Sometimes it's good to know your stuff...

[My Hoe]

Reasonably thought out My Hoe,
May I offer another thought or two?

Does Arc even want a GM's job?

Shop steward's job is several degrees of interest away those of that a GM needs to be concerned about.

Don't forget the GM was hired by the owner to take care of his interest and his (the GM) pay may well be tied to how well the interests of the owner is seen to, ie. the bottom line.

That was a preface to say; there have times in my past that I realized after the fact that an owner and my immediate supervisor played both ends against the middle for the lowest common denominator (my pay) to keep me around for the longest time they could keep me. Good cop bad cop kind of thing. It was nothing but a collusion between the two of them for a squeezed dollar out of my sweat, interest in the company and talent.

Not saying that's what is happening to Arc now, but it's something to think about.

rsallen,

By all means, please feel free to "offer a thought or two."

But first, please allow me to thank you for the compliment, where you said "Reasonably thought out My Hoe....". Thank you, for recognizing my effort, and finding it to be of some value. :thumbsup:

To the first of your offered thoughts: it did occur to me that the OP might not even want the GM's job, but I thought I had phrased my comments in such a way that it was understood that vying for the GM's job would only be an option if the OP desired it. In retrospect, especially given the OP's response, I believe you are correct--I should have made it more clear that I understood the OP might not want the GM's position. Good point!

With regard to your more complex points, e.g.:

*snip*...Don't forget the GM was hired by the owner to take care of his interest and his (the GM) pay may well be tied to how well the interests of the owner is seen to, ie. the bottom line.*snip*

I couldn't agree more!

And regarding your excellent analysis, below:

*snip*...an owner and my immediate supervisor played both ends against the middle for the lowest common denominator (my pay) to keep me around for the longest time they could keep me. Good cop bad cop kind of thing. It was nothing but a collusion between the two of them for a squeezed dollar out of my sweat, interest in the company and talent. *snip*

To paraphrase someone else on this very thread already: "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."

You really sum it up well, rsallen! Your interpretation (which is a valid "theory," though I don't think the OP likes "theories" LOL) rings true to my experiences. Consequently, I must admit that, if your interpretation is correct, then the Owner would never even consider my suggestion that the OP replace the GM.

Thank you for describing yet another modus operandi whereby (some, unscrupulous) Owners screw the Workers. And please know that I appreciate your excellent analysis. Hopefully, your good advice will be acknowledged for the insightful attempt to help the OP that it obviously is.

My Hoe

 

[jaotguy]

OK ... my feeble body ( and mind ) at this point are both guilty of making mistakes .... ( spelling , weak fingers and fumbling for the right words ) ...

at no time did I ever wish to offend anyone on this forum ... the opinions expressed are my own , from person experiences ( and not all are happy :mur ..

we cannot "be" there and see what is going on ... we can only read and think about the outcome.... for most of us , it looks like this is the kind of place we would avoid working in or doing business with in general ....

several red flags and questions arise:

.... how long has the company been in business with the same management team? ( if more than 1 year, the team has each others back and is probably "set" in their ways )

.... do they really want "change for the better " or is it just lip service ?

.... your colleague asked you to cover her back ... a bad sign in any company ....

.... the paycheque thing ... sort of like " yeh, you got a better raise but I'm still gonna mess with you" type of attitude

.... hiring a new guy, little training , then dumping the full work load on him ( not fair n any work place )

..... blindly follow the " money rules" cash IN before product OUT , don't use common sense or think .... lost a big order over a couple of dollars owing....

----------- a pattern seems to be showing ...... hire cheap, pay cheap, work'em hard, make do with the least , maximize profit and dividends. ........ sort sighted in the long run, especially when they lose good workers and have to start training new people.-------


you might be able to affect change , but the view from where I'm standing seems to paint a different picture .... it looks like they are quite happy to continue as they are, and don't care what the front line workers think they need ..... sorta like " it worked in the past, why change things?"... I may be wrong ( and I have been WRONG at times ) but I personally would be looking elsewhere for something better.

Disclaimer : of course, these are just observations about the business world in general.

 

[Arc weld]

At what point was I asking for any help?:anyone: I all I did was post my experience and that it worked out for me. It must have been a long winter and some of you have cabin fever. You're trying to put your own spin on things which is trying to decipher what I wrote based on your own experiences. I didn't go over the GM's head. The owner walked by and asked how I was doing, so I told him. I think ANYBODY waiting 10 month's for their promised 3 month raise would have done the same thing! The owner completely understood how I felt and set up a meeting to get some answers. I'm certainly not next on the chopping block. The company is doing about a $3,000,000 expansion and wants/needs to improve the way they do things. The expansion is big part of the problems they're having right now. They need people with some knowledge on the order desk and that's where I come in. I can certainly be replaced but there's not a line up of experienced welders knocking down the door looking for a pay cut.

 

[yomax4]

Distributor inside / outside jobs are tough. I worked at one for 14yrs and have been selling to them for just as long. I can tell you with talent being thin, The distribs had better hang on to the guys that know. I loved inside sales and city desk. Upon leaving distribution I can say ( in my situation ) Each store was allotted a certain amount of funds to use for wage increases.. What ever the regional manager didn't use, He got a bonus on...!Same thing for outside salesman bonus. Don't use it all? Regional manager gets bonus again.. May be happening here?