BuDDy, I know, I know... I need a new monitor...
Reps are a very good intercession, we hear about things sometimes before people realize they need or want or whatever. And too, a good rep really does want to help framers.. and if that mean putting two together.. that's good for everyone.
As for Michael's or BB, if you're looking for work.. would you rather frame or wash dishes?
That may sound a little smart***y, but let me explain.
We bash a the BBs here a whole bunch.. and why not; they only lurk instead of play.... except there are some that come and play, just that they are never made to feel part of the family because of the stigma that we have placed on them for who they frame for.
If John Q. is a CPF and has been working for 15 years under Jim Miller, but moves to another city and gets a job working for Michael's..... does he overnight become a hack? Has he become an Ax murderer at the family picnic?
If of those 6 shops, two offer you a job. Little Framer offers you $14/hr full time, but the BB looks at your experience and offers you a manager possition with 32-36 guarenteed hours, $16/hr and health and 401k.... which one serves your family the best?
I have held many jobs off and on through the years laced in with framing. Everytime I have walked away from framing was because I had hit a pay wall, and or was bored with the framing. Everytime I have gone off and learned something new that has made me a better all-around person, and therefore framer.
I worked with a guy once who had been riding a chopper and nailing vice for 32 years... had never cut glass, because it looked scarey. Then one day we got a nailing gun.... and the guy quit that day... the gun scared him.
A year later I ran into him, and he was jumping out of a 18 wheeler... he had a friend who started him as a swamper then taught him to drive...
He laughed and said that he was working on over-coming his fears and next year might ask me to teach him how to cut glass...
Buddy, here's what I'm saying.. if you want to frame, just go in and ask for the job. It doesn't matter which walls you're inside of; as long as your happy framing there.
I for one, am working on not bashing BBs, except HD and WallMart which are sucking the life out of America....
So if you start framing, and it's for Michael's, I will see you as a fellow framer. And that is what counts... and maybe along the way, you can share with us what is working and what is not. Just like Bob Carter has been telling us...
Other than that. I wish you and yours a better year in 2006 and beyond.