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How would you handle this?

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
There was a message left on the answering machine from a place that laid me off back in March of 2009. It was mostly just something to do for the winter. It was a strange place to work because the boss had to control how everything was done and he'd get mad if it wasn't done exactly his way. They sold welding and industrial supplies and when I first applied I said that product knowledge is the most important part if you want to sell anything. The boss disagreed and said customers almost always know what they want(ya right!). All the parts were kept in about 200 coffee cans with plastic lids on industrial shelving about 3 ft. deep. To say it was a pain looking for parts is an understatement and he had the most complicated computer system possible. You couldn't just print out a regular invoice like anywhere else. It was ridiculous and he expected me to learn it with about 20 minutes of off and on training. Anyway, I figure the only reason he's calling is because he wants me back cause no one else would put up with him. I wouldn't want to go back to the same conditions but if he really wants me, what all should I ask for besides more money? My sister runs a very successful salon and said it's not too much to ask that he get some proper parts bins or boxes. The coffee cans are because he's too cheap to even spend $500 or less on a parts bin. Imagine a bolt supply house having all the bolts in closed coffee cans with just part numbers on the side, with no description, and you had to search through them one at a time to find what you needed. Yes, it was that bad! Any suggestions on how to handle it if he offers me a job? I could use some extra money over the winter months. I was abruptly laid off 21 hours short of being eligible for UIC and right after he got back from a 2 week vacation in Mexico. I'm really puzzled by the message on the phone. Hi, I'm calling to see how you're doing and haven't heard from you in a long time etc. Dave
 
(quoted from post at 00:18:17 09/03/10) Hi, I'm calling to see how you're doing and haven't heard from you in a long time etc. Dave
Click to expand...

Sounds like he wonders how you're doing to me.......

Could be warming up to offer you a job or he has switched his orientation and wants to pack your lunch.

You have to know how bad you need the job which should dictate what you demand. Just call him up and tell him your sister said he should adjust his situation to meet your needs. That oughta work real good for ya. If not, maybe she'll let you sweep up hair and wash combs this winter.

Dave
 
All depends on how badly you need the work.

I'm about to lose my job (Sept. 30th) I have a shot at a new job at the same place. There are any number of things about this new job that will not be pleasant, primarily the boss, the boredom and the screwed-up hours.

And if they offer it to me, I'm going to take it because I NEED a job, and there ain't any alternatives out there.

Bottom line: When you need money badly enough, you can put up with anything.
 
Give him a call back and if he wants you to work there again then go in and suggest that he buy the cardboard bins that can be easily stored and labeled. Make sure it is worth your while for the money.

Cardboard bins are super inexpensive and even the plastic bins are cheap too. Coffee cans for parts holders? sounds like a flea market type operation.
 
Leopards don't change their stripes. He's gonna hire you, go on vacation, and fire you again, when he gets back. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
 
Are you for real?? This am, I am gonna go help a contractor buddy set a new doorwall in, then go help my wife groom dogs, and then help my neighbor on a roofing job this afternoon. We all do what we gotta do these days.
 
I don't know why you'd even entertain it really... Isn't there a shutdown starting this week? Seems with all the tickets you have there'd be something a lot better up there...

Rod
 
I work for the exact same type of guy. Our business is slow right now and it dosen't help that we nickel and dime our customers to the point they don't come back.Our company has a bad reputation but as long as he gets his money and the customer leaves that's what matters. There is not much industry in this area so jobs are slim. It's to the point none of us even wear our work shirts in public anymore. Jobs are hard to find so for now we stick it out.
 
"It was a strange place to work because the boss had to control how everything was done and he'd get mad if it wasn't done exactly his way."

Yeah, that's a hard nut to crack. The nerve of the guy! :>)

Allan
 
You can go back if you want but he's NEVER gonna change. The coffee cans are there for a reason because he's a major cheap skate that uses his employees as slaves. He probably still has his first nickel. I think I worked for several of his long lost twins at various times.
 
One would probably have to have been a boss to understand. I worked for my dad (farm labor) before I struck out on my own; I was MUCH smarter when someone else was paying the bills.
 
If the product is slow to change, his system might be a good one. Knowing where the parts are is a lot better than fumbling with books and/or computers. You agree product knowledge is important. Knowing where the parts are is knowledge.
 
Ya know Alan, Ive found bosses are funny that way lol Seems they do want things done their way, imagine that. If I were a boss I think Id want things done how I said RIGHT OR WRONG. Im NOT saying the boss is right, Im ONLY saying hes the boss n makes the rules n if a body dont like it thay have the privelige n free choice to resign. True, bosses can be jerks or impolite or unfair and also true if it bugged me much Id just QUIT........

