Official "bitch about work" thread

turbo tecnica · #1 02-12-2008, 02:10 PM

Figured we have the weekend one already, so might as well start a work one. I'm sure everyone will be able to chime in with something.

I work at a sign and truck lettering shop. I'll have been here 3 years in a month or two. It's a very small shop. It's basically my boss and I. We sometimes have a third guy come in to help out sometimes, but not so much anymore. It's been extremely slow this winter. It's sort of a trickle effect - landscapers / construction companies / contractors, etc. all slow down because of the season, and in turn we slow down since they give us most of our work. Usually we'll have enough work to hold us over for the winter, and if we are slow then I'll work on random shop projects (redoing different areas of the shop, organizing stuff better, building misc. shelves and whatnot). I basically do everything around the shop.

I have been considering getting out of this job and looking elsewhere (even other lines of work). I've thought about it before but even moreso lately. Basically, my boss is kind of screwing me with payment. He doesn't have a payroll, he makes me technically subcontract at the shop. I get 10-99 forms when tax season comes around, instead of a regular W2 like everybody else. Yes, I get to pay taxes instead of collect a refund. At the end of the week he will cut me a check for the hours I worked, with no taxes taken out. I have to figure out how much I need to take out and put it in a separate account, and then pay quarterly every few months. It sucks ass. I would MUCH rather be on a system where it was deducted automatically. The other part that sucks about being on a 10-99 system is that I don't get any benefits - health care, dental care, 401k, etc. Nothing. Now most of you probably didn't know (or care) but they recently (last year) made it mandatory for you to have health insurance in the state of Massachusetts. This sucks ass because I can't be covered by my parents' insurance anymore since I'm out of the house and whatnot. That means I get to dish out an extra $200+ per month for any decent care system. I neglected to do so before the year was out, so now I can't claim $280 or something like that on my taxes. My teacher at school specifically said to use to avoid working at shops that pay with a 10-99 system because they are only screwing you. My boss gets to write off the whole amount he paid me during the year, and he doesn't have to offer any benefits or unemployment, worker's comp, etc. While the advice from my teacher was good, it would've helped a year before when I actually got the job.

The next part that sucks is that my boss is absolutely computer retarded. He's about 51 years old or so. He got a computerized vinyl cutting system back in the 80's when they were brand new, and his shop was 'cutting edge'. Since then, he has upgraded twice and he is brain dead when it comes to using a computer. For instance, instead of opening multiple files in the same program (ie photoshop, microsoft word, etc.), He opens an entire program for every file.... meaning it has to boot up the entire program any time he wants to open a file. That brings me to the next point - the computer is SO SLOW that it's painful. He bought it new sometime back in the mid-late 90's. It's something like 500MHz. It's awful. It's so old that the white computer case has since yellowed and become nasty. I could go on and on with a list of horrible computer shit he does (he thinks hitting ctrl + alt + delete means you have to hit all of the keys at the exact same time. Same with ctrl + c, ctrl + v. He doesn't use them because he thinks they are so flawed. He manually goes to edit -> copy. edit -> paste. ARG!)

I could probably type on for days and days about this but I'd be surprised if you even read this far. I'm just on the verge of leaving and trying to find a good paying job that has benefits, and a regular payroll system. Thing is, I have specific school training in sign painting / truck lettering, etc. so it's not like I have some 4-yr degree at a random college. This blows ass. Oh, I also found out I'm going to be paying around $4000 in taxes due in April. Shoot me now.

SCU · #2 02-12-2008, 02:36 PM

1. Thank you for not making one big ass paragragh.
2. GET A NEW JOB!!!
3. How much is the vinyl cutter? Would it be possible for you to buy one and go into business for yourself?
4. Check your PMs...

turbo tecnica · #3 02-12-2008, 02:56 PM

1) No problem. I figured that'd be the only way it'd get read.

2) I want to, but it's a lot harder than it sounds. Most of the decent shops around here are sewn up and don't need anybody else. The only places that would hire are the generic shops that are corporate (ie - Sign Design, Signs by Tomorrow, etc.) and I'd only probably get around minimum wage or a tiny bit more.

