It just keeps getting better.
My husband's car is not a total loss. It apparently can be repaired, however it will take up to 4 weeks. He's currently renting a Toyota Echo, which isn't an awful car, but it feels very small to him. I have to admit, he does look a little silly getting in and out of it. It fits me just fine, but then, I'm not six-four.
I got my car back. It looks great. All the smashed stuff is gone and they matched the paint perfectly. I finally ended up getting $570 from the insurance people -- after a long, drawn-out conversation, he admitted that his client's story sounded pretty lame, but unfortunately it was not his job to judge blame by the credibility of the players. I can live with this.
I had a pretty good interview with a lighting company on July 1st. They called me the very next day to see if I would come back and speak with the CEO, and we set up a second interview for July 8th. All went very well (although I did get that WORD again) and the CEO told me he'd email me an offer by the end of the day.
The offer was laughable.
It was less than $35K a year. Their insurance is an HMO plan, with no PPO or other options, and for a recovered cancer patient, that is completely unacceptable. They do have a 401K plan, but it's set up as employee contributions only, no employer contributions at all (but they're hoping to be able to change that in the future). They wanted me to run half of the entire rental division of the whole company, plus be in charge of inventory management, as well as tech support.
They were right. I am overqualified for that. Heck, I could get a job at Whole Foods checking out groceries for the same money, better benefits, stock options, and a lot less stress. Are they kidding?!
So I did the only thing I could -- I drafted a very careful counter-offer. I gently informed them that the current going rate for an experienced lighting rental agent is about $40-45K, and if inventory management and tech support is added, the average rate goes up to almost $60K. But I told them I would be willing to go for $55K including benefits (meaning I would have to get more money since I'd have to go out and get my own health insurance). I made it very clear and concise and to the point.
They sent me back an email saying that they would "discuss it with the owners" and that's the last I heard. I don't expect to hear from them again.
AND the icing on the cake was a letter from the Unemployment Office informing me that The Studio has filed an appeal for my claim. This means that someone actually had to sit down and draft a letter saying that they want to revoke my benefits. The real shaft on this one is that if their appeal goes through, I have to PAY BACK whatever benefit money I have already received. They just won't leave me alone.
So now I have to wait for another letter informing me when the hearing will be. Then I have to go to the hearing and convince the judge that I was fired without cause and that I deserve to continue receiving unemployment insurance benefits while I frantically hunt for a new job.
Cheap people suck.
There was a bright spot in all of this -- my husband was at our favorite sushi place the other night picking up dinner, and he ran into the ex-Human Resources Manager from The Studio (she went on leave some time ago due to health problems). Funny coincidence... she had just gotten a call that very day from the Corporate HR Manager of The Studio (the very same one that officially fired me) regarding her "separation" papers. Seems her leave of absence has gone longer than is allowed and so she is being terminated.
During the call, she apparently asked Mr. Corporate HR Manager what happened regarding MY termination. He told her that I was fired for making inappropriate comments to customers and vendors, and that it was my third reprimand, so they fired me. That's funny... that isn't what they told me when I was in the process of being fired. This is very interesting. And by the way, the very fact that Mr. Corporate was discussing my termination with someone outside of the situation is a very good reason for me to sue them. Ms. Ex-HR Manager called me later in the evening and we talked for a little while. We plan on having lunch and she said she could give me pointers on how to ace my Unemployment Hearing so I won't have any interruption in benefits. Bless her.
And for the record, no customer or vendor has ever made any complaint whatsoever about me. The only "attitude issues" in my employee records are from the fat creep of an IT Manager that got me fired in the first place. In fact, every single reprimand I have ever received from that company was related to a complaint HE made. Oh, I really am beginning to hate those people.
Anyone know a good attorney? I think I need to start this legal ball rolling before it gets too late.
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