I quit. No, literally...I did.

[Seraph]

Ok so besides my normal freelancing, I had a part time job designing for a marketing company. You know, those sites that are all "MOM MAKES TONS OF MONEY BY DOING NOTHING ZOMGGG". Yeah. Those. Technically, I was a contractor, so they were my customers...but they treated me like an employee a lot too.

I swear to god, I felt like I lost a bit of my soul every time I made one...but we were trying to pay the bills so...whatever.

Well last week, I had it.

I got an email from them on Memorial Day, asking if I could complete a huge project for them. I informed them I was on vacation, only had my laptop, so I probably would only be able to work on it later. No problem they said, this was just a notice so I would "be forewarned". I promptly finished our vacation (not a good one, lol...) and we drove home. I tried to destress from our "vacation" by not checking my email that night. Oh boy. :P

Next morning, they literally CALL me at home, asking wtf am I doing, and where are the project files.

Uh, well...I just got home super late last night... Apparently thats not an excuse. I was supposed to have completed that project by 7 or 8 pm last night. Which was five hours after I was first informed. Wow. I checked my email, and this was in NO way mentioned in any of the emails they sent.

They demanded I finish the project by 3 pm...it was 1 pm at that point. I told them that I do not work when my children are up, they would be down for naptime at 2, they said fine, just get it done within the hour...or else.

At 2, I checked the project...and mein gott....it was massive. Seven entire print designs, front and back, with unique designs for all of them. Not happening within an hour. As soon as I log on to my instant messenger, I get a bunch of "stop dragging your feet" and "where are the files?!?!"

That was it.

I informed them that I could not do the project due to extenuating circumstances, and promptly told the owner's wife she could do it herself.

I turned in my one week notice last night...honestly I don't even need to do that since they're MY customers, but I figure I might as well be polite. =D

From what I hear...all heck is breaking loose because I'm the only designer that was left. The owner's wife is one herself, but she's working 80 hour weeks trying to keep the company afloat as it is now. Oh well, they treated me like crud a lot of the time, and paid me a third of what I should be making. Can't say I'll miss it.

[BrenDAnn]

Gee, I just can't imagine why you're the only designer that's left. I'll bet they treated all the others the same way, too. Serves them right!

[Marmalady]

Good for you Seraph, if they haven't the wit to treat designers properly they won't live to keep any for long.
Sorry the vacation wasn't so good - sending you a big slice of angel food cake and a strawberry milkshake (one of the big frothy ones).

[underemployeed]

funny, the economy is starting to turn around, and many of us that have had "to be thankful for having a job while so many people are unemployed" are actually starting to have more options for moving to a better job. really thanks for paying me min wage for so long, but I have much better prospects and because you dragged your feet on promoting me or giving me a raise, etc, etc. NO I don't see myself moving up in your company, because I can't even lie to people anymore about how much I hate my environment.

[Seraph]

Good for you Seraph, if they haven't the wit to treat designers properly they won't live to keep any for long.
Sorry the vacation wasn't so good - sending you a big slice of angel food cake and a strawberry milkshake (one of the big frothy ones).

Ohhh thanks! You wouldn't also happen to have a replacement hood for a Chrysler, would you? The deer we hit (while on vacation) sorta...left a big dent...

[sirwired]

What I want to know is: what kind of gullible moron replies to the "Stay At Home Mom Ears Bazillions In Her Spare Time" ads, no matter how good of a graphics design job you do? I can only imagine what kind of SCs that kind of business digs up.

And since the wife is working 80-hour weeks trying to keep the business afloat, I'm guessing the advice, (surprise, surprise) does not actually work.

SirWired

[bsaana]

Ohhh thanks! You wouldn't also happen to have a replacement hood for a Chrysler, would you? The deer we hit (while on vacation) sorta...left a big dent...

Ouch. Deer are definitely not fun to hit, and can ruin any day, or even a month. I smacked one going at 80mph in a chevy trailblazer at 4 AM... Did $9000 of damage. I tried looking for the thing when I stopped but I couldn't find it, saw some people later that day that saw us on the side of the road and only saw a bright red splotch.

I hope you and your family are alright after that event, and that it didn't beat up on your car too much.

