I guess its best you feel that way.

If the following post ends up seeming petty, ridiculous, high-schoolish, and overdramatic to you, well, don't worry. It feels that way to me too and I haven't even written it yet. Here goes.

Apparently there are some ruffled feathers regarding my and Snotty's blog posts about Julep. Nobody has yet to contact either of us directly about it but somebody did send her an anonymous email warning her about a "cease and desist" letter. Oh yeah, and I've heard that management is bothering a friend (I'll call her Sally) and former coworker of mine who still works there about how much information she may be sharing with me. I'm not sure what is going on, or who is flipping out, but in the meantime I'll just write this entry and assume that whoever it pertains to will read it.

I'm aware of my First Amendment rights. I never signed anything stating I wouldn't talk about Julep or my experiences working there. Please keep in mind that if I really wanted, I've got plenty of information about Julep that I could divulge. Be glad that at this point, I'm pretty much over it and have better things to do with my time (school, school, and school). I try to avoid thinking or writing about Julep nowadays if I can help it. The only reason I wrote that last post was because I had read the article about Starbucks a couple days before I ended up hearing about the compensation switch from an hourly rate to commission, and I found Julep's sudden change in compensation amusing since there are plenty of ex-Starbucks folks working in upper management there.

You may be wondering, did I get my information about the compensation switch to commission from "Sally?" The answer is a firm, "No." In fact, I wrote that blog post before I ever talked to her about it. Meaning that bothering "Sally" about her loyalty to Julep is a total waste of your time (and hers). Do we ever talk about Julep? Well sure, sometimes. But we also have lives outside of work, so we like to talk about that stuff too. Just so we're clear, any posts about Julep (including this one) have been written without "Sally's" input, consent, or knowledge. And I'm rather disturbed that you are going to such lengths as to question her about our friendship or ask other employees about her loyalty to Julep behind her back. Seems like a witch hunt where you've already assumed she is guilty by association.

If you must know, I got the information indirectly from another ex-employee. So I can assure you that I'm not actively trying to get any super-secret-insider-information in order to plot Julep's downfall. Although I do hear some news from time to time about things going on, I tend to have plenty of other things to put my energy towards at the moment (did I mention school?). People in the spa industry (actually in most industries) like to talk. In spite of your best efforts, people will continue to talk. Normally, if people are allowed to talk to one another it makes for a better workplace. Using fear-based tactics to keep everyone silent only ends up making you look mean and petty.

As an experiment, I tried Googling "Julep Nail Parlor" and neither my nor Snotty's blogs showed up within the first ten pages of results. In fact, there wasn't any negative press at all, although I saw a few blog posts from people who had written nice things when Julep first opened. I can't imagine that more than ten people tops actually read my blog on a regular basis, and that figure may well include whoever from Julep is so up-in-arms about it. And really, if someone is so upset about people writing negative things on the internet about Julep, then they may want to do something about the user comments on Yelp and Citysearch, which I'm guessing are WAAAAY more likely to have an impact on potential Julep customers than anything I have to say here.

In case you are unsure about what steps to take to get us to quit writing posts like, oh, say this one, I offer the following suggestions:

1) Check out some free advice from a lawyer here. Keep in mind that I'm ready and willing to post any "cease and desist letters" I get in the mail online. And I'm sure you've already adjusted the hiring paperwork to address this topic, but on the off chance you haven't, you may want to get employees to sign some sort of confidentiality agreement. But don't overlook the advice about trying to "deal with the person human-to-human." Don't you think if would have been much more effective to have talked to me directly instead of conducting covert operations to see who's been talking to who which only results in me airing all of this in a public forum?

2) Please realize that this is a service-based industry. Your employees are your products. If you don't have Vernisseurs, you don't have any services to offer; meaning that you don't have any business to run. Instead of worrying about the activities of ex-employees, it would be much more constructive to focus on the happiness of the employees you still have. As an added bonus, it would also be less likely to result in negative blog entries (again, like this one).

