Newness

Well, two big things have happened/are about to happen in the Towne House.

First, after several years of driving the white skateboard, I mean, the Ford Escort wagon, WE GOT A VAN!

My new ride is a 2004 Chevy Venture, and I love it!

We did have to bring it back to the dealer this week, because a wheel bearing went.  But other than that, it's been great!  CD player, air conditioning, two side doors (one of which is automatic), automatic rear windows...it's fantastic!

The other newness is news that I've been sitting on for a while.  My friends all know, but I couldn't make an official announcement before now.  As of 8/30, Steve will have quit Roto Rooter (hereafter know as the WORST EMPLOYER EVER) and will be an employee of Electric Boat!  They're a division of General Dynamics that makes submarines, and Steve worked there for 8 1/2 years before we got married.  He was laid off 4 months before the wedding.

Electric Boat is regular hours, consistent pay, great benefits, holidays off--we're  ecstatic!!

Steve gave his official notice to W.E.E. on Tuesday, and his last day is next Friday.

For those of you wondering why I call R.R. the W.E.E., I'll try to put it in a nutshell. For seven long years, Steve has been working for them, as an employee who earns commission.  He had to buy his own van, pay for all repairs on said van, pay for all of the gas to run said van, buy all of his own tools, all while making a small percentage of the labor costs on the jobs that he went to.  We never knew when he would have a job or not have a job.  We never knew when he would get home from work.  He had to work shifts on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, and if a holiday fell on his regular work day (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day) he had to work it with no extra pay.  We never knew what his paycheck would be--some weeks he might bring home almost $1000, other weeks $200.  Making a budget was virtually impossible.  Steve's an honest man, and he wouldn't charge people extra or tell them that they needed work done when it wasn't necessary, just to pad his own check.  And because of that, he wasn't one of the 'superstars' in the office.  And trust me W.E.E. doesn't care HOW their techs sell a job, as long as they do.

What a lot of people don't realize about W.E.E. is that while the Yellow Pages ad advertises FREE ESTIMATES, W.E.E. doesn't pay their techs ANYTHING unless YOU have them do work.  So Steve could get a call that required him to drive an hour away (in the van that he made payments on for 6 years and puts gas in and maintains and pays tolls for while he's driving)...he could spend 45 minutes diagnosing your problem, and tell you what needs to be done and how much it will cost (determined by W.E.E.--he gets the prices out of a book, and that's the price, regardless of how long it takes him to actually do the job...no extra labor fees are included if it's particularly difficult and he's there all day), and if YOU decide not to have him do the work--free estimates, right?--he gets paid NOTHING.  AND it goes on his weekly record as a "no rev" (no revenue) call, and their "no rev rate" can't be over a certain percentage, or he gets in trouble.

Now, to be sure, all of those expenses are tax deductible.  But there's a HELL of a difference between a tax deduction and money out of your pocket.  Any fool knows that.

W.E.E.  will now add up all of the money that they say Steve owes them--vacation time taken when he hadn't earned it yet (he earns like, 3 hours per week, and is allowed to "borrow" up to 40 hours before it's earned--it takes the whole year to earn the 80 hours of vacation that after SEVEN years he is entitled to AND they will charge him $22 for each hour that he has borrowed despite the fact that he makes NOWHERE near that much working for them), money for the depreciation on the machine on his truck that W.E.E. actually owns (because it's HIS fault that it's depreciated in value after SEVEN YEARS?), and money for any missing parts from his inventory--it happens.  And they will either deduct that from his last check, or they will CHARGE us, if his last check doesn't cover it.  And we will pay it, because at least then we can close this chapter of our lives.

I heard from a lot of people when the CEO of W.E.E.  was featured on Undercover Boss. Wasn't it great?  Isn't that show heartwarming?  I can tell you--that one man may be nice, but being on that show didn't change one thing about working conditions at W.E.E.  This is corporate America, and they don't give a rat's backside how their employees are actually doing.  How we had to add to credit card debt to keep food on the table and gas in Steve's van (can't go to work if the truck was on empty!) on the weeks when he didn't bring home enough to pay the bills and feed our kids.  How we never got to eat dinner as a family because who knew when Daddy would be home?  How holidays were interrupted or postponed so that he could put in a 4 hour shift (that sometimes turned into many more because he was stuck at a difficult job--no extra pay, though!).

I'm so happy that we're going to be done with W.E.E.  It's great that Steve has a skill now (not that he wasn't skilled before) and is a licensed pipefitter (he'll be getting his plumber's license after the New Year).  That's great.  But sometimes I wonder at what cost.  I do have to say, though, that God's grace has been so evident to us during these times.  We may have accrued debt, but we've always been able to feed, clothe & house our family.  And God willing, Steve's new job will allow us to get on a budget and become debt-free sooner rather than later.