Business & Finance Doing a Runner on a Job

[bunsen burner]

When someone previously posted Cobra it brought back memories. Cobra is the head group and under them come the company you work for. Mine was JAM. Anyway, they teach you to be a carsalesman. It's all about sell, sell, sell. A few examples of the techniques (hopefully this will jog a few memories):

Jones' - Everyone wants to be like them so tell the customer that Mark Webber and Tom Cruise all bought one. Drop names in there. Use celeb's that people wat to be like 9not the one's I used obviously)

Sheep theory - Tell them Bob, Jane, Tom, Dick and Harry down the road all bought one. People are like sheep, they'll follow what others are doing.

Last Chance - Today only sale. You won't see me again with this product so you'll need to buy now.

Who was your manager? Did you know Viola and Renyard?

 

[Childish Gambino]

I have a mate who used to do this, yeah for JAM. Mostly selling raffle tickets out the front of the footy. He has always had the gift of the gab and has no fear of rejection, be it from potential customers or girls.

He is now a financial planner.

Just a different type of saleman.

 

[sunnyTEE]

JAM Prospects.

****wits of the highest order.

 

[GameOver]

I have a mate who used to do this, yeah for JAM. Mostly selling raffle tickets out the front of the footy. He has always had the gift of the gab and has no fear of rejection, be it from potential customers or girls.

He is now a financial planner.

Funny you say that... that's now what I do... was never into the car salesman attitude of that stuff and much more laid back with the approach now... it did teach me a few things especially about being headstrong and no fear of rejection.

 

[ash_1050]

JAM Prospects was the banner I came under as well when I used to work for Cobra. The head of JAM, Anthony Tarquini, was a pretty good bloke all things aside.

 

[GameOver]

Who was your manager? Did you know Viola and Renyard?

My manager was Quinten... manager of Jam was Anthony... don't know those people... however I worked there 10 years ago

 

[Allbetsroff]

One word for you lemmings doing Hawker work.

Dole.

 

[bunsen burner]

One word for you lemmings doing Hawker work.

Dole.

Good idea. I guess you can pretend you're working and get the dole as well.

 

[Borry]

Decided to bump this thread after a thread search for discussions about hawkers.

I have just completed one week of charity hawker work for Appco (Cobra). Was meant to go to work on Saturday morning, but had an interview for another crappy job, so decided to go to that and decided to terminate my employment.

I was selling tickets for PWH in Sydney. Most of the people I worked with were excellent people to get along with, but I just could not do a job like that in the end, pure and simple. I did learn a little bit about the importance of being positive and confident etc. but I don't have the temperament to do commission based work.

I was told during my interview that my team leader is currently renting a $500/wk two bedroom apartment. I reckon a good week of sales would see you lucky to get $650.

The selling tricks I learned leave a lot to be desired. For example when a prospective customer asked what ticket prices were we had to answer 'Tickets are $1-$1.50. However the more you buy, the greater your chances are of winning' and it's not until you have got ID showing their name and address and start filling out the form, you then reveal the actual prices of the product they need to buy, which was an on-going monthly payment of at least $30/month.

 

[WowsersTrousers]

i used to work as a barman, had bought tickets to meredith music festival months in advance, i told them i wasnt going to be available for that weekend, i think it was a long weekend or something, they said you either turn up or you wont have a job the following week... not a very hard decision...

 

[deeman12]

Loads of times It's a real problem for me, I've had counselling about it.

The stupidest time was when I took a permanent civil service job, but couldn't face telling them I was returning to Australia in two months because they were so nice.

So I pretended to be mad!

I wrote the following letter:




The ****** folks were my boss and his boss. Nice people generally, although they had issued me an official warning for my 30 minute phone calls to my wife in Australia (She phoned me BTW.)


Two minutes later I regretted my decision, but it was done. About a week later they sent an occupational counsellor out to my house to interview me. I wasn't really sure how lunatics are supposed to behave, so I just answered him very slowly and stared at the fire. He was a bit frightened of me, I think, and was only too happy to get away after a few nondescript remarks.

And that was that, pretty much. I flew out to Australia and tried to forget about the whole thing. Well, actually, that's a lie. I got a referral to a psychiatrist and convinced him I was mad. Then I got him to write a letter which I forwared to the Civil Service in an effort to get them to keep paying me my wages. But they havn't replied.