3) Don't just say you believe in starting as you mean to go on. Do it. Also, it is never too late to make a fresh start.

So, to whatever you have to say about my blogging my immediate reply is:

I guess its best you feel that way.

Now get over it and move on.

Starbucks vs. Julep Nail Parlor

To start out, yes, I do recall a blog posted in September when I said, "So. No more ranting about Julep." Not that I'm excusing myself for going back on my word, but this post is less of a rant and more of a commentary about two things.

1) There is an article I just read a couple days ago called Starbucks Blues that reminded me a lot of Julep. Why? Well, aside from the owner having been a former Starbucks executive, the issues that the article was bringing up about the way Starbucks was dealing with both the recession and their employees sounded rather familiar. For example, take the following sentence from the article referring to the general Starbucks store experience:

"The store atmosphere remains suffused with NPR-style high-mindedness."

Now, read a quote directly from the Parlor Games blog written by Julep's owner:

"I LOVE our earth-friendly ribbon - Recycled and Recyclable, with our elegant-but-cute-as-a-button leaf cluster printed with soy-based ink."

Sound a little high-minded? (To say nothing of greenwashing, but that's another post.)

2) The other thing actually fits right in with the article too. The main point that author Liza Featherstone had was that Starbucks was indirectly taking measures to thin out their employees by implementing a new human resources strategy:

"This new "philosophy" is called "Optimal Scheduling," and it requires that "partners" (Starbucks-speak for employees) must dramatically increase their own flexibility. If they'd like to work full time, they must be available to work 70 percent of open store hours. (For a Starbucks open 16 hours a day, as is typical, this means 80.5 hours per week.)"

After hearing about a mandatory employee meeting that took place tonight where Vernisseurs were informed of a sudden change in compensation structure (which involves moving from a guaranteed hourly rate to a commission percentage off of services done), I realized that this sounded oddly familiar. Moreso because some people were offered commission rates at ridiculously low percentages (low-to-mid twenty percentile) in what I can only assume was an attempt to get them to quit. (If not, then it was a blatant attempt to take advantage of them.) It also seemed like a fairly desperate move, especially considering that I've heard business is rather stagnant at the two new locations that opened this year. (With another store opening planned for the spring perhaps?)

When I finally found the Starbucks Blues article and read it again, I was able to put all the pieces together. I don't think of Starbucks as the epitome of evil, but they also certainly aren't as socially responsible as they'd have one believe. Nor are their espresso drinks particularly good, although I admit to being spoiled by living on a block directly between two Vivace storefronts. And as for Julep, it seems to me like a case where you can take the executive out of Starbucks, but you can't take the Starbucks out of the executive.

The Passion of the Manicurist

After a recent (small) exodus of employees at Julep, I wasn't surprised to see an ad on Craigslist yesterday looking for new "Vernisseurs." I didn't think much of it at the time, but this morning when I (shockingly) got up early and went for a walk, I remembered it and mulled it over a little more.

My conclusions were that advertising for "Passionate Manicurists" is great, but I'm not really sure how they expect to keep them. The team we had started out with was pretty passionate about doing a good job. Unfortunately, that collective passion was neither nurtured nor maintained. So I went back for another look at their ad and noticed a few more major flaws.

• NATURAL NAILS ONLY: At Julep, we care about the health of our
  vernisseurs and our guests. That’s why we offer only natural nail
  services (no artificial nail services). (If the health of Vernisseurs is such an issue, why are the ergonomics so bad?)

• INNOVATION: Julep leads the industry in innovative
  treatments like the Girlfriend's Glycolic Manicure and seasonal
  treatments like the fall Pumpkin Spice pedicure and winter Cranberry
  Manicure. (There is nothing innovative about switching in different products to make a normal service into a "special" or "seasonal" service. It has been done before. Many times. All over the United States.)

• SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: From our commitment to minimizing our environmental impact, to our efforts to support the schools and nonprofit organizations in our local community, Julep is a company that you will be proud to be part of. (Although there is a great deal of lip service given to how "green" Julep wants to be, I didn't see it being practiced. There were many opportunities for reducing environmental waste that were blatantly ignored. I'm really tired of companies that jump on the sustainability bandwagon. That isn't being responsible. It's called being a tool.)

