Under the bus.

Pretty upset today.  I feel Ron threw me under the bus (betrayed me when I needed his support). 

What happened?  Well, first I have to explain the stockroom.  I was "given" about 10% of the available space.  I have 34 square feet in which to stock 9 vending machines.  I have a corner in the front (the other guy wanted the pilferers to go after my merchandise, as he blocks his with carts and supplies). 

Our boss had to fight for me to get 2 racks.  I was "lucky" to get the space I had, but needless to say it is very crowded.  I have two, 6 foot high metal racks, 18 inches deep, with shelving.  I have a row of milk crates along the other wall, about 6 feet, stacked with canned soda.  I have two, rolling handcarts that can hold additional merchandise, and I have just enough room (if I set the handcarts over the base) for an additional folding handcart. 

The other vendors do not use their space effectively, things are spread out all over, poor use of vertical space, soda NOT on milk crates (that's a health law thing).  They also spill soda frequently and track it, leaving nasty black adhesive slime everywhere.  We have had complaints - frequent ones, about this. 

A few years ago I got in trouble with the other vendor because (after repeated requests and notifications of management complaints), I reported this to the boss.  The did clean up, a little, but it went right back to business as usual. 

I keep MY area clean, so I don't care what they do with theirs.  But it does make me look bad.  I have explained, repeatedly, to angry customers who've seen the door open.  "That's not my mess, it's theirs, they won't mop." 

Anyway, the other vendor has 4 employees: his wife, his brother (the person of interest in this story), his nephew (a very nice young man), and his stepgrandson. 

You will remember last month, the brother was the one telling me I was "stupid, for not getting Ron better insurance" when I thought he had cancer.  I just looked at him and said "How is that going to help me?" 

Fred, we'll call him, has a lot to say over the years about his lazy, unreliable, son.  He doesn't work.  He is not disabled, but claims he has extraordinary back issues.  He also has frequent other health issues.  So, he's lazy, unrelable, and sickly.  Oh, and he's been fired from every job he had.  Per his father. 

Fred's solution when it looked like Ron had cancer and I would have to run the business by myself?  Oh, I HAD to hire Fred, Jr.  He would be such a big help.  He kept shilling his son (who, at over 30, should be able to find his own employment), in a frenzied fashion. 

So, you want to inflict an unreliable, sickly, lazy - in your own words, kid onto me, just to get him off the teat for a couple of days?  He would ruin my business, but clearly you don't care about that. 

I finally told him, no thanks.  We would not be hiring Junior.  "Why not?"   I just said I would be able to manage the business on my own.  I wasn't worried about assistance, I was just worried about transportation. 

This when he wasn't lecturing me about health insurance and calling me names on top of that. 

Ron came to an arrangement with the other vendor.  We would buy 10 cases of water, a week, from them.  It was a very good deal for the other vendor.  Their wholesaler requires a 50 case minimum.  We just dropped it to 40.  They require a minimum order total.  We just dropped that by nearly $100.  It's all good, for them. 

Ron likes it because he doesn't feel he's "abusing" me by "making" me get water at the warehouse.  The other vendor kept harping on that - Ron was abusing me by "making" me get water at the warehouse.   However, I have had ongoing issues with the water.  They put it on the very top shelf, 6 feet up.  These are 40 pound cases.  There is NO safe way to get these cases down. 

They have also shorted me a couple times, but I didn't mention that to Ron. 

Anyway, I have begged and pleaded and requested and cajoled and everything nice to say "Please don't put the water on the top shelf". 

I told them (2 guys) on Wednesday.  I said, "Please put it here, and the leftovers on a table."  I told both guys we will be working on Friday, please leave the water on a table.  I said this several times. 

I slept horribly last night and awoke with a migraine.  Imagine how I felt when I got into work and found all the water on the top shelf. 

"Why didn't you put it on the table?" 

"You didn't tell us"

"Yes, I did, Wednesday, I have a migraine and now I have to rearrange everything [no joke] to get this fixed.  Why couldn't you leave it on the table?  I've begged you, please don't put it on the top shelf!"  I was almost in tears. 