I might be still officially employed there, though. I got a letter a while back advising me of a wage increase. But they said they couldn't give it to me because I wasn't employed there long enough. I never got a letter saying I was dismissed or fired. This was 8 years ago. Should I ask for my wages?

Wow Might have to use this letter in the coming months.

Couldn't stop laughing when I read this.

 

[MrNatural]

Back in Year 12, didnt have a job or money, was injured from footy due to a shoulder reco, so was keen for anything that popped up.
Had a mate who had been working down at the local egg farm.
He tells me hes quitting, due to footy starting up again, and tells me he can line me up a job.
It was s**t hours 8-12 every Saturday & Sunday morning. Especially s**t hours as being 17 i was out partying most friday & satdy nights. it was only about $7-8 an hour
Anywho, i thought, i needed the money and decided to give it a go.

Rock up for my first shift, the place is the most vial representation of animal cruelty on the planet.
The bloke who owned the egg farm had 4 sheds, and 1000s of chooks. All were crammed into small cages 4-5 in each... you get the idea.

I worked there for about 6 months, hated every minute there, dont know why i stayed there.
Even managed to get a couple of mates jobs there. They stayed for a couple of months each.
Then suddenly they both stopped showing up without giving notice to the boss. Thought to myself, what dogs! leaving the job without notice. Even told the others there what dogs they were.
One morning i couldnt be bothered going, so didnt show up, still intended to go back. Then thought to myself, this is a load of s**t, i aint going back, so i didnt. Seemed a bit hypocritical considering id bagged both my mates out for doing the exact same thing.
The boss tried to ring me multiple times, but i never had the guts to answer the phone hahaha
Still drive past the place everyday and occasionally get a wiff of the smell, it still haunts me.


Not long after that i had another job, working at Repco.
Didnt get a shift for a while as the shop i was going to work at burnt down. Got moved to a different store, did a few shifts. Didnt enjoy the job much, was working in a pretty scummy area.
Then suddenly i stopped getting shifts. Never got a call from them or a letter... nothing!!
So technically, they did a runner on me!!

 

[Hue_Jars]

With so many people doing runners - whos actually working!

I got a mate a job at my work. Let the boss know hes reliable and hard working.

Within one week he was on workers comp for a nothing injury. Then once he got back to work he went missing - just didnt turn up. Check my facebook and hes checked in at the pub.

Made me look terrible and I got reemed.

Moral of the story - never get your 'mates' a job.

 

[JuddsABlue]

I have never done it but have had it done to me numerous times

When I first got out of school I got a low level labouring job packing containers full of beer. Everything from cans to bottles to kegs to wine. It was a real hard job physically.

New guys always get paired up with an experienced person (which the experienced person hates) because they need to pick up the slack because nobody could come into this job off the street and perform at their level. The idea of the job was you got paid per container you completed ($36) and for 2 experienced workers it would take 60 minutes or so for a container, but with 1 new guy around 100+ minutes.

So anyway it was almost a revolving door of new guys because they never got to the stage where they could smash out containers in an hour and be home by midday with a full days pay, which is why the experienced guys loved it. It was a job really suited to people just out of school looking to enjoy their social lives. Tbh I wish I made more of the time I had except going home and sleeping every day

So anyway I stuck with it and eventually became experienced and was always paired with a new guy when we were busy. They would come in for 1 day and really hate it, always want to stop for breaks etc and not understand that every minute they sat on their ass is another minute they spend there. We pushed them pretty hard to get it done (for their own benefit as well) to be honest but if you let your gaurd own you could be there for 10 hours.

So new guys always came in for their first day and struggled and when asked if they were ok for tomorrow they would always say yeah no worries and never show up. I didnt mind tbh, I usually hated the new guys and was capable of doing the containers on my own for the full $72 but the bosses hated it

 

[JuddsABlue]

With so many people doing runners - whos actually working!

I got a mate a job at my work. Let the boss know hes reliable and hard working.

Within one week he was on workers comp for a nothing injury. Then once he got back to work he went missing - just didnt turn up. Check my facebook and hes checked in at the pub.

Made me look terrible and I got reemed.

Moral of the story - never get your 'mates' a job.

