Jim and the Dori's

[ve9aa]

The stupid was strong with the first 2 you interviewed ! ;-)

I am not an employer, but senior tech and supervisor where I work (a hospital) and have to deal with several employees like your extended family.  It's almost impossible to get rid of people where I work.  You'd have to steal a car or murder someone basically.

It's extremely aggravating.

[MiniDave]

For a short while I worked at a light duty Generous Motors plant, everyone there was at least 20 years of seniority....One day a guy was unloading transmissions out of a rail car with a forktruck and dropped one off the dock, his punishment? A week off work with full pay!

[Jims5543]

The stupid was strong with the first 2 you interviewed ! ;-)

I am not an employer, but senior tech and supervisor where I work (a hospital) and have to deal with several employees like your extended family.  It's almost impossible to get rid of people where I work.  You'd have to steal a car or murder someone basically.

It's extremely aggravating.

Preach it brother, if up to me Office Dori would have been long gone, I will get into that more some other time. After my Ireland debacle I decided to never take a week off again until she is gone. So if my wife wants a week away, she better let me clean the effing house.

My clients create another source of frustration.

I worked 18 straight hours, more or less Thursday.  M-W I worked from 6 am to 7 pm

Today (Friday) I left the office at 3PM, after arriving at 6 am to go with my wife to fetch my son from school, and head to Burger FI for dinner.

On Fridays he is in Science Lab after school and gets out at 4:30 PM.


At 6:30 my phone starts blowing up with call after call after call 3x in all.

I recognize the number it is the ditz at a title company that calls me hyperventilating because she forgot to order something.

Ironically when I switched to Tmobile I changed my outgoing message to the standard one, "You have called (insert name here) voicemail please leave a message after the beep."

Insert name here = "Senior Pueblo"  When I did it I was outside and it does not even sound like my voice.

No one leaves a message anymore thinking I changed my number. LMAO!!

So she was calling over and over and over... never leaving a message.

After 15 minutes she calls my wifes phone. WTF!! We were like how TF did she get my wifes number. Then I remembered she did a closing for us, she went and pulled the file and got my wifes cel phone number out of it. WTF!!!

She left a message on my wifes phone telling her that she needs to tell me to call as she has been trying to get in touch with me.

THEN the email comes in, she orders a survey after hours and need is it Monday.

WTF!! some more.

I waited until late this evening to reply then told her we would squeeze it in Monday.

All she needed to do was email the order, I have NEVER let her down, why she feels the need to harass me on a Friday night after I worked an 60 hour week is beyond me.

God forbid I have some down time.

Spastic fuckin idiots.

[94touring]

The senior Pablo thing should be noted you already remind me of Tuco from breaking bad.  A little less violent luckily. 

[jeff10049]

"Spastic fuckin idiots." :D :D 4.gif 77.gif

Love it
Yes yes they are I get it all the time the more times they call in a row the longer I put them off even block the number sometimes for a few days.
I'll get in Monday at 7:00 phone is ringing when I walk in 10 calls starting at 5:30 am from the same number and 3 voicemails.

we open at 8:00 am leaving a message is fine but it's like they just sit there for hours calling and redialing so I'll block the number so I can use the phone to get some work done to check and return all the calls and messages that came in before them book those appointments and then call them back.

I give no priority to them at all I will make sure they work on our schedule even if the day they want is open I will tell them it is not but we have another opening they can take it or leave it I don't care I don't need assholes like that for customers anyway.

The best was a guy with a blocked number that called and left a message on Saturday saying "I guess since no one can answer the phone I'll take my business elsewhere" He soon found out we were the only warranty dealer in central Oregon and called back a day later wanting an appointment.
I said I thought you were taking your business elsewhere? I recognized his voice and it still came up as a private caller. He said what do you mean I said well someone calling from this number that sounds just like you left a message yesterday saying that would go elsewhere because we were closed when you called and apparently leaving a message for an appointment or calling back was too hard for you so I suggest you do go elsewhere.
He said that can't be my number is blocked I said yup it is I was just testing you and you confirmed what I suspected have a nice day.

[Jims5543]

Nothing and I mean nothing chaps my ass more than someone who calls my office multiple times thinking if they call over and over they will get an answer. It is fucking rude.

