From suncat0 at gmail.com  Wed Aug  8 13:36:24 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 09:36:24 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] this is what's being done in the name of BEP operators
Message-ID: <FA591B86994D448D90268F051B4AABA6@Reputercat>

For your consideration and comment.  I'll start by asking how Mr. Essenberg and his girlfriend and BEP manager Ms. Zanger purport to act on behalf of operators by shutting them out of the dialogue and taking no steps to find out exactly what's on the mind of the operator who's just trying to pay the bills these days? 
The text of a recent letter, allegedly written by Lord Essenberg, appears below and reveals much about how he and so-called BEP management regard the rest of us.

Joe Sontag

Hello Mr. Zimmer,
My name is Robert Essenberg, and I am the Vice Chair of the Elected
Operators Committee. I wrote to you several months ago on behalf of
James Chaney, Chair of the E.O.C., and the rest of the committee. At
that time we requested a meeting to discuss the executive order and
our concerns on how it was to be structured. You met with me and other
members of the committee as well as Constance Zanger, the manager of
the B.E.P., and we discussed things that were of concern to us. You
told us in that meeting that it was the intention of the department to
involve the E.O.C. in the discussions that would occur after the
executive order was released. We as the E.O.C. are now requesting that
we meet with you and the B.E.P. staff to start discussing the changes
to the rules and the flow and structure of the B.E.P. As you might
imagine, we as the ultimate end recipients of all these changes have a
few concerns and suggestions. We are requesting that this meeting
between you, the B.E.P. and the E.O.C. take place as soon as possible.
We know that the program is in the process of drafting new rules and
language and this draft will proceed to the E.O.C., then to your
office and back through everyone again, once all parties have put in
their two cents worth. We think it would be more productive if we sit
down and discuss some of the major points that each group is looking
to have incorporated into the new rules before we start these round
and round draft submissions. We think that this meeting should include
the entire committee, either in person or by phone. We don't, however,
want the meeting to be a free for all, so we will structure the
meeting so that specific questions are asked and the amount of
superfluous chit chat is eliminated.
As before, we look forward to your response to our request to have a
meeting on the future rules and operation of the B.E.P.
Sincerely
Robert Essenberg, on behalf of
James Chaney and the E.O.C. committee
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From suncat0 at gmail.com  Wed Aug  8 13:43:06 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 09:43:06 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: Out of Office: this is what's being done in the
	name of BEP operators
Message-ID: <FAB8ED0262B94AD2A519BE8833156C16@Reputercat>


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zanger, Connie (LARA)" <zangerc at michigan.gov>
To: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 9:36
Subject: Out of Office: this is what's being done in the name of BEP 
operators


>I am out of the office until Friday, July 20th.  If you need immediate 
>assistance, please contact the Commission at 800/292.4200.  Otherwise, I 
>will respond to your message at my earliest convenience.
> 




From suncat0 at gmail.com  Wed Aug  8 14:10:22 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 10:10:22 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: Out of Office: this is what's being done in the
	name of BEP operators
Message-ID: <5A081D7ECAB5446A854D42653E63B75E@Reputercat>

And this is what's not being done on behalf of BEP operators.  Notice the 
date in the message below.

Joe Sontag

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zanger, Connie (LARA)" <zangerc at michigan.gov>
To: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 9:36
Subject: Out of Office: this is what's being done in the name of BEP 
operators


>I am out of the office until Friday, July 20th.  If you need immediate 
>assistance, please contact the Commission at 800/292.4200.  Otherwise, I 
>will respond to your message at my earliest convenience.
> 




From suncat0 at gmail.com  Thu Aug 23 23:51:04 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:51:04 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: meeting with Mike Zimmer
Message-ID: <C63FC416934543BDB608583369FDCAB5@Reputercat>

Every operator needs to know about this and should be preparede to act accordingly.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Joe Sontag 
To: Larry Posont ; John Scott MCB Comm. ; Lydia Schuck 
Cc: Mike Zimmer ; Lucy Edmonds ; James Hull ; Connie Zanger ; Patrick Cannon 
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 19:48
Subject: meeting with Mike Zimmer


Forwarded to you as I received it. All I'll say now is this is a public meeting and must be given proper notice as a matter of law and BEP promulgated rule.