I got burnt by this as well

Had a friend who never had work but was always crying that nobody would hire him and how hard it was to get work. Always talked about his magic uncle that was getting him a job fencing or something (had been talking about it for at least a year but it never happened) so I thought maybe this guy just needs to be thrown in the deep end

I asked him if he wanted me to ask my boss (I knew my boss would say yes, there was always room for another passanger to hang around smoking by the vending machines all day) so once my friend said yes I told him he would most likely be starting Monday

I spoke to my boss who gave me the "we'll see how he goes" and "so you vouch for him?" I knew he was just playing the role though and anything short of walking into the CEOs office and shitting on desk would land him a part time/permanent gig there

So he got the ok for Monday, and about 7pm Sunday night I get a call from my mate sounding like a lost child giving me the "oh nah dont think* I'll be able to work tomorrow mate my uncles got something lined up for me so not worth wasting your time" etc etc.

Come Monday morning I told my boss my friend had an accident and hurt himself (which he actually did only it was 6 months ago) and couldnt work. My boss gave me the "oh ok" and walked off, glad he didnt make a big deal out of it.

My mate just didnt want to work, which I guess I knew but I wanted to give him a chance.

*Why do people say "i dont think" when the decision is already made, really shits me. Just say 'i wont' or 'i cant'

 

[Lionheart182]

Not exactly in the theme of this thread but here goes:

Had a live in pub job in London 2 years back. The manager who I had become good mates with had told me the owner (who was loopy to say the least) planned to go from 8 staff to 7. And me being the newest was probably looking at getting the ass.

So I spent about 5 days straight on gumtree and in the city looking for a new job unbeknown to the owner. This was difficult as I lived in the pub with 7 others and had to swear them to secrecy. Anyway I eventually found a new job and a flat, and moved all my stuff out without the boss knowing. About 10 days later the boss comes in and says, can I speak to you for a second? I think to myself, this is it.

The boss goes on to say the pub is struggling for money, this and that, all complete lies, which I know for fact at the time (my mate was privvy to the finances of the pub, and they were killing it). She then says, I have to let you go, your free to stay for a few days if needed etc etc, all clearly fake sentiments.

I shake her hand and say thanks for the hospitality, which I actually meant at the time. I got the rest of my stuff, walked out and moved into my new flat and started my new job. Spoke to my mate later that night who said she came into our room and completely freaked when she saw all my stuff gone, and had a massive go at them for not telling her and making her look like an idiot. I felt bad for that...but not really.

Funny thing is, I went into the pub a few weeks later to say hello (and claim the free drinks for staff discount) and they had 8 staff still. I couldn't figure out what I might have done wrong, but it turned out to be the best thing to happen, as the job I walked into was the best I'd ever had.

Felt so good to get on the front foot as well. Clearly there was some issues there but I still don't know what they were. Burn or be burned in that circumstance.

Sorry for the long winded reply, I just really like that story

 

[fairdinkum]

Back in Year 12, didnt have a job or money, was injured from footy due to a shoulder reco, so was keen for anything that popped up.
Had a mate who had been working down at the local egg farm.
He tells me hes quitting, due to footy starting up again, and tells me he can line me up a job.

I once lined up a job for a mate at an egg farm I was leaving. I was young and naive and thought that that was what you were supposed to do when leaving a job, find somebody else to replace you. Looking back I guess I was very naive, but it was my first part-time job.

Still drive past the place everyday and occasionally get a wiff of the smell, it still haunts me.

Hahaha

It was about a third of my life ago now, but I still remember, clear as day, the first time they showed me the sheds I would be collecting the eggs in. The horror of seeing thousands of chickens crammed in like sardines... My jaw dropped. Time stood still. Then, out of nowhere, like the good little capitalist I was growing up to be, I rationalised that if I didn't collect the eggs, some other sucker would, and I probably needed the $8/hr more than he did. So off to work I went.



Looking back, I think that was the day I realised that humans really are all just animals, and it was to be a key moment in my subsequent realisation that morals do not exist, ethics are simply rules we want others to follow for our own benefit, there is no absolute 'right' or 'wrong', or 'good' or 'bad', matter is just energy condensed to a slow vibration, and our mind is simply the universe experiencing itself subjectively. Or something like that.

 

[Hue_Jars]

I got burnt by this as well

Had a friend who never had work but was always crying that nobody would hire him and how hard it was to get work. Always talked about his magic uncle that was getting him a job fencing or something (had been talking about it for at least a year but it never happened) so I thought maybe this guy just needs to be thrown in the deep end

I asked him if he wanted me to ask my boss (I knew my boss would say yes, there was always room for another passanger to hang around smoking by the vending machines all day) so once my friend said yes I told him he would most likely be starting Monday

I spoke to my boss who gave me the "we'll see how he goes" and "so you vouch for him?" I knew he was just playing the role though and anything short of walking into the CEOs office and shitting on desk would land him a part time/permanent gig there

So he got the ok for Monday, and about 7pm Sunday night I get a call from my mate sounding like a lost child giving me the "oh nah dont think* I'll be able to work tomorrow mate my uncles got something lined up for me so not worth wasting your time" etc etc.

