One day a rink employee asked me if we would host 2 of their birthday parties in our bar. I told her I would think about it. She said Todd wanted an answer now, so I told her he hadn’t been very nice to me lately and I would think about it. The next thing I know, Todd shows up in my kitchen telling me he has not been mean to me. When I explained I didn’t say he was mean, just that he hadn’t been that nice to me, Todd said, “I can be real not nice”. There it was again, that threatening tone. I’ve allowed this man to steal from me, his people to steal from me, his people to disparage my business and mock me, accuse me of not paying my rent, and now he’s threatening me. At this point, I spoke up and told him this was the second time and he was not to threaten me again. Well, that was it. All the crap I had put up with to keep a good relationship with Todd was now for naught. I was the bad guy for speaking up and Todd made sure I was punished for it. Everything just got worse and worse after that.
I told Todd we would take the parties they had overbooked on the condition that he give us the $50 they charge for using their party rooms. He agreed. In the next 2 years that I was there, he never paid us the $100. I even sent him an invoice and got nothing.
I told Pierre about all this. Pierre is my partner and should help me with these issues. He has known Todd for years and used to work for the local hockey team. Pierre should be able to get these guys on a more honest course. Instead Pierre told me I needed to learn to play nice with the big boys and they would be nice to us. What??? So, it’s my fault they steal from us because I haven’t been nice enough to them? Really? We gave them free food everyday; we gave them a discount on everything they bought; we smiled and joked with them. That’s not nice enough so it’s our fault they steal and sabotage our business? What is wrong with these people? Apparently an ice rink is a very toxic environment when the General Manager is a toxic individual.
I’m telling you all this, because I want you to think about these things before you decide to start a business and before you team up with a partner. It never occurred to me my landlord would threaten me and steal from me. It never occurred to me my partner wouldn’t back me up when our landlord was breaking the law. I just want you to be prepared for anything before you begin. I wanted to think that being kind would conquer all, but I was drowning in an icy cesspool, bleeding money as I gasped for air. This should not happen to you.
What was my mistake here? If I don’t stand up for myself, Todd will threaten me again. If I do stand up for myself, I’m the bad guy. Truly, my mistake was not recognizing that I couldn’t build a business when my landlord was dishonest and my partner didn’t have my back – and no liquor license or private parties would change my fate. I should have quit early on and cut my losses.
Learn From My Mistakes 