Whenever I hear a LEFTIST Speak about what He or She NEEDS, and how Everyone SHOULD LIVE THEIR LIVES according to them, and how it’s ONLY FAIR TO SPREAD THE WEALTH, and how Unfair Everything is, and how Companies make too much money, without Passing-It-On to their Workers, It Is The Best I Can Do . . . NOT TO WRETCH.
TO THE LEFT . . . IT’S NOT HOW MUCH THEY HAVE – IT’S HOW MUCH OTHERS HAVE:
I LOVE TELLING STORIES . . . But not all People really want to hear my Stories, even though I Personally Fancy-Myself as a Pretty Good Story-Teller. Which is of course strictly my opinion.
HOWEVER . . . When you Read my BLOG, More Times Than Not, I’m relating to a Personal Story. And even though I should NEVER have to provide this Disclaimer – HERE IT IS . . .
Every Story I Tell Is 100% True, Accurate & Unembellished.
WHEN GIVING . . . ONLY BEGETS DEMANDING:
You’re about to Read one of Many Personal Life Experiences (Stories), which Somewhat Explains why Anne & I Are the Way we Are.
About 40-Years Ago . . . I took Yet another Business Gamble (It Wasn’t My First Rodeo), and left a Great Advertising Sales Job . . . I opened my own Advertising Agency – The Promar Media Group, which stood for Promotional Marketing.
If I were to tell you that it was REAL TOUGH, just to get going, I’d be UNDER-TELLING just how Tough it Really Was.
For Years . . . I worked the Ad Agency, while Anne worked as the Head Teller in Several Canadian Banks, making almost enough money to keep a Roof over our Heads & Food on the Table, which is the Story of how Most Small Businesses Start. Which is also the Story why very Few Startups Survive, because that’s how Life is in the Real World, opposed to how Life is in the FAKE LEFTIST WORLD, where everyone’s a Winner, and everyone’s Entitled, No Matter how much they DON’T Risk & how Hard they DON’T Work.
FOR 45-YEARS – ANNE & I HAVE BEEN INSEPARABLE LIFE-PARTNERS IN ALL THINGS:
AFTER SEVERAL YEARS . . . Promar started to Succeed, enough so – for Anne to leave the Bank where she worked as the Head Teller & Assistant to the Accountant to Become Our Managing Partner.
THERE’S NO SUGAR COATING THIS . . . There were some years when Promar did Really Well, which meant very little to us, because the Profits we made from the Good Years, WERE LOST ENTIRELY, to pay for the Expenses of the Bad Years.
But the Ad Agency Continued to Grow Nonetheless, to the Point, in a time before Computers and Fax Machines, Promar needed Staff, which included Full Time Commercial Artists, Full Time Customer Service Reps, a Full Time In-House Courier, and at least one person to Assist Anne.
In No Time At All . . . Our Promar Payroll was the Single Largest Expense Anne and I Faced. And because Anne and I had no idea whether our Business was going to be Successful or Not, we Hired Young People without Families, just in case we would ever have to Lay some People Off.
ANNE & I ALWAYS PAID “SUBSTANTIALLY” MORE THAN THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE:
As Promar Was Growing . . . Anne and I had far more than our Fair Share of Financial Challenges. The Cost of buying Graphic Equipment. The Cost of Office Expansion. The Cost of all the Federal & Provincial MANDATORY Deductions At Source for the “Privilege” of Paying Employees (4% Vacation Taxes, Matching Retirement Taxes, Matching Healthcare Taxes), And A Whole Lot More.
THE COSTS NEVER WENT DOWN . . . BUT FROM TIME TO TIME THE REVENUE DID:
I can’t begin to tell you what it Felt Like for Anne & Myself, on Far Too Many Thursday’s, the Day Before Pay Day, where we sat outside our Bank Cash Machine, just before Midnight, so Anne and I could Each Take-Out the Maximum Amount of Cash from our Credit Cards. And then just after Midnight, we’d do it all over again, since we could only Take-Out So Much Per Day.
And In The Morning . . . We used all of that Money we Withdrew the Previous Evening and Morning, to Pay 100% of what we owed our Entire Staff, so they would all have their Paychecks.
Anne & I Employed Hundreds Of People Over The Years . . . And No One Ever Did Not Get Paid. Nor did anyone ever have to wait a second for their Paycheck, Commission Check, Expense Check or Bonus Check . . . NEVER!
SO WHY’D WE DO IT . . . And Not Just Let Some Of The Staff Go? Because Anne and I didn’t have the Heart to tell some of these young People that they No Longer Had A Job.
