Conflicted - Part II

I figured it would only be fair to offer a follow up, so here's the cheese. The dirty deed was done as kindly as I could possibly muster. The call was made before the weekend so that a trip wasn't made all the way to the market simply to receive some bad news and be sent home. I was trying to be considerate since I HATE it when a boss makes you go to work on a Monday morning just to give you that news. I've always wondered why they don't just do it on a Friday afternoon if they already know what they're going to do?

Anyway, I thanked her for her services and explained that the numbers simply weren't adding up. In addition, I decided to close that booth for the weekend and consolidate everything into one booth for the meantime. The last thing I expected was to see her at the market on Sunday strolling up our aisle pretending to be engrossed reading her Nook attempting to ignore me. Of course I greeted her as she walked past me, since I'm a grown-up. She pretended to be somewhat surprised that she had found herself in front of our booth, gave me a half-assed greeting while fidgeting with her gadget, and couldn't even finish her sentence before moving on. Clearly she just wanted me to know that she was in the market since there are plenty of alternate routes she could have taken and there's nobody else in my aisle to greet (with the exception of the two extreme corners, we're alone on our section of the aisle).

Afterwards, CP told me that she went by the other booth and bought a slushy from him, all the while sneering at the fact that we had increased the price by $0.50 (as she already knew we planned to do) and ignoring his greeting. Then she informed him that four other vendors had offered her a job in the market at which point he just said, "Good for you!". What else did she expect him to say?

One thing I've learned the hard way throughout my professional career is not to burn bridges. It's a small world out there and you never know who knows who, and this is a lesson she will soon learn, as well. Overall, a lot of good has come through this experience. First of all, it reinforced the understanding that friendship and business can not co-exist. There's time for friendship and time for business, but they must be maintained separately. Secondly, trust my instinct. If something feels "off", it's probably because it is. Finally, don't be afraid or ashamed to protect my own interests. I've worked hard to build this business, and although it may not be a Fortune 500 company (yet), I've poured my heart and soul into it. If someone or something is not working in the best interest of my company, they have got to go. No regrets.