Insanity diary

work and child labor laws.

I have decided to start keeping an insanity diary at work for my sanity.  I am working on the winter class schedule, website, some tax stuff, insurance audits, sales tax and end of year payroll tax issues for which it would be nice if I left alone to do it.

today's items are:
child labor laws
the cabinet
the bobbin case
the number

child labor laws- every so often we have this discussion of why we can't hire the "owner's" girlfriend's 10yr old grandson.  During one of the early discussion I was asked by the GF why I "have to be so negative about everything?"  To which I replied that I only object to things that would be unethical, illegal or unsafe.   My priority is, as it always has been, the future of the business.
Today the GF informed me that it wouldn't be illegal, he just couldn't work certain hours, with the owner nodding! In response I took the labor poster that these people walk past everyday on the way to the bathroom or kitchen! off the wall, took a pink highlighter and highlighted the minimum age which is 14!
Showed it to the owner, who appears to have read it, and then his GF.  She read it and then said "I understand what YOU are saying"  What I am saying????  This is state and federal law!

the cabinet-I am back in the office working on books, the GF is showing a customer a cabinet.  She asks the owner who makes the cabinet, he isn't sure.  She has the cabinet book but she can't find it. They call me, I come out, look at the cabinet, notice it is for a flat bed machine (ie pre 1960's!!!) so unless this customer has such a machine, it doesn't really matter who makes it. Its an easy thing to notice, there is a square cut out with 2 hinges to go into the back of the machine.  I point out that its for a flatbed, to which everyone goes "oh that won't work" and I retreat to the office.

the bobbin case- a customer comes in with a sewing machine needing a bobbin case. He needs a class 15 case, the most common case for inexpensive machines.  If you get an oscillating machine with a bobbin case, almost any machine under $400, chances are fairly good that it is a class 15 case. So the owners asks his gf to look in the drawer of cases, but she can't find the drawer. Its in a rack of drawers directly behind the register, he finally finds it and there is not one in it, so he decides we don't have one and need to order one this very minute.  Some day I will do an entire post on ordering. 
At that point, after hearing loud words about "bobbin cases" and "ordering" I come out, find out what they need, go back to the bench and grab a bunch of class 15 bobbin cases, give one to the owner for the customer and restock the drawer.  We only have some in the drawer upfront for people who lose theirs, normally we replace them as part of a service so they are in the back in the same place they have been for years. The owner should know this, as should his gf, esp since both of them have gotten the cases from the box in the past couple weeks!
Sometimes I feel like a figure in one of those mechanical clocks, I come out, do something obvious and then go back inside the office.

The number- This has to a bit do with ordering which I should really explain in a completely separate post but anyway.  We are supposedly ordering some cabinets and then going to the bank.  The owner has the list of cabinets and manufacturers in front of him.  He picks up the phone calls somewhere and says "yes I will hold."  he then asks his GF "what do we need?" 
 "the cabinets on the sheet!!!" 
"no what do we need for notions"
"it depends, who are you calling?" 
he names a local distributor of notions!
" we need those cabinets"
" but I am talking to these guys"
he asks me through my window
"what do we need?" 
I remind him that we aren't supposed to order from them unless we want it shipped, we just go to their warehouse and pick what we need, its faster and cheaper.  He says
"well, um, I want to ask them something different" 
The GF and I both give him "the look"  He hangs up the phone and goes off to work on a machine, not having ordered any cabinets or gone to the bank.
Realizing that this could go on all day, or even the rest of the week, I offer to order the cabinets, he decides no, he will do it, and finally does it.  After much weirdness I end up going to one bank and he to the other.  When we both get back, I ask what he needed from the local distributor. He wanted the phone number of the scissors company because we receive a bad scissors.  Now we bought this scissors through yet another company, but that is another matter.  So I tell him we could look it up online, but he could just look in the box that comes with the scissors. 
The scissors display with lots of boxes with numbers on them is about 3 feet from his chair.  He looks at the box, calls them but since by then it is 3:39 cst and they on est, they are closed.  So I imagine it will start all over again another day...

I have been working at home today...  I will go in soon though.


Laurie made this comment,
Great post! I feel like I was at work with you. I need to lay down.