TollBoothGuy
5 Years Experience
Brooklyn, NY
Male, 33
I spent just short of five years as a toll collector on the western end of New York State. Ask me anything, but please don't pay me in pennies.
There were three shifts every day: 11p-7a, 7a-3p, and 3p-11p. Full-timers generally have set schedules and part-timers fill in the gaps. In my particular situation, part-timers can set their working parameters to fit their preferences, but limiting available hours can severly limit assigned shifts. In the schedule periods where I made myself completely available my schedule was across the board. Part-time collectors work both entire 8 hour shifts or relief shifts all the way down to 4 hours. Sometimes it worked out really well (eg. a bunch of afternoon shifts in a row) and other times it was a little more challenging. (eg. 7a shift at a station 25 miles away after working at that station until 11p the previous night)
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Our booths have both heat and air coniditioning. Due to the fact that we work with a window open for most of the day, it is impossible to regulate the temperature. Coats, gloves, short sleeves, and tears are the best tools we have some days.
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Nah, sunburn on one side is plenty.
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Congrats on the job! I didn't find the training at headquarters particularly difficult. The instructors are thorough but a lot of the information won't sink until you get out on the road. It's been almost nine years since I went though it, so things may have changed, but from what i recall it's a lot of sitting in conference rooms and listening, paperwork, fingerprinting, and OSHA videos. It's a good forum for questions and for running through hypothetical questions with instructors that have been through it all.
At headquarters the onus is on the instructors. Once you get on the road, the onus will be on you. Good luck!
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I tried not to think about it, honestly. I know some coworkers have had money thrown at them in the past but nothing much beyond that. I think the only time I actually felt unsafe at a station was when I was working solo and the power went out in the middle of the night. When you lose all the lights and the hum of the electronic ticket machines, all these fun scenarios start running through your head.
I took no extra safety precautions on the job. State police units were never particularly far away, and the vast majority of conflicts with drivers are verbal and last a few seconds at most.
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As with any other job that deals with money, shortages are a huge deal. If your drawer does not match the expected total to the negative side(past a certain threshold) the issue is flagged at the time of bank deposit. A manger meets with a collector to go over the shift in question to try and identify the reason for the shortage. By this time. the shift in question is months in the past, so it is often hard to recall the day in question. Reasons for shortages typically include giving out the wrong amount of change, misclassification of vehicles, and unfortunately, theft.
I went through this once and it is not a pleasant experience. In my case, a direct cause for the shortage could be not identified but was most likely included giving incorrect change, likely for a large bill.
I was also put on a re-training track once for deposit slip errors. You see, when you make a deposit at the end of your shift the paperwork that goes with the money must match the money in the bag exactly, both in total money deposited and exact totals of each denomination. That's 100s, 50s, 20s, 10s, 5s, 1s, dollar coins, half-dollar coins, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies, Canadian currency. If there is any discrepency between what is in the bag and the paperwork the deposit is flagged. This applies even if the amount deposited by the collector is 100% correct. If a certain percentage of your monthly deposits come back with errors, you are flagged for re-training. Multiple months of over-the-threshold deposit errors can lead to increased disciplinary action, leading all the way up to termination. Luckily, I only hit the threshold once.
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If you don't catch it before the car drives away, note it on your log for the day. Collectors are responsible for all money at the end of the day, and if a discrepancy exists above a certain threshold disciplinary action can ensue. You get pretty quick at counting change so unless it's off by a coin you'll be able to feel that it's not quite right and hopefully stop the car before it takes off. Some drivers are great about waiting a second and others could care less.
I have often found myself hanging out of my booth waving my arms wildly trying to flag down a driver as he starts to move away.
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