On Friday Liz was "laid off with no cause," a term that means exactly what it says and no more. This action was taken by interim General Manager Michelle Schry, who is here for 9 weeks as we await the Jan. 26 arrival of Troy Bond, our newly hired GM. When she told Liz, 44 hours earlier, that she was about to be laid off, the reason given was that "your work is non-essential in the operation of a natural foods grocery store."Huh...
It takes a lot... no, an extraordinary amount of balls for an interim(!) Manager to let a 25 yr. veteran go during a managerial transition period. Poor form and a very poor business decision, in my opinion. I'm very surprised that the Board would stand behind that action.
Part of the work I do is to convince my clients that their service model sucks. You can probably imagine how well that goes over - no one wants to hear that their baby isn't perfect. But this... I'd actually considered applying for the GM position at the Co-op - my resume isn't a perfect match, but you never know, right? - but after seeing how the Board rolled over for a fucking interim Manager on a nine week temp schedule... pffft! I wouldn't trust them to water my plants.
And while we're on the subject (you knew this was coming, right?), I've heard all kinds of horror stories, and patiently waited to play my part in trying to fix some of them, about how the Co-op operates. There's "We're a different kind of business!", and there's slack-jawed yokelism that lets your business pull itself under so you can maintain your bike trail cred. And all the patchouli and St. John's Wort in the world isn't going to outshine common sense and fundamental business practices. And the Co-op is a business. Just ask Michelle Schry.
I have to run an errand - I'll have more, in a bit.
3 comments:
Outrageous. Dismissing someone of 25 years experience? That's just a special kind of hemp-flavored callousness.
I wonder if she was the highest paid employee... I am seeing this happen alot. Those with the most tenure are those being paid the higher wage and ultimately being "let go because they are not needed anymore" - they have nothing else so that is the reason they give. "Thanks for your 25 years of service but you are no longer needed" WTF???
This is proof that no one is safe in today's business world. Loyalty and hard work mean nothing to the corporate bastards.
Good points, all
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