If I am in there before or after hours, it is for a reason, it means I am not answering the phone because I am trying to get things done.

This woman calling me like that pissed me off and while I would love to tell her to F off, I know better.

She wil get her Survey by Monday afternoon..  why?  She alone is a 70K a year customer her and the girls in her office that use me make up almost 1/4 of of my yearly revenue.

I may not be on call 24/7 but I am not fool, I will take care of them. Competitors come in there weekly with cookies and bagels etc.. trying to lure them away from me.  I know I can be replaced.


As I mentioned we changed to cheap ass Tmobile which it is a step below ATT, my plan all along has been to get a Verizon phone with a new # and leave my current phone will be on do not disturb on evenings and weekends. Only family and friends will get the new number.

[jeff10049]

I can understand that,
most of my customers are one person so if I lose one not a big deal I try not to but won't put up with too much shit.

If they replace me because I won't answer the phone on a Sunday so be it at least they can't talk bad about me at least not in a way anyone would care about.
We do all we can during business hours to earn and retain customers but not all are worth it.
I do have a dealer that's a bit of a pain but I do always get him in as he did close to 100k last year.

But you know had one of those before and he up and moved I was so worried about not getting his business nothing really changed numbers wise we picked up other stuff and had fewer headaches and rush jobs so in the end, I don't know if the big clients matter either.

By matter I mean stressing about or giving into for after-hours service weekends etc. Give them the same good service as everybody and if that's not enough tough shit.
I don't mind someone asking or telling me they're in a bind and need help I will always see what I can do but if you expect it because you think you're big shit forget about it.

Just don't put all the eggs in one basket I guess.
I've kind of learned just do a good job and the rest works itself out.

[Jims5543]

Exactly, there has to be a reasonable limit as to how much you are on call.

Weekends to me are sacred. I work 6-6 M-F then again many evenings trying to keep everyone happy.

When 6 PM rolls around on Friday, fuck you I am off for 2 days.

From 2002 - 2006 I had this company on cruise control, I was off running around enjoying life.

From 2008 to now, I stopping working to live and started living to work and I hate that. It is a bullshit life to live.

If I am not going to have a life from M-F, you better bet I am having one on the weekend at the very least.


All that said, back in December and January I worked on weekends to do a large job for a good client, the bonus was the money I made from that really helped me out a lot . Januaries tend to be very slow for me, I always try to take on larger jobs in January that I normally turn away.


Jeff, you know the drill, as a small business owner there is a delicate dance you have to make in order to keep your clients happy.


If I ever hit the lottery ( I would need to play to do that I do not play) I am re-naming my company FU Land Surveying.  Need a survey fast? FU   You want a discount? FU.

Please god let me win.

[Jims5543]

My Mini post reminded me of good news.

In 2023 we took a few days off and went to MOTD.  My older son can run the place now and knows what to do, Office Dori was still useless but had a job. I was where I thought I would be in 2023, lots of time on my hands. My plan all along was to work my ass off bank a lot of money and when things finally slowed down, go out and enjoy life.

I took a few days off to attend MOTD, while I was away Office Dori seemed to think she was being ill treated by me.

Bottom line? she sucks at math and does not know how to budget. As we all know, by 2023 everything has pretty much doubled in price, I gave her a couple of raises then stopped that and told her I was going to give 2 bonuses a year to offset the crushing inflation because I cannot give raises and take them away. BUT I can give nice bonuses to offset that. She was receiving $12,000 in bonuses, $6K every 6 months or 1K a month or $6.25 an hour because I worked the raises to some in as 6K after taxes.

While we were on vacation (the first since Ireland a page back) she looked for, interviewed for and took another job. I was very happy about her leaving pissed about her spiteful timing but still happy she was leaving. My wife told her her timing sucked and it seemed to be spiteful she unloaded on my wife telling her we suck. Keep in mind she sucks and I let her keep a job despite wanting to fire her ass a long time ago. I figured out how to make this broken tool work best for me and was coping with her.

More in another post, she sucks at math, she took a job making $4 more than I was paying her before her bonuses, so she took a $2.25 an hour or $90 a week cut in pay thinking she is making more money.

