Worst / Best Experience Working For Someone Else ??? - GoFuckYourself.com

DeanCapture · 08-23-2009, 02:39 PM

What's your worst experience working for someone else?

Probably the one that sticks out in my mind the most is ... I went to work (as a photographer) for this guy years ago who talked a big game. He talked about how great his company was, how his employees loved him (and loved working for him) and what a great experience it would be for me to come to work for him. He laid out an elaborate plan for me as a photographer that would make all my dreams come true. I'd shoot the hottest girls and travel all over. Shooting in exotic locations would be the norm. The salary sucked but I figured I'd jump in - prove myself as a competent photographer and work up from there. Plus, I really wanted a gig where I could shoot regularly so that I could fine-tune my technique and figure out what I was doing.

Well, it wasn't long before the guy started having money issues. I, along with others who worked there were owed money. At one point we were a few paychecks behind. I mentioned to the guy that I had bills that needed to be paid and that if I didn't get a check soon, I'd need to find part-time photogarphy work. The guy actually had the balls to tell me that this was my own fault for not preparing for a rainy day and that if I shot pictures for anyone else, he'd fire me. I was either 100% with his company or I was gone. Needless to say, it wasn't long after that I saw the light and move on down the road.

My best experiences working for someone else was the year that I spent working with Stephen Hicks! He was very kind, very generous and a great artist. He never actually made it a point to teach me anything but just watching him work - I learned a lot!

Well that's my story....what's yours?

CunningStunt · 08-23-2009, 05:05 PM

Worst - over 17 years ago, working in recruitment, one of my first ever jobs - was a small firm of 7 of us initially, and it dwindled to just myself and the boss. I did all the work, lead generation, interviewing etc, the boss closed the odd deal here and there. It gradually just went further downhill, and I had to deal with baliffs on a weekly basis. It took me 4 weeks of asking daily to get my commission owed, then I left that afternoon.

Best - not working for someone, with someone - a business partner I still have to this day, met online after he signed up to a program in my downline back in 2002. We got talking, and 6 or 7 years later we've turned over nearly a million $ in affiliate program sales.

Ecchi22 · 08-23-2009, 05:30 PM

Darn, that one sux Dean.. :|

Jayvis · 08-23-2009, 05:40 PM

I worked at a Great American Cookie shop in a mall from about age 16-18 while in high school and towards the beginning of college. The owner was a great guy. He owned the most franchises in the midwest for these little stores and you would never know it. He drove a beat up van from the 70s, wore tshirts from the 80s and loved every second of it. I guess the best thing about him was that he was genuinely interested in me as a person and not just another worker. I don't know why he liked me so much because he didn't really do most of these things for anyone else...

-He gave me advice with the ladies ("Listen Jay, you can have Saturday off for the prom but don't get anyone pregnant). The endless conversations with him were always hilarious and often times insightful. I learned more about business from him than any class would ever teach me. He had an MBA from Toledo University and dropped knowledge on me constantly. He allowed me to keep the books in order for our store and that was mind blowing for a 17 year old kid. The fact that he trusted me with knowing every little transaction that place did and letting me carry thousands of dollars to deposit in the bank every night showed what kind of relationship we had.

-He paid for my college books fairly often for no reason other than to be kind. He had me bring in the receipt from the book store (usually $600+) and he would then bonus me for em on my next check.

-He put me in the nicest hotel suite ever just to work a weekend managing a store an hour away. He paid for my food that weekend, travel, and gave me double per hour what I would normally make.

-He told me if I ever needed a letter of recommendation for anything he'd write in a heart beat. I never took him up on this offer, but I know for a fact I could come to him today and he'd still do it.

-He bought my lunch/dinner every time he came into the store. He would hand me a $20 and tell me to go on break (even if I had already taken my break).

-I had an open invitation to stay at his lake house in Michigan and fuck around with his jet skis.

