The other 1%

[sofadoc]

99% of my customers are GREAT. So anytime that I come on here and rant about one, just remember, I'm talking a precious few.
They do seem to come in bunches, though.
Today, a lady brought in a small piece for a yardage estimate. Just as I was telling her to get 3 yards, my dog "George" started yelping loudly in obvious pain.
I told her that I was going to have to rush the dog to the vet. With me standing at the front door, ready to lock it, she absolutely stood her ground.  She refused to leave, saying "Wait a minute. Can't you write that down?" She went on to say that she had come a long way, and needed a yardage estimate written down so she can remember it.
I must admit that I snapped at her "My God! You mean you can't remember a simple number like 3?"
I guess I won't be getting that job.
OK, that's 2 knucklehead customers in 2 days. That should be my quota for the year.
It turned out that George has a bulging disk in his neck. The vet gave him some pain meds.

[Jim101]

Sorry to hear that George was suffering.  Hope he's doing better now.  Get well soon George!

The customer likely would have turned out to be difficult.  Good riddance to her anyway.

Whenever I hear about animals not doing well they really do need be the priority.  

They cant' tell us what's wrong with them and they give us humans so much, and ask for so little in return, that when they do ask, like when yelping in pain, that it's best to act quickly...  Even at the risk of losing a customer.

Our shop cat, Jack, got into a fight with a raccoon recently and folks in the neighboring shops all chipped in to help pay the vet bill.

Seems Jack is not just our shop cat but many places "Shop Cat" too.   ...and he keeps the bugs away! 

Seems he's still working on the raccoons! :P

Jim

[gene]

If all upholsterers' were honest, and all other trades people were honest, and if that was every customers' experience, i.e., honest people, then that lady probably would have trusted that you would say "3 yards" tomorrow.

An upholsterer died a few years ago now. I got one of his customers. She was upset that his death interfered with her getting some chairs finished for a party she was having. Hey, it wasn't her fault that the guy died. So why did she have to deal with the inconvenience of it happening?

Animals, as in pets, mine or yours, are windows to peoples' souls. If a person couldn't care less that an animal, a pet, is suffering, he or she beats their kids and would have no problem stepping over, or on, a homeless person in order to be first in line to use their "buy one get one free" coupon for boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. These people will not go to hell. Satan won't have them. They are too revolting even for her.

There's the 80/20 rule. 80% of our time is spent with customers who provide us with 20% of our income. I find this to be somewhat true.

gene

[kodydog]

Yeah sofadoc. next time I get a PITA customer heres what I'm going to say. "Sorry I can't help you but I know this guy in Texas that will set you right up."

I can just hear her telling the next upholsterer, he was so rude, he wouldn't even give me a written estimate :'(

Hope your dogs OK. We had a 5 year old Schnauzer who blew out a vertebrae in his neck. Took him to UF vet collage and they operated on it. Made it good as new. He lived another 9 years. 

[sofadoc]

Hope your dogs OK. We had a 5 year old Schnauzer who blew out a vertebrae in his neck. Took him to UF vet collage and they operated on it. Made it good as new. He lived another 9 years.

The vet did say that if the problem becomes chronic, then "decisions" would have to be made.
George is already about 70 human years old. I know that if I needed an expensive surgery right now, my wife would have a tough time deciding whether to spend the money, or just have me "put down" ;D

[SteveMoke]

Get well soon George

[sofadoc]

If a person couldn't care less that an animal, a pet, is suffering, he or she beats their kids

Speaking of beating your kids, I guess by now, everyone has seen the "Judge Adams beats daughter" video on youtube.
I never found it necessary to give my daughters more than a firm pat on the rear. But I've seen some other kids that I thought "could use a GOOD lickin".
But how does a parent/child relationship degenerate to the point of the one in the video?

[JuneC]

That video is really disgusting.  And sad.

Bad parenting - in the early years, I believe.  If you wait till they're 13, you're waaaaay too late.  My daughter never gave me a minute's trouble through her teens and I never had to lay a hand on her.  Now mind you, I can bellow like someone with lungs twice my size and scared the crap out of her on a few occasions.  As they say, you "pick your fights".  Funny, she's now 26 and just a few months ago revealed to me that in high school among her friends, I was the "cool Mom".  Yet I never gave her an inch as far as drugs, drinking, driving, going to wild parties or concerts, or anything else that could have resulted in long-term problems.

As for the crazy customers, I just give them totally outrageous quotes or impossibly long lead times.  They usually just go away.  I have enough aggravation with rusted out/frozen nuts on boat seats.  I don't need more from the owners.  

June

[mike802]

Speaking of beating your kids, I guess by now, everyone has seen the "Judge Adams beats daughter" video on youtube.
I never found it necessary to give my daughters more than a firm pat on the rear. But I've seen some other kids that I thought "could use a GOOD lickin".
But how does a parent/child relationship degenerate to the point of the one in the video?

I think it is important to discipline your kids before you lose your temper, if at all possible.  It is unfortunate for the Judge that the video only shows a small snap shot of the whole situation.  I learned as a child if I just bent over and took my punishment it was not so bad, but if I did like this girl did, continued to disobey and divert any attempt to get a spanking, yea it got worse.  My oldest son was very defiant as a child, I started out disciplining him with spankings, he would just stand there and give me a cold stair, not even flinch.  I said to my wife, "ok this is not going to work with this one." and we started using time out.  He finally said "can I just get a spanking and get it over with?"  I thought hallelujah this is going to work and told him "no, you can just sit there and think about what you did and why it was wrong."  My youngest son was so gentle and easy going I hardly ever had to discipline him.  Funny thing is as they got older my youngest has given me more worry and trouble than my oldest.

[bobbin]

He must be a "hangin judge". 

