field investigator, although he rarely does surveillance or anything like that. Sandy heads up the administrative side of the business, and manages the ‘reportflow’ as I am calling it, which is the process that a case goes through, from assignment to the final report going out to the client. The power is mostly vested in Kurt and Sandy, in their respective roles, although everybody more or less just does their job and the relationships are symbiotic.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Week 3: Flu!
18 February 2008
Didn't go in today as I am recovering from the flu. Missed the whole week last week too. Darn.
Didn't go in today as I am recovering from the flu. Missed the whole week last week too. Darn.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Week 2: Court Search
11 February, 2008 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m Today: 8 hrs. Total: 16 hrs.
This week, the work got a little more interesting. In the morning, I assisted Sandy with some filing of case files and related work, but in the afternoon, Kurt took me out into the field. We first visited a company in San Rafael whose CEO we had been hired to track down and get him to pay some very late unpaid invoices. Long story short, I had my first experience tailing someone, which was exciting. Afterward, Kurt and I went over to the Civic Center to do a court search on someone for a pre-hire background check. There is certainly a lot of information in the public domain that can be accessed by your average Joe.
Sandy and I have been talking about a possible project to combine several client forms into one standard form. Hardly part of a plot on Law and Order, but undoubtedly useful to the company.
The atmosphere at the office at Ginter Investigations is quite relaxed and casual. Being a husband-wife organization, things are mostly informal, and the office staff mostly wear Standard American Casual (Jeans/khakis and short-sleeved collared shirts). The working community is tight-knit, and workers are casual with each other. The office itself is a long narrow space with one large office at each end, each occupied by Kurt and Sandy. The middle space is subdivided into open cubicles, where the rest of the office staff works. Since this is the first time I have worked in a small business, I don’t really have anything in the same category to compare it to, but I can say that it is slightly more casual and informal than the corporate world of High Tech that I have worked in.
This week, the work got a little more interesting. In the morning, I assisted Sandy with some filing of case files and related work, but in the afternoon, Kurt took me out into the field. We first visited a company in San Rafael whose CEO we had been hired to track down and get him to pay some very late unpaid invoices. Long story short, I had my first experience tailing someone, which was exciting. Afterward, Kurt and I went over to the Civic Center to do a court search on someone for a pre-hire background check. There is certainly a lot of information in the public domain that can be accessed by your average Joe.
Sandy and I have been talking about a possible project to combine several client forms into one standard form. Hardly part of a plot on Law and Order, but undoubtedly useful to the company.
The atmosphere at the office at Ginter Investigations is quite relaxed and casual. Being a husband-wife organization, things are mostly informal, and the office staff mostly wear Standard American Casual (Jeans/khakis and short-sleeved collared shirts). The working community is tight-knit, and workers are casual with each other. The office itself is a long narrow space with one large office at each end, each occupied by Kurt and Sandy. The middle space is subdivided into open cubicles, where the rest of the office staff works. Since this is the first time I have worked in a small business, I don’t really have anything in the same category to compare it to, but I can say that it is slightly more casual and informal than the corporate world of High Tech that I have worked in.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Week 1: First day on the job
4 February, 2008 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Today: 8 hrs. Total: 8 hrs.
The first day at Ginter investigations more or less lived up to my expectations of what work would be like at a small investigation firm, although a lot of what I did was more on the administrative end of the business, and I realized that as with all small businesses, it’s not necessarily all doing what you like to do, it’s also doing finances and so forth. I am looking forward to doing more work out in the field, and really getting into learning about the bread and butter/steak and potatoes of the industry; although learning the workings of the administrative side of the business will undoubtedly be fascinating and informative as well.
The first day at Ginter investigations more or less lived up to my expectations of what work would be like at a small investigation firm, although a lot of what I did was more on the administrative end of the business, and I realized that as with all small businesses, it’s not necessarily all doing what you like to do, it’s also doing finances and so forth. I am looking forward to doing more work out in the field, and really getting into learning about the bread and butter/steak and potatoes of the industry; although learning the workings of the administrative side of the business will undoubtedly be fascinating and informative as well.
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