-His wife was the biggest sweet heart you will ever meet. She would call me just to see how I was doing and she would often sent pictures of the kids etc. Just the nicest lady ever.

-Christmas time bonuses were huge for a kid making $10 an hour.

-Speaking of Christmas, one night we were absolutely slammed and I had to stay after closing time for 2 extra hours. It was just me and him decorating 50+ cakes to make sure they were ready for tomorrow. After we were finished he handed me a $50 and told me how much he appreciated the help.

Eventually I ended up leaving because college was taking up enough of my time. I felt bad for leaving, but I had to. He tried to get me back by encouraging me to finish college and then become a district manager at $50k - but at that time, finishing college seemed way far off in the distance (4 years obviously) and I couldn't see myself there for another 4 years even if it did mean I'd be guaranteed a job at the end. That and I didn't think people would take me seriously when I told them what I do for a living (regardless of whatever $$$ I would be earning). But yeah, that was the thing about him, his handouts were great but he also encouraged me to do well inside the store by offering incentives and to do well outside in the real world, thus telling me to finish college and then come work for him.

Fuck this was a long post and I'm sure a tl;dr for most, but that just starts to crack the surface on how awesome this guy was. I could write a ton of other stuff but that should give you a good idea on what sweet ass job I had as younger lad.

Jayvis · 08-23-2009, 06:00 PM

Worst experience: Being a licensed state farm agent around age 20. I think I can honestly say they're a great company but the work itself was mind numbingly boring. Just when I couldn't take it there any longer, the guy running the place was really down on his quota for the past few months and he had had me start cold calling people... that's when I had to politely leave. The good news is that he still has a life insurance policy on me that he's still paying for to this day! Always smart to leave a company on good terms.

He reminded of Ari Gold. I once told him that the printer was low on ink and we needed to order some cartridges to which he replied; "Fuck that, we don't need anything!! By the way, did you see how good I look on those bench ads?"

08-23-2009, 02:39 PM	#1
DeanCapture Haters & Trolls SUCK! Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 9,275	Worst / Best Experience Working For Someone Else ??? What's your worst experience working for someone else? Probably the one that sticks out in my mind the most is ... I went to work (as a photographer) for this guy years ago who talked a big game. He talked about how great his company was, how his employees loved him (and loved working for him) and what a great experience it would be for me to come to work for him. He laid out an elaborate plan for me as a photographer that would make all my dreams come true. I'd shoot the hottest girls and travel all over. Shooting in exotic locations would be the norm. The salary sucked but I figured I'd jump in - prove myself as a competent photographer and work up from there. Plus, I really wanted a gig where I could shoot regularly so that I could fine-tune my technique and figure out what I was doing. Well, it wasn't long before the guy started having money issues. I, along with others who worked there were owed money. At one point we were a few paychecks behind. I mentioned to the guy that I had bills that needed to be paid and that if I didn't get a check soon, I'd need to find part-time photogarphy work. The guy actually had the balls to tell me that this was my own fault for not preparing for a rainy day and that if I shot pictures for anyone else, he'd fire me. I was either 100% with his company or I was gone. Needless to say, it wasn't long after that I saw the light and move on down the road. My best experiences working for someone else was the year that I spent working with Stephen Hicks! He was very kind, very generous and a great artist. He never actually made it a point to teach me anything but just watching him work - I learned a lot! Well that's my story....what's yours? __________________ Twitter: @DeanCapture Instagram: @TheDeanCapture DeanCapture "at" Gmail.com

08-23-2009, 05:30 PM	#3
Ecchi22 Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 10,012	Darn, that one sux Dean.. :\| __________________

