The Best of November - Horror Stories From Advertising

While I would love to share two stories as per the norm - I am actually going to write about a situation that spans several months...

November 2006 was a rough month. I had been in a new position at my company for a short time. The holidays are crazy - so I had not received any training besides how to use the computers - nothing about policies stations I worked with - nothing about who I could and couldn't speak to regarding certain situations - just "Here's a machine - here's how you enter work orders - welcome to the team. The day of the company Holiday Party 2006, just before I reached my 90 days in the new department - - I was having a meeting about a last minute situation regarding a "Snow Sale" when The Boss came stomping into my direct supervisors office (her ugly little midget clogs in all their glory) and began screaming at me. Apparently I had not learned via telepathy that there were newly restrictive cancellation policies with one of our station groups, so when I cancelled a schedule within the 2-week window (by 1 day) she received a call from the Sales Manager saying they would hold us to that 1-day of advertising (about $350 of spots on a $6,000 buy). I tried to remain calm, but when she began shaking her finger in my face I broke down crying. I tried to leave, but The Boss followed and continued yelling at me in front of the entire department… After several minutes of being shouted at for my incompetence (while in front of my peers), I said I needed to leave. As I walked out the office door, she simply said, “Don’t let this keep you from coming to the Holiday Party.” I went to the party, but was horribly uncomfortable all night.

Jump ahead to February - my company got back an advertiser that had been using a different agency for over a year because of a lack of creativity at my company (understandable - it can be hard to keep creative juices flowing when clients want a commercial to look like it was produced at a national level but for a budget of $300 - kind of restrictive). My direct supervisor and I didn’t want to keep the station pre-purchased spots that had been reserved by another agency because budgets were changing. Our alternative plan was to cancel the pre-books, and then place as needed for 2 months so we could get a feel for the buying load and pattern. That conversation being overheard by The Boss (who no longer wanted to be involved in the process and was working towards becoming an operations manager) said, and I quote: “Employees like you are a dime a dozen. If you are unhappy and don’t want to do things the company way, I can find someone to replace you in a heartbeat.” Talk about a vote of confidence when she hadn't been involved in anything on the account until that moment.

In April my husband and I had planned a trip to Washington DC to visit our close friends who had moved there less than a year earlier. The night before we left I worked until 1:00 in the morning to help The Boss with a project completely unrelated to my clients - basically saw her panicked and decided that since no one else would stay it was the least I could do before vacation. The Boss drove me home - and on the way said she thought I was burning out and that if I wanted to look for another job I didn't need to worry about her finding a replacement for me because there were tons of people waiting to work with her. (Really? Is your ego that big? Thanks for the pat on the back for everything I've done for you.)

So my husband and I decided on vacation that the time had come - If I was really that disrespected by a woman that I had given so many chances to redeem herself then I should just go. He couldn't bear to keep working with her when she had no understanding of what it means to have a loyal employee who is willing to forgive personality flaws SEVERAL times only to be humiliated repeatedly.

I am in business for myself now - and I have a beautiful hand-painted vase on my workbench which reads "Ashes of Problem Bosses" - to remind me that the worst is in the past. My husband left the company as well, started contracting for companies across the country, and is soon to be featured in a prominent technology magazine for his expansive knowledge that he was sharing with the old company at 1/2 the going consulting rate for our city.

Time With My Man

Life gets in the way. My husband and I lived apart 5 months this summer because of his job - and it SUCKED. If I was anything like most people I know... the break would have been a relief. Most people are married for convenience - saving some money on rent, having a trophy to parade around your friends, resolution to an unexpected pregnancy.

People I consider my friends are not that way. They are married because they are in love and can't picture spending their lifetime without the person they are married to.

Personally, I am hopelessly in love with my husband. I have been since the day we met. He's loving, loyal, gentle, funny, friggin' handsome, and sometimes charming (yes, I said sometimes - because the rest of the time he's being funny). Most importantly - he makes me feel precious and treasured.

A few nights ago we bought some wine. We came home to have dinner and catch up on a couple programs we had saved on the TiVo. The first bottle of wine went fast - the second bottle even more so.

When we got to the third bottle we started talking. We snuggled up on the couch with a blanket and just talked... about nothing in particular. It felt like our first date again. We talked until 4 in the morning.

It's so good to have him home.

Vehicle For Sale

Yep. With my husband and I both working from home - we don't exactly need a 2nd vehicle anymore. We've been testing things the last few weeks to see how it goes - and on any given day our Hybrid sits in the driveway... we've put on 10 miles since we both got back into town.

So if you know anyone who may be interested in buying a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid please post a comment with your e-mail so I can send you the info. I'm not asking the Kelley Blue Book price (see link), and it has an amazing transferable warranty.

RSVP

What does it mean?

Répondez S'il Vous Plaît

Yes. It's French. French sucks. Maybe that's why people get confused. Simply translated it means "PLEASE RESPOND". The only reason I write RSVP on my invites is to get a head count for providing ample food and beverage for the masses.

So to everyone who responded - I appreciate it. Thank you for confirming your plans to be there, giving me a maybe, or just saying the time wasn't right. I appreciate the sincere replies because those are what help me plan.

Overall I'd say the party was AWESOME! Halloween takes 4 weeks of decorating - between the haunted patio leading to the front door and then the obscene amounts of decoration inside - it is a project in itself. I plan a costume bash at the same time (contrary to one idiot's opinion that I do it to throw a party for my own birthday - it is actually our chance to have a gathering of friends that we may not get time to spend with as often as we'd like). Logistically it has sucked in years past... but this year I had help. Some of my friends who came to the rescue include:
-Collin, who let me use his drawings for the invite.
-Bartender Brant, who helped me sort our the liquor needs and then acted as my server the night of the party.
-Chris, who assisted with the decorating while my husband was out-of-state, then helped me load the keg and catering.
-Jed, who took care of all of the heavy lifting of tables.

So THANK YOU to everyone who helped. This year was an even bigger challenge with my home business booming, my former job sucking, and husband being out-of-state for several months. Of the 5 years I've had this shin-dig - this year I was relaxed and I felt prepared come the day of the party, and that is thanks to all of the help I got.

For those of you who confirmed, then later decided that instead of calling you'd just tell a friend of a friend that you wouldn't make it, or just not show at all - that's okay too. I had some left-over beer in the keg that will be used for cooking. Oh, and I won't be directing an invite your way again, jerks. CHEERS!