What would you do if someone stole $22K from you?

If someone stole $22K from you at gun point, let’s just say… you would at least have the recourse to file a grievance with the police. Furthermore, if the culprit were apprehended, and found guilty, they would face some sort of penalty. 

Well, week 1 of this year I had a human piece of shit going by the title ‘Sales Manager’ for the company I just quit, without explanation, “reassign” an account with a major O&G OEM that I’d been the sole (only) AE on for 14 months… to HIMSELF… as he saw that the Quotes I’d compiled in opportunities, in Q4 ‘21 alone, were approaching $3MM. Anyone who works in Sales knows what happens at the beginning of Q1… budgets are released for the year, and folks start spending money. Can you guess what happened next???… an order in excess of $1.1MM was placed. The equivalent of robbing me of a $22k commission. 

What would you do if someone stole $22k from you?!?

But it doesn’t stop there, believe it or not. Then this turtle-looking-mother-fucker had the audacity, because I called him on his snakey fucking move, to go the CEO and complain about me - like a schoolgirl BITCH - that I was being “insubordinate”. Or, that’s the word he would have used if he were literate. Trying desperately to get me fired. 

Then this CEO fucking TEXTs me - epitomizing professionalism - “You & Jack butting heads, huh?”, and a rash of other text messages all about the complaints levied against me by this loser, who is clearly in his first position of “power”. After articulating and confidently sending a message as to exactly why I was crossways with this coward, in text, the CEO went radio silent… because I’m a gawt damn word ninja & I stood my ground. You know… the way a man does. So, after 15 min. of ‘crickets’ from this supposed ‘titan of industry’, I sent a follow up message explaining that I’d be more than happy to discuss this matter over the phone, if he would like. To which he replied, “only if you’d like too”. And I obliged him.

When I called he was clearly unprepared for the conversation he started. Stammered and stuttered his way through explaining that he was “just seeing smoke between you two, and I don’t want it to turn into a fire”. Perhaps the most eloquent phrase this inbred member of the “sperm lottery”, doing a phenomenal job at ruining his family business, has ever muttered. So, again I obliged him. I said, “Timmy, I’ll tell you what. As soon as I get off the phone with you I’ll call Jack and address his complaints… but admit it, you understand why I’m upset… you know this wasn’t right…”. Timmy, I suppose to his credit, admitted it. 

So, I call Jack. You know… the guy who just stole $22k from me. He’s clearly unprepared to converse, as well. Apparently he didn’t expect me to stand up to the CEO, and was shocked to be hearing from me - the type of shock that only unscrupulous sleezebags display when they are confronted with their actions void of integrity by someone who refuses to bow to their bullshit. 

I ask if he’d like to go first - since he did start this conversation, albeit in the way a child might start a conversation with their sibling by going to their mother - but, of course, he doesn’t. So, I happily begin… I push for a reason why that account was taken from me arbitrarily, I ask why this company doesn’t have control enough over their own processes to so much as produce KPI’s to arm it’s outside sales team with, I point out how this is the only company I’ve ever known to have a (alleged) Sales Manager who doesn’t send out QTR’ly reports to track account progress, nor quote to order ratio, doesn’t ‘tier’ accounts, doesn’t discuss targets or quotas… all of which is pretty rudimentary stuff. Jack has one word reply’s to each point I attempt to force his feeble mind to comprehend - because he is just dying to get off the phone. To end the conversation, I ask him if he has anything he’d like to run past me??… (which, come on, you ran to our superior to talk shit… we know there’s something on your mind…) Jack says he will “think on it” and send an email with his thoughts later. 

I got this email two days later, and it was a nearly incoherent, bullet pointed, note… peppered with veiled threats to fire me if I don’t “fix” _______ & improve _______. This mouth-breathing asshole answered or spoke to exactly zero of the extremely valid points I raised, continued to belittle and berate me, and flex the only muscle he’s ever had - the one bestowed upon him by an all but removed & out of touch CEO, operating without ethics, robbing people of the money they rightly earned. 

All avenues exhausted, out of options, there’s simply no getting through to these people. 

I spent all weekend giving careful consideration to what the right thing to do was. What I was going to do next. I knew, without a doubt, that I was finished tarnishing my reputation to continue asking my customers to put their confidence in me, to provide this company opportunities that has consistently proven its lack of integrity time and again. Then it was a good friend who helped me realize that my association with this toxic group of people was beginning to impact my closest relationships negatively. I took that observation, meditated on it, and a realization hit me. 

The trait I despise most in people is insincerity. It just is. And it struck me that I’d become resentful and angry because, for the sake of continuing to draw a paycheck from this group, I was forcing myself to be insincere - to the extent that I didn’t believe this group would make good on its promises to the customers I’ve spent years establishing and building rapport, cultivating a relationship with, and earning their trust … in fact, I had almost no faith at all that they ever would - and that made me complicit in their repugnant, insincere & morally reprehensible way of conducting business. 

I have been gainfully employed full-time since I was 15 years old, and I’ve never quit any job before in my life. In doing so today I now have to dig into the old savings account for a while, but, at least I’m leaving with my reputation still in tact & can face my customers proudly. All of which are going to follow me wherever I go… and then I’m coming for ALL their business. 

So. Yeah. Like I said. I quit my job today.

-

Edit: 1/27 - I've been unemployed for 3 days & I've got two offers, with companies I can do exactly what I set out to do.... take my book of business back 100% & then come for all their shit. 

Thanks for the support my fellow Savages! mean it. 

-

Edit: 2/7 - Two weeks to the day after I quit my last post on principle, I have accepted an offer from a better outfit, with much greater upside. oh and more $$$. Thanks to everyone here who offered support during this brief but odd time in my career.