08-23-2009, 05:40 PM	#4
Jayvis Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 5,428	I worked at a Great American Cookie shop in a mall from about age 16-18 while in high school and towards the beginning of college. The owner was a great guy. He owned the most franchises in the midwest for these little stores and you would never know it. He drove a beat up van from the 70s, wore tshirts from the 80s and loved every second of it. I guess the best thing about him was that he was genuinely interested in me as a person and not just another worker. I don't know why he liked me so much because he didn't really do most of these things for anyone else... -He gave me advice with the ladies ("Listen Jay, you can have Saturday off for the prom but don't get anyone pregnant). The endless conversations with him were always hilarious and often times insightful. I learned more about business from him than any class would ever teach me. He had an MBA from Toledo University and dropped knowledge on me constantly. He allowed me to keep the books in order for our store and that was mind blowing for a 17 year old kid. The fact that he trusted me with knowing every little transaction that place did and letting me carry thousands of dollars to deposit in the bank every night showed what kind of relationship we had. -He paid for my college books fairly often for no reason other than to be kind. He had me bring in the receipt from the book store (usually $600+) and he would then bonus me for em on my next check. -He put me in the nicest hotel suite ever just to work a weekend managing a store an hour away. He paid for my food that weekend, travel, and gave me double per hour what I would normally make. -He told me if I ever needed a letter of recommendation for anything he'd write in a heart beat. I never took him up on this offer, but I know for a fact I could come to him today and he'd still do it. -He bought my lunch/dinner every time he came into the store. He would hand me a $20 and tell me to go on break (even if I had already taken my break). -I had an open invitation to stay at his lake house in Michigan and fuck around with his jet skis. -His wife was the biggest sweet heart you will ever meet. She would call me just to see how I was doing and she would often sent pictures of the kids etc. Just the nicest lady ever. -Christmas time bonuses were huge for a kid making $10 an hour. -Speaking of Christmas, one night we were absolutely slammed and I had to stay after closing time for 2 extra hours. It was just me and him decorating 50+ cakes to make sure they were ready for tomorrow. After we were finished he handed me a $50 and told me how much he appreciated the help. Eventually I ended up leaving because college was taking up enough of my time. I felt bad for leaving, but I had to. He tried to get me back by encouraging me to finish college and then become a district manager at $50k - but at that time, finishing college seemed way far off in the distance (4 years obviously) and I couldn't see myself there for another 4 years even if it did mean I'd be guaranteed a job at the end. That and I didn't think people would take me seriously when I told them what I do for a living (regardless of whatever $$$ I would be earning). But yeah, that was the thing about him, his handouts were great but he also encouraged me to do well inside the store by offering incentives and to do well outside in the real world, thus telling me to finish college and then come work for him. Fuck this was a long post and I'm sure a tl;dr for most, but that just starts to crack the surface on how awesome this guy was. I could write a ton of other stuff but that should give you a good idea on what sweet ass job I had as younger lad. Last edited by Jayvis; 08-23-2009 at 05:42 PM..

08-23-2009, 05:05 PM	#2
CunningStunt Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,594	Worst - over 17 years ago, working in recruitment, one of my first ever jobs - was a small firm of 7 of us initially, and it dwindled to just myself and the boss. I did all the work, lead generation, interviewing etc, the boss closed the odd deal here and there. It gradually just went further downhill, and I had to deal with baliffs on a weekly basis. It took me 4 weeks of asking daily to get my commission owed, then I left that afternoon. Best - not working for someone, with someone - a business partner I still have to this day, met online after he signed up to a program in my downline back in 2002. We got talking, and 6 or 7 years later we've turned over nearly a million $ in affiliate program sales.

08-23-2009, 06:00 PM	#5
Jayvis Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 5,428	Worst experience: Being a licensed state farm agent around age 20. I think I can honestly say they're a great company but the work itself was mind numbingly boring. Just when I couldn't take it there any longer, the guy running the place was really down on his quota for the past few months and he had had me start cold calling people... that's when I had to politely leave. The good news is that he still has a life insurance policy on me that he's still paying for to this day! Always smart to leave a company on good terms. He reminded of Ari Gold. I once told him that the printer was low on ink and we needed to order some cartridges to which he replied; "Fuck that, we don't need anything!! By the way, did you see how good I look on those bench ads?"