This is kind of mega long but 100% real. I have been a locksmith for many years. I am good at what I do and smart enough to figure out issues that come up.
The setup. I was working for a 24-hour mobile locksmith company in the largest city in our state. When I came on there were 2 guys who owned the company and one other mobile tech all working out of one of the owners’ garage. We all ran our own vans with a company cell phones and being the new guy, I worked the night shift. The owners and the third guy ran day the day shift. Usually the night shift was 6pm-6am. We were paid a small hourly wage and a commission on jobs. This was great because I ended up performing thousands of dollars on vehicle and house unlocks, making keys for vehicles, rekey houses and business due to me being on the road. Most 24–hour mobile services are guys at home monitoring a phone. Most of the time they do not want to go out so they overprice the call hoping the customer will call someone else. And they do, they call me.
The buildup. While working there I became their top producer. I made hundreds of dollars per pay period then all the day shift. Because of this, the owners decided to hire 2 more guys to run the owners’ trucks allowing them to sleep nights. They also ran on the day shift due to the large demand for scheduled jobs. The company grew quickly, and they opened a store front in a popular strip center and an expensive full page in the Yellow Pages (Before the internet took off). They ended up leasing more vans and at one point we had over a dozen vans, and a dispatcher and plenty of work for everyone. We continued to grow quickly, and the money started to roll in for the owners. I was moved to the day shift and a few new guys worked night shift.
The Tipping Point, one day, one of the owner rolled up in a new truck he purchased through the company without letting the other owner know. He bragged about using it to meet with customers and doing site walks. And what do you know, the next week the other owner also purchased a better truck also through the company also without telling the other partner. They then brought their wives in and put them on the payroll as bookkeeper and office manager. Welp here comes the issues, one of the owners decided to buy a house and use the company as collateral without telling the partner so, and few weeks later the other owner did the same thing.
The Crash, because of the owners being “Successful” and because of the addition business expenses some changes needed to be made. First, they stopped paying commission on jobs. But the slap in the face was they didn’t tell anyone till the payroll went out. Then we got a “Oh Yea, we forgot to tell you” Speech and no raises to compensate for the difference. Over a few weeks, half of the crew quit. The owners started getting desperate. They started DEMANDING we work overtime. I usually didn’t mind a little overtime, but it gradually became every day. The fateful day. I worked a 6am-6pm shift and because both night crew drivers call off, they demanded I work overtime till I can get relieved. As expected, I did not get relieved. Running a constant 24-hour shift was hard but because of a lot of coffee and plenty of work, the time flew by. Now I was expected to work my day shift. To this day, I do not remember much of that day but I remember the end of the shift.
It was 5:45pm and I was asked to call the dispatcher. I called and was told “I know it is the end of your shift but I have 2 more calls for you to take” I answered no. I just worked 36 hours and I was falling asleep on the freeway to my house. He insisted but I said no and hung up. As I get home, one of the owner calls me
Owner: You need to take these calls, I pushed them off due to us being busy.
Me: I can’t. I have been awake more the 36 hours straight and I was falling asleep on the way home.
O: I don’t care, Get these jobs done then you can go to bed.
M: if I fall asleep on the road and crash, you will cover ALL the expenses and cover my salary till I am healthy again?
O: No, that is your responsibility.
M: well my responsibility says to go to sheep and get rested for my next shift.
O: You need to take these jobs “OR ELSE”
M: Or else what?
O: Or else you will be in big trouble.
M: What are you going to do, make me work more? Cut my hours? What?
O: You will see.
I hung up. My wife suggested (Ordered ME) to quit immediately. SO, I opened my van, took out my personal equipment and tools. I drove to the office with my wife following behind me. When we get to the office, I park the van in our secured parking lot and I go into the back door to the dispatcher’s office. I toss him the keys and cell phone and said “I Quit”, turned around and walked out to the wife’s car and she drove home. And slept the sleep of the dead.
The Reckoning, At 7:00 the next morning there is an earth shattering banging at the door. I chambered a round and placed it in the back of my waist band as I headed to the door. Opening the door to face the owners who I spoke to the night before, He begins yelling loud enough to alert the neighbors, so they come out to see what’s happening. Ordering me to return everything I took out of the van last night. I explained I only took out what was mine. He would not believe me. He demanded to search my house for his stuff. I laughed and said in a quiet voice “No”. He started to push on the door to open it up more so he could come in and I held the door with my foot behind it. Side note: I am a member of the neighborhood watch. The leader of the watch who lived across the street came out and was watching from her yard. We had hand signals for issues we needed to address and one of them she used was “Should I call the police”? I signaled “Yes” while he continued to scream and call me a thief among other things.
After a few minutes he then did the unspeakable thing; He shoved his shoulder against the door hard enough to knock me back a few feet enough to for him to enter my house. The look in his face when I pointed a chrome 9mm in his face and said, “I am legally allowed to shoot you in the face till my clip is empty” This is the exact moment the police arrived. They came to the door seeing me pointing the gun in his face while I had a big grin. Police asked me to drop the gun (Which I did) and asked what is going on. I explained and the neighborhood watch captain and a few other witnesses also explained the same thing. They asked if I wished to press charges, Of course I said yes.
He was charged with assault, breaking, and entering, disturbing the peace (It was early in the morning). 2 months later (he refused to plea bargain) at the trial he was convicted and sentenced to 18 month and 5 years’ probation. By the time he got out, he lost his security license, the other owner bankrupted the company sold everything and took all the money and moved to a new state, he had his house foreclosed and they repo’ed his truck. The last I heard, the guy was bagging groceries and divorced.
Edit: spelling errors