Yesterday, while messaging back and forth on Facebook with a friend, I came to the realization of something.
I work 68 hours a week.
68hrs clocked in plus...
2hrs = Sunday Hulk family dinner/meeting
2hrs = errands, like juice bar shopping and bookkeeping
4hrs = sponsor/PT meetings
76 hours a week, that's how much I figure I actually work. Snickers has an extra day off but he usually spends a good chunk of it running errands, having lunch or dinner out with our sponsors, and dealing with banking/book stuff.
Ok, so I basically work the equivilancy of two people's full time jobs if a 40hr work week is concerned. Such is the price of running your own business -- your social life and free time are part of the price you pay. And yes, perhaps this figure means nothing to you and "won't change the price of rice in China", as my mom used to say, but it did justify a valid point I tried to make today. I work hard, this is my business, and I deserve a day off, this was my point.
This weekend is the Lunar New Year and, according to the Korean calendar, this means Thursday through Sunday are red days. Red days mean national holidays and, like so many other businesses, government offices and schools, Hulk's will also be acknowledging such days by being closed during them.
I had a new member join today and no sooner did she join but her first day at Hulk's almost became her last day when she made a big stink about, and I quote, supposedly "unfairly losing four days off the membership". First of all, you can't count the Saturday because it's not an extra day off, it is THE day off. We don't open on Saturdays. Maybe I shouldn't even be mentioning her arguement so I won't go into the full details but she made such a big public stink about it all. Her stink stank and still stinks as I ponder it now.
Her arguement got just as ridiculous as the one made about our bathroom back in our renovation days when a friend's girlfriend said she wouldn't join if we didn't make a separate females-only bathroom. I won that arguement and, consequently, I continued on with the plans to make my office an office. I wasn't going to give up my office so that girls could powder their noses and spend countless time hanging out in a bathroom instead of training. If you don't want to come to our club because of the bathrooms then you obviously don't want to workout. I mean, I don't pick what restaurant I want to go to based on the chairs. In many Korea restuarants there aren't even chairs, you sit on the floor.
The customer may always be right in Canada and America "but this is Korea", there, I said it. The irony of me using this line in an arguement is just too funny for me. And, what should have ended with a simple "ok", got dragged out way farther than it should have and got a bit sensitive too. "But you're not Korean" was her reasoning as to why I should be working the upcoming red holidays. It was such an ironic situation in that usually it's me telling people "but I'm not Korean" as to why I didn't or don't do something. Sure, I am not Korea but I kind of am actually. My other half is Korean -- my husband is. I have Korean family members, my inlaws, and they surely expect me to show up this week. Regardless, a red day is a red day and as a business owner I surely have the right to decide if I want to open my business or not.
I work 68 hours on paper but close to 80 in reality and to have someone claim I was "robbing" her of her money and wasn't "taking the business seriously" was so uncalled for. I feel like I have sold my soul to Hulk's -- it takes president over almost everything in my life. I am not complaining but my point here is that I am very seriously dedicated to my job. Moreover, I would love, love, LOVE to work the Lunar New Year, trust me I would. I love Granny Kim but having to stay over night at what almost always becomes a mini-Korean-packed screaming party in the ungodly wee morning does not interest me. I probably would pick work over many and most things I could do instead. I love my job, love my Hulkies and I think our club is pretty awesome. Throw in the fact that my business partner is my husband, my best girl Pyen Chi is my coworker, and I get paid to workout and work others out, and ya... why wouldn't I want to work?! Exactly.
I ended the argument by telling her no, I will not be giving her extra days on her membership, and no, I will not open the club because she says "it's the professional thing to do". I'll tell you what the professional thing for me to do is, it's to let her walk away with her teeth still in her mouth. Oh relax, it's called sarcasim. Of course I didn't say it to her. I stuck to my guns though and after what felt like the billionth time of her complaining to me about it all during training, I turned to her and said "If you have a problem here then please take it up with management."
I AM management.
She immediately dropped it and said she'd be back tomorrow for training. I can't afford to lose members but I also refuse to lose my self respect. I do respect my members and I do listen to them. I may be only 5ft 2" but no one gets away with trying to push me around, telling me who or what I am, or walks all over me. I fight back.
No comments:
Post a Comment