• OUR COMPENSATION Julep offers a highly competitive “total pay” package. (Don't even get me started. The only people that would find this compensation competitive are the folks who are just starting out in the industry or have spent their life working at places like InSpa or worse. Not only was the pay and benefits lower than what I had made previously, it also didn't even come close to matching what I was offered for my new position.)

I could go into much greater detail and pick apart every little thing they posted. Does it mean I'm cynical? Well, about Julep, yes. I went into it with the best of intentions and really tried to make it work. The really positive beginning gave it enough momentum for a while. And once that momentum wore out, I still attempted to keep a positive outlook.

But unless things change significantly, I predict it will eventually run into the ground. The initial rave reviews that were garnered from the press aren't going to do anything in the long run. Have you seen the reviews on Yelp or CitySearch? (I question how CitySearch gives it a 4.5 star rating with the amount of negative reviews that are on there.) The customer feedback that I see on those sites leads me to the conclusion that it is a great idea on paper, but the actual experience is way too inconsistent for the prices they are charging.

Am I chewing on this unnecessarily? Am I bitter? The answer to those questions: a firm, "Yes." I have been hurt by actions that the owner took towards me and I know that much of my negativity towards Julep at this point comes from that. But even when I separate out my personal experiences and look at the situation more objectively, I come to the conclusion that the business has been poorly managed from the start. I encourage anyone to come up with their own opinions about Julep, but I'm not going to tiptoe around and talk about what a great environment it was when the truth is, working there really sucked.

But now that I've gotten that out of my system, I also have to be willing to put it behind me. What have I learned? Valuable lessons about personal integrity, business ethics, emotional abuse in the workplace, and how to disengage from a negative situation.

So. No more ranting about Julep. I may not wish the business owner any luck with her future, but I also don't need to put any more of my energy towards thinking about Julep. She doesn't deserve it. (Besides, Snotty already summed up all of the angst and frustration I feel in an incandescent open letter on her blog.)

my haiku resignation letter

I did something freeing today. I quit my job.

This was something that was a long time coming. I'd already submitted my resignation in May and then ended up staying after I was able to negotiate a raise. Still, I knew the raise was only a temporary fix. The issues I had with the direction the business was heading and with the working conditions weren't likely to change. It could have been worse. But it should have been much better.

After a really positive interview yesterday that culminated with a great job offer, I knew I was going to quit. I would have been a fool to turn down a position that was more conveniently located and offered me better compensation and a much nicer work environment (ergonomically and aesthetically). Further reflection and discussion with Bryn made me realize that I wanted to be finished with my current position immediately. It wasn't like I needed a positive reference from the owner, both because my skill is in high demand and because I'm planning on transitioning into a different industry in a couple years when I am finished with my degree. Plus, although the owner was always talking about "assuming positive intent," my direct dealings (with the owner) have been largely negative.

But how to do it? Well, the first time I resigned I spent a lot of time writing a thoughtfully thorough letter that detailed exactly why I was leaving that I sent directly to the owner to which I received absolutely no response. This time, instead of putting a lot of energy into it, I emailed a simple haiku:

A new job offer
that I accepted today.
I will not be back.

I figured it was simple and to the point. And how likely was it that I would be in a situation where I could quit my job with a haiku again? I titled the email "Effective Immediately" and hit the send button. The only response tonight was a voicemail from the recently hired district manager asking me to give her a call. Although I feel bad for the district manager, and for my coworkers who may have to deal with covering my shift tomorrow, it isn't enough to make me want to continue working for a person who has been disingenuous and for whom I lack respect both professionally and personally.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done!

(Note: The original first line read, "Another job offer" which has six syllables instead of five. Sadly, that was the version that I sent, which is what I get for writing and emailing it quickly without proofreading it first. What can I say? I was running on adrenaline!)