As an attorney Im always getting questions something like "It isnt fair he cant legally fire me can he" To which I respond,,,, "Do you think you have the right and its legal to quit" to which they respond "HECK YES I can quit anytime I please screw him" So I say wellllllllllllllll then why isnt it fair n legal for him to fire you EVEN WITHOUT CAUSE (Im talkin Employment at Will here) unless theres a legal binding labor contract that such can only be FOR CAUSE.

No bosses (good or bad)= no jobs I reckon

John T (free market capitalist non socialism kinda guy)
 
Depends how many firings are on your resume. A couple over a ten year period does not seem like a big deal unlike a generation ago. I guess the employing public at large finally recognizes that there are a few unstable people that call themselves business owners. Even though you have had jobs since was the issue of being dismissed close to skewing the opportunities afterward. If it was then you may want to steer clear. If not make some cash and be prepared to laugh it off this time around as it will be no surprise if he cans you.
I worked for a dealership years ago that had a rep of canning people in the parts dept whether they were good at their job or not. Happened to be the parts dept was closest to the owner's office and this was his way of letting off steam (they fired from other parts of the operation pretty readily too). I thought I would be different as I thought my work performance was pretty gosh darn good (as told to me by others). Made no difference in the end and I was canned at about the normal interval. I worried about the negativity of being canned till I talked to other prospective employers where this guy's reputation was well known and shared a laugh over it. In the end it did not matter in this case but sometimes you never know.
 
Yea the guy acted like he owned the place or something and not let some hourly employee tell him how to run his business.What nerve! Apparently he knows something about what he is doing he's still in business and you're looking for a job.Hmmmmm!
Go back and learn he has a lot he can teach you if you wise up.
 
Sometimes on threads like this with many replies, I just go through them and endorse the one I like best.

DiyDave hit the nail on the head.
 
135, This one of the best I"ve seen in a while. How eever it turns out PLEASE let us know!.If I were you I"d see just what he has up his sleve.Sounds like he might have run out of stuges. Jim in N M
 
AS a business owner, I can only say, just as I have said to my employees, "There is the right way, the wrong way, and there is my way, sometimes I just want it done my way, or there is the highway". I spend much of my day doing quality control of my employee's work. They EARN the right to do it their way. My two cents worth!
 
It was a very inefficient place to work. Someone comes in for MIG contact tips and nozzles and you have to hunt around in coffee cans 6 deep looking for tips and the nozzles that go with them. So instead of it taking 2 minutes to help the customer, it takes 15 minutes. Everywhere else has them both in a parts box with a divider so you can see them in plain site. I'm sure the customers are scratching their heads as well. He has stuff over 5 years old, that will never sell, scattered all over the place but you still have to go through it for inventory because his inventory list includes every single item he has ever sold in the last 10 years. A lot of small stuff is all thrown in the same misc. box and there's over 100 different items to go through. Anywhere else would just take stuff that hasn't sold off the inventory list. He probably has about 10 pages of inventory that actually sells or has in stock. The inventory list is over 50 pages and even though a lot of items are listed as 0 quantity, you still have to hunt through all the coffee cans and misc. boxes to make sure the list is correct. A lot of these items were a one time only item that was 5 to 10 years ago. His great computer program lists everything he's ever sold on the inventory list. That's retarded. When I worked there before, I had to do the year end inventory by myself. It took a month to do! This is a small 1500 sq. ft. shop that the parts only occupy about a 1/4 of the total area. Inventory shouldn't take more than a week and a half at the very most.

He can get the same discount on welding rods and machines as the big welding supplies but doesn't even try to sell them. A lot of his customers are welding shops anyway. What's wrong with letting them know you can be very competitive on machines and rods? He is losing thousands in sales because he want's to push some jobber MIG and plasma parts and sell odd ball items instead of selling big ticket items and high quantities of consumables. He had a nnalert guy as his outside salesman that knew absolutely nothing about metal working or fabrication and thought he was great. This so called salesman was kicked out and banned from more than one big shop. It makes no sense to me how the guy runs his business. The only thing keeping him in business is that he sells bulk bandsaw blades and has a blade welder to make any size. Even his dad who helps with the books, thinks he's losing money on the jobber parts. His dad really liked me. Strange for sure. Dave
 
He probably wants me back to do the inventory because he had to do it himself last year and it's pathetic. Dave
 