While Borrowing Money To Pay Our Staff – Anne & I Lived On Hamburger-Helper.
OUR STAFF NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD AUDIT THE ART DEPARTMENT:
Eventually – things got Better, and Promar was on a Roll, but our Staff wasn’t getting better. In fact, after doing the Audit of our Art Department, we found that our Staff were using our Equipment, Supplies & Time, for which they were paid Handsomely. But to our Chagrin, our Staff were busy doing Jobs for Themselves Under-The-Table, when they should have been working for us.
THIS GOES BACK SOME 30-YEARS AGO . . . WHEN $300 WAS A LOT OF MONEY:
To say that Anne and I were Pissed . . . is True. But we felt far more Betrayed & Cheated than just Pissed. Also – We needed to Keep the Art Department in Place for the Survival of our Agency . . . So Anne and I Gathered all the Staff and made them an Offer just before Christmas . . . Here It Was:
“We know that you’re Stealing from us. We did a full Audit of the Art Department and we are not Pleased. SO THIS THE DEAL . . . We Are Willing To Offer”.
1 – “You can continue to use our Equipment & Supplies to do your Work On-The-Side, as long as you Pay for what you Use, and you don’t do it on our Time”.
IN ADDITION GO GIVING EACH OF THEM A SUBSTANTIAL RAISE . . .
2 – “We realize that you think Anne and I are making a lot of Money for the Work you do, but not nearly as much as you think . . . SO HERE’S ANOTHER DEAL. We will pay the Entire Studio 10% of all our Art Billings, RIGHT OFF THE TOP. But – Any Screw-Ups Caused by anyone in the Art Department, which costs Promar any Money, Will Be Deducted From The 10%”.
2-NIGHTS . . . 3-DAYS:
3 – And Finally – Because Promar did at that time, a Substantial Business with a Major Travel Wholesaler, we made Arrangements with the Wholesaler to Send our Entire Promar Staff to Los Vegas as a Christmas Bonus, Covering the Cost of the Business Class Flight, Including the Hotel & Breakfasts.
And For Spending Money While In Vegas, We Gave Each Person A Gift Of $300.
SO HOW DID OUR STAFF RESPOND TO THIS OFFER:
They Came Back The Next Day With The Following:
1 – 2-Nights & 3-Days in Las Vegas wasn’t long enough. They Demanded 3-Nights and 4-Days.
2 – They Agreed Not To Work for their own Clients on our Time. But they should have Access to our Equipment & Supplies . . . FOR FREE.
3 – They Won’t Be Held Accountable . . . for any Mistakes made by the Art Department, where Promar would lose Revenue for their Screw-Ups.
4 – They wanted a Lawyer to Draft an Agreement between Promar and the Art Studio For Their 10% Share Of Gross Revenue.
THAT WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TAKER-CLASS:
So Here’s How We Responded.
1 – The Offer for Vegas was still on the Table, since all the arrangements were already made, but 2-Nights & 3-Days . . . OR DON’T GO.
2 – The Offer for them to do Work for Themselves on our Time & Dime was Instead Changed To . . . FROM 9-5 YOU WORK FOR US – Don’t Use Our Equipment, Supplies or Time to Work for Your Clients.
3 – And as Far as the 10% Bonus on all Gross Art-Shop-Billings – That Too No Longer Existed.
Anne and I Couldn’t Believe the Abject Greed of these People, for whom we BORROWED MONEY on Both Sides of Midnight for more Weeks than I want to Remember, so we wouldn’t have to Lay any of them Off.
Where We Thought They’d be Thrilled With Our Generosity – They Wanted More.
ANNE & I COULDN’T FATHOM . . . how out of the Kindness of our Corporate Heart, to give them 10% of Our Gross Billing Fee, NOT THE NET . . . BUT THE GROSS, that they all of a sudden Felt ENTITLED to becoming our Risk-Free Partners.
AND AS FAR AS THE TRIP TO LAS VEGAS . . . Who could have Ever Dreamt People would take such a Wonderful Offer, which they Weren’t Entitled to . . . To Demand More?
SO HOW’D IT WORK OUT?
They went to Las Vegas and took an extra Day-Off from coming back to Work, because 2-Nights & 3-Days in Las Vegas wasn’t sufficient to get back into the Rhythm of the Time Change on their Return.
Believe It Or Not . . . When they Returned, within a week, they “Organized” and demanded that Anne & I Return to the Preceding Offers, or they would leave . . . WE SAID GOODBYE . . . AND THEY LEFT.
Before They Packed-Up & Left – Anne & I Hired A Great Art Director . . . Just One Guy (ED), who we allowed – for him, to do his Own Work in our Studio, as long as all of our Work Came First.
