BOA Week Six…The End…Done…We Gone!

We only had a little over 500 miles to our next event but only 3 days to do it since this week it’s 3 full days of event work. We decided to split it in half and stay 2 days in Clarksville, Tennessee at Hilton Garden because it was the only hotel with a hot tub near where we had to take care of company errands. It was a nice suite with plenty of room, huge televisions and comfortable seating and bed. Photos showed a walk-in shower and we also requested it, but when we got to our room it had a bathtub and shower. We were too tired to go back and change our rooms so we just made it work. Also, unfortunately the jets were not fully working in the hot tub but it was hot and did the trick for our weary bodies.

Arriving in Saint Louis for our first huge event, we were weary to say the least. Our bodies were battered and from what we could see with very little communication from our so called leaders that this was going to be a grueling grind. As our disappointment in PepWear grew we chose not to hurt our bodies any longer for a company that didn’t have our backs all season. The disrespect for our safety was so apparent and every time we spoke up about the quality of helpers they were sending us, they called and reprimanded us every time. We had some scary times with the quality of the helpers and instead of looking in different arenas, they stuck with the cesspool they had been using and then they began joking about it. We had a few that came to one event in gangster wear and when I commented about it in our chat area, they said, “Gangsters can sell too.” If that’s how they want the company represented, then we want no part of it. There are just a few people left from when we first started and it’s apparent they are going in a direction that we are not willing to go. They broke us and we have nothing left to give to them, but we refuse to allow them to break our spirits. We are gone!

We are now heading to our new adventure with people who care about our well beings, work we love with great pay and not hurting our bodies. Life always has a way of working out if you just follow your hearts. We gave them our all, and we’ve learned that it is too much to give to somebody who refuses to keep our safety, our well beings, and our concerns as a priority.

 

We chose to get out of Saint Louis as soon as possible since it felt as if we were in a fog, a very bad dream. We had to get transportation to our new adventures and the only thing we could find was a 12’ Penske truck. It’s amazing how hard certain things have become due to the craziness of the world right now, but renting any sort of transportation is ridiculous, but luckily we found something.

 

We left the Casino Queen Hotel, where we have stayed several times. This time we were in an ADA room which was nice for our weary bodies, but the pipes made an awful groaning noise every time we flushed. The room was spacious, a comfortable chair and the bed was nice. Customer service was excellent, the front desk had smiles and were very accommodating.

Our first day of travels to our new adventure took us to Evansville, Indiana at the Hilton Garden Inn. We needed a hot tub and a pool and we got both and spent hours soaking. Comfortable bed, spacious room, a big television and all the amenities we needed and great customer service.

Livingston, Kentucky was our next days stop at LaQuinta. Photos showed a hot tub, but we were informed that it had been removed several years ago and some third party reservations still kept the old photos…UGH! The room was spacious with all the amenities with a very small parking lot.

Our bodies are slowly healing and we keep promising ourselves that we will never allow ourselves to be used and abused by anyone ever again. For many years it was our favorite place to work, we took pride in ourselves that we could accomplish the, at times ridiculous goals they set for us and many times we knocked them out of the park. We also began to realize just how much we wore our rose colored glasses throughout those years.

 

When we first started with them, the Popup stores were smaller and much more manageable without helpers because even back then they drained the same cesspools for helpers. As the years went on, the store became so elaborate that we needed helpers, but we hardly ever got them and if we did, the quality was so poor. 

 

We only had one raise in all our years and that was by us begging and pleading for it. Then this year our eyes opened wide and from the start we seen it would be a struggle and it was the hardest ever. Our first show we were given even more responsibilities thrusted on us without them even telling us. We ended up with 1 helper, when 6 or more is usually how many we should have. It was a nightmare, we had to unload and setup the entire store and then work the register and floor by ourselves and we more than doubled our goal. We both hurt ourselves badly and with no time to heal since every week it looked the same with absolutely no assistance from the office. In fact all we got was static from them that they were all doing the best they could, all awhile we continued having to work these events with little or no helpers and we were already wounded. But then as I do, I began speaking up in our chat area and instead of support they called and reprimanded us about how we were sharing our feelings and again were told that they were all doing the best they could. But in reality, they continued doing the same thing but expecting different results, the definition of insanity.

 

We have moved on and found what we believe is the answer to our prayers as far as work goes. We will continue staying in hotels in the east until mid December when our route for the new company will then end, and we will head west to get Maggie, buy our new motorhome and tow vehicle and hang out in Arizona for the winter and doing more work with the new company.