If you can dish it out, you better be able to take it as well.

Like, I have mentioned multiple times on our family blog, The MRH Technology Group in Findlay, Ohio failed to meet payroll in late 2002. The employees at the time all agreed to an offer by Matt Hartman to take this as deferred compensation to be paid at a later date. I have to admit, that in 2002, I thought that meant a couple of months.

The company would always seem to gain momentum followed immediately but some major setback. So years passed as the employees quietly joked and laughed about our so called deferred compensation. I ended up leaving the company in the fall of 2006 figuring that some type of separation agreement could be established to pay the payroll at that time. No dice. Matt Hartman was adamant that ALL employees would be paid at the same time.

To say the least, I figured this was the end of the story. Out of sight, Out of mind. Matt and I rarely saw eye to eye on topics. If I said white, he demanded black. It was just the way our relationship worked. I was his counterpoint. I doubted that Matt would see a need to pay me when you could take care of the present employees. I also assumed that because of our relationship, that he may take some pleasure in not paying me.

But, here we are. A little over seven years after the missed payroll. A phone call and a check that followed. Matt and the MRH Technology Group made good on their promise. I apologize to Matt for not trusting him, but I’m sure he understands my frustration considering the time frame (I wish the agreement had a clause for interest )

The MRH Technology Group seems to be doing well indeed. Besides from being able to pay this back pay, the company has recently moved into a new building. Good luck and thanks for the check.

Another year, another missed opportunity to pay my back pay.

I’m not sure why I still expect Matt Hartman to do the right thing. I mean, why do I still believe that it is possible after 7 years?

I guess part of the reason, is that the company is still in business. They have managed to stay in business and recently moved into a new building. This doesn’t seem like a company suffering financially. So what motivation can Matt Hartman, or for that matter the MRH Technology Group have to not pay me?

More frustrating is my conversations with Matt. Constantly the salesman. Here is part of an email from early August of this year.

“We have been very blessed at MRH this year and I would expect to have all of the accrued payroll paid off by the end of the year. Actually, In our quarterly employee meeting last week I committed to doing so before any 4^th quarter bonuses will be paid. Although I have hoped to be able to pay off the open balances in past years we have never been able to close out a year without having a few bad months that suck all of the extra cash before year end. In July we closed our largest client of record (700+ users) and their final software payment of over $200k will be due in December. As long as the payment comes through from them we should not have any problem cleaning up the old accrued payroll.

Feel free to stay in touch. I’ll be happy to provide you with updates as things progress through the fall.”

That sounds optimistic, but here we are a couple of days from the end of the year and my past two emails have gone without a response. Maybe, just maybe, he thought I sucked at my job and that I don’t deserve my back pay. Maybe he gets a kick out of getting me excited. And yet, here is another email fragment from Matt suggesting that I come interview for a job.

“Once summer is over we should get together. We just put on our 4^th full time developer in July and if things continue to progress through the end of the year we may want to revisit whether or not there is a fit at MRH. Jason and I were just talking about you last week.”

Not that I ever want to work for the MRH Technology Group again, but that doesn’t sound like a company that was disappointed in my performance.

For less than $10,000 all of this could be cleaned up. Heck, that’s not even including interest. Seems like a small amount for a company that seems to be doing so well.

Stay tuned. There are still a couple of days left in 2009. LOL

Here is the original agreement from Matt Hartman in 2002. http://wlkr.org/2008/09/03/mr-hartman-isnt-it-time-to-make-things-right/

Have an opinion? Please leave a comment. If you are interested in Tour de Force and the MRH Technology Group, visit http://www.mrhtech.com

What does the future hold for the company that makes Tour de Force?

What can possibly explain 6 years passing without paying back pay? I did after all resign. It isn’t as though I was fired. I worked for Matt for over 8 years at both FESTech and MRH Technology Group.

Surely, a little company from Findlay Ohio can make good on a promise to an employee who helped to create the product they are currently selling.

