I'll never understand my boss

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

He is the owner of a very small business, and he needs to do his share of the work so that we keep all our clients happy and get the work done. This is our busiest season (we're a pest control company). He decided to take two weeks off and just started working again this week. Today he told me to cancel all his Friday appointments because an important client had asked him to do yard sprays on his extensive properties. There's no way I can reassign stuff to the other guy, because he already has an overfull schedule. Needless to say, I talked with the other guy, who smelled a rat. He found out the boss has decided to go fishing on Friday. What I don't understand is why the boss couldn't have just said "Hey, I haven't worked in two weeks and I've decided to go fishing Friday, so cancel all my appointments and make the customers really angry."

I can't figure out how we stay in business-except the other guy is really good and works long hours to make up for things. Boss says the guy is "on salary" so he doesn't have to pay him overtime. I say he's exploiting labor. What do you think?

[MrScorpio]

1. Your boss is a first class asshole

Surreptitiously, look for other work

[Twillig]

2. Go into business with the other guy.

Or at least tell him he's getting reamed.

And look for other work.

[MrScorpio]

3. Excellent advice

What he said

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Thanks

I am looking for other work. I've tried to convince the other guy to go into business for himself, but he feels he lacks the startup capital. Since the boss is best buddies with all the bankers in town, it would prove difficult for the other guy to get a loan. But I figure sooner or later he'll have had enough and leave.

I have a great lead on another job, but it will be a large pay cut-and since my husband can't find work, I feel I have to stay. After all, where else around here can you earn the princely sum of eight bucks an hour?

[steely]

8. would a small business loan be out of the question?

I think there are some steps you have to take - I'm no expert mind you, and it may vary from state to state, but isn't it possible to get the ball rolling by notifying the state and applying for a business name (or whatever it is you do when you contact the state in these matters)? I think there may only be a fee - then (oversimplifying) you approach the gubment for an SBA loan. http://www.sba.gov/financing/.

Another thing to consider is if the guy signed some sort of agreement with his employer prevent him from opening up his own biz in the same area.

I wish I could work for myself - <sigh>

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. You can lead a horse to water....

but you can't get the employee to consider the small business loan. He didn't sign any agreement, so he could go into business on his own. If he finally does it, he's told me he'll move to his home town and have his mother keep the books, so there's no way I'd have a job out of it.

[kodi]

5. the higher a monkey climbs up a tree the easier it is to see his ass

.

[XemaSab]

6. I've heard it as

"Corporate structure is like a tree full of monkeys. Monkeys at the top look down and see a bunch of smiling faces; monkeys at the bottom look up and see a bunch of assholes."

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. funny!

but this is a very very small tree (three employees!) so the head monkey's really really visible.