This IS the end!!!

I quit my job! When I wrote that last post it was so late that it was the next day, and later that day, I wrote him and gave him my 2 weeks. My last day is this Friday!!! So last week, all week I could tell he is expecting me to continue working after my last day because I don't have another job yet. We are keeping it cordial, but at least for me, I'm uncomfortable because I'm mad and hurt. But playing it cool. We have a payroll service/HR company who "does our payroll" and we pay them for workmans comp too. Well they also have a job placement agency, and I KNOW they are advertising the job at $20 per hour. And they sent over a girl he interviewed for 2 hours and didn't even introduce her to anyone it was just rude, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Because he gave her a tour and then when she left she barely made eye contact. Shes very capable and it sounded like they both thought it was a good fit. But then I over heard him talking to the agency girl who had sent the candidate over and he sounded super bummed and said "well keep advertising I guess" type stuff. So on Saturday I took a peek at his email and saw that the agency girl wrote him that the candidate was looking for something closer to $25 per hour. So now I know, if he hires her....... -.-  NICE.   In my 2 weeks notice email I told him I will NOT be available after my last day unless we come to a NEW agreement and that I would send him a proposal for my services/rates. If he doesn't want to pay it, that's cool, we'll part ways. But good luck with that. I'm giving him the letter weds afternoon. I will copy the letter here:


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Dear ...,

I’m writing this letter to get a couple things off my chest. Most importantly to me, to set the record straight. I agree that it is best to stay professional, but I want to make sure you know that I am leaving because: 1) you give zero consideration to my correct insistence that my job is too much for one person working full time, and 2) our working relationship was crushed when you screamed at me and pounded your desk during our conversation on Friday the 11^th. I will address both of these points below. The way you yelled at me was totally unacceptable and I will not tolerate that type of treatment. Yes, I was frustrated that you weren’t getting me help, but I turned down a part time job the week before so I was obviously still willing to try to work something out. It was not my intention to leave. But I gave my notice the day after you screamed because it was clear things were just not going to turn around.

I have been so grateful to you for buying the company and allowing me to realize my potential. However, I will not let you tell me that I am not worth as much as a stranger coming in to the job, because I am less than 10 min late. Even if it’s every day, it doesn’t matter. Because I stay hours late 90% of the time, and at least 30 min late every day. I took a lunch maybe once every 3 weeks. I am not your personal assistant. I agree you need one. But that person is not me. I am the Office Manager. My duties as Office Manager include:

·         Full Charge Bookkeeper: A/R, A/P, General Journal entries, Account Reconciliation, Financial Reporting, All file conversion and new company set up. Payroll processing: Quantify commissions for sales by printing all installer calendars out, noting the completed jobs, finding out the sales person total from each individual customer, seeing if the customer is paid in full, examine list of prior payrolls jobs for people who hadn’t paid the last period and see if they have paid now so I can pay sales person, fill in excel sheet for sales. Calculate each installers commissions by referring to the printed calendars for the period. Note the ‘installer total’ from each individual customer record, add adjustments such as reimbursements and special rates, meet with Dan regarding changes or case by case rates, fill in excel sheet. Enter all timecard employees hours into the excel workbook, print out. Talk to Ops manager about any weird things. Enter all data into proprietary payroll website, review and submit for processing. Approve batch. (the only thing I don’t do now that we have a service is make 2 online payments to the tax agencies which took about 60 seconds each. Other than that I actually do more than I did before when I did it all myself)

·         Human Resources: Manage personnel files, Research and implement safety compliance, Arrange for physical testing of all new employees at two separate facilities (call to make appointments, direct candidate to locations, receive results from facilities and notate employee file), Scan and send to HR, many communications with HR regarding each new employee, Initiate insurance qualification for designated employees, administer drug screenings.

·         IT Liaison: Create and manage email accounts, assist real IT professionals with all file conversion, server set up, network mapping, getting server online etc…., Train employees on GTR use, assist with troubleshooting

·         Sales Support: Offer excellent service in person in the showroom (customers frequently comment to Craig that they enjoyed meeting me in the office and that I was so helpful), Coordinate Home Shows (create organized binder with each show info, book booth, arrange for electricity, make payments, calendar the move in and days of show), set appointments, save appointments that call in to cancel, make sure we have sales supplies in the office and ready for them such as forms, file folders and diagrams

·         Operations Support: Manage calendars, set repair appointments, make decisions regarding what needs to happen and making it happen, training manager(s) on GTR as well as supply procurement. Order consumables such as saw blades, caulk, resin dyes, festool cords…, Send festools in for repair, order granite: manage computer inventory, make sure completed jobs are marked, make sure cut jobs are marked, take physical count, make adjustments in the computer, allocate granite to jobs thru 3 weeks forward, view computer generated PO, analyze ‘granite needed’ report, place order on separate proprietary system, deal with backorder issues, add slabs to fill holes, receive granite into computer when it arrives, enter bill into QB

