Need a little advice and opinions

[FarmGirl10]

Due to a lot of work drama and being pushed around, i put my two weeks notice in about a month ago. My boss had asked me to stay an extra week because the only other reliable employee was on going to be on vacation a week after I would be gone. I decided to stay that extra week because it ended that pay period and leaving with a full paycheck seemed to be a good idea. Well that last week on two separate days there were 4 of us scheduled to work, but two people were no shows so it was down the the boss and I on those days. During this time the boss (who is also the owner) told me that her and her husband had been talking and said that they would be pretty much screwed when I and the other reliable girl leave. And the other girl is moving out of state in a couple months. After making it clear that I was still leaving on what would atleast be a semi-permanent vacation she said she would be in touch and that any time i wanted to come back just to call and she would put me back on the schedule.

Well that was just about a week ago, my plan was to go back to school, right now i can get a few of the college classes that i need to finish out my bachelors degree for free. I would have to wait a couple weeks and then be in class 5 days a week pretty much all day, so that rules out a part time job. Money isn't an issue, so that wouldn't be a problem for my husband and I.

So today i went in to pick up my last paycheck, sat around and talked to the other girl that was working. She said she missed me and really wished i would come back and gave me a heads up that i will probably be asked to come back pretty quickly. Just about then the owner walks in mentions to me that her son (who helps a lot with the business) freaked out when she mentioned that i quit. And told me that she was fed up with the other people and that she may need me to come back soon cuz she cant put up with them anymore. Not only this, but she was working on a business deal where if it worked out she wouldn't be able to be in the shop very often. Now there were only 2 of us that she trusts with the keys to the business and the other girl will be gone by this time if the new stuff works out. So that leaves just me, and she made it clear that she needs me to come back.

My husband and I are hoping to move in about a year, so I'm trying to come up with the best idea for the next year. Right now I'm trying to go through the pros and cons on going back to school or back to my old job. So please put out any ideas, thoughts, or opinions out on this subject you have because right now its a toss up.

 

[M5farm]

Due to a lot of work drama and being pushed around, i put my two weeks notice in about a month ago. My boss had asked me to stay an extra week because the only other reliable employee was on going to be on vacation a week after I would be gone. I decided to stay that extra week because it ended that pay period and leaving with a full paycheck seemed to be a good idea. Well that last week on two separate days there were 4 of us scheduled to work, but two people were no shows so it was down the the boss and I on those days. During this time the boss (who is also the owner) told me that her and her husband had been talking and said that they would be pretty much screwed when I and the other reliable girl leave. And the other girl is moving out of state in a couple months. After making it clear that I was still leaving on what would atleast be a semi-permanent vacation she said she would be in touch and that any time i wanted to come back just to call and she would put me back on the schedule.

Well that was just about a week ago, my plan was to go back to school, right now i can get a few of the college classes that i need to finish out my bachelors degree for free. I would have to wait a couple weeks and then be in class 5 days a week pretty much all day, so that rules out a part time job. Money isn't an issue, so that wouldn't be a problem for my husband and I.

So today i went in to pick up my last paycheck, sat around and talked to the other girl that was working. She said she missed me and really wished i would come back and gave me a heads up that i will probably be asked to come back pretty quickly. Just about then the owner walks in mentions to me that her son (who helps a lot with the business) freaked out when she mentioned that i quit. And told me that she was fed up with the other people and that she may need me to come back soon cuz she cant put up with them anymore. Not only this, but she was working on a business deal where if it worked out she wouldn't be able to be in the shop very often. Now there were only 2 of us that she trusts with the keys to the business and the other girl will be gone by this time if the new stuff works out. So that leaves just me, and she made it clear that she needs me to come back.

My husband and I are hoping to move in about a year, so I'm trying to come up with the best idea for the next year. Right now I'm trying to go through the pros and cons on going back to school or back to my old job. So please put out any ideas, thoughts, or opinions out on this subject you have because right now its a toss up.