I did notice, she eats out every damn meal, breakfast lunch and dinner, in this economy that is big money, I am the damn owner of the company and brown bag lunch and breakfast every day to save money.  She buys out every meal. She cannot understand why she cannot make ends meet. 

I should also add I let her come and go as she pleased, she could run out, get her daughter from school and take her daughter to the office to hang out. I even gave her daughter cash as a thank you every week for taking the garbage out on Fridays.

since leaving my company her family has to run around and pick up her daughter for her because she cannot leave her new job at will.  Talk about not thinking this through... then again thinking was not Dori's strong point was it?

[jeff10049]

HA!Thats great As you know since this thread started I sold my business but I had a painter that worked for me do the same shit he was pissed off that he wasn't making any money he didn't seem to understand you have to work to get paid he told me I was effing him over and he had to take another job to make some money.

 He would come in for 2-3 hours a couple of days of the week and get a job done that flagged 20 hours and get paid the 20 for the week since I paid my paint and body guys flat rate. Mind you there was endless work for him to do if he wanted it yet I ended up pissed off and painting a 5 color job on a coach by myself at 2:00 am more than once because he didn't show.

So Flakey takes a job paying $45 per hour straight time I paid $30 per hour flat rate so he thinks he's making $15 per hour more. A good guy can easily do a 20 hour job in 8-10 hours so you make 60 per hour and he did just that when he worked.
 
At the new job, he did the same shit came in a couple days a week for 2-3 hours a day completed a 20 hour job but got paid 6 hours at $45 vs 20 hours at $30 a $330 dollar loss over what he made working for me.
He came around and wanted his job back but I had replaced him with a great guy that was flagging 100+ hours per week this kid was grossing around 12k per month and loving it. So was I if he flagged 100 hours that means I was also paid 100 hours of time.  I gave him some pretty bad ass bonuses on top of his pay. Needless to say he has done well and is netting over 100k a year now with the company that I sold too. Flakey is still bouncing around from one job to another running out of places that will hire him.

What's more is Flakey bitched about everything this masking tape sucks, why do you use the green masking paper instead of white, I don't like this prep chemical, you should buy this other overspray plastic sheet, on and on it never ended. So I said fuck it you're in charge of the paint department you tell Brian (our salesman from the paint supplier) what you want and I'll buy it. My supplies bill went way up and he just kept complaining about why he was having problems he was a painter his whole life and didn't know how to handle problems when they came up. The new guy starts and first day he ask why are you buying all this expensive tape and paper we don't need it it's a waste of money save it for the times we might need it and buy the normal stuff for everyday work I said the last guy didn't like the normal stuff he just rolled his eyes. 

[94touring]

Your guy Jeff sounds like a percentage of pilots I fly with.  Bitch and moan about everything.  Act like we're working hard at this airline.  Then they go get a normal airline job working 4x as much per week, less days off at a time, making about the same money. Several left and came back a year later.

[jeff10049]

Hopefully, the difference is they can at least do the job even when problems arise. This guy would walk out if things didn't work perfectly. Sadly  I've seen cases of pilots that are the same way they're only alive because nothing has happened it seems that they forget to fly the damn plane and crash over a malfunctioning airspeed indicator or some dumb shit. I hope you'll tell me it's not that way but I fear it is.

[Jims5543]

HA!Thats great As you know since this thread started I sold my business but I had a painter that worked for me do the same shit he was pissed off that he wasn't making any money he didn't seem to understand you have to work to get paid he told me I was effing him over and he had to take another job to make some money.

 He would come in for 2-3 hours a couple of days of the week and get a job done that flagged 20 hours and get paid the 20 for the week since I paid my paint and body guys flat rate. Mind you there was endless work for him to do if he wanted it yet I ended up pissed off and painting a 5 color job on a coach by myself at 2:00 am more than once because he didn't show.

So Flakey takes a job paying $45 per hour straight time I paid $30 per hour flat rate so he thinks he's making $15 per hour more. A good guy can easily do a 20 hour job in 8-10 hours so you make 60 per hour and he did just that when he worked.
 