·         General Office Administrator: receive new job files from sales, create customer file in GTR and QB (in a different way than we did before which required training no one else has), set granite requirement, coordinate plumbing, create operations packet for job, make sure the installers have needed instructions such as “template payment due” or special instructions from sales, Place sink order (create PO in QB, print and email. Make note in the Sink Binder. Receive reply from vendor: if Keller can get it, cool. Otherwise I will go back in to QB, and change the vendor to Morlan, resend the email to them, and wait for a reply. Note the binder that Morlan is the vendor. Am able to assist operations with sink questions. Deal with problems.), Receive customer payments, create deposit batches for checks and credit cards in Quickbooks, manage organized deposit file, enter credit card charges made with company card, enter checks written, answer phones and have the ability to deal with pretty much anything the caller needs, Order all supplies (Office supplies such as pens and paper, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, printer ink, filing boxes)

Everything in blue is new, I didn’t do it before you bought the company. The fact that I jumped on all that and just knew what needed to be done and researched what I didn’t know and created systems we didn’t have before is a big deal. When Matt gave me a raise is irrelevant. He wasn’t paying me what I was worth either. You will not find someone who will do all that for less than $20 an hour period, and I’m betting that it will end up being more. I know the job/business like the back of my hand. It will take someone 3 months to get the hang of everything and that’s IF the printer doesn’t break, or the credit card machine or the internet goes out or you can’t get on the server, and if all that doesn’t happen at the same time... You will have to hire a highly skilled person and that will cost you. My point is this: I have been trying for a month or more to convince you that we need to come up with a plan. My opinion is that you need one person doing the higher value stuff 10 -15 hrs per week, and one person who is general clerical and your personal assistant 40hrs per week. Because someone who does everything, is going to want to get paid the rate for the highest skills they use. For example, even though anyone can answer a phone and do filing, it is more expensive for someone who can juggle so many things and do the more complicated accounting functions. So someone doing all that is going to want the rate of a higher value bookkeeper for all the duties incl answering the phone. I came up with a great plan that wouldn’t have costed you anything more than what you were already paying me. Well, I don’t want to induce another screaming attack by beating a dead horse. It’s over, but I am not leaving simply because I don’t want to work full time. I know what I’m worth, I know what you’re going to have to pay a stranger to do it and it is a slap in my face that you have just let me leave without consideration to my many contributions. You have never even asked me what I actually do! This list above, is comprehensive and I know you have no idea what all I do and it really hurts. Who is going to order granite next week? Who is going to run the next payroll? How do you print the warrantee info that goes in the final bill packet? How do you print the final bill?

After Friday the 25^th I will not come in to GT to work as your employee. I will be available as an independent contractor at the following rates:

·         In office training such as John ordering granite or new office manager how to do payroll, will be at the rate of $25 per hour, billed same day. Terms: Due upon receipt

·         In office job duties in the event that you haven’t secured the right person will be at the rate of $25 per hour.

·         Bookkeeping services in office, $25 per hour

·         Bookkeeping services telecommuting, $20 per hour

I mentioned to you in my ‘2 weeks notice’ email that I will be available for bookkeeping and other services, contingent on a new agreement between us. The above rates are firm. I would genuinely love  to long term, continue working part time as your bookkeeper. You can hire a more general office admin to be your assistant (in the $15 - $17 range), I will still be available (at the above rates) to help. It’s a win win. If you don’t agree, then we can cut ties on Friday. I hope to stay friendly and help with sales via the referral program. I network in several circles quite a bit and I’m confident I can earn a few referral bonuses!

Warm regards,

Jenn Cattaneo

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Boom right?

I want you to know I DID get my sewing machine out and I DID make a goddamn job board like I SAID I was going to! ok.... I finished the job board 2 days ago... but still. One week ago I was SO hopeless and bummed out and now things are getting going in the right direction. So when you are depressed or in a bad spot just remember it will get better :-)

ok, so here's some pics of the quilt I'm making for my girlfriend who's pregnant with a baby daughter

And here's the job board we made. It's a little hokey but I glued little clothespins to the chalkboard tags, and then got fancy push pins from Target and special chalkboard pens and stickers from Michaels and here you have it

as far as my no-self-love because of my weight. I just got completely naked last night and we have a full closet door mirror and you know what I still felt sexy. Husbands hot bod helps too ;->  I still want to lose weight and after I'm done with this week of work, I WILL be back to the gym: Yoga, swimming, cycle. It's happening.