And after One Year with ED, Anne and I were so Pleased and Grateful for the Service & Attitude ED Brought to Promar Everyday, that we decided we no Longer Needed or Wanted an Art Studio, and gave ED more than $100,000 in Art Equipment, Cameras & Supplies – AS OUR GIFT.
We Also Gave ED All Of Our Clients.
THE ONLY PROVISOS . . . Were The Following – ED could Stay in our Office Space for one year. We would supply the Space, the Phones, and pay the Insurance. ED’S COST WAS $500 PER MONTH.
But – In exchange, when Anne and I needed Artwork for Promotional Projects, ED would have to place Promar at the Top of his Client Priorities, and give us a Better Price Than Retail.
ED WAS A MENTSCH . . .
After One Year . . . We Bid ED A Mutually Heartfelt Farewell.
The preceding wasn’t the Last Time Employers Took Advantage . . . but it was the Last Time Anne and I were Patsies. I Would Also Like To Say That The Preceding Was Anecdotal . . . But It Wasn’t.
When I Hear Nancy Pelosi, who is Worth a Huge Fortune, who Raped the Public Purse when she was Speaker of the House, with her Tax-Paid Government Plane, Speak about THOUSAND DOLLAR BONUS CHECKS AS “CRUMBS” – I could Barf.
When I just Heard on Television, an Angry LEFTIST Piece of Work Strategist, say that $1,000-Bonus Checks Aren’t Fair, when compared to how much the Companies are Making Because Of The Trump Tax-Cuts . . . It Reminded Me Of The Years Anne & I Borrowed Money To Pay Our Staff.
It Also Reminded Me Of Atlas Shrugged . . . And Why I Literally Hate The Left.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
25 Comments
I know you are not in the bumper-sticker business, but two would sell like the proverbial hotcakes:
“Rudy’s Right”
“No Amnesty for Illegals”
As for Debbie W-S: She is surgeon’s delight because she has only two moving parts – a mouth and an asshole.
And those two parts are interchangeable.
Have had similar experiences with ‘entitled employees’. Some lessons are really hard. Thanks for your stories, and your expertise.
Fantastic story, Howard. Thank you for sharing. I too despise the left. They are greedy, conniving scumbags. Just as bad, they wouldn’t know the truth if they tripped over it and it bit them in the ass. Worse, despite their enormous failings, they have a finely developed sense of holier-than-thou entitlement and self-righteousness. Needless to say they represent the base of the DemonRat Party and its mainstream media enablers. The same can be said for Canada’s Liberals and the lapdog enemedia.
Gimme, gimme, gimme…it’s the only language a leftist, and a RINO, understands.
Just like any Left wing Union person, they want it all so screw the rest. It is not there money to lose if the firm goes under these people couldn’t care less.
I haven’t read anywhere that Nancy Pelosi and her husband have joined the Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett “Giving Pledge” which is a commitment to give away half of their money
If people worked as they were portners of a corporation both sides would prosper,if not satisfied then move on.Having worked for 4 major airlines due to bAnkruptcy,, and strikes and lay offs i started my own air taxi company to continue having aa income even when i returned to my job.You should always have a back up if you loss your job.
You are not the only ones who have come to the realization of what a lot of ingrates people can be. Help them out and get kicked in the shins for your efforts. Then people wonder why employers treat employees like dirt instead of equals. Not a lot of sense out there.
When I was in the limo business and had a problem employee I let them sit in my office for the day and watch the 20+ people who came in every day asking for THEIR job. Worked really well.
I worked for a large petro/fertilizer company. They had purchased a “unionized “ baler twine plant. Every year during prime haying season, they went on strike for more of everything. We’re warned not to strike again, but did anyways. Co. Called a meeting with union and employees. Nunion thought they were going to blackmail again. Instead, final pay and severance was ready for pick up, and plant was closed down.
The co has not had a unionized operation since!
Govt unions must go!
I never tell stories as I lie constantly when I do … Having had 12 employees and 14 vehicles which ran on DIESEL I was amazed how much GAS was actually charged to the Co. credit card considering gas will not run in a diesel motor. When probed on the matter I was advised the Industry Standard was to pay for private vehicle fuel as a perk and it was considered part of their salary . I had my accountant add it to their T4’s that year PROBLEM SOLVED .
Your experience reminds me of ours with our construction company. We were living on my salary at a local savings and loan so our hourly employees would never have short work weeks that would reduce their income. One employee decided he wanted to go into business for himself so we gave him an opportunity to contract the framing for a house while my husband built one with hourly summer teen help. It took just one house for the former hourly employee to decide that wasn’t his best opportunity.
