When do I panic?

I am a mortgage processor for a national bank.  Not a big bank.  Not a well known bank.  But a bank which has always had a very good attitude towards its employees.  And Wednesday at 5 pm, the government shut us down.   I guess we just weren’t too big to fail.  I know there is a lot involved that I do not know, and a lot that is behind the scenes that I do not understand.  But I also know that come the end of this month, there will be a lot of people on the unemployment lines that were not at the beginning of the month.   And it pisses me off that the little banks that need a LITTLE help (not that we’re not profitable, but that we’re just not profitable enough for the regulating agencies…not that we didn’t have sound business practices, but the economy changed that definition…not that we were making bad loans or being a fraudulent bank), but those banks that need a little leeway to get back into the good are given exactly SQUAT in support from the federal regulators, but those banks that are too big to fail are bowed to.   I am sorry, if you’re too big to fail, then sure…let’s get you going again, and then let’s break your sorry ass up and make it so that if THIS division is losing money and can’t stand up, then THIS division can be put out of my misery!   Our bank was not allowed by the regulators to give any employees raises this year, not even COLA.   And the week after I read that, I read that BofA was going to give each of their employees big bonuses.   (Where did those bonuses come from?)

My company was good.  My company was profitable.  And my company has been shut down.  And I think that is wrong.   BofA deserved to be shut down, but in the country’s best interest it couldn’t be.   But because it wouldn’t cripple the country if my company is shut down, they seem to take out all of their frustration on the little guy—who they can attack.   That is just not right.

I don’t know when my last day is…but I do know I’m being laid off.  I’m much more fortunate than most people in my situation (and I know a lot of people are in my situation—and not just from my company).   One of the people from my company has been striving to find a place for everyone who works under him.  And with his time in this industry, he’s made a lot of contacts.  He’s working for us, and that is a nice thing.  I think I even have a landing pad.  I don’t know the details of it, which is pretty much my life right now.  I don’t know anything.  When my last day is, what the package is where I am going, when I have to report there or lose the opportunity (if it is a choice of severance package or recurring paycheck, I’m personally taking the paycheck.)   I’d rather have both.  And I am going to do the best I can for the customers and my company while I am there.  The customers deserve good service regardless (they could jump ship, but they are trusting us with their loan), and the company has been good to me.  I don’t want to kick it while it is down. 

But I am looking forward to the time when my life is back under MY control!

Random Rant

Some companies should not be entitled to do business. 

Probably a bit of a harsh statement, but I don’t feel that it is untrue.  Here are my feelings regarding things:

1.  If you cannot afford to pay your employees Federal minimum wage, then you cannot afford to be in business.  Too bad, so sad, sucks for you.  But honestly, restaurants are making a killing off of the backs of their servers by paying them slave wages at $2.13/hour.   That might be fine if the restaurant is a busy one, well-managed and able to provide a decent crowd reliably.  However, restaurants which are slow, poorly managed, and unvisited are not paying their staff, and they are not bringing in the customers to ensure that the tips are sufficient to justify it.  Tips should be considered ‘commission’ for a job well done, not part of the hourly wage of servers.  So truly, if you can’t pay your employees minimum wage, then you don’t deserve to be in business.

2.  If you, as a customer, go out to eat in an area where you know that the restaurants are scumbags who pay their servers $2.13/hour, and you cannot afford to leave a tip if you get decent service…then you cannot afford to go out to eat.  No, customers should not have to pay the salary of the server, not when they’ve already paid for their meal…and in a perfect world they would not.  However, we don’t live in a perfect world.  We live in a world where servers are treated like slaves by the restaurants and you, the customer, are basically paying their living salary.  If the server treats you well and provides good service, then leave a decent tip.   And a tip to some of you cheapskates:  a tip is not a religious pamphlet telling the server about your religion of choice.  This is not the place to proselytize.  If you want to impress the server about your religion…leave the pamphlet and a 40% tip.   That will make them think a lot more highly of you and your religion than leaving a pamphlet AS your tip.

3.  Any employer who cancels their employees’ insurance without notifying them is no longer going to receive my business (if I know about it).  So several restaurants that I enjoy are now on my “no, I’m afraid I don’t eat at that chain” list.

Yes, there is a reason for this rant.