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When do you bail out when your employer’s business is going down the tubes ? How do you know when to stick it out, and when to get out before they lose their butts ?
Last year, I quit a job to go work for a local general contractor. (A customer of the place I worked at) Before I took the job, I checked the guy out pretty well. I talked to some of his employees, and they seemed happy. I even talked to his customers, and they all seemed happy. He was always really pleasant to work with, and I figured I was making a good move. But things have steadily deteriorated from there.
For starters, last year he had 8 people working for him. The guy has been such a pain in the neck lately, that 7 of them have quit, and the 8th is looking for a job. He hasn’t made the slightest move to hire anyone to replace them.
I was hired as office help, not as a carpenter. But since he’s short handed, he’s had me out framing a house for almost 2 weeks. When I pointed out that I was not hired for that, he said he thought it was good for me to find out how long things actually took, so I could do a better job of estimating. (Would have been nice if he’d asked me 1st)
I’m also concerned about their finances. They’ve just soent about $60,000 on improvements on their own property, but are 30 to 60 days behind in paying their bills.
The guy has his wife do payroll, and she’s a real witch. She despises us all, and thinks we’re all out to get her money. If the time sheets aren’t filled out perfectly, she just doesn’t pay that person for a couple of days.
The guy who runs the business took it over from his Dad, and I think his Dad still owns it. The 2 of them recently had a falling out, and are not speaking with each other. I’m concerned that his Dad might have final say in the company finances, and might shut him down.
So I’m back to the original question – when do you bail out ? If I left now, I’d kind of feel like I was kicking him while he was down. But I also have to think of myself. I’m not a job-hopper. I had my last job for 9 years. I don’t want to get a bad reputation for changing jobs all the time, since I’ve only worked for this guy for about 5 months.
Any input would be appreciated. I’m really stuck as to what to do.
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Boss,the time is now.Only the Captain has to go down with the ship.Vince
*Dear boss,You don't really need advice from us, you already know what to do. If the writing is on the wall, don't wait for the wall to fall on you before you read it and get out.Life's too short to not enjoy your work.Gabe
*GOOD-BYESorry, I feel like you do that taking a job is a committment, but all the indicators are bad here.... I remember my job where the wife did payroll and was a total witch...
*Boss, It's time to go. But don't let them know. Find something else first. I can't tell you how many "sons" I've seen ruin a good business the father started. Look out for yourself. Ed.
*Stay with the lovely couple and fill us in monthly on how much you love your job...Near the stream,J
*Boss,You seem like a decent enough guy. Follow your conscience. Seems like you might also realize some of the reasons why your once favorite boss is in such a mess. Nuff said.Pete DraganicP.S. I loved you in the "Dukes of Hazard"
*Stay. If he can frame houses with one carpenter and you, the self described office help, he must be pretty good. Do you still wear that little white suit and hat while youre framing?
*Pete: You're showing your age if you can remember the Dukes of Hazard!Boss: Bail as soon as you have something else to pay for the beans! Been there.
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Charles -
His last carpenter quit today. I don't have enough experience to frame, side, and trim out houses. And he still has made no moves to hire anyone.
Actually, "Boss Hog" is just a nickname I picked up. I look more like Uncle Jessie, right down to the bib overalls and big belly.
To all you other folks who responded, I appreciate your comments. I called another contractor this afternoon, and will have an interview with him this weekend. He was out golfing this afternoon........... Is that a bad omen ????? (-:
I'm actually a regular here in this forum, but didn't want to use my real name for fear my boss might stumble onto this.
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Since you dont want to use your real name because your boss might read this maybe you shouldnt describe every detail of his failed business. If he read this and didnt know who you were he has got to be the dumbest guy around. The reason for the smartass answer i gave to your first question was because I just couldnt believe it was a serious question. I still think that its a bogus question but if its not i wouldnt want you to really think that I would advise you to stay there. This guy has been out of business for a long time and you seem to be the only one that doesnt know it.
*Boss!Surprized that you, being so close to the books and all the internal workings of the company, haven't seen the light before the others left the company. Turn your lights back on and look for another job. When daddy's boy takes over the company it's a good sign that you should be keeping your ear close to the track for sounds of the coming train. My god man, the damn engine is about to run your ass over!
*Charles - I mainly didn't want my name to appear on the heading of the posting. Even if he looked at this forum, I figured he wasn't incredibly likely to read this thread. I didn't take your comments in your posting as smart-assed, and I don't think you're a smart ass. I honestly wasn't sure if you were kidding or not, so I just answered the question. Maybe you're right - maybe I should've seen it coming sooner. I was just trying to figure out what to do, and hoping he would wake up and see what was happening. We had a long talk a couple of days ago about what was happening, and why. He's convinced that his employees are to blame, and not him. That, coupled with some of the comments from the guys here finally put me over the edge and convinced me to look for another job. And, you might notice, I posted with my real name this time.