(And sorry, I have no Chrysler parts... But I know that Deer Jerky tastes pretty damn good )

[tropicsgoddess]

I don't blame you for quitting at all, nobody needs that kind of stress.

[Seraph]

What I want to know is: what kind of gullible moron replies to the "Stay At Home Mom Ears Bazillions In Her Spare Time" ads, no matter how good of a graphics design job you do? I can only imagine what kind of SCs that kind of business digs up.

And since the wife is working 80-hour weeks trying to keep the business afloat, I'm guessing the advice, (surprise, surprise) does not actually work.

SirWired

You have nooooo idea. The worst part is, a lot more of it is true than most people think. A lot of the stories that they put on their sites ARE real...just...nobody realizes exactly how much work it entails. Pretty much, if I had my way? I'd change the headlines to "Throw Away All Social Contact and Any Semblance of a Normal Life For Four Months And You Can Make a Lot of Money". Just frustrates me that they pretend its so easy peasy...thats how they reel em in. They're technically telling the truth...just not the whole truth.

And yeah Bsaana...definitely ruined the weekend. We luckily had the chance to slow down, but we still flipped her over the car. We had to have a policeman come out and put her down because she somehow survived...but her injuries were too much.

I think I know what happened to your deer. Probably same thing that happened to us. Not two minutes after she was put down, some people pulled up in a truck, dumped her in the back, and hauled butt out of there. Creeped me out. Who would...well....would want a pre-grilled deer? (cringe and rimshot)

[Tama]

This actually sounds good for me, I don't get out much and wouldn't mind giving up most of my social life.

Probably would take me forever to learn half the stuff you know though.

[bsaana]

And yeah Bsaana...definitely ruined the weekend. We luckily had the chance to slow down, but we still flipped her over the car. We had to have a policeman come out and put her down because she somehow survived...but her injuries were too much.

I think I know what happened to your deer. Probably same thing that happened to us. Not two minutes after she was put down, some people pulled up in a truck, dumped her in the back, and hauled butt out of there. Creeped me out. Who would...well....would want a pre-grilled deer? (cringe and rimshot)

Too bad the deer had to suffer for a bit, even with all the damage.

I hit the deer at 4 AM the day after thanksgiving, going 80 down I-80 in the middle of Nebraska. There were only about 6 vehicles that passed us, and we were right by exit 305. None of them stopped. I even walked back quite a ways to pull it off to the side and found nothing, not even the shape in the partially lit area.

Many, many years ago my dad hit a dear with his old pickup. Called the police, they came gave him a special tag for it, and the next day it ended up in the freezer (it was the middle of winter and very cold).

I'm also glad you don't have to put up with the pushiness of those people anymore.

[elsporko]

What I want to know is: what kind of gullible moron replies to the "Stay At Home Mom Ears Bazillions In Her Spare Time" ads, no matter how good of a graphics design job you do? I can only imagine what kind of SCs that kind of business digs up.

And since the wife is working 80-hour weeks trying to keep the business afloat, I'm guessing the advice, (surprise, surprise) does not actually work.

SirWired

While unemployed I thought about one. I thought it would be nice to earn at least some money plus working from home would be cool. In my case it ended up being a scam.

[r2cagle]

Seraph, I just 'love' hearing you quit these contracts.

I mean, I hate that you are giving up the money.. but I love how you can just tell them to 'go suck a straw'.

[sirwired]

While unemployed I thought about one. I thought it would be nice to earn at least some money plus working from home would be cool. In my case it ended up being a scam.

The easiest thing to remember is There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. If it was so easy and so profitable that anybody could do it in their spare time (i.e. NOT 80 hours a week), then the person selling the scheme would instead be hiring somebody to do the job, paying them peanuts (jobs that anybody can do pay little) and then hold onto the profit.

The idea that if you work insane hours at a home business you can make decent money is not new and not necessarily a scam. A business you can spend only a couple of hours a day on that requires no skill or experience, yet still pull in thousands a month is not something you are going to get via some "system" advertised by a banner ad.

SirWired

[aniwahya]

Actually I wouldn't pass up a free (fresh) deer. But then again I raw feed my dog and have a friend who hunts a lot so to me meat is meat.
I also use animal parts for training, and my friend uses bone and antlers for custom knives. So people grabbing the carcass is actually more common(and practical)than most people think.