At the new job, he did the same shit came in a couple days a week for 2-3 hours a day completed a 20 hour job but got paid 6 hours at $45 vs 20 hours at $30 a $330 dollar loss over what he made working for me.
He came around and wanted his job back but I had replaced him with a great guy that was flagging 100+ hours per week this kid was grossing around 12k per month and loving it. So was I if he flagged 100 hours that means I was also paid 100 hours of time.  I gave him some pretty bad ass bonuses on top of his pay. Needless to say he has done well and is netting over 100k a year now with the company that I sold too. Flakey is still bouncing around from one job to another running out of places that will hire him.

What's more is Flakey bitched about everything this masking tape sucks, why do you use the green masking paper instead of white, I don't like this prep chemical, you should buy this other overspray plastic sheet, on and on it never ended. So I said fuck it you're in charge of the paint department you tell Brian (our salesman from the paint supplier) what you want and I'll buy it. My supplies bill went way up and he just kept complaining about why he was having problems he was a painter his whole life and didn't know how to handle problems when they came up. The new guy starts and first day he ask why are you buying all this expensive tape and paper we don't need it it's a waste of money save it for the times we might need it and buy the normal stuff for everyday work I said the last guy didn't like the normal stuff he just rolled his eyes. 

Sounds like you are similar to me, get the work done, bill your time and live your life. Your OG paint guy could be Dori's cousin.

Dori worked 35 hour weeks and got paid 40 hours, she got a 1 hour a day paid lunch which she took every second of every day. Even if she was behind in the office, she took her complete 1 hour lunch every single day. Despite letting her take off whenever she wanted to pick up he daughter. plus 12K in bonuses, plus never being penalized if she needed to run out and deal with he daughter, since she is technically a single mom, I always tried to make her life easier for her so she could be there for her daughter. My philosophy is family first.


After she quit, my wife said, let me do it, the kids are all grown.  She worked for many months taking Dori's place and I can only say she made my life 100% easier at work.  What suffered was our home, we were all working 50 hour weeks.

In Sept 2023 we went on a 1 week vacation, my SIL (my wife's sister) offered to fill in. We had her work a week prior to leaving, then she filled in while we were gone. She did a better job than Dori after 1 week of training. Plus my older son is really on top of things so he can help too.

After we returned she said she loved working there, and asked if we would consider using her. We decided it was a solid move, we have her working 2 days one week and 3 days the next. She is a contractor, I pay her via a 1099 since she is the owner of the drafting service (my BIL) we use.

My older son is what we call in the industry, a field to finish guy, he preps and does his field work, then comes in to the office and drafts up all his work. I do the same, all our overflow goes to a subcontractor drafter (BIL) who works for a few companies now. He is killing it. I am so happy I helped him start up that company. All my Surveyor friends us him now.

[Jims5543]

As time went by things became clearer. We have a niece, she is the daughter of my SIL (office help) and BIL (drafter husband) we call her our nerd niece. Her and her husband are total petrol heads. They are both gamers as well, my sons, her and her husband can be found on discord at night gaming together and chatting it up. Both her and her husband have Mini's she has a 4 door Cooper and he has a JCW.  They just visited the Mini Factory yesterday in Oxford, UK.  She works for a local telecommunication company in IT.  She is always getting certified in more and more tech, the owner of the company loves her and has taken her under his wing. He enrolled her in some local leadership program when she is networking and learning how to be a industry leader. She is always taking more classes and getting certified in other areas.   She is in her mid 20's and has a very bright future.

I tell you this because, Dori, who dropped out of HS, seems to think she should be on the same level as her cousin despite not wanting to learn anything or do anything more than her job, which she could barely do.

She mentioned something about that to my wife when quitting, that she was not making as much as her cousin who is 10 years younger than she is.

When my wife mentioned this to me, a lightbulb went off, Dori thought in her head she is worth much more than she really is. 

In the end, I can say without a doubt, I am very happy she left, think she is insane for leaving, she had a job here (because family) as long as she wanted and it was laid back.  The new arrangement I have now, with my SIL part time and my wife part time is working out perfect.

The SIL is always up for covering us if we want to go away, sadly we have not done that since Sept last year. Other than long weekends that is.