Although this isn't the blog I had intended to post right now, I decided to go ahead and share this with all of you. I wrote this over a month ago; but never late than never. The post that I had spoken about is on its way any day now. Thank you for reading my words and for encouraging me to continue. Enjoy..
It's a bittersweet day for us today. Today marks the end of my husbands eight-year journey with Walgreen's. For Matt it has been a rewarding and extremely frustrating journey.
This blog is my take on that voyage. One that we have taken, in part, together.
These are my thoughts, observations and feelings. I'm happy, sad, angry and frightened all at the same time. To say that this has been a roller coaster ride is an understatement.
Matt and I have meet some of the finest people that I could have ever hoped to meet. For that I am so grateful.
So, before we take our first steps with our new company, M.O.M. Refinishing, I need to get a few things off my chest.
I don't coddle my husband: I used to. No more. Oh,I do if he is sick or sad or feeling down, but not just to make him feel better when it's not warranted. This is by no means a blog to stroke my husband's ego. Did I say stroke? Oh wait, that's for another blog of an entirely different subject matter. But I digress..
This whole eight-year trip with all it's ups and downs has hit me in the gut pretty hard and has for some time.
Matt will tell you, for the past seven years I will be the first person to tell him if he is wrong, being an ass or just plain dropping the ball. I'm also the first person to tell him when he has made me prouder than I have ever been of him for turning himself around from something he thought he was to the man he was all along and just didn't know it.
For many years my husband worked for, and eventually ran his families business in the industrial painting and refinishing field. . He worked his way up through the company starting with cleaning toilets and sweeping floors; as it should be and eventually inherited the company when his dad passed away and he was, in my opinion, a bully.
It was after the death of my husband's family and the business had to close that the metamorphosis of Matt's leadership style started. Slowly at first, but then with a force that could not be reckoned with.
When Matt arrived at Walgreen's I believe he had finally found his home away from refinishing. He saw first had, away from his family, in a much larger company, the harm that an iron fist leadership can do to moral, confidence in your staff and loyalty of your workers. It kills productivity. You want respect, you have to earn it, you can't demand it.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Matt did well and started training many new hires; many of which would became managers over the years. All the while we waited with high hopes for his turn. And wait we did.
It became kind of a joke for us to discuss how many new managers my husband had hired and trained and how often they would call him for advice or how to do an actual job at their new store. The best was when one such new MANAGER called and asked how to do payroll. You gotta love it. It was funny at first, but not so later on when store after store went to someone else.
But when a store was in trouble, who did they call, they called Matt. My husband could go into any store and turn it around like no other.
Then his health took a turn for the worse. Bypass surgery in 2009. Matt recovered and back to work. He took it slow but he did his duties and slowly but surely he was as good as new.
More promotions, still we waited, still he was passed over.
We talked and discussed his options and it was decided that he should ask for a meeting with the big guy. Find out where his future was headed. The meeting was set, hands were shook and he was professionally patronized; told how it isn't easy to wait, but wait he must. Climbing the ladder takes time.
With this Matt pointed out that he had trained several of the new manager over the last several years. What you say, you did? Ohhhhh , he also pointed out the stores he was sent into to turn around and the list goes on and on. More patronizing gibberish, another handshake and off he went.
If he wasn't promoted because of his heart issues tell me then why was it ok for him to unload trucks in 90+degree heat, snow storms and rain storms. 20 degree days with wind chills of below zero?
You have no idea what this man did in and for his stores that went above and beyond,
You dropped the ball with this one Walgreen's. I don't know the ins and outs of promotions and the like. But I do know you lost one hell of an asset to your company.
The people of Point Pleasant knew what you had and they voiced it when he left the Point Pleasant store. And when he came back, it came back as did the moral of the store. What a coincidence.
He worked just as hard as his staff, even harder. Never asked anyone to do something he wouldn't. Got his hands dirty. He was a hands-on boss, someone his staff was proud to work hard for.
Matt gave everything to you and you in turn gave nothing back. Yes, he did his job and you paid him his salary. He went above and beyond and you never bothered to see, to notice when he was sent to a store and numbers went up, complaints went down. Cleaner, happier, moral was up and not down.
To Matt's staff in each and every store that cried; and I mean literally cried when he left because he was one of the only bosses they could go to for ANYTHING, he actually cared. He was tough and fair and always listened to what they had to say. He couldn't always help them but he always tried.
To the employee that he sent to the ER when he found out she was ill but too afraid to go to the Manger because she was such a bully. Did Matt complain about this Manager, yup. Did it help. Nope. PC at its finest.
Men and women, old and young, it didn't matter. Every single store he went to he gained the respect of the staff and customers alike. Oh there were some Managers that didn't like Matt. You see, for Matt, political correctness went our the door if it didn't mean being fair across the board. He didn't care if you were white, black, Asian, Mexican, or martian. Straight, lesbian or gay; do I need to add transgender now so as not to offend or leave anyone out? If you were given a job you were expected to do it. If you were a Manager you were expected to follow the rules, be consistent across the board and if you had an agenda, leave it at the door. If you thought you were above it, you were mistaken. And if for some reason you were Matt's superior and you felt you were owed something because of any of the above, you were wrong.
From his own experience from years ago, bullies were put in their place and reported and hopefully dealt with. Period. Mind you, he tried to deal with the "victim" Managers. The ones who had to prove something to themselves. If that didn't work, then and only then on very rare occasions did Matt go higher up. If it meant the crew, the worker bees were being mistreated because of some over zealous yahoo, he went to the mat for them and they knew it.
Life isn't fair. I don't expect it to be. I don't expect to be handed things gratuitously. I would hope though that when something is earned so many times over it would be noticed and rewarded as such.
I guess Matt just didn't kiss the right ass.
Rant over.
His new life starts now.
