Thursday, January 13, 2005

The Job Jinx (Part 1)

The Company that laid me off just got popped for 40 million bucks worth of fraudulent deception. Serves them right. When we had the big flood here in August, there were hundreds of "total loss" auto claims. I asked an auto rep what they did with all the recovered vehicles. She told me,"we clean them and auction them off". I wondered who would buy a car that had been underwater for 24 hours. ( I wound up finding out, but that's for another post)
Oh. They don't know it's a drowned lemon.

Once I leave a (long-term) job, it inevitably goes to hell.

The worst job I ever had was managing a shoe store. A horrible store-shoes on cardboard box displays with handwritten description sheets, 'SALE' signs in grainy black and white ( printed on the fax, no less). I asked the Big Boss why they didn't modernize. Like get a computer, or at least a ribbon calculator that wasn't made during the age of Disco? The thing took up half my desk. I think it ran on a car battery.
Too expensive, he told me.
I eventually walked off the job, handing my keys to a cashier.
A year or so later they went out of business.

Before that , I worked for the Fed'ral gubbermint.
The last year I worked there was 2000.
Have you seen what's happened to Big Government since then?
It's gotten so large and out of control that one country can't hold it all.

Prior to that, I worked at a music and stage gear rental store. That was a good gig, but the owners were piss-poor businessmen. For example, there was a music store down the street that everyone complained about-high prices, asshole sales staff, bad selection etc. , but it was the only place the student-types could easily get to.
I asked the boss if I could get rid of our useless consignment section and set up a guitar area instead. We could undersell the other store and cash in on the student market.
Hi response? "No, I don't want to hurt his business".
Huh??
Eventually, they wound up laying-off half the staff, including me.
Anyway, one boss died from heart failure and the other one has leukemia.
I take no joy in this, in fact it hurts to think about it.

Then there was the comic shop. It closed so the owner could move to the very Deep South and marry an alcoholic Jehovah's Witness that he picked up at a Star Trek convention. Her fiance was passed out in the next room.
What can you say after that?


1 comment:

Canopenner said...

Yeah the bourgeoise are usually pretty goddamn stupid.