Since you are asking for opinions you are considering the job. So here is what I think.
1 year until you move and money is not the problem. Bank all of your paychecks for the next year take as many night classes or online as you can get and in the end you will have a nice egg and your education and can start your career. And you coming back to work and forgoing your college plans is worth more money. Ask for a good raise if they refuse you do your original plan. Win Win

 

[dun]

right now its a toss up.

That's about as good a way to make decision as any. Te majority of the complicated decisions I've made in life have been decided by a coin toss. Whichever way you decide there will be times when you will wish you had done the opposite and times that you'll be really glad you made the choice you did.

 

[FarmGirl10]

Since you are asking for opinions you are considering the job. So here is what I think.
1 year until you move and money is not the problem. Bank all of your paychecks for the next year take as many night classes or online as you can get and in the end you will have a nice egg and your education and can start your career. And you coming back to work and forgoing your college plans is worth more money. Ask for a good raise if they refuse you do your original plan. Win Win

The only issue with night classes and online classes, is those wouldn't be free for me. As dumb as that is, i just have to deal with that. So that just leaves me with an either/or decision.

I thought about asking for a raise, but to get me to come back she is already offering me the best schedule of anyone working there. Would asking for a raise in commission (cuz thats how i get paid) by about 5%, be kicking her while she is down? Or am i just to worried about other people versus being worried about myself?

 

[FarmGirl10]

right now its a toss up.

That's about as good a way to make decision as any. Te majority of the complicated decisions I've made in life have been decided by a coin toss. Whichever way you decide there will be times when you will wish you had done the opposite and times that you'll be really glad you made the choice you did.

Very true. I have the tendency to over think everything, thats why i came here for help. :nod: My husbands hasn't been to helpful on this subject, his response pretty much has been "whatever makes u happiest." I love him for that, but thats not very helpful in a toss up situation. :lol:

 

[slick4591]

I know you said money wasn't an issue, but I think when you don't have it it might be. There's an awful lot of unemployed college degrees out there right now and you'd still be ahead even paying you own tuition.

 

[M5farm]

Since you are asking for opinions you are considering the job. So here is what I think.
1 year until you move and money is not the problem. Bank all of your paychecks for the next year take as many night classes or online as you can get and in the end you will have a nice egg and your education and can start your career. And you coming back to work and forgoing your college plans is worth more money. Ask for a good raise if they refuse you do your original plan. Win Win

The only issue with night classes and online classes, is those wouldn't be free for me. As dumb as that is, i just have to deal with that. So that just leaves me with an either/or decision.

I thought about asking for a raise, but to get me to come back she is already offering me the best schedule of anyone working there. Would asking for a raise in commission (cuz thats how i get paid) by about 5%, be kicking her while she is down? Or am i just to worried about other people versus being worried about myself?

NO- you said she needs you-you have already told them you didn't need them by leaving. Ask and if she says no then there is no other decision to be made - go to school and be happy with the outcome :2cents: .

 

[M5farm]

if you were that valuable to them money is not the objection. the more money you make (commission) the more they make again Win- Win

 

[pdfangus]

sounds like she is expecting you to run the business for her in her absence....
sounds like a move up to managment to me....
sounds like and increase in compensation with a corresponding increase in authority....like to ability to chasitise and release slacker employees who live for drama.
either take the bull by the horns and negotiate from a position of strength or go on to school.
her problem is not your problem unless you take it on...she created the problems that caused you to want to leave....is that atmosphere going to change? sounds like more work on less people from an outfit with hinky managment to me.....

 

[Dave]

sounds like she is expecting you to run the business for her in her absence....
sounds like a move up to managment to me....
sounds like and increase in compensation with a corresponding increase in authority....like to ability to chasitise and release slacker employees who live for drama.
either take the bull by the horns and negotiate from a position of strength or go on to school.
her problem is not your problem unless you take it on...she created the problems that caused you to want to leave....is that atmosphere going to change? sounds like more work on less people from an outfit with hinky managment to me.....

I agree with PDF on this. She wants you to come back. You left because of drama and the other emplyees that you had to deal with. If she wants you back, she needs to give you the authority to deal with the problems and should pay you for doing it. Otherwise go to school and leave her to deal with her own problems.

