I've really been in a funk and I need to snap out of it. I haven't been exercising. Haven't been spending enough time at work. Haven't made any progress on my Civ Pro E&E book. I've just generally been a slug. I really haven't been as active for my son's travel baseball team as I was last year, either.
I'm just feeling sorta blah. I don't know if it qualifies as actual depression, but I'm just feeling worn out. I did get a momentary respite when the tax refunds came in. I got to pay down the credit cards by quite a bit. That whole situation is a wreck, but bit by bit, I'm moving in the right direction for a change.
I've just got this wierd feeling that is looming over everything that I'm somehow failing Logan. I don't think he's showing any signs of it, but who knows. I'm concerned. I did a terrible job as a husband and now he has to grow up in two separate households. I did a terrible job with my business and now I can't afford nice stuff. I did a terrible job with my career and now I'm going back to school.
Just feelin' sorta loser-ish. Maybe this is what midlife crisis feels like. I am absolutely feeling the weight of my years. Thinking a lot about old age, etc. I'm really pulling future problems into the present. I worry what will happen when Logan goes to college. I wonder what'll happen if I get Alzheimer's.
I think Law School will be good for me. It's an intellectually stimulating environment. I'll be around hopeful, young, smart people. Going in the daytime means I won't have to sacrifice much as far as quality time with my boy.
Yesterday I really got pissed off at some exceptionally douchebaggy behavior by my franchise trainer. He's got a new boss who is an absolute idiot. The boss has been here before. He's really sarcastic and condescending.
Anyway, they came for a visit yesterday. Usually, I have the office staff work with them to provide them with information. I come in to finish up anything they need me for, personally.
Got a call yesterday at 9:00. They said, "Hey, we're here, but you're not. Are you coming?"
I said, "Oh, sorry. Was my staff available to help you?"
They said, "Yeah, but they're leaving now."
"Oh, okay, I'll be right there."
Jumped in the car, got to the warehouse, my guys were there, but the trainer and his boss were gone.
I called and asked what was going on. "Are you guys coming back?"
No, they were leaving for the day.
Ummm... hmmm...
Now, honestly, these visits by the trainers are a total pain in the ass. For the most part they're 99% waste of time. The other 1% is usually an accident. I just accomodate them because I figure it's their job to visit franchisees.
The more I thought about it, though, that was really ****ing rude. I mean, okay, I wasn't there. Sorry, I didn't know you needed my personal attention. Usually, it doesn't go that way. They want to see this or that file, or go over this or that administrative thing. It's better that they do it with the employees who handle that stuff than for me to act as go-between and ask the employees for the information.
If they had just gotten pissed off and left, no problem. Get pissed off and leave. I really don't care.
But to call me? Hear me say, "oh, sorry, I'll be right there", then leave knowing full well that I'm coming there specifically because they said they needed my personal attention and couldn't do what they had to do with my employees?
I stewed for a while, then called the trainer and dropped a full bushell of f-bombs on him. At first, I asked him if there was something going on because there's really no rational explanation for his behavior.
He eventually came up with, "Well, we had a meeting. I was there on time..."
Okay, zip it right there, Sparky. Not sure if you understand, but it's not my job to accomodate your schedule. It's your job to accomodate mine. You don't pay my salary. I pay yours. LET'S. GET. THIS. RELATIONSHIP. DEFINED. RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW.
I figured he had copped an attitude and that was the reason for the bizzarre behavior.
At that point, I just said, "Look, if you NEED to see me to verify something or get some information, that's fine. Otherwise, I don't want you to come back."
The reality is that these visits don't benefit me one whit. I just accomodated them out of professional courtesy.
He said, "Okay, if all you want is what's contractually obligated, we can do that."
Actually, I don't even want that. I will do that because it's required, but in the best of all worlds, you clowns would disappear until I asked to see you.
These trainers can be very helpful in the early stages when you really need help and are learning how to do X, Y or Z. However, after a year or two of doing this, you very, very quickly get to a point where you know far more about running a business than a guy who just sits around watching other people run businesses. Also, some are better than others. I can name a handful that I really like, who have been immensely helpful to me and who were and are a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately, those guys are, at best, about 50% of the trainers.
At that point, the trainer largely becomes a pain in the ass with really stupid ideas.
Here's a perfect example. Last time they visited, they concluded the visit by asking, "So, is there anything you need from us?"
My answer: "Yes. I want a marketing and business plan for a carpet cleaning business. Stanley Steemer makes money at this. I can make money at it, too."
I figured they'd take that information back to corporate and come back with something.
Instead, they just started pulling ideas out of their ass.
"Oh, well, you have to put the one guy on commission."
No shit Sherlock. Really? What I want to know is WHAT COMMISSION, DUMBASS!!!!???? HOW MUCH? PAID HOW OFTEN? HOW MUCH FOR WORK SCHEDULED BY THE OFFICE? HOW MUCH FOR EACH UPSELL?
They also shared gems like, "If the customer calls you and asks for a discount carpet cleaning, you should bring in the roto scrubber, put it right in their living room and say, 'oh, sorry Mrs. Jones, you mean you didn't want the showcase cleaning? My paperwork here says you did, but that's no problem. It does a much better job of cleaning and would only be an additional $X.' That way you can upsell her."
So... your advice to me, when I ask you for a business plan and marketing plan for a carpet cleaning business is to show up into people's homes and lie to them to try and decieve them into paying for a service they didn't want?
In my 6th year of doing this, I've come to realize that the trainers really are just guys doing a job. They're not bad people. They just have to do what they're told. Part of that is to visit franchises. Part of that is to pretend to listen when the franchisees say they want something. The other part is to take suggestions from corporate, no matter how unprofitable and stupid, and continue to try and get the franchisee to do them.
(And keep in mind the unprofitable stupid ideas are the ones on the fringes. The vast bulk of what the franchise recommends is good stuff. Where they jump the tracks is when they come up with a guideline which, after years, not a single franchise has implemented profitably, and they're still trying to push it out into the field.)
I accept that. If they need to visit somebody, I figured why not be hospitable. They weren't actually doing anything beneficial for me, but what's the harm?
This latest episode? Yeah, sorry doofus. Find somebody else who has time to waste when you need to justify your stupid job.
Ah well. Rob is having a garage sale and I bought his bicycle. Logan is almost big enough to ride it. I'll see if I can find my pedal wrench and other tools and try to adjust it to him tonight. I also bought a tire from Rob. It's hanging off the front porch to give Logan a target for baseballs and footballs. I'm sure our HOA is delighted.
It's also going to be good to watch Logan play some baseball. He's really been heating up at the plate lately. It's great watching these kids play.
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