Moving on...

[Phonetek]

After a long fight, I'm moving on to a new center. I've kicked a dead horse long enough. We had a meeting last week that was meant to air our grievances with all the management and the front office. We had immunity to say whatever was needed to be said. I took full advantage so did my assistant manager. We really took the gloves off. We had the GM tearing up and his lip quivering.

It lasted for over 3 hours, originally planned for one. At first it seemed like this was going to fix things but I completely doubted it would. I was willing to give it a chance. Well it's only been a few days and the first real chance I gave the guy to do what's right, he blew it! Quod derat demonstrandom. An idiot is going to remain an idiot regardless how much you try to teach them.

Me NOT being an idiot was able to see the writing on the wall even prior to this glorious meeting and interviewed at a new center. Man, this place wants me bad! The owner told me himself "In this day where nobody can find any employees to fill any slots, having you walk in was his answer to my prayers."

They run the same software for the lanes, same version of BLS and given that where I am coming from I work every position in the place every day. I can literally fill in anywhere. Except mechanic, they have A2's not 82-70's. Completely different animal. Not to mention I handle inventory, ordering and manage the employees among other things. The only thing I don't do is scheduling and payroll.

The current GM is looking to retire in the next year. He said I would be perfect to fill his shoes. He made me an offer that about made my eyes pop out. Had the last guy not been such a douche I would have stayed. I loved the place and really cared. That's why I went back. That's why I tried so hard to make it a success. It's ashamed the higher-ups were so blind to not see and show appreciation for all I have done. So... I'm going for it.

I'm giving my two weeks notice today. I'm skeptical if I should even bother and if I do, that I will even stay for the duration. I already brought all my and my son's bowling balls and equipment home last week. As well as all the proshop equipment that I paid for personally. Nothing is left that belongs to me. The only reason I would work the two weeks is out of respect to my subordinates. Then again 4 out of 5 of them already filled out applications to follow me.

It's a long book with a lot of chapters but it's time to close it for good and check out a new one. I'm saddened I have to do this, I really am... but I have to do what's best for myself and my family. This is the right move!

[boatman37]

Good luck!

[RobLV1]

Good choice! Good luck with your new endeavor.

[Phonetek]

Thanks guys, I appreciate that. Since the majority of their staff 30 and up have been there a decade or more I can only surmise they know how to treat their people.

It's gonna be a change though, It's a massive center. No worries though, size doesn't matter. In this case bigger is better.

[SRB57]

Good luck on your new gig. Sounds like your new employer appreciates good help. Steve

[Ryster]

Good luck in the new position. Keep in mind that no job is perfect. Employers want people that show up as scheduled and do their jobs. When they see things getting done as expected, they don't necessarily care how or who, they just care that what is supposed to get done gets done. When things don't get done, that is when employers pay attention. Going above and beyond is great, but does not always result in recognition.

Criticizing and insulting the GM at the old center really isn't necessary. Just saying you two had a difference of opinion would be sufficient. Our local center was acquired by Bowlero, and many of the legacy employees have since left for various reasons. None of them openly criticized Bowlero, other than to say that it was time to move on. The remaining legacy employees are working very hard, and when asked how things are going just say they are trying their best to embrace the new way of doing things. You never know when you will need a letter of recommendation or a reference.

[boomer]

Awesome! Good luck!!!

Those "open" meetings always feel like a trap to me, even when I run them. No matter what, they change things. Ugh.

[Phonetek]

Good luck in the new position. Keep in mind that no job is perfect. Employers want people that show up as scheduled and do their jobs. When they see things getting done as expected, they don't necessarily care how or who, they just care that what is supposed to get done gets done. When things don't get done, that is when employers pay attention. Going above and beyond is great, but does not always result in recognition.

Criticizing and insulting the GM at the old center really isn't necessary. Just saying you two had a difference of opinion would be sufficient. Our local center was acquired by Bowlero, and many of the legacy employees have since left for various reasons. None of them openly criticized Bowlero, other than to say that it was time to move on. The remaining legacy employees are working very hard, and when asked how things are going just say they are trying their best to embrace the new way of doing things. You never know when you will need a letter of recommendation or a reference.

Thank you for those words of advice. I assure you that I said nothing to my now current employer about my previous one. I've been in management for nearly two decades, I know the do's and dont's.

It's one thing to spout off online anonymously. However, talking about management to customers, other employees, future employees or other centers is another. I don't know about you guys but the information I provide for my identity online is not actual, it's always a pseudonym. SURPRISE! You never know who's watching. I also rarely if ever give specific names of where I work or people I work with.

Therefore anything I say on here or any other online forum would be merely circumstantial, not proven it was actually me. I'm very careful in what I say and to whom. Especially in texts! That will hang you every single time! One screen shot and you're toast! Anyone I give actual specifics on here are people I trust with that information.

At this time that's only two people. LOL Hopeful none of you take offense to that. I just know them differently than sharing comments in posts. Even they only have my pseudonym... sorry guys. Like I said, I'm careful.

As far as as being recognized for getting things done. I'm never looking for"Atta boys" or "Good job" from any employer. I have always taken great pride in everything I do. I know I'm doing a good job, I'm the one doing it. I don't need to have my ego massaged.

However when I do things like recently saving them $2k on rental bowling shoes because I called in a favor or bringing in $5k on what would have been a dead night because I set up a full house booking by going above and beyond. Plus bringing their Google rating up 1.2 stars from where it was in 6 months. That's VERY difficult when your rating is in the tank. I can name dozens of things. A simple "Thank you" or when reviews come around a better than a cost of living increase would be nice.

Unfortunately, they didn't do that or anything. I didn't even get the cost of living increase, I just heard a bunch of crying about how broke they are and got zero and a bunch of excuses. That's not what they promised me and what we agreed on the day I came back. How broke can they be when I've saved and made them so much? So broke they can't afford $40 - $80 bucks a week? Bullplop! So why do anything for them? Pfft! All they did was take advantage of me. Sorry, rant over.

I apologize, I did not intend this post to be so long.

[Ryster]

Unfortunately, COLA adjustments simply aren't something that a lot of employers worry about these days. I work for a Fortune 1000 company and there have been years with wage freezes and no salary adjustments at all. It is just the way it is. It is definitely frustrating, but we just keep putting in the hard work and hope for the best next year at review time.

Several years ago I interviewed for a position with a national defense contractor. One of the requirements was to provide a complete list of all online aliases used for all online activities including social media, forums, message boards, etc. Had I accepted the position, another requirement would have been to cease all online posting and close all such accounts. I did not accept the position for numerous reasons, not just the social media policy. There were material changes in the job responsibilities between what was discussed during the phone interview and when I went in the following week for the in-person interview. Fortunately those changes came out in the interview.

[boatman37]

Several years ago I was on work comp after tearing tendons in my elbow. I was on a few forums posting about hobbies that I wanted to get back to after I recovered. I never had my real name in there anywhere but we went to a hearing one day and they had transcripts of everything I had posted and tried to use it against me. They had hired a private investigator that had been following me around and recording me. They recorded me carrying a drink out of Arbys and tried to use it against me.

Also, my daughter is a financial advisor for a large corporation (yeah I'm sure you have seen their commercials on TV). She dabbled in trading stocks in her personal account and posted results on her social media. Apparently someone turned her in cause she said they would have never known otherwise and she didn't feel she did anything wrong anyway. Her bosses bosses called her in and FINRA investigated. She almost lost her job and her company required her to cease all social media activity. She was just notified a few days ago that she can start using social media again but she is not to post anything about money or finances. She was 'offline' about 6-8 months over this.