shit

[chrisfasowned]

the company i work for (which is the family business) is in the middle of a hostile takeover by our (not so) silent partner and i'm pretty sure i'll be out of a job this week.

this job w/ my wife's family is all i've done for the past 8-plus years. i don't even know where to begin to look for another job... monster or any other job search engine kind of sucks unless you want to be in outside sales (whee...) or you need to be super qualified (or maybe i'm just doing it wrong)... i'm a cartoonist who's been running restaurants for the past 8 years. i don't want to be in food anymore. i'm preparing my family for the worst.

i dunno... if any of you guys are prayerful, please pray for me and my wife and son.

[Scotty]

Goodness, we'll keep you in my thoughts. Hopefully it will all work out.

[NeverWanderer]

Spoiler:

You married into it...?

Seriously, though! Best of luck to you, man. I hope things work out in your family's favor.

[chrisfasowned]

Thanks guys.

Here's a little back story into what's going on...

The Players:
Me - Area Director for my pop-in-law's franchised restaurants
L - my bro-in-law and franchisee and AD of 3 of the stores in our company
T - practically a sister and a franchisee and AD of 2 stores
W - my pop-in-law and franchisee of the 3 stores I run
A - L, T, and W's partner in these LLCs.
J - consultant for A and general pain in the ass

Recently, A has decided to take an active interest in what's going on in the business. That's fine, it's his right as a partner. Well, during the spring and summer we pay off our lines of credit and throw money in the bank b/c sales are good. During the winter, we burn through the money we put in the bank as well as 2 lines of credit. It's always been this way, especially for a company known for it's ice cream. Traffic just isn't as heavy in the winter and it's hard to make money. In 4 more years thing will get easier as our equipment leases get paid off. A wants an immediate change and doesn't like the cycle we're in and has hired J, the human wrecking ball, to come check under the hood like we're doing something unethical. Tough balls, that's just our business until leases are paid off...

On Thursday, W went to meet w/ J and A in what he thought was a meeting about accounts payable. This actually wasn't what J and A wanted to talk about. Basically, they told W that 2 Area Directors needed to either go away or take huge pay cuts and become store managers. Their intent was to remove me and L b/c we're family and they want the family out, also, they think we make too much money which is b.s. L has been making the minimum industry standard for what we do, I make around $17grand less than that b/c I'm not a franchisee and T is somewhere in the middle). T has 5 kids (due to marrying a guy who had 3) and W explained to them that she couldn't, or more likely, wouldn't be an AD for 8 stores w/ that kind of responsibility at home.

As W talked w/ everyone (me, L, and T) this weekend, this is where we kind of sit: L is out. He'll be working Monday to do the end-of-week and payroll stuff for his stores, but after that, it's job-hunting time. W is supposed to meet again w/ J and A over what his decision is to "save the company" or whatever. He's been talking w/ his accountant and will be seeking the legal counsel of an attorney. W thinks he can make a play for 3 of our stores and let them keep the rest. This will save T (as 2 of the 3 are hers) while L walks away. L wants out anyways, I think. However, W probably can't afford me... 3 AD salaries between 8 stores is fine, 2 AD salaries between 3 stores is not. I would have to go work for the Dark Side. And honestly, A and J need me. They need someone to do what I, L, or T can do.

I won't come cheap... I will be asking for an immediate $10,000.00 annual pay increase plus the National Standard Mileage Rate (50.5 cents a mile) for all the driving I do between stores(70 - 100 miles a day), plus an extra week's paid vacation(I currently only get 1 week), plus 10 personal / sick days per year (I currently get none). If they want to do this as business and not w/ the family style we've had, then we'll damn sure negotiate a business deal. If they don't pay up, I walk. If they do agree, but the managers start dropping like flies (and I know they will w/ L leaving) and I get stuck running as an active GM plus my AD responsibilites, I don't care if they double my salary a year, I'll walk. My quality of life is more important than money at that point. So, either way, in my mind, I think I'm about to walk.

So, I don't fully know what to expect this week. I'm about 80% sure I won't have a job by the end of the week. I'm about 100% sure that I don't like any of the crap A and J are trying to pull right now.

Thanks guys for letting me vent.

[Bryan H]

I hope everything goes well, man.

If you're a cartoonist, perhaps this could be the catalyst for you to try and make that your primary source of income? Living the dream and all that good stuff.

[Jim T.]

That sucks, man - sorry you're going through it.

On the other hand, I've never seen a more brutal industry than food - getting out, voluntarily or otherwise, may end up being a blessing in disguise down the road.

[greg donovan]

wow, and i thought there was a lot of bullshit to deal with in a corporate restaurant.

best of luck.

[greg donovan]

That sucks, man - sorry you're going through it.

On the other hand, I've never seen a more brutal industry than food - getting out, voluntarily or otherwise, may end up being a blessing in disguise down the road.

no doubt, the few people that have been fired for bullshit reasons at the place i work at have all been happier afterwards.

[Bryan H]

no doubt, the few people that have been fired for bullshit reasons at the place i work at have all been happier afterwards.

I was a dishwasher once, and got fired.

Fired from being a dishwasher.

That's like some history low in the history of jobs.

[ClintP]

Sorry to hear it. Try looking on Craigslist. I got 2 out of my last 3 jobs from there.