Come Monday morning I told my boss my friend had an accident and hurt himself (which he actually did only it was 6 months ago) and couldnt work. My boss gave me the "oh ok" and walked off, glad he didnt make a big deal out of it.

My mate just didnt want to work, which I guess I knew but I wanted to give him a chance.

*Why do people say "i dont think" when the decision is already made, really shits me. Just say 'i wont' or 'i cant'

This sounds exactly like my mate!!!

I was talking to another mate about it the other day - he used to live and work with him and he did the exact same thing. Was taken on as an apprentice with a great oppurtunity and ummed and arhhhhed and whinged and bitched the whole time until he just stopped turning up.

Then I found out he had a previous compo claim from kicking round a soccer ball at lunch!

Then to top it off he has screwed over a couple of my close chic friends first by stalking them behind their back, leading them on then screwing them over.

What a great 'mate'.

Yet all he does is moan and whinge he cant get a job, cant get any luck.

At the moment hes freeloading at a mates house paying zero rent.

 

[krisholio14]

I've done it several times.

Last one was at a well known health insurance company.

It was working in their call centre, and after bring in the industry from nearly a decade, and at this place for about 4 months, I snapped.

I was running late (again) by a couple of minutes, and I got my missus to drop me off out the front. As I went to go into the building, I stood out the front for a couple of minutes and decided I wasn't going in there.

I ended up walking around the city all day before meeting a mate at the pub and getting s**t faced.

They still didn't sack me, I had to resign. In fact, I could have gone in there a couple of weeks later and still had a job.

Anyway, I had to take 6 months off work because I went a bit loopy, and since then I've been in the same job, keeping a very low profile, on a shitload less money, but a whole lot more mentally and emotionally content.

 

[krisholio14]

This sounds exactly like my mate!!!

I was talking to another mate about it the other day - he used to live and work with him and he did the exact same thing. Was taken on as an apprentice with a great oppurtunity and ummed and arhhhhed and whinged and bitched the whole time until he just stopped turning up.

Then I found out he had a previous compo claim from kicking round a soccer ball at lunch!

Then to top it off he has screwed over a couple of my close chic friends first by stalking them behind their back, leading them on then screwing them over.

What a great 'mate'.

Yet all he does is moan and whinge he cant get a job, cant get any luck.

At the moment hes freeloading at a mates house paying zero rent.

He does have a job, as a professional sponge.

 

[fairdinkum]

It was working in their call centre, and after bring in the industry from nearly a decade, and at this place for about 4 months, I snapped.

I was running late (again) by a couple of minutes, and I got my missus to drop me off out the front. As I went to go into the building, I stood out the front for a couple of minutes and decided I wasn't going in there.

I ended up walking around the city all day before meeting a mate at the pub and getting s**t faced.

They still didn't sack me, I had to resign. In fact, I could have gone in there a couple of weeks later and still had a job.

Have you posted this same story before? It sounds eerily familiar...

 

[Hue_Jars]

Stuff working in a call centre - that would drive anyone bonkers

 

[krisholio14]

Have you posted this same story before? It sounds eerily familiar...

Yeah probably have, but not on this thread.

Might have been the depression thread actually lol

 

[ep2018]

Interesting topic. I've never done a runner but, being in the fast food industry, I've seen a lot of people do them (mostly young teens).

The pay is s**t and the managers mostly treat you like dirt (though I have worked with a lot of nice ones) so there's no surprises that they often quit without giving notice.

Just its frustrating as hell because it means you're one staff down

/rant

 

[Hue_Jars]

Interesting topic. I've never done a runner but, being in the fast food industry, I've seen a lot of people do them (mostly young teens).

The pay is s**t and the managers mostly treat you like dirt (though I have worked with a lot of nice ones) so there's no surprises that they often quit without giving notice.

Just its frustrating as hell because it means you're one staff down

/rant

My first ever job when I was 15 was working at red rooster getting paid $4.70 per hour. The manager treated me like s***. Was a total wank**r. Just sat in his office chatting up the front desk chic while I slaved away cleaning ovens.

A couple of weeks into this hell I just rang up one morning and quit.