Other People's Money

Maybe it is because I grew up as a daughter of a business owner/operator, I understand this idea.  Maybe because I know that the business owner is generally the last person to be paid during a pay period.  Maybe it is just a piece of general understanding I gleaned along the way, but people at work for someone else are much quicker to spend money than those who are responsible for making it.

Does that make sense?

I have watched this phenomenon happen at work over the last several months.  When we get low of certain items, those in charge of ordering do their best to make a correct order, trying to reach the minimum amount to qualify for free shipping, for example. But that minimum amount is still a lot of money.  I can see what the orderer is trying to do.  But I can definitely see what the bill-payer sees too.

I bring this up because yesterday I had a physician fax an order to us fro a pair of maternity compression pantyhose.  We don't typically carry maternity ones.  I verified with the doctor's nurse that the script was correct and that this particular patient needed these particular hose.  then I called the patient and let her know that I received the prescription from her doctor.  I explained that we do not bill insurance any more and that this was a cash purchase and a special order.  The patient okayed that and I called the vendor to order these specialty pantyhose and made the order.

Now, I DID think about the minimum amount to reach free shipping--but that was almost $200 of wholesale purchases to reach that, and my one pair of special order maternity pantyhose was much, much less than that.  However, since I had quoted the patient a price--based on the other similar items that I had special ordered before--that I discovered was enough to cover the items itself AND the shipping for it, I was less worried about making the call and placing the order.

But the process made me think.  I guess I gained a lot of second-hand knowledge as I watch my parents run a successful business.  Though I was never employed by them, I certainly heard the conversations and the worries and the hopes of business owners in their day to day operations.  And that does affect how I do my job now.  I think about the effects of our office's actions on the bottom line for my boss-the owner.  I think about his efforts and those effects of covering a short/slim/thin month of income on his family.  And I certainly see the ripple effects of one of our hospice companies not paying on time, or their full bill, or anything else they seem to be able to justify in their own minds to stick it to him.

So, I appreciate my parent's efforts in growing a successful business and being honest with us about financial responsibility.  And I guess, I am glad that was a constant topic at our family dinner table because there have been decisively important issues I have learned from those discussions.  And I think they make me a better employee.  I hope my boss thinks that too.