 

[FarmGirl10]

Well, you guys have helped me make one decision so far, if I go back I am asking for a raise. If she doesn't give me one, she doesn't need me as bad as she makes it seem. And she wasn't even aware that the majority of my clients were going to follow to a different salon if that was what i was going to do.

pdfangus - You are right, the management is done poorly. Other than the owner there are really only two of us willing to work. We always have to pick up everyone elses slack. Stay late, come in early, lose our days off, and lose are lunch breaks. Being a reliable employee has gotten me walked all over. She is making it sound like if i come back it will just be the three of us, which wouldn't be an issue for me. Then i would be aware that its just pretty much two of us instead of getting there and having it sprung on me. Heck even when they are there they never work, just sit there and talk crap about anyone who isn't at work that day. But the one girl has already been fired twice and the boss keeps bringing her back and the other girl ditches out whenever she feels like it or calls in "sick" just because she doesn't feel like working. :bang: And nothing is being done about it. So i highly doubt she will actually fire them, so i don't know if things would actually change. That's the part that worries me about going back to that job. :???: I actually had one of my regulars tell me on my second to last day that he was glad to see me smiling again, because it had been 2 months since he had last seen me smile.

I do know that until that other business deal she is working on would go through (December/January time frame) I woudln't actually have any more authority. So getting my coworkers to do their jobs would still be left up to the owner.

 

[cow pollinater]

With the additional information you gave us I'd say either walk away or agree to help when YOUR time allows for premium wages and then move on as fast as possible. If school doesn't work out for you you can go back to that same line of work somewhere else where the conditions will allow you to be happy. If they've let the good employees be that unhappy while they were in charge, I doubt they'd be much better employers if you had complete control of the operation... anything you needed from them to run the place would be lacking and it would reflect poorly on you and you're a quality person so that would make you miserable.
I say run while you still can. Their business problems were created by them and aren't your problem to fix.

 

[Ouachita]

Farmgirl,
Sounds to me like a good problem to have. Not that it makes the decision any easier, but you have obviously proven your value as an employee. Only advice I can give you, and this is based on personal experience; don't let sympathy for their predicament influence your decision. It's great that they are honest in telling you how valuable you are, and that you will be missed, and that things won't run smoothly if you leave. They are business owners, maybe genuinely good people too, but they are still looking at the bottom line as they should. Just saying; don't let emotion dictate your decision. Alot of regret has resulted from it. Go outside tonight, stare up at the stars, and think about what you want for you and your husband (and any future additions to your family ), and when you want to start working on these goals. It sound like you have goals worthy of much consideration, and although this may seem like a relatively minor decision in the overall scheme of life, very small and seemly insignificant decisions have often resulted in a complete change of where a person ends up in 5, 10, 50 years. Good luck to you and husband :tiphat: And don't feel so rushed to make a decision. I'll add there is no reason to avoid asking for a raise. They can either say yes or no. No harm in letting an employer know that you feel you bring more to the table. You are not kicking them while they "are down". You are just offering them the opportunity to keep you on by reasonable negotiating. Again, good luck, and let us know how the star gazing goes

 

[slick4591]

Is this one of those franchise salons? Around here hairdressers rent their chair and don't have a boss.

 

[cowmilker]

You left for a reason. If you go back, you'll be going back to the same crap. Is that worth more money? Free classes to finish your degree sounds like a good deal to me. Your boss has a problem that is not yours. Good luck. Craig

 

[FarmGirl10]

Is this one of those franchise salons? Around here hairdressers rent their chair and don't have a boss.

No it is not, if that was the case the management issues would have been fixed by now. Around here most of the salons are commission based, with a few that are booth rent. But with booth rent u have to work your way up to that since u have to provide your own clients. Commission ranges in the area from 40% - 60%, women based salons top out at 50% and on the men's side 60% commission is what is normal. I thought about taking my clients and doing booth rent at the only barber shop that has this as an option, but cant justify it if we leave next summer.


This has really helped. I left for a reason, and I need to quit forgetting that.