Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 - 10:16 a.m.

I didn't feel like writing much yesterday...

And I still don't.
The meeting I had with the Owner's daughter was not at all what I expected. I didn't get fired, but they fired my morning prep guy, someone who has been with me since the store opened, and Joe... my Asst. Manager/Boyfriend/Husband/Fiance (whatever you feel like calling him). And half my monthly income... The reasoning behind them firing him was because he is my Asst. Manager/Boyfriend/Husband/Fiance. I guess TB Corporate has a policy that no one can be in a position of management over a Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Husband/Wife, Family Memeber/Family Member in the interest of not playing favorites etc. AND they also blame him for all the bad things happening in the store. (i.e., Not making the employees follow the uniform policy, Not ensuring the employees are following every procedure, not being helpful or knowledgeable enough about things when the Owner or Owner's daughter calls and I'm not there...) Its all a crock of shit, they needed a scapegoat for all the shit that's been happening lately on THEIR side of things, so they blamed him. Its what they ALWAYS do. They could never fire me, they can't do what I do! They don't know how to do what I do! So, instead of blaming me (and yes, I AM TO BLAME!!) and firing me, for my lack of "control" over my store, they blamed him and fired him, to appease TB Corporate. And the Owner's daughter was shitting bricks, the second she told me they had to fire him, she spent the next 20 minutes asking me if I was going to get up and walk out. Um... Lets think about this, you just told me you were taking away half the money I get each week, and then ask if I'm going to walk out and quit? I sure as fuck wanted to!!! But then my practical side kicked in and I realized just how many bills we have and how I had just written all those bills out the night before... All sitting on the desk, waiting to be mailed. Um... so my answer is No. I actually said I needed to think about it, and talk with Joe about it, and see what we were going to do. To which, she promptly replied, "Well, I don't even know if we need to finish this meeting then".
SHE WAS ASSUMING I was going to just get up and walk out... which was almost more insulting to me then the whole "We're firing Joe" thing. I have never walked out of a job, no matter how much I hated it. And knowing I needed my paycheck each week, now more than ever, I wasn't about to start. So, I calmly tried to explain to her, that I would never just walk out (no matter how many times I've threatened in this diary, I should add) and I would continue working, and if I did decide to get another job, I would give notice. But that was just to shut her up, I think...
I think if I find another job... I'm going to fuck them sideways, and not in the pleasant "I'm gonna get you off" kinda way, but the "I'm gonna delete everything I've designed for this store off the computer I use at home, so when I return it, you have to start all over" kinda way. The End of Day paperwork sheets, all the new hire orientation training sheets (and there are a lot... orientation takes about 3 hours in my store), the End of Week paperwork sheets, the inventory, the schedule layout (all of which, I had to create, by myself). I'll accidentally lose all the ordering sheets for all the vendors... Oh, I could screw them royally, and the Owner's daughter knows it, that's why she was shitting bricks.

And then, to make matters worse, they were expecting me to fire Joe. Can we just sit and laugh for a second? I told them no... I wasn't doing it, and neither were either of them (them = Owner's daughter and the guy she brought down with her on the off chance I did walk out, they would have someone to "run" the store) I told the Owner's daughter, "Your father is going to do it. Joe has worked for you for five years, and he needs to be given the respect to have your father call him and tell Joe himself." This wasn't my decision and I wasn't going to do it for them! Well, we got the Owner on the phone and I told him exactly the same thing, so he is calling Joe at work today (in about 30 minutes actually) to fire him. Joe already knows... I told him. I didn't tell the Owner or the Owner's daughter I told him... but I did. How could I have gone home and spent the whole evening knowing, and not say something? I looked at him and started to well up with tears and just said, "Well, they didn't fire me..." He asked, "Did they fire me??" and that's when I broke down. I couldn't help it... I just started bawling. Can I just tell you, he was so DAMN excited. He was so glad and happy to be free of them. I was glad he was OK with all of it, but I'm worried about our bills.
And then I had to tell the other guy he was fired, too. Now, he wasn't as excited. In fact, he flipped the fuck out. I was actually kinda scared and almost called security on him. He started throwing cups and knocking over signs and barricades. He ripped off his uniform and threw it over the counter. I locked the back door and just sat in the back of the store... It was not fun! The reason why he was fired is because he never followed procedure. No matter how many times I reminded him or warned him or begged him, he did the same things, the same way, every time. And every inspection we've had, he's been there, and the same things we get marked off for, each time, are because of him. I knew that was gonna happen, because even the inspector told me I needed to get rid of him. But it still sucked. I really liked this guy, and he really needed this job.

And just a side note on Joe and the whole "We're firing him because he's your Asst. Manager/Boyfriend/Husband/Fiance" When I told him he was getting fired and started sobbing, he didn't even put his arm around me to console me... not that he didn't want to, but we were in the store and he knew it wouldn't be appropriate. Another employee did, though. I was harder on Joe as a Manager to Employee, than I was on anyone else. I expected more from him than anyone else. So, tell me, how we could have been playing favorites to each other?!?!