So.. back in February, I opened a little shop in my town. I rented out a space with an older couple who owned the whole building and their store. They are too old to keep the store open more than once a week, so they rented it out to me, in an agreement where I have haft the space with my stuff, and they have theirs. I was super optimistic, they seemed very nice! But as the weeks went by, I noticed that they’re a bit of trouble.. I quickly learned that the whole road hates these old people, because they’re absolutely stubborn, irrational and will not budge for anyone or anything. They’ve done a whole lot of just plain annoying (and illegal) things throughout the years. Everyone is fed up with them, and you know what… I am too! Every friday, they lady opens the shop. She smokes inside even though I’ve told them multiple times that she CANNOT do that, as there are fabric in the store and people will not enter when the whole store reaks of cigarette.. I ask her to SAVE my price tags, as they all have an SKU code, that is very important.. She doesn’t do it. She is so old and confused, that she gets mixed up items that she just WANTS, and items she has actually paid for. AND.. She will always leave a note in which she writes down what she has sold of mine, with cash if there were any payments with cash. And it’s almost ALWAYS wrong. I’ve calculated that she owes me around 400DKK (around 60 American dollars) in the two months I’ve been with them. And that is only the money I KNOW is missing. God knows what else she has taken or forgotten to give me money for.. Today was my day to be in the shop. She was already in there doing god knows what, while some girls wanted to pay for a ring of mine. JUST as I walk in the door, I see her pointing at her poster with her mobile number for payment.. I quickly correct her and tell the girl that it’s the other poster with my number and I receive my payment. The old lady left (seemingly completely unaware of anything), and I was alone in the store, ready to open. I notice that two of my other rings are gone, which I know i didn’t sell Thursday.. She was there yesterday (Friday) so she must have sold them but not told me about it, nor did I receive any money for them. I CANNOT trust them with my stuff anymore. I am livid and I don’t know what to do. I’m considering leaving.. I have 3 months of notice, so I am considering telling them I’m freaking done and just get the best out of the last 3 months.. I do need a better system though.. To keep track of EVERY ITEM in the store that is mine, so that I can know exactly what I have, when it’s sold, if it’s still in the shop or if it’s missing.. As of now, I’ve just used excel using #0000 as the code that I put on the labels. On the excel sheet, I can see that it’s a dress, what I paid, what I take for it, how much I earn after cost, how much it sold for and when. I really do want a tracking system where I can add pictures instead. That would be super helpful in tracking. If you guys know of ANY app or free website that is super easy to use and for this tracking purpose, please let me know. And if you have any advice on how to deal with these old people, please let me know.. I’m very sad that I might have to shut down my store.. My dream is really to have a physical store, and they’re just making it impossible.. :/ Sorry for the long wall! Thank you in advanced.
What a nightmare! Based on what? Was there a contact signed that laid out each person's responsibilities? If yes, from what you are saying, they have violated their responsibilities with their careless attitude toward bookkeeping, to say nothing of the smoking. Given that, you have cause IMO for breaking whatever lease arrangement you made. What's the worst thing that could happen if you were to say "Here are multiple examples of problems that should not have happened, based on our agreement. I am packing up and leaving this week"? If they're only there one day a week, I would be tempted to pack up during their days off, and be ready to exit immediately after giving Leaving for Cause notice.
Leave. As soon as you can. It's not going to get better, and it may well get worse. Agree with Maggie's advice regarding notice. It's very upsetting, but it's also a lesson learned. It is possible to share space, but it needs to be the right people, who are trustworthy and stick to agreements. These are not those people.
That might be the way to go. If you give notice before you remove any items of real value, could they change the locks and keep you out while they continue to steal from you behind locked doors?
Gosh I do empathise. As a golden rule I try as much as possible to detach from difficult personalities. I would keep a record of every shred of evidence and time/date stamp everything. agree you should leave asap. If it is not damaging and you can do so in an emotionally detached way try to explain exactly why you are leaving (once stock removed) or have left. Perhaps by email, if they use it or a printed letter so you have a paper trail. it’s possible that there is some awareness of duplicity and given the elderliness and some things mentioned, it is also likely that they are at least in part unable to function a business. as for the tracking it is super difficult to do without very careful organisation and rather impossible if you are leaving your stock with them unattended. even if you used barcodes and scanners there would still be ways around it. That being said I would love to hear if anyone else does know some helpful apps/systems.
We do have a contract, and I paid 3 months of advanced rent. I don’t know if it’s a common practice in every country, but here, it’s very normal to pay 3 months of rent from the start, to assure the renter that I don’t run from agreements or such. I could of course just take my things today and leave. But I want to get my 3 months worth, that’s why I’m looking for the best way to keep track of my inventory until I leave. Unfortunately, It does not state anywhere in our legal binding contract that the lady can’t smoke or whatever else she’s doing wrong… :(
The danger of staying is that you will lose stock, or have stock damaged (by smoke, if nothing else) But if you have paid rent in advance, you aren't going to get that back. You are going to have to weigh the risks of leaving your stock there, against the lost income if you leave early.
... because even if keep track of everything, if she loses/steals/sells your stock and doesn't pay you, you are still going have difficulty getting her to recompense you for this. She may deny it. Even if you prove stuff has gone missing she can blame shop lifters, or that you are mistaken, you are lying, etc.
If I were in your situation I would remove all my inventory immediately, period. count the paid rent as part of the lesson, unfortunately. on top of the reasons Ruth lists, the STRESS of dealing with all their poor (unacceptable) behavior can be harmful to you, too.
I agree with everyone else. Pack up and leave. I had a similar experience when i was in an antique mall. I couldn't figure out why some of my clothing had deodorants marks and shoes were bent. 1 pair were torn! I found out the owners wife Was Wearing them and returning to the racks!! I left and lost my previous months check, but, it was well worth it to leave.
Yes, you have probably lost your 3-months rent. Document as much as you can and leave. Just in case they want to hold you to the contract. It's an expensive lesson, but what besides the 2 rings are missing?
I have an idea. It may not be a good idea but give it some thought. Use your cell phone to photo your inventory when you leave at the end of the day. Then use it again when you return next. If you have jewelry inventory, this is easier than large items; but, in addition to helping you keep up with your inventory, you are putting the landlord on notice that you are checking your inventory.
Thank you all for such good advice!! I gave them a written warning that stated that if they do not start to take good care of my items and respect my inventory etc, that I would leave. Since then, they’ve been really complient. For example, she sold a skirt of mine which the buyer removed the price tag. So the old lady sold it for 200DKK even though the original price was 350DKK. Luckily I have started tracking every item I have on Wix, which makes it possible for me to see items with pictures. I showed her that it was the wrong price, she apologized and gave me the 150DKK out of own pocket. I haven’t really lost anything as of the time of my original post, which is in any way, really good! I really want this place to work, so I think tracking with photo, can at least help me notice things, None of us can avoid people stealing. That is neither my or their fault, some people go to extreme lenghts to steal no matter how many precautions I take. So that part of the issue is really just something I’ll have to accept! But the old owners seem to start taking things a bit more serious and RESPECT me. Cause at the end of the day, they don’t want to lose me as a tenant. They’re too tired for the changes that i’ll bring. Imma see all of this through and hopefully I won’t have to leave.
