Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Bad News

The supervisor called us back.

Basically, the break area was constructed in such a way to violate the contract without violating it - "Open to the workfloor but not the area past the wall". It took months to build this out, so this has all been going on behind our backs. That really feeds "bad thoughts" and paranoia with my illness.

He also talked a lot about how the other vendor is "suffering" with business down 20% (we have been down 50% for months and no one seems to care - I guess he is just screaming louder). Since he is the senior vendor, they "had" to give him the location.

My response to that is unprintable.

I'll need to repent on that.

Anyway, in addition to that he said we will also be forced to assume the maintenance of the microwaves. They cost hundreds of dollars a year in repairs and lots of very NASTY cleaning on my part.

That'll teach me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely disgusting and outrageous. Why should you guys have to maintain the microwaves? Shouldn't that be the post offices responsibility?

Nepotism and favoritism is ripe in this world. Always has been and always will be.

Can you lower your prices to maybe get sales?

Those other vendors are just horrible people. I am mad and I don't even work with you.

Heather Knits said...

I agree completely. The microwaves were maintained by the custodians for several years. Apparently they objected. [shrug]

Anyway, I do what I can to compete: fantastic customer service, lower price points on things I can, (I am pretty restricted by the blind vendor contract), I can't undersell the other guy on the same item. However, if he has hot cheetos and I have flaming hot, I can sell it cheaper.

We have proven again and again - if we sell an item cheaper, we move a lot more of it.

I also have high quiality food. You can find really cheap stuff in the vending catalog, but it tastes like crap. Ron and I have elected NOT to sell that stuff, to instead sell high quality name brands. My "value line" has some inexpensive things for the customer on a budget.

Item to item, customer to customer, I can and will compete. The other vendor's biggest mistake is taking the customer for granted.

I also intend to create a Facebook page for the business.

Melanie said...

Private to Heather-

Heather, sorry I haven't commented much. My favorite dog, my sweet full of personality, loving Irish Setter The Rustle (aka Rusty, aka Russell) unexpectedly got pneumoia during a bad ice storm we had a few weeks ago. I had lots of family visiting at the time. He went outside in the cold to do his business-I was gone to the grocery store and it seems no one at home noticed his absence the whole time I was gone. When I got home, I searched for him-he was in my back yard, just covered with ice, huddled against the back of the privacy fence He didn't respond or acknowledge me when I called him to come get a treat. He was just covered with ice and immobile like a statue. He had a history of epilectic seizures but had never had one all the years in which he lived with me (I adopted him from my brother when my brother was deployed overseas to Afghanistan, his third deployment in the Middle East and he was being divorced by his wife of many decades). I'd always loved the Russell, so he came to me. I think having all the unusual noise and activity may have set off the seizure, though he loved people and activity. He was already having death rattles, so the family (my brother and his daughters with whom Russ was raised) helped me to decide that we should let him go especially when the emergency vet informed us that he had a large tumor in his tummy. Nonetheless, I feel like I murdered my baby, because of all my dogs,he was my baby and a sweet funny dog. The picture of him, with his tongue hanging out one side once the deed was done, is seared into my mind.

All the bridges were out that night so we had to drive icy back roads in a vehicle which isn't prepared for these kinds of conditions as it's such a freak occurence on the Gulf Coast. It was a nightmare, and my poor Rustle was just gasping for a breath, and had the rattle I have heard so often in dying family members.

I have been tormented ever since that I didn't give him enough of a chance to pull through even though the vet even supported my decision when doing anything else would only have meant more money for him.

I can't bear to think of it yet I can't get it out of my mind. I love the remaining 4, but they just don't have the personality he had-he was my second soulmate dog after the cocker spaniel I had years ago who lived to be almost 18.

So, I didn't want to come whine, and that's all I've been able to think about.

Thanks and prayers and my best wishes and hopes for everything you have going on in your life right now. You try so hard,I can't believe that God won't bless your life in some way

Heather Knits said...

It's always hard to lose a baby.

You did the right thing - one thing that makes me VERY angry is a pet parent who does the whole "alive at any cost" when the animal is clearly suffering. I want to give the pet owner a good beating! He already had the tumor, he was going to die, you just spared him pain.

He'll be waiting for you. (((Hugs)))