I wasn't fired. Business was really slow but it would have been nice to have had some notice. Less than 3 days and I would have been eligible for unemployment. I was only working about 3 days a week at the time. He can't have been doing that bad. He just back from a 2 week holiday in Mexico. As soon as he came back, he started complaining about everything. Never even gave me credit for selling a spool of stainless steel flux-core wire to the military. The spool sold for over $600! They had never sold it before. Dave
 
I wouldn't mind something in town. I still run my MX track and have to be around till the snow flies. Dave
 
He has bandsaw blades in bulk rolls and a blade welder. Not a lot of competition with a blade welder. They cost $50,000 and up for a good one. He would never stay in business without bandsaw blades. Dave
 
He let you go three days before you were eligible for unemployment compensation so you wouldn't be able to draw unemployment compensation that would be charged against his company therefore not raising the amount he has to pay into the fund. Probably just (from his stand point) a prudent business decision.
 
"Cardboard bins are super inexpensive and even the plastic bins are cheap too. Coffee cans for parts holders? sounds like a flea market type operation".

EXACTLY! Dave
 
Not for everyone, but some people/personalities just need to be self-employed.
 
My sister knows how to run a business and also how to treat employee's. That's how she does over a million a year in sales and has many long term employee's. Dave
 
He doesn't pay into it. I already paid into it because it is deducted off every pay cheque. It is a legal requirement in Canada to have it deducted off employee's pay. The gov't. is really cracking down on employers paying paople under the table. Big fines if caught. Dave
 
Now that you describe his inventory system... is sounds very sensible to me. It's you that needs to understand it...
He's presumably got bins (cans) that are all numbered for either part number or location and a control system to keep track of that. The problem is that you know how to ID stuff by sight rather than by number...
The whole idea of inventory is that you count everything so you can keep a handle on losses... either perishables or theft. Also, while it may seem easy to eliminate a number from the system because it hasn't sold for a long time, it's still there because he might need to order one tomorrow... then he has to re-enter the item number, then the stock, then the sale... this way the item is there.
Funny that inv is taking you so long too. Usually around here they'll close for a day and just do it. Coop store here will put 5-7 people on it and go through 20K square feet in a day and mabey finish odds and ends in spare time over the next couple days. That's done 6 times per year... Yes, they all hate doing inventory... but it has to be done so we know how many turns has been done and particularly to keep track of losses.
There's no doubt a method to what this guy does, even if he does use cheap coffee cans.

Rod
 
DAve.Selling AVON DON"T COUNT!!lol Your sister sounds like you should work for her Part time. Dave #2 has it right. So does ALan From NE. The Boss IS THE BOSS. 2 Choices. Either work for him at his rules OR DON"T.
LOU
 
She doesn't sell Avon and she's in another province. Maybe DiyDave is correct and he just wants me back so he can go on vacation and then lay me off again when he's back? Not all bosses know what they're doing. I'm curious why he called after a year and a half. Maybe no one else will work for him? Don't know, guess it doesn't hurt to call him. Dave
 
Ask yourself if you would go back knowing it would be exactly the same as the first time. If yes, then go back. If no, the subject is closed.
 
There is no system other than the computer that does the inventory. The 50+ pages of inventory aren't even in the same order as the shelves. That alone would speed up inventory 100 times. Say one row of coffee cans has 6 different part numbers. With anyone else's inventory, they would be listed one after the other on the inventory list so you could just start at one end and go through the whole shelf. With his so called system, you'd have to look through all 50+ pages of inventory lists to find each individual part number and some items are listed more than once using different part numbers for the same item. Like I said, this a very small shop. If it had 20,000 sq. ft. it would take all year to do the inventory. Some stuff has an inch thick layer of dust on it. He even has coffee and paper towels listed on the inventory, because he picks it up from Costco or Safeway to take to one of his customers. A lot of single items are picked up from a distributor and taken directly to the customer and don't even make it to the shop. It's certainly not put in inventory but gets put on the inventory list and you have to go through everything to make sure it's not there. Little things like an individual drill bit or a tap that you have to go through a big box of other small items to make sure it isn't there. I agree that it shouldn't take more than a day to do the inventory. If it was set up properly, 2 people would be able to do it in about 4 hours. My dad sold equipment and his business had a ton more inventory that I helped count. You had an inventory list that corresponded with the parts bins on the shelves. You could start at one end and go straight through the whole row of shelves and it was done. You didn't have to either match the parts to somewhere in the 50 pages of lists or run all over the shop looking for the next number on the list. Who can remember 200 part numbers that aren't sold everyday? It's much easier remebering what something is and where it's kept. Being able to see it and the other parts that go with it is real bonus. Like someone else said, that place was set up like a flee market booth. I ran into someone else that worked there and they said the same thing. Dave
 