Bingo, June.  Low expectations for proper behavior and an unwillingness to "go to the mat" when boundries are  overstepped and firm discipline is required.  Setting the boundries and teaching by example set parents up to "win" when the going gets tough (and it will!).  And that begins when children are young and is reinforced throughout their time at home, and even after.

I never thought my parents were particularly "strict", but they actually were.  I was not permitted to be sullen or rude to adults, I was required to help around the house, and when I stepped out of line I was called on it.  But as soon as it was over, they dropped it and never wasted time "holding a grudge".  My friends all liked my parents because they were funny and there was no question about where they stood when it came to polite and proper behavior.

I have only one recollection of a spanking and it was a goodie, lol.  I can only imagine how rotten I must've been to push Mum enough to do it.  But she didn't miss a beat; I received two warnings and that was is it ("baseball rules" were the norm).  I don't think I probably ever acted out that way again.   ::)

(I don't really trust people who don't have time for animals.  Is George better now?)

[sofadoc]

I learned as a child if I just bent over and took my punishment it was not so bad, but if I did like this girl did, continued to disobey and divert any attempt to get a spanking, yea it got worse.

In this particular situation, I find it hard to believe that that things would've gone easier on her if she had just bent over and took it. Trying to avoid being struck repeatedly with a belt is more of a natural reflex than disobedience.
And I don't recall ever having to shout "I'm going to beat you into f___ing submission !" while wailing away at my children with a belt.

I think it is important to discipline your kids before you lose your temper, if at all possible. 

Exactly. But administering physical punishment while maintaining calmness is difficult for most, impossible for some. If you can't do it, you should choose some other form of discipline.

George is doing fine. The vet was optimistic that he won't have any more episodes any time soon.

[JuneC]

In this particular situation, I find it hard to believe that that things would've gone easier on her if she had just bent over and took it. Trying to avoid being struck repeatedly with a belt is more of a natural reflex than disobedience.
And I don't recall ever having to shout "I'm going to beat you into f___ing submission !" while wailing away at my children with a belt.

George is doing fine. The vet was optimistic that he won't have any more episodes any time soon.

I agree, Sofa.  He was out of control in a rage and she was defending herself in the only way she knew how.  I couldn't watch the whole video.  He was not "checking" his swing at all.  What's so sad is that this girl and her dad missed out on such a terrific opportunity to have a wonderful parent/child relationship.  One of the things I will value above all else when I breathe my last breath is the relationship I had with my Dad.  It was so very rewarding for me as I'm sure it was for him. 

Happy to hear George is doing better.

June

[mike802]

In this particular situation, I find it hard to believe that that things would've gone easier on her if she had just bent over and took it. Trying to avoid being struck repeatedly with a belt is more of a natural reflex than disobedience.
And I don't recall ever having to shout "I'm going to beat you into f___ing submission !" while wailing away at my children with a belt.

Don't really know, but I would like to think so.  Administrating punishment before one loses his or her temper helps keep the lips from running.  Verbal and emotional abuse can be just if not more scaring than physical abuse.  Unfortunately some people talk like that during normal conversation, I have a neighbor who cant say one sentence without stringing several four letter words together.

Exactly. But administering physical punishment while maintaining calmness is difficult for most, impossible for some. If you can't do it, you should choose some other form of discipline.

I never had trouble with it, but I am slow to anger.  If I was ever to angry, I would walk away and cool down first.  I think if you cant do it you shouldn't be a parent, but by the time you figure that out it's to late. Maybe some anger management classes would help.  Does anyone know how this video got posted on line?  Did the daughter do it? It looks like it happened seven years ago, was this thing lurking out there and all the sudden got noticed, or was it posted recently?

[mike802]

The trouble with being parents is you start out totally inexperienced, you probably won't make the same mistakes your parents did, but instead will make enough of your own.  Hopefully your parents made more good parenting decisions than bad ones and you have a good back ground to draw from.  When my boys were growing up, kids were coming up missing left and right, not a day went by that you didn't hear about someones child being abducted.  My wife was frantic, she just knew ours would disappear, needless to say we kept a close watch and a short leash.  My son's would say we were strict, but we didn't think so, but other kids were able to come and go as they pleased, without so much as telling their parents were they were, we thought this was so neglectful. But all our kids buddies were doing it, so we looked like the heavies.

What's so sad is that this girl and her dad missed out on such a terrific opportunity to have a wonderful parent/child relationship.

You are so right June, but it takes a kid willing and wanting to have that relationship and a parent also.  They say that children who are not emotionally bonded with their parents at a young age can never bond.  I don't know it that is true, but my mother has taken in foster kids and I can say they defiantly have some deep seated issues, maybe it's true.  Sad thing is all children should be loved by adoring parents who will remember that wonderful day when they first came into this world and touched their hearts.  Something to dream and pray for I guess.  Maybe this video will make some remember.

[sofadoc]

Does anyone know how this video got posted on line?  Did the daughter do it? It looks like it happened seven years ago, was this thing lurking out there and all the sudden got noticed, or was it posted recently?

The daughter is now 22. She never posted the video until now. She said that he continues to harass her. His version is that she's been holding the video over his head all this time for monetary gains. I've heard theories that the statute of limitations has run out, so she can no longer file charges. So now he has cut her off. Hence, ergo.....the video.
Like father, like daughter? Maybe.

My youngest daughter is 21. She works at an office 2 blocks away from my shop. She comes over for lunch every day. We talk, we laugh. We take turns explaining "The Argyle Sweater"  to each other.
Some days I "get" it, some days she "gets" it.  
My 24 year old daughter comes over every evening for supper, and tells us about her day.
I guess they both have one thing in common, they both know where to get a free meal :D