Rooting for the Home Team....

If you live, or have lived in AZ, chances are you may have shopped at a store called Bashas'. If not, or if you don't know the history of the company, let me fill you in....

A dude named Najeeb Basha immigrated to the US from Lebanon in 1886. He and his wife moved to the area that became Arizona in 1910. They set up shop with a retail business and struggled to get by for some time. Unfortunately, Najeeb died in 1932. But later that year two of their sons, Ike and Eddie, opened a company store for employees of the J.G. Boswell Company. These employees could buy stuff there with company scrip, which is kind of like credit allowed to people on the payroll. This store was the first to carry the name Bashas'.

The Bashas' company now includes stores like AJ's Fine Foods, and Food City. And it is currently run by Eddie Basha Jr, the son of one of the founders. It started in Arizona, and is still mostly only in Arizona. There's only a couple stores outside of the state. And they didn't go any farther than California and New Mexico.

Here's where things head south....

When the "economic downturn" hit, everyone lost money. The company eventually had to close a few stores. Then they had to file for bankruptcy. They've been working their way back, and have even re-opened a few stores they had to close to recuperate. In the process of re-organizing, Albertsons' (a national super-market chain)swooped in and offered to buy them out. The Basha family told them that it isn't going to happen. They are determined to rebuild and return to profitability. Albertsons', being the money grubbing, soul-deprived, and arrogant corporation that they are, decided they could make the sale happen by using the court system. They want to appeal to the creditors by promising to pay them off faster through a buyout. Bashas' wants the creditors to realize the eventual payoff. Bashas' holds a 13% market share in sales for AZ, Albertsons' has been declining and currently only holds about 6.5%.

This doesn't make sense to me. They want to buy a company, plus pay off it's creditors, and then spend money to convert all the stores to their system (which is proving itself as a failure)in an effort to make money? This kind of reminds me of when Daimler(Mercedes) bought into Chrysler. They lost their ass and ran as soon as they could.

Personally, I'd love to see this home-grown, home-raised company regain it's prominence in the state. I'd hate to see it become another victim of the corporate machine. All the charity work and community based projects that this company provides would most likely cease to exist if they are overtaken. And if you don't know about the community service that the Basha family provides, well, they do enough that there is a public school in Chandler, AZ that carries the family name.

If the Judge that is presiding over the case gives the OK to Albertsons' to take control, I'll never set another foot in any of their stores. Even if they keep the name.


I'm done for tonight / today / whatever...

-B-

“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” -- Winston Churchill

Got Screwed With My Pants On....

Let's start this off with a flashback of sorts for anyone who might not know the story...

(the word "Allegedly" will not ever appear in this post or any subsequent posts)

Last September my apartment was broken into. Second story apt, and he came in through the balcony. The dude made off with my new Flat screen TV, PS3, Xbox 360, a few games and movies, one of my pistols, and my roommate's pistol and cell phone. My roomie woke up in time to see him walking down the hall with my rifles and chased him out. Turned out that the dude lived in the complex under an assumed identity. Got all my stuff back by the end of the day, so I didn't have to go crazy and start hunting the bastard.

Anyways... Let's fast-forward to the present day.

After multiple hearings and meetings, Monday morning, February 22nd, was the date set for the pre-trial hearing. I was ordered to appear as a witness(even though I was at work, didn't see anything, and still to this day couldn't tell you what the guy looked like). Well, we showed up and it turns out that he took a Plea Bargain about 20 minutes before we showed up. This pisses me off for a few reasons. One, he's been claiming innocence for the last five months, even though my stuff was found in his apt. Two, I'm under the impression that if he needs to steal things to survive he can't afford a lawyer, which means my tax dollars have been spent for a Public Defender Attorney to help the guy who stole from me. And Three, I had to take a night off of work so I could make it to a court appearance that was cancelled while I was on my way there. And taking that night off cost me another 200+ dollars.

It all boils down to the theory of people's rights. And in this case, criminal's rights. I understand the judge and jury system is designed to provide fairness and equality. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. But if you are charged with stealing someone's stuff, and every last bit of it is found in your apartment, with your fingerprints on every single piece... You have already been proven guilty. What kind of defense could there be? "He loaned it to me?" Yeah, I loaned you my TV, PS3, Xbox, games, 30.06, 12g Shotgun, .22 Rifle, and my 9mm pistol all at once. And by some coincidence, my roomie loaned you his 40cal pistol and cell phone at the exact same time. Even though neither one of us had ever met you before.