I'm sure I sounded frustrated, as only someone who said 6 different times, to two different people: please don't do this - only to find it done. 

Then the guy told me "As long as you're getting our water, we're going to put it wherever we want". 

"Fine" I replied "I'll get it at Sam's Club."  I'm doing them a favor, I can certainly stop, and I won't have this stupid endless drama either. 

The other vendor's wife is pretty upset about this, by the way, but she needs to learn to control her animals.  I'm not going to have some creep screaming at me - and he went off, shouting how "He wasn't going to take it from me" blah, blah. 

"I think" I told someone who overheard "He has some issues at home, did this on purpose, because he knew I would complain, then he gets a free explosion."  Now he can stomp around, sulk, pout, scream verbal abuse at me (because Ron's not going to stop him), because he can.  What he really needs to do is throw his loser kid out. 

This guy actually followed me around, while I was stocking, screaming at me in front of a roomful of postal workers.  Talk about unprofessional.  I just did my work. 

At one point he was shouting it was my fault, if I'd had more room - and I turned around and said "Your brother took nearly the entire stockroom.  If you have problems with the amount of space I have, you need to take it to him." 

He followed me over to Ron, screaming.  Ron tried to shut him up, just because Ron hates yelling.  The guy kept screaming at both of us.  Again, in front of an entire roomful of people. 

Oh, and he made very rude attacks on my illness.  I didn't rise to the bait. 

I could have said "Well, at least I take my medication".  If I wasn't saved, I would have. 

Ron blames me entirely.  It is All My Fault.  If I hadn't - provoked this guy - then he wouldn't have gone off.  I tried to explain, I did everything I could to communicate, short of tattooing it on his hand.  He said "OK." and "I got it".  He repeated it back to me.  "I'll put the water on the table". 

What else could I do? 

I had some very understandable impatience but I never yelled at him.  I left the scene when he started shouting at me.  I did everything I could to avoid confrontation even though the guy was literally hunting me. 

He was the one following me around.  He made personal attacks, I didn't.  I did everything I could to avoid this, by communicating every way I know on Wednesday. 

That's why I have to think he did this to set me up and play games.  I know he heard me say to leave it on the table, I know he heard me say we'd be working Friday.  He knows, at 5'7, I can't get the water off the top shelf. 

"No one's that stupid" I told Ron, in one of his rare moments of calm.   

However, Ron thinks I just "went off" and "trying to ruin his business".  I told him I am sick to death of playing these water games.  I would far rather buy our own water at the warehouse, as needed, and store it where I want. 

Ron doesn't feel that way.  He's furious at me, screamed at me in front of Fred, which I really didn't like (not to mention the roomful of Postal Workers), screamed at me at home, etc.  Some of that goes to head injury. 

I'm just really hurt he didn't even try to hear my side. 

Anyway, the other vendor's wife came by after Fred finally left.  I explained what had happened, and reiterated, in a pleading fashion "I cannot have water on the top shelf".  I told her we would be getting it from Sam's now. 

She wasn't happy about that - now she has to buy +$100 and +10 cases every week - but like I said, control your animal.  The guy isn't stable - makes me look like Ghandi. 

"None of them had a problem with the way I presented the issue" I told Ron "It was just the one man". 

For whatever reason, they decided they had to mop the stockroom RIGHT THEN.  I found it hysterical.  Maybe they are calling the boss to come out and know he will yell at them.  Maybe they think I will call the boss about it. 

Hey, if you want to be a pig it only makes you look bad.  I just thought it was very odd, mopping the floor - they hadn't spilled anything.  Yes, it was filthy, but just as filthy as usual. 

Whatever.  I am SO glad they are not giving us a ride to that conference, anyway. 

We came home, I took a nap. 

When I got up, I went to the Vietnamese Grocery store.  The rice pots were extremely expensive.  I'm sure they're wonderful but that is just too much.  I did find some great deals on fresh, local, veggies.  I bought enough for a week's worth of stir-fry, salads, and some stew, for $9.  I also got a pork roast.  I haven't cooked a roast in ages. 

I had fun, it was a little heavy coming home but not overly so.  I'll tell you more about my goodies tomorrow.