Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Unidentified meter reader in Arbor Heights –
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April 27, 2010 at 3:06 pm #594634
HelperMonkeyParticipantA woman parked her teal, older small pick up in front of my house, strapped on a backpack which for some reason included an empty laundry detergent bottle and walked down the street, stopping every once in a while to look at different houses. Thinking this looked a little suspicious, we confronted her. Turns out she was a meter reader. There is no identification of any kind on her car, but she does have a badge.
April 27, 2010 at 3:22 pm #693360
KatherineLParticipantWhat kind of meters was she reading?
April 27, 2010 at 3:38 pm #693361
HelperMonkeyParticipantThe BF confronted her. I will ask him. He said she had City of Seattle ID, though…so I am guessing water? She totally should have had some sort of ID on her vehicle, though.
*edited – he confirms she was reading the water meters*
April 27, 2010 at 4:28 pm #693362
KevinParticipantSeveral months ago I encountered a similar situation in the Arbor Heights area. A black woman in her 40s, wearing an orange safety vest, and driving a privately owned vehicle.
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I took a picture from a distance and then approached her and we chatted. She did have city ID, and had a reasonable sounding excuse for driving her own vehicle.
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It was something like “personal preference”, getting paid for “miles driven”, or perhaps it was “not enough city vehicles.” Whatever it was sounded quite legitimate.
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Sure did seem suspicious on the surface, but I was convinced that she was working for the city after talking to her.
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April 27, 2010 at 6:03 pm #693363
KenParticipantWater meter reader carries a metal rod to open the hatch. Gas meter readers usually carry a spray bottle of detergent to check for leaks on the utilities side of the meter. Electric meter readers usually carry binoculars so they can read the meter from the alley if you have dogs. My dogs ignore the regular guy but his vacation fill in was wandering lost through backyards and set them off a couple of weeks ago.
City budget cuts could be the reason they offer the mileage rather than a city vehicle. The cost of it probably comes from a different budget.
Every meter reader I have seen in Seattle had a reflective vest in orange or green.
April 27, 2010 at 6:20 pm #693364
HelperMonkeyParticipantno orange vest – she was wearing a dark green parka and a hat. nothing to indicate unless you got right up and asked her what she was doing or who she was doing it for.
April 27, 2010 at 6:38 pm #693365
KBearParticipantYou’d think the orange vest or some other easily identifiable clothing would be required, especially since they have to cut through people’s yards.
April 27, 2010 at 6:44 pm #693366
alki_2008ParticipantMaybe the differing clothing is based on the weather. Parka and hat if it’s raining or the person is just cold…and maybe the vest doesn’t fit over the parka? Sounds like it was a legitimate reader though.
April 27, 2010 at 7:11 pm #693367
MargLMemberWhat happened to the segways we spent so much money on for the meter readers? I used to see them rolling down the street on those. Maybe only in the summer.
April 27, 2010 at 8:49 pm #693368
anonymeParticipantI’ve also noticed these meter readers in AH over the last year or so. It is a bit disconcerting to see someone pull over in a non-official vehicle and slip on a safety vest. I mean, that would be such an easy way for any criminal to gain entry to property – or worse. At the very least, it seems they should have some kind of official placard in their vehicle, or other obvious identification. I would not take kindly to finding someone wandering my yard wearing street clothes, and would call police before confronting a stranger on my own. I wonder how often that happens?
April 27, 2010 at 8:59 pm #693369
flowerpetalMemberIf you see a stranger in your yard wearing an orange vest I think it would be a legitimate call to make to SPD.
I am wondering why so many people have posted their concern here and it appears that no one has called Seattle Utilities to inquire about this and offer the placard suggestion. I bet if a few calls to SPD were made when a stranger in an orange vest was in their yard… something would change. But nothing will change if we just talk about it here.
April 27, 2010 at 9:18 pm #693370
HelperMonkeyParticipantoh, I made a complaint online. I just wanted other AH residents to be aware of the situation, given the thread regarding possible homeless people in AH.
April 27, 2010 at 9:28 pm #693371
flowerpetalMemberThanks. Present company excluded then. :-) My perception right or wrong is that sometimes we (myself included)like to write about what is wrong but don’t make an effort to find out what’s up or offer a solution where it counts.
April 27, 2010 at 10:58 pm #693372
MargLMemberHmm – timely reminder ‘tweeted’ by SeattleSPU today
http://atyourservice.seattle.gov/2010/04/27/keep-vegetation-clear/ – reminds me it’s time to trim the camellia in front of the power meter…
April 29, 2010 at 10:08 pm #693373
luckymom30ParticipantWow! We too are in Arbor Heights but haven’t had that problem. We had the same meter reader for 20 years he was transferred to another divion of the department and now we have a woman meter reader who is very friendly brings treats for our pets (as did the former reader). She wears her badge and drives a city vehicle.
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