It has long been said that the devil is in the details. As a grunt I learned that to survive you had to pay attention to the details. The smallest change in your environment that goes un-noticed can kill you. That has always stuck with me. Another thing I've learned is there are times it is wise to keep your mouth shut and play the cards close to the chest. Both of these are serving me well right now. I do believe the boss is about to be in a good deal of trouble. Mostly of his own making.
First the part not of his making. The new girl that is leaving at the end of the year reported today that she has come down with C-19. So far, the symptoms are mild and she says the worst thing is she can't smell anything. I don't know if she got the shot or not. I'll check in with her later to find out. She says she is still able to work, but needs to make sure she masks and gloves at all times. I get the feeling that the boss isn't going to be happy with that idea. That would mean that his son and I are the only two available locksmiths in Gainesville, unless he decides to go back out on the road. He might just do that to make sure we don't lose any business while Stephanie is sick. He might not. Time will tell.
NOW, the part of his own making. I've said that I knew he was sending the lions share of the work to his son and Stephanie by the job numbers on the dispatches we get. For example the second job I got today was #715. The last job was #726. I got NO jobs in-between those two. Granted some of those jobs were in Ocala, but you know not all of them were. Well, today sonny boy put the icing on the cake. Some customers pay in cash, most by credit. Each week we have to make the cash deposit to the bank. I always make it as soon as possible, waiting only for a report the manager sends to me saying how much I brought in that week, how much was credit and how much cash. Not everyone is so dependable. I make my deposits on Tuesday as soon as I get the report. Other people may not make them until Friday. Earlier today the manager sent out a notice that all deposits needed to be made by the end of the day. I reminded him mine was already made. A little later the son sent a copy of his report BY GROUP TEXT to show he hadn't had any cash jobs for the past week. The thing is my report showed I had a slow week and both cash and credit totaled a little under $600. The report accidently shared by the son showed he had no cash jobs, BUT his total for the week was a little under $1800.
Add to that the fact that during a recent tele-conference we had the manager was talking about mistakes that had been made because of the new system were are using. Some things that should have been listed as profits were being listed as expenses. So the techs weren't getting their full pay, but that was now corrected and everyone who was owed money for various jobs would find it in their next check, which was today. He spoke of three techs. Two in Gainesville and one in Ocala. Each of them would find well over $150 added to their checks. While these lucky techs included the son and Stephanie, yours truly was left out. Why? Because the expensive commercial jobs don't go to me.
I would say that by the end of the year, the boss is going to be short two locksmiths here in Gainesville. I'm filing for SS in Jan. and I have no problem washing dishes of bagging groceries to add to the SS. Shoot, I might even make contact with some of the folks I still know in the dental lab business for a part time job. The main thing is I need to keep my mouth shut until the first of the new year. After that, anything goes.