Sounds like his front end software is rather poor then...
I'm modestly familiar with NewHolland's system (PAL) where you find the part by application on the screen, pricing is in front of you, cost, etc. Bin location (number) and shelf is right there as well. Invoice the part and go to the bin and pick the part. On that scale nobody could be expected to remember what every part was or looked like so accurate part number control and storage location is critical... but it's not important that the part be in easy view.
That is a moderately good front end system at a VERY high cost... If you want a cheap front end, which is probably what he has, well... you work around the shortcomings of the software. NH's PAL system is a custom developed program for NH, implimented worldwide to all of their dealer network... for a specialized application. Generic stuff is not going to have that kind of detail. At least not at the cost that you or I could afford.

Rod
 
I don't know if it would be the same or how much he wanted me back. I would have considered going back if there were some improvements implemented or it was a different position. Dave
 
NH parts are probably arranged in numerical order as well. He has different parts for probably a dozen different makes and the part numbers are completely different. If you found more than 3 in a row on the shelf that matched the inv. list, you were lucky. Dave
 
They're assigned a bin number. Period. Might be a different part in that bin next year.
I'm not sure how they go through through their inventory but I'd assume it's by bin number, or at least the master list would be arranged that way.
Why couldn't his setup be arranged that way?

Rod
 
maybe he really doesn't care about you and he is just bored and rattled your cage..
and he probably reads these threads on yt for amusement al
 
He's not the first business owner too blind to see the full potential of his business. He could have thousands more in sales quite easily. Dave
 
I can see the argument both ways, with him swanting to do things his way and you trying to potentially improve the business. I'd say talk to the guy and explain your reasoning for wanting to organize. If he says he would try it or likes some of your thoughts, that's great and it will make your job easier. If he doesn't, still take the job and just think about how much extra money you are making by doing things his way, which takes longer, thus leading to either more hours for you or less work per day.
 
It could be set up that way if the boss had some common sense and was willing to change or listen to reason. I don't know if he had too much pride to admit his system sucked or if he liked doing things the most difficult way possible but a month do about 500 sq.ft. of inventory? That is really pathetic and I worked my a$$ off hunting everything down! I think maybe he didn't want to have to manually change the inventory in the computer. I'm guessing he's never seen how a good parts department is set up. If he had some parts bins or boxes, he'd also have a lot more room on the shelfs. This is the same guy that took over $300 from a customer to set up a MIG machine to push aluminum wire through a standard 15 ft. liner and said a teflon liner wasn't neccessary. There is a reason they make spool guns. Pushing aluminum wire through a standard MIG gun is like trying to push a piece of string. Anybody in the industry knows that, but he thought it wouldn't be a problem at all. I'd be ashamed to take money for something that won't work. Especially a loyal customer. Dave
 
Or he knows it will be hard to find someone else to put up with his ridiculous way of doing things? You're a welder. What would you say if someone told you it's no problem to push aluminum wire through a standard 15 ft. MIG gun? It would only cost about $300 to get different drive rolls, etc. and a gun for small wire but a teflon liner wasn't needed unless you had a 20 or 25 ft. MIG gun? Remember we're talking .035 aluminum wire. Dave
 
I'd rather have the coffee cups than the coffee cans. LoL At least you could see what's in them easily. Dave
 
This topic looks awfully familiar to one that I saw a couple of years ago on another forum.

It's kinda like dejavu all over again :>))
 
Over $35,000 worth of high end hair care products every month. Largest Bumble and Bumble distributor in B.C. Not much different than selling parts. Customers tend to also buy more stuff if they can see it. How do they know what you have to sell if they can't see it? Dave
 
Selling hair products is the same as selling industrial parts and supplies? Standard practice in the cosmetology business is to charge 100% markup on retail products, buy something wholesale for $10 and sell it retail for $20. Absolute scam. These are high end products too, catering to an upper class of people, who usually make an impulse purchase while standing at the register to pay for a $100 perm or $150 color. Not a bunch of dudes just scraping by needing to buy replacement parts to try to keep a machine running to make a living. Keep working on that dirt track, your hi-jinks on that adventure make me chuckle.
 
If you want to go all high tech on him, just glue one of what is in the can, on the can, so you can see it, without taking the lid off...
 
He did have some parts taped on the outside but ended up needing to take them to fill an order. Probably forgot to order more because he couldn't easily see they were all gone. Dave
 
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