TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY

Well, Aimless was pretty much kinda-sorta let go on Friday. Gary really sucks at firing people. He told her she had a choice:

1 - She could have a raise, but her hours would be cut, or
2 - She could not have a raise, but her hours would stay the same, or
3 - She could not work here at all

Um, yeah. So she said "No!" to the first two - and tossed in a snarky "I could make ten dollars an hour stirring soup!" (where? WHERE?) - but when she left, she told me she'd "contact me on Monday about the schedule." Unfortunately, I was not in the meeting wherein Gary "fired" her, so I didn't know what she was talking about.

It was later that Gary told me about the options he gave her. I could just smack him.

Aimless called me on my cell phone yesterday and said she just didn't understand what was going on. Whatever. The store has not been making enough money to give ANYONE a raise (or even pay me at all, for that matter) since Aimless came on board. She is very, very aware of this, yet she apparently thinks I'm going to be able to pull magical gold coins out of thin air and give them to her.

Anyway, when she called, I told her I was out to lunch with my family (I was) and that I'd have to call her back (oops). I know she's going to be pissed tomorrow when she gets her check, but the truth is that I never promised her a $2-an-hour raise. I went ahead and gave her $1 for this check, but it was painful to do so.

Tomorrow I'm back at the store every day. Again. I guess I'll continue the search for a daytime person (sigh), but honestly I'm not optimistic about the prospects. I just don't understand why it's so hard to find good help these days. Gary says the reason is that besides the two of us - who have a vested interest in the store - no one else really cares. Sadly, he has a point.

One bright spot: Tnk is going to start working for me part-time on Wednesdays. I'm really excited, as she's a fast learner and will do great with the customers. Let's just hope that family-issue thing doesn't rear its ugly head.

By the way, thanks for all the kind words and good advice. Y'all rock.