I had a large printing co, (started with 2 thousand dollars and had 100 employees. When sales force put in so many fake receipts for entertainment I changed the rules no more receipts needed I will pay you 2 percent of your gross sales each month and do what you want with the money hopefully you will entertain customers with it but it is up to you. NO MORE credit cards for each of you.
Bless you for your kindnesses to those unthankful greedy people. Am so sorry you had to deal with that. And I am sure it is even worse today regarding how greedy people can be. They steal from others who are in need. I read that most stores have more stolen from them by employees than anyone else. Some stores are taking away their discounts to employees for this reason. When people steal they also hurt the whole economy.
When employees feel entitled to OUR MONEY and GOODS it is TIME to cut them loose. And the same applies to Washington, states, counties and cities. No one is entitled. You WORK for what you earn…PERIOD Government has gotten TOO BIG for its britches and its time to cut to the chase. Excellent blog as always!!
I am doing my best not to hate the Left, but to my chagrin, I was trying to explain 2nd Amendment and the need without insulting others and a responder called me more names and things than I would ever share. I feel like Jonah who didn’t want to go witness to the Ninevites because he knew God would forgive them. Kind of like how could God forgive Manasseh who was the most evil King ever. God Bless
Lately, I have been harassed (she would deny it was harassment) by a former high school classmate. I post infrequently on Facebook because early on I realized that getting into a debate with a progressive is useless and more stressful than I need in my life. She turns anything I post into her political ideology and is a totally passive aggressive bully. I have always been respectful and polite but no more….I’m through with them. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING satisfies them.
Roanoke, Va
Have you ever heard of a socialist/ progressive/liberal who advocates and demands redistribution, offer to redistribute HIS OWN stuff?
Neither have I.
I would like to find a collection of Margaret Thatcher’s pronouncements on these matters. Wise woman, that one!
In my mind, fabulous author John O’Hara eloquently framed the conduct of your and Anne’s personal and business dealings best as “. . . the good order of things.” Seems to me to fit.
In Union negotiations at RCM they asked for $5 a day for showing up to work. Another company Union asked for share of profits, Boss told name to sy o.k. as long as they share the losses. Offer rejected because it’s management responsibility to guard against losses. I’ve never been more disenchanted and disappointed than when dealing with consumers who take off without paying monthly fee for services. Teachers were the worst & next, rich people. Doesn’t pay in private business to be compassionate
I have a boarding barn for horses and can’t begin to recall the number of times board was withheld due to some personal hardship with a promise to make it up “next month”. It rarely happened. However, one former boarder came to see me a year after she had suddenly moved her horse to another facility, owing me nearly a year’s board. She handed me a wad of bills. It was every cent she owed me. There are good people out there and sometimes we meet them.
Susanne Sauer
Douglassville, PA
It must have been the Alberta air as noted in a previous reply. My Dad of blessed memory had a small scrap metal business. He came to work one day and met with some of his employees. They had requested joining a local union. My Dad asked them if they had any complains as to salary, work place or other situations that could not be solved. They had nothing to say. Dad told them that if they had no complaints but decided to join the union, he would just close the business. the result, no union.
Howard – You an Anne are naturally kind and good natured people. You learned that your good nature was being used to take advantage of you . . . at very great expense. You didn’t mention it, but I’m sure it broke your hearts as well. For some reason, kindness is read as ‘weakness’. I too learned this lesson late in life by folks I had thought were friends. Fast forward to the politics of today. The conservatives . . . good natured and quiet. Liberals . . . not so much!
Although we often don’t have any CONTROL over the TYPES of experiences we will undergo in the future, people usually LEARN much better from their BAD experiences vs. their GOOD ones! Also, the GOOD & GIVING people are USUALLY the ones who suffer the MOST! The people who work the LEAST are those who feel the MOST ENTITLED! HUSSEIN OBAMA’S REFORMING of AMERICA ASSURED this hateful and GIMME-GIMME CULTURE! Thank GOD for Pres. Trump, as we can still have HOPE for AMERICA’S future! GO TRUMP GO! AMEN!
Rule #1(Owners – Golden copy Manual), Regardless of the fact that you and your family are getting by on Cheerios, and Chef Boyardi,..7 days a week. Your “employees” KNOW about the buried stash of cash wherever you hide it! Rule #2 (Employee By-laws-Silver Volume) What’s yours is really theirs, after all they are making that money and you never share with them! SHARE”= a check with SIX ZERO’S with. Their name on it! Rule #3 EVERYONE you employee(including Relatives) WILL steal time, materials
Comments are closed.