The worst part is that he'll probably blame all sorts of things. Upbringing, environment, opportunity, etc, etc... But the worst thing he could peg it on is respect. A lot of criminals out there work on the respect theory. Stealing something big gains you some respect from your boys. But that's not true respect. That's just admiration. True respect could be gained by helping those dudes realize that there are better ways to make a living. Ways that don't involve anyone suffering. Ways that benefit everyone involved. Get a job, contribute to society. Don't be a cancer on society.

The dude that stole my stuff is eligible for probation, but I've been invited to appear at his sentencing hearing and can speak a few words if I want in order to recommend a jail sentence. I plan to do exactly that, and will probably print this out as a guideline to follow. He orchestrated an attack on my residence, took my things, and took 5 months to finally fess up to it. Even though he was arrested the same day he did it.

Society confuses me more and more every day.

But I'm done for tonight.

Goodnight / Good Morning / Whatever

-B-

"Life is hard; it's harder if you're stupid." -- John Wayne

Cranial Rectumitis....

I work in a world where time actually does equal money. The product has to move quickly. Run it through the press, move it to the finish area(stretch it, de-twist it, make it true), and pack it for shipping. The more we get done, the more money we make. My personal connection to all that is making sure that all the tools needed to achieve those things are working properly. I'm a Maintenance monkey. I wear a blue uniform, I have a smorgasbord of tools hanging off my hip, and I go home filthy every day. But I love it.

I will clarify that I do not necessarily love the people I work for, but I love what I do. It's a corporate world these days. People will be promoted to their highest level of incompetence, or to their highest level of placing lips to ass. I don't do that. So I'll be turning wrenches and swinging hammers until I die. But I'm OK with that. That's what I'm paid to do. I'll turn those wrenches, and swing those hammers to the best of my ability, and keep my mouth shut. Well, up until someone tries to take credit for my work. When that happens, I turn into a ruthless A-hole. I'm cool with just doing my job, and staying in the shadows. If I happen to fix something faster than anyone else has, Yeah it'll boost my pride a bit, and maybe cause me to brag a little. I will own that achievement. But when it goes out in the plant newsletter that "Him or Her" got their guy to fix something really fast.... No. It doesn't work that way. Maybe I'm just too proud of myself and my work, or maybe I just refuse to be the next rung in someone else's ladder to the top. Who knows. Personally, I feel recognition should go to the person that did the job. Which brings us back to...

I love the work I do. I just hate that it is in a corporate world. Forever inundated with new terminology, new "Action Plans," new process developments, new leadership every year, new redundant safety rules, and more and more lunacy. Yet less and less accountability for people who screw up(less lawsuits) and less recognition for the people who actually do the work.

So, let's have more meetings, more committee planning, more brainstorming and more hiring of consultants, instead of walking out on the production floor and asking those same questions of the people you are already paying. The people who do the job day in and day out will give you better advice than some dude in a fancy suit every time. It goes along with that long-forgotten idea of "common sense." They might talk all fancy with stuff like "performance metrics" and "quality dynamics" or whatever. But if you really want the people who work for you to buy into your plan.... You have to go to them. Appeal to them. Listen to them. Buy into their advice. They work on the floor, they know what really works on the floor. Gain their respect, and you gain their loyalty. And then they will want to work. Half-hearted rewards and incentives only go so far. You have to get them to want to work for you. You can't force them. Piss them off, and they don't give a damn if the company goes under.

Oh, and one last thing....

When the monthly party for the people who were recognized for their achievements rolls around; saying you're going to treat them to breakfast and then showing up with cold coffee and donuts is not a good idea.

I learned my work ethic from my father. He was a hard, relentless boss. He'd always point out your faults. But he'd do it in a way that made you realize them. And when you busted your ass and got something right, it was acknowledged. Pretty soon, it became natural to just do the things you were expected to do. Shovel dirt, shovel dirt, shovel dirt... Drive Bobcat... Shovel mud, shovel mud, shovel mud.... Toss block, toss block.... bucket of water, bucket of tack oil... Shovel dirt, shovel dirt. It was my job. I took pride in it, and wanted to do it better than anyone else. Partly because of pride, partly because of wanting job security, and partly because I had a job and needed it to pay bills. And the only way to keep the job you need is to be the best at it. I received a lot of "positive feedback" from my dad the last time I worked for him. And it was because I took ownership of the job. I knew what was expected of me, and I did it.

I've rambled on enough for today. I just hope people will learn to take a certain level of pride in their jobs. Learn to enjoy doing some work for the feeling of having accomplished something. And not as something that is a burden and only bearable because the law demands you get an hour of break time every day. Earning your place in society is what a strong person does. Feeling entitled to that place is for the weak.


I'm done....

Goodnight / Good Morning

Get on with your life....

-B-


“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.” -- John Wayne


(And for those of you that are curious about the title of this installment: Cranial Rectumitis is a pseudo-clinical term for "Head up the Ass")