Grinch or Santa? Which will it be? Stayed tuned for the latest on my journey with an old employer.

Previously, discussed:
Mr. Hartman isn’t it time to make things right?

The problem with working in conditions where your pay is routinely late, is that you teach yourself to understand that your payday is very flexible. When the paycheck becomes later than normal, you convince yourself that it will work itself out and that your next two checks will be very close together. Unfortunately, reality always came to the rescue during my years working for the MRH Technology Group.

During late October after a check was missed completely, Matt Hartman sent an email to the staff detailing an arrangement that employees would be paid partial paychecks based on the “ability” of the company to pay. Any remaining amount would be “deferred” and paid when the company was able. Several months passed in which we received only part of our pay. That led into years of hoping that the next payday would include the money that we were promised from late 2002.

At this point, I still thought that the company could succeed, so you are willing to put up with a couple more months. After all, Matt Hartman said that the money would be repaid when the company was able.

This is where I have to take personal responsibility. At some point I knew that Matt Hartman and the MRH Technology Group had no intention of ever paying my back pay, but I stayed with the company. Fear is a powerful motivator. I feared losing my current job, no matter how bad things seemed to be. After all, having a lousy job was better than having no job, right? If you want to know the answer to that question, I recommend reading “Who Stole My Cheese”.

I did end up leaving in late 2006 and it was the best decision I have made in many years. Almost six years have passed since Mr. Hartman made a commitment to me. Six long years and he still owes me short of $6,000 but has been unable to come up with that much cash.

Sadly, the company’s revenue when I left was around $400,000. According to Inside CRM, MRH Technology Group now makes .7 Million and has 8 employees (InsideCRM Details). The company had 8 employees when I left in 2006, so I can conclude that the company has grown financially by $300,000 and yet they still don’t have a couple thousand dollars to pay past debts. I should say that debt is not technically fair, as Matt Hartman has stated numerous times, that it would only be paid back if the company could. He never saw this as a contract which I believe is fair. Nevertheless, the company is able to pay and has been able to pay for quite some time. So, why not? Mr. Hartman, Why not?

Below is the email referenced above:

Good afternoon everyone!

I am very sorry that we have been faced with the current financial dilemma but under the circumstances I am very appreciative for all of your continued commitment to the success of Tour de Force. I am hopeful that in time we will all be rewarded for our commitment.

The purpose of this e-mail is to confirm the choice that all of you have made and to also address the current payroll period for October 20th.

First, for the period on October 16 – November 15th everyone will be paid base upon the performance of the company. We will pay all fixed expenses such as rent, insurance and general operating expenses as a first priority. On or about November 20th all excess cash that is available will be used to cover payroll. Everyone’s payroll for the period will be based upon their proportion of the entire staff payroll and then applied to the available cash at that time. Any shortfall from your current pay rate will be accrued as deferred compensation and paid at a future date based upon the availability of funds by MRH. This message shall serve as confirmation to everyone that they are working at MRH under the conditions outlined above. If there are any questions regarding this e-mail they should be addressed in person with me at your earliest convenience.

As for the payroll from 10/20, if you have not received your check yet you will be receiving it within the next few days. We had been promised a check on Friday so I did not make arrangements to transfer funds for today. I spoke to the client and they have promised a check was mailed on Friday so I am assuming that we will have the check on Tuesday. This will take care off most of you and then I will ask a couple of people to hold their checks until Friday when another check was promised to arrive. The check on Friday will allow us to remain current on our bills and have our insurance taken care of by the end of the month. After that, besides a few minor bills over the next month, we will begin to accumulate for next months payroll.

In closing I would like to thank each of you for sharing in the sacrifice necessary to keep MRH alive. I promise to work along side each of you and to never ask you to do anything that I would not do myself.
Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Matt Hartman
MRH Technology Group
1219 West Main Cross Street, Suite 222
Findlay, Ohio 45840
Phone: 419-425-4800**Fax: 419-425-4850
www.mrhtech.com
e-mail: matth@mrhtech.com