*Ron, sorry to hear that you are in a bad spot. Guess things arent as funny when they deal with your livelyhood. I think this guy is finished anyway but I am always surprised at the number of builders around here that have gone under several times and then come back to be very sucessful. Leave on good terms if possible but look out for yourself. As far as the other guy playing golf, Ive seen a lot of G.C., that are very sucessful and are never there and some that are always there but just barely get by. I guess as long as you know what works for you it doesnt really matter how you run things. Good luck.
*Ron, you might want to look on Woodweb under the employment heading.
*Ron....how did the story end???...got a new job??E
*Eric - Thanks for asking. I have a job interview Wednesday night with another company I think would be good to work for. Very stable, 25 years in business under the same ownership and management, and close to home. I'll post later and fill you in on the details.
*Ya' know, guys, it'd be a safe bet to say not everyone acts very smart all the time. What I'm saying is though it may appear to everyone else to be a bad decision, the guy closest to the flame doesn't realize it yet. Even when the guy has the wisdom needed, he may still screw up.This goes for all kinds of decisions regarding all kinds of the things. Girlfriends, wives, customers, companies, you name it. The question begging to be asked is this: why do people sometimes act so unknowing?Well, in short, we give the other person the benefit of the doubt, even to the point of jeopardizing our own wellbeing. We do this because of our magnanimity, our belief in the goodness of others, our gullibility. We sometimes wander into a place we know we shouldn't be, except we trusted someone in someway when they told us they were doing fine, or some such thing. The flip side would be to not trust any one, any time. We then are jaded and always looking out for number one. Heck, we're not Klingons!I'll continue to believe people are not lying to me until I have good reason to believe otherwise. But, good reason may stare me in the face and I may still reject it. I know I'll be burned every now and again, but I can't let that change me.I'm here to enjoy my life.
*Ron, get the hell out of there now! Don't worry about the new job, your a framer now. You can come and go as you please!Hello, in another week, you'll be a journeyman, and can command a big raise!blue
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My dad told me once about the roofing trade in Chattanooga. He said that there were about fifteen or twenty companies around town (50's) and guys would work for one company about a month, get pissed or piss somebody off (we're talking about roofers here) and pop over to the next company. Eventually they would cycle back to a company they had worked for but by then the bad feelings had been worked out (roofers are good for talking about their feelings and reconcilliation and such). The point of it is this- there's about fifty million jerks, flakes, crooks out there in this business and then there's the ten percenters (I think they show up here alot) that actually care about their craft. Go out, learn as much as you can from one guy, get sick of him and move on. Read alot of books and then go work for yerownself. Oh yeah, the other important piece of information that my dad told me was this: "never fight a carny, you'll wind up fightning them all." I have carried that beloved little nugget with me for fifteen years.
Clay
*Clay summed it up correctly, don't be afraid of the stigma associated with job hopping if you haven't stumbled on to a good one yet. I see it this way, if any employer can fire me because of business necessity[or otherwise through no fault of my own] then I reserve the right to learn all I can, and then split, as I'll probably climb the wage ladder faster if I constantly apply what I've learned in the next setting, as well as being worth more to the next employer. > Your not abandoning them, your just not going to continue to support their faulty business practices, and their muddled personal problems. Two weeks notice, and all of your responsibility to them is complete.
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When do you bail out when your employer's business is going down the tubes ? How do you know when to stick it out, and when to get out before they lose their butts ?
Last year, I quit a job to go work for a local general contractor. (A customer of the place I worked at) Before I took the job, I checked the guy out pretty well. I talked to some of his employees, and they seemed happy. I even talked to his customers, and they all seemed happy. He was always really pleasant to work with, and I figured I was making a good move. But things have steadily deteriorated from there.
For starters, last year he had 8 people working for him. The guy has been such a pain in the neck lately, that 7 of them have quit, and the 8th is looking for a job. He hasn't made the slightest move to hire anyone to replace them.
I was hired as office help, not as a carpenter. But since he's short handed, he's had me out framing a house for almost 2 weeks. When I pointed out that I was not hired for that, he said he thought it was good for me to find out how long things actually took, so I could do a better job of estimating. (Would have been nice if he'd asked me 1st)
I'm also concerned about their finances. They've just soent about $60,000 on improvements on their own property, but are 30 to 60 days behind in paying their bills.
The guy has his wife do payroll, and she's a real witch. She despises us all, and thinks we're all out to get her money. If the time sheets aren't filled out perfectly, she just doesn't pay that person for a couple of days.
The guy who runs the business took it over from his Dad, and I think his Dad still owns it. The 2 of them recently had a falling out, and are not speaking with each other. I'm concerned that his Dad might have final say in the company finances, and might shut him down.
So I'm back to the original question - when do you bail out ? If I left now, I'd kind of feel like I was kicking him while he was down. But I also have to think of myself. I'm not a job-hopper. I had my last job for 9 years. I don't want to get a bad reputation for changing jobs all the time, since I've only worked for this guy for about 5 months.
Any input would be appreciated. I'm really stuck as to what to do.