Someone Talk some sanity to me

[Breedlove]

I was riffed last June from a very large oil company given a nice package and all of the bonus's that come . My wife still works and refuses to quit until she reaches 62 , one more year . Now I am financially fine but here is where I think I messed up .

I was talkin to a friend about a job for my son and he was not interested in my son but offered me a job to rebuild his supply chain system . This is my background so I said ok ( WHY DID I SAY OK ) . Last week was my first week , I see all of the same petty BS that I wanted away from and now I am saying why did I do this . When you have been away from this for a while you realize how bad working for a living can be hell . Most people at this company work 55 hours a week . I come and go when I want and you see the people looking at me like what is this all about . Believe me once you try being retired for a while it is bad to go back . I don't know how long this will last .

 

[Nemo2]

Some people are just slow learners, is all.

 

[CaliKid]

The nice thing is you are in control. You can leave if you want to. Don't overdo it, don't get involved with the petty BS, and just stash a few more bucks away.

 

[Breedlove]

And what everyone says is correct , I no longer want to live by deadlines and that is what working is about . But also to take a professional job at our age you feel it has to be done right ........... I don't know how to just say Oh well !

 

[brewer12345]

Come and go as you please and ignore the nonsense. When you get sick of it, quite. Pretty easy...

 

[ERD50]

... I don't know how long this will last .

I'm confused. You don't like it there, you don't need the money, right? What's keeping you there?

Do you need our permission to leave and enjoy your retirement? No.

Does your 'friend' have compromising pictures that he will show your wife if you give notice? Doesn't seem likely.

Just tell your friend you are ready to move on to full retirement, thank him for the opportunity, and if needed to maintain a good relationship, work out some kind of mutually agreeable exit plan.

I don't see a problem. Is there one?

-ERD50

 

[brucethebroker]

Since you are working again.....Take a few minutes to cut and paste the warning signs of a heart attack. Use large font and bold type. Copy a dozen times and post around your work area and in your car. Make it a habit to read it 30 or more times daily. Make sure you have a copy of your RX and next of kin in your wallet. And always wear clean underwear. It is good to be prepared.....

 

[Ronstar]

Tell your friend that the job is not what you expected, give him notice, and quit.

 

[Dd852]

All good advice above - my only tweak would be to give yourself a sense of having completed something. Spend a bit of time to fashion a six month plan for the job (or three) - with realistic deliverables. Then show that to your friend and say "I'm really honored you gave me this chance. I'm not prepared for a second career, but I am willing to help. This is what I will do in three months (Or six) - at the end of that, I will walk away. " One of the things on your list should be helping him find a successor. That's win/win - you have a short term consultancy; you burn up some of the time your wife is working; you help your friend; you escape without feeling part of a new machine.

 

[Sunset]

Maybe give it a couple of more weeks just to be sure you really don't like it, after all it's a change and that may be part of the issue, you are breaking a routine.

I do think with your wife working, why not work ?

You could certainly stash the extra cash into a ROTH or go to Europe on your vacation (maybe take an extra unpaid week or two).

 

[socca]

That's win/win - you have a short term consultancy; you burn up some of the time your wife is working; you help your friend; you escape without feeling part of a new machine.

Good advice. It would be nice for your departure to minimize the damage to your friend's business.

 

[Dash man]

All good advice above - my only tweak would be to give yourself a sense of having completed something. Spend a bit of time to fashion a six month plan for the job (or three) - with realistic deliverables. Then show that to your friend and say "I'm really honored you gave me this chance. I'm not prepared for a second career, but I am willing to help. This is what I will do in three months (Or six) - at the end of that, I will walk away. " One of the things on your list should be helping him find a successor. That's win/win - you have a short term consultancy; you burn up some of the time your wife is working; you help your friend; you escape without feeling part of a new machine.

+1

 

[Bigdawg]

tell him you will train your son for 6-9 months to be your replacement. Same pay. You can give a portion to your son then he can have the full pay when you leave in 6-9 months.

 

[kcowan]

What I would say is that you are there for a good time but not a long time. Don't put up with the bullshit. Call them on it. You have nothing to lose.

I did this and once people realized I was serious (it took a few weeks), things started to become fun.

 

[pb4uski]

Remember, there are some important differences between you and the others that work 55 hours a week.... they are working their way up the ladder and you are simply lending a friend your expertise for a while to help him rebuild his supply chain system. (I presume that you only intend to do this for a while and then retire).

Hence, while you want to do a good, solid job to earn your keep and help out your friend you are not particularly interested in going above and beyond the call to get promoted... in fact, you're trying to work your way OUT of a job.

Would it be better/easier if you were a consultant rather than an employee?

 

[Breedlove]

Week 2 yes , just a side note the salary I am making is way below what my son gets I screwed up to help a friend . My son is an accountant and is a controller for a medical company ( praise god )
I have never seen a company in such bad shape , if they were public the CEO would be in jail . They do an inventory but it is just based on strictly dollar value , no inventory has ever been input . If they are short the accountant just fudges the numbers .

At my age to train these people is challenging , a kid told me today he could put stuff into the computer invoicing faster then barcoding .
Where the hell are these tech smart kids ( at Walmart ) So as some of you have said I will do my best and laugh at things I cannot change and rock on !

 

[ERD50]

.... They do an inventory but it is just based on strictly dollar value , no inventory has ever been input . If they are short the accountant just fudges the numbers . ...

Is his name Wally?

Dream Job!

The other funny thing, just minutes ago I came across that looking through old files on my computer!

-ERD50

 

[Breedlove]

This is how the business is ran , but not named Wally. Quantities on hand show negative thousands . Never a reconciliation baaa

 

[pb4uski]

What do you mean by "strictly dollar value" and "never been input"?

I had plenty of clients back in the day that did not keep perpetual inventory records and just did periodic inventory... while unusual in this day and age technically there is nothing wrong with doing that.... lots of small businesses still use that approach.

Also, nothing wrong with the retail inventory method either.

 

[Breedlove]

Of course , nothing wrong with cycle counting as long as the information is input . This is a distribution type of company and part numbers do mean something when you try to run a distribution requirements planning . of course companies like RGIS can give you a dollar value but you still have no order points . We need reorder points so we are not walking around wondering why things are not on order. This is controlling approx. 10000 SKU's

 

[pb4uski]

From what you write obviously an entity that could use a good perpetual system, for management reasons if not for accounting control as well.

 

[Breedlove]

Hundreds of packages available but if you don't have any discipline of business knowledge id is just a boat anchor . This company adds part numbers like crazy . If the customer requests a discount they just make up another part number and sell it . They don't understand any type of variances . Nutz

 

[Moemg]

Don't feel bad .I did the same thing retired and was brought back in part time .It took me a few months to realize this was a big mistake but since I made the commitment I stayed until the year was over . I then left and never looked back .It was good in that it solidified my desire to be retired .

 

[audreyh1]

Well isn't it good then that your friend wasn't interested in hiring your son?

 

[latexman]

Sounds like they need you desperately! I agree with the "not what I expected" reasoning, but tell them you'll need 2X the salary, or you are out of there!