As a Russian guy lost a successful business in the US

– Yeah, I had a blast in Vegas! I won three hundred dollars and lost a thousand! - Dima laughs like a naughty boy and uncorks a bottle of water.

Фото: Depositphotos

After a sleepless night in the city of sins, thirst torments. In his reddened eyes, the shiny lights of Las Vegas, round black chips, full of anticipation and excitement of the faces of casino visitors still glimpse. We are sitting a motley Russian company in one of the restaurants in Los Angeles and listen to Dima with curiosity. For many, such a night at the casino is still from the realm of something impermissible.

– We stopped at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant on the way. Grilled asparagus - just an orgasm! And marbled beef steaks...,” Dima even closed his eyes for a second. Then, straightening his shoulders, he continued. — Well, the prices there, of course, are also on par. I paid $500, but the whiskey was excellent.

There are notes of pleasure in his voice. From a weekend in Vegas. From great food. From myself. Intoxicated by his own success. And how can one not be intoxicated? Dima is only 35 years old, his moving company, also known as a moving service, brings in from 10 to 000 dollars in net profit per month. And during the season it happens even more. People move to the USA easily and often; relocation services in California are among the most in demand.

Dima, as the Americans like to say, selfmade man, who made himself. Arriving in California from Krasnodar three years ago, he began as an ordinary mouver, I mean a loader. I packed my clients' belongings into boxes, wrapped them in plastic, dragged tables and chairs ... I earned $ 3000-3500 per month, which is not enough for comfortable living.

A year later, one of the clients, an American businessman, spotted Dima. Seeing how he quickly copes with the work, he offered him to transport all of his six offices. Dima decided to take a chance. I rented trucks, made a team of similarly recently moved Russian guys.

“I earned so much from that order that I was able to buy three trucks and open my own business. The American, without knowing it, gave me a start in life. Without him, I wouldn't have developed it all so quickly. God bless this American! - Dima liked to repeat.

That's how I remembered him. On the very crest of the wave. Like a surfer who conquered the wayward Pacific Ocean in bad weather. We continued to be transported to the alluring Vegas that Dima continued to talk about. Suddenly a familiar trill was heard - his iPhone rang.

- Well, what’s there? - he drawled reluctantly. - Broke?! Well done, eh. Then it will have to be deducted from your salary. Just tell the client that you will deliver new plasma to him by tomorrow. Don't write a bad review.

He casually tossed the iPhone onto the table and reached for the bottle of water again. He swallowed greedily.

- Yes, my workers messed up! They dropped plasma worth a thousand dollars in a client’s house,” Dima shrugged and moved a plate with a huge juicy steak, slightly charred at the edges, closer to him. He cut off a piece and quickly dug his teeth into it.

Sasha, our mutual friend, frowned. Stopped flipping the menu.

“And you think that is the norm, Dim?” Yes, they broke, but you, as a businessman, must understand these risks. Moreover, you have insurance that covers it. Why remove a thousand bucks from the guys’s salary? Well, fine a kraynyak for a hundred bucks, but not a thousand!

There was already some kind of neglect in his eyes. Dima shrugged in bewilderment.

- Mowing up next time will be less. I actually provide them with work, which of the Americans will take me into the company of Russian illegals! Yes relax, Sanya!

Sasha raised his eyebrows and stumbled into the menu again, as if realizing the uselessness of the argument. The rest of the guys from our company chose not to interfere.

After a couple of hours, everyone left. Dima rushed off in his huge silver jeep, resembling an alien ship.

Фото: Depositphotos

About three months have passed since that moment. That company had already gathered infrequently. Once we phoned Sasha, and from the discussion of current affairs, the conversation smoothly turned to mutual friends.

– How is Dima, is everyone lighting up Vegas this weekend? — I asked.

There was an awkward pause. And then Sasha started talking, from the speaker it blew with slight bewilderment.

- Don’t you know? Dima is going to close the company. Almost everyone has already left him; out of 14 employees, only two remain,” Sasha’s voice sounded calm, even ordinary. “That was the last time I saw him on a bike.” Apparently, money is really tight. I've lost a fair amount of weight. He doesn't eat these steaks for five hundred bucks anymore.

The first few seconds I could not believe what they heard.

“When he reached $10, that’s when he caught a star,” Sasha grinned. “You just caught him in that state.” How, a businessman in the USA, gives people jobs. Well, king, not otherwise. In general, he showed his true attitude. He started fining people, but he had no right. In general, this often happens to visitors to the USA who take off quickly, but treat people poorly...

When Dima only developed his company, he tried to restrain himself. Workers were few. It was important to earn the trust of customers, to reach a constant level of profit. It is impossible to offend experienced movers, otherwise they will quickly go to the competitors, and he perfectly understood it. But over time, orders, and with them the profit has become more.

– He simply began to take advantage of the fact that many guys from Russia did not yet have documents and worked illegally. They were afraid to complain about him,” there was contempt in Sasha’s voice. - But the experienced ones didn’t tolerate this disgustingness with fines and disrespect for themselves, they immediately left. And oh, how hard it became for newcomers without them. They did everything for a long time, breaking something periodically. They needed to be trained.

The backlash was not long in coming. Customers immediately began leaving bad reviews on Yelp, a site that in the United States is used not only to find services, but also to rate companies.

- Americans love to leave reviews there. All companies value their reputation at Yelp. Dimka thought, see, to score negative good reviews, fake. But only at least ten write them, clients will not erase their bad ones. And they came more and more. In the US, because of this, the business is even faster derailed. After all, people are watching reviews, choosing them, choosing a whole ocean here. So almost no orders. And the workers fled.

In my head, that Dima pleased with himself floated, on the crest of a wave, which she remembered. Sasha was silent for a few seconds.

– Do you know what’s the funniest thing? Dimka is sure that the employees ruined everything for him! - Sasha laughed. “That’s what he says: they say he lost his successful business because of them, he simply didn’t keep track of it.” And what he destroyed himself, no hello. Well, kings don't understand this.

The original column is published on the portal.Yandex Zen".

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