Refused refunds

I’m not the type of guy to watch a “true story” and take it at face value. Artistic liberties, more often than not… Skew the truth.

That being said I cannot help but look at today’s personal events and reflect on them through the movie I just watched,‘The Founder’.

The Founder is about the original owners of the McDonald’s franchise. Specifically, Ray Kroc, the man who created the McDonald’s we know today.

This isn’t a movie review, just an observation from a guy in the internet who sees parallels.

The movie starts with Ray, the underdog, going from business to business taking on rejection after rejection.

Back in the days of the “traveling salesmen”, when a man would literally live on the road, going from town to town selling goods and contracts from the trunk of his car.

I’ve been running my mouth for a living since I was 15 yrs old. I’ve sold perfume in parking lots. But nothing I’ve ever done compares to what guys of his era did.

Being a millennial I’ve been bestowed the gift of seeing the world through the past and the future in real time.

My bosses and mentors were those guys. Some of the toughest men I’ve ever met were built through years of rejection most of us cannot begin to comprehend.

There’s a scene early in the movie where Ray is drinking alone in a hotel listening to affirmations on vinyl. Ha!

He’s dragging a record player around and listening to affirmations before self help was an industry. He’s keeping failure at bay…Or at least trying. For guys like this, rejection was mother’s milk. They fed off it.

Fast forward and he’s a tycoon with an iron will and no mercy. Years of being laughed at, ordered around, rejected and written off… He’s a force of nature. A natural disaster that leaves corpses and fertile soil.

I’m watching this in child like admiration. Then… a thought hit me. “How close am I to that?” Not the money or “success”, but that level of… “fuck you.”

Today I got a request for a refund. A sizeable one. Not for any shortcomings in our services. Not due to any wrong doing on my part.

He says he cannot afford the payment, he needs rent. Which may or may not be true. I don’t know… Nor is it my concern. After years of fraudulent charge-backs and nice guy refunds. Today… I said “No “.

No negotiations, no attempts to resell.

No compromises.

Just “No”.

Well, that’s not true. I did agree to forego future charges. But monies paid? ‘You’re shit outta luck homie.’

No guilt. No remorse. Barely a moment of consideration. Just… “No”

There was a time when I’d have made concessions. Or even worse, been unable to make concessions and then bogged myself down with guilt. Guilt over being unable to do… whatever.

I don’t know if Ray Kroc ever felt guilt for how he took the McDonald’s name. I know I’ve been in his shoes (or similar) where the “rules” benefit everyone but you and your carrying all the weight.

When you’re young there’s a sense of… Nobility in taking all the punches and pushing forward. Approaching 40…no. Fuck that.

Do right by people. Keep your word. Do what you say you’re going to do.

But… That’s it. No more. Not an ounce more. Not one jot. Not one tittle.

You don’t owe anything to anyone aside from that basic premise.

Everything else, anything and everything outside of doing harm… That great area, that’s where good people are separated from everyone else.

Kroc hustled McDonald’s from two “good men”. Two good men who, through inaction were limiting the growth of everyone involved. Krocs hustle put trillions of dollars into circulation. Countless charities. First jobs. Special needs jobs. Children’s centers. Two brothers got fucked… The world benefited. Sounds cold.. But shit, it’s true.

Yeah, the food is shite and kills millions. That’s just what happens when consumerism is the standard. You can’t feed 6 billion people 24 hours a day without cutting corners.

But that has nothing to do with Kroc, or me. He’s been dead 40 years and no one knows who I am. Yet.

Today, I chose not to limit my ability to provide for myself and mine. It’s as simple as that.

And not only do I not feel bad about it.

I FEEL FUCKING GREAT.

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