3) I plan on buying one for myself eventually, but it takes a lot more than just a plotter to run a company. Keeping stock is expensive, and I need a big ass garage bay to do it in. It's all in my future plans, but it will take a lot of money and time to accomplish. The plotter we have at my work cuts 24" rolls of stock and ran around like $3500 or something like that. I want to eventually get a digital printer but those are substantially more - usually around $20,000+

4) Replied to your PM

SCU · #4 02-12-2008, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo tecnica

3) I plan on buying one for myself eventually, but it takes a lot more than just a plotter to run a company. Keeping stock is expensive, and I need a big ass garage bay to do it in. It's all in my future plans, but it will take a lot of money and time to accomplish. The plotter we have at my work cuts 24" rolls of stock and ran around like $3500 or something like that. I want to eventually get a digital printer but those are substantially more - usually around $20,000+

Get to know all of the current customers well and take them with you. lol

turbo tecnica · #5 02-12-2008, 03:03 PM

My boss had talked a little while ago about how he wants to get out of the business sooner than later, so I thought about sticking around and buying it off him when he finally gives it up. He refuses to evolve the shop any more than it has (even though it's already somewhat primitive compared to other shops), so he'd eventually get phased out anyways. The only problem is I don't know if I can deal with his shit long enough to make it that far. There's a lot more to it than just the stuff I posted... that's only the tip of the iceberg. Don't even get me started about how he rants and raves about how the government is corrupt and there are reptilian "insiders" and how there are subliminal messages in HD shows that brainwash you, etc. The sad thing is... I'm not joking.

Orr89RocZ · #6 02-12-2008, 03:22 PM

no problems with my current job but i realllllllly neeeded to start a new job in my career area that i spent 4 years and alot of money getting the education for it. More money = faster car for me

turbo tecnica · #7 02-12-2008, 03:50 PM

Just a couple weeks ago my girlfriend and I were hunting down condos to buy... now I am wondering if I'm even going to be at the same job in a month. This blows.

Tyrant · #8 02-12-2008, 07:33 PM

kill yourself. But seriously, just bullshit a application and get a job as a manager somewhere.

ceracer33 · #9 02-12-2008, 08:10 PM

i would definately be looking around. but it seems to me that u could get a lot out of him really. think about it. if he's old and cant run the computer for shit, and its just u and him, he needs u. use that to ur advantage. talk to him about pulling taxes out like a regular employer, if he refuses, tell him u need a substantial raise. i dont know what u make, but from the sound of it he would pay u a lot more just to keep u from walking out. if u left he would be lost and lose a ton of business. thats just my $0.02. btw, im gettin boned at work to so dont feel bad.

try being the manager of a body shop that does atleast a million a year and getting paid less than any other employee at the shop. every single person employed at my shop, that i run and am over, makes more money than i do. the worst part about it is i am the "do anything" kinda person. meaning there isnt a single thing at my shop that any of my employees do that i cant do. i run the tow truck sometimes, i do all the paper work, write estimates, deal with insurance companies, order parts, clean the shop, straighten frames, any collision damage that might need to be done, and i can paint the cars too. i can basically take a job in by myself and do everything that would need to be done to the car from start to finish all by myself, no one else at that shop has that ability. i could recover it from a wreck, bring it to the shop and write the estimate, handle the insurance company on getting paid for it and getting the customer set up in a rental car, order all the parts, fix the damage, paint the car, detail it, and give it back to the customer. i plan to open my own custom painting shop for cars/motorcycles/whatever as soon as my girl gets out of college in a little over a year and starts making the money to support us until we get it up and going. so for now im just dealing with it until then.

turbo tecnica · #10 02-12-2008, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceracer33

i would definately be looking around. but it seems to me that u could get a lot out of him really. think about it. if he's old and cant run the computer for shit, and its just u and him, he needs u. use that to ur advantage. talk to him about pulling taxes out like a regular employer, if he refuses, tell him u need a substantial raise. i dont know what u make, but from the sound of it he would pay u a lot more just to keep u from walking out. if u left he would be lost and lose a ton of business. thats just my $0.02. btw, im gettin boned at work to so dont feel bad.

He could get by without me, it would just take him a LOT longer to do everything. I've streamlined the processes that I use to make different signage and lettering and whatnot, whereas he goes the long route. He couldn't afford to give me a raise right now - we are so slow right now he's taking out a home equity loan just to float him this winter. He had to cut my hours today and yesterday, as well as a few days a couple weeks ago because we were so short on work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrant

kill yourself. But seriously, just bullshit a application and get a job as a manager somewhere.

I talked to my girlfriend about seeing if they have any sort of random positions open at her work. She said she might be able to get me into a 'facilities' job... basically guys do nothing except change lightbulbs every once in a while. She works at Dunkin' Brands corporate office (Dunkin' Donuts). They have a gym and all this junk in their place and she said the facilities guys basically just go to the gym all day and then go home. Sounds like a sweet job to me.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by ceracer33

i plan to open my own custom painting shop for cars/motorcycles/whatever as soon as my girl gets out of college in a little over a year and starts making the money to support us until we get it up and going. so for now im just dealing with it until then.

You already got one customer! Haha my parts can be used for your portfolio.