Joe Sontag
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From suncat0 at gmail.com  Thu Aug 23 23:58:48 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:58:48 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: Out of Office: meeting with Mike Zimmer
Message-ID: <0EB7E9D4798848C68765E029751ACD60@Reputercat>

One wonders just what does she do with her time on the clock? I understand 
the BEP office was empty yesterday. Try running your location with no 
manager present on a regular basis and see what happens to you and your 
business, but most of you know about that already.

Joe Sontag

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zanger, Connie (LARA)" <zangerc at michigan.gov>
To: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 19:47
Subject: Out of Office: meeting with Mike Zimmer


>I am out of the office until Friday, August 24th. If you need immediate 
>assistance, you are invited to contact Lucy Edmonds at 517/373.3459 or at 
>edmondsL2 at michigan.gov.  The Commission's general number is 800/292.4200.
> 




From suncat0 at gmail.com  Fri Aug 24 14:16:38 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:16:38 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Meeting with Mike Zimmer
Message-ID: <16B00DE088AE474095C808A26C83F428@Reputercat>

Every operator needs to know about this and should be prepared to act accordingly.  Sorry for leaving out the most important details last night.

Joe Sontag

--- On Wed, 8/22/12, Jennifer Doroh
<jendoroh at gmail.com> wrote:
From: Jennifer Doroh <jendoroh at gmail.com>
Subject: Meeting with Mike Zimmer.
To: "Dale Layer" <jrvending87 at yahoo.com>, "Dale Layer Two" <dlayer8954 at yahoo.com>,
"Garnet Prentice" <garsvend at aol.com>, "Garnet Prentice Two" <garsvend at comcast.net>,
"Greg Keathley" <keathleygreg at yahoo.com>, "Hazell Brooks" <jiggyzee at att.net>, "James
Chaney" <resolutioncomm at sbcglobal.net>, "Kevin Tomczak" <momandmikey at hotmail.com>,
"Lisa Weber" <lisalweber at yahoo.com>, "Nathan Prater" <thecravevending at gmail.com>,
"Risa Patrick-Langtry" <risasteve92 at yahoo.com>, "Shane Jackson" <sjx3 at sbcglobal.net>
Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 11:51 AM
Hello all EOC members,
Rob Essenberg informed me that there will be a meeting with Mike Zimmer on
Thursday, August 30, 2012.
Please submit 2 or three questions that you would like to ask at the
meeting. They should be e-mailed to Rob Essenberg, as James Chaney's
computer is down. Questions should be e-mailed no later than Sunday, August
26, 2012, so Rob can get the questions to Zimmer on Monday.
The address and contact information will be given to you later next week.
Kind regards, Jennifer Doroh.
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From suncat0 at gmail.com  Sat Aug 25 01:11:37 2012
From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag)
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:11:37 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Is your PA doing any of these things
Message-ID: <A81279534A3F4D01A67C757990524191@Reputercat>

Below is the promulgated rule that, at least for the present, states clearly what your Promotional agent should be doing when they're on-the-job.  Let's hear from you about your experiences and thoughts about this rule.  I'd even like to hear from program management regarding its position that the section about monitoring operators for compliance with employer responsibilities is unworkable and harmful to the BEP.

Joe Sontag

R 393.21  Promotional agent; role; duties.
   Rule 21.  (1)  The promotional agent is the commission's      representative to
the vending facility licensees.
 A promotional agent fulfills a supervisory role in the program.
  A promotional agent shall do all of the following:
   (a)  Assign equipment to the stand.
   (b)  Monitor the licensee to ensure compliance with employer responsibilities.
   (c)  Monitor compliance with applicable commission rules.
   (d)  Assist a licensee in running a clean and efficient business and in complying
with all of the following provisions:
   (i)  Meeting state standards.
   (ii)  Being profitable and well managed.
   (iii)  Meeting the established profit expectations of the business.
   (iv)  Providing high-quality customer service.
   (v)  Conforming to the terms and conditions of the permit.
   (2)
 A promotional agent shall visit the facility every 6 weeks, or more often as necessary,
to offer suggestions and assist in obtaining the items of equipment or the service
for which the commission is responsible.
 A promotional agent shall complete a field activity report after every visit, which
shall include an assessment of the facility based upon the goals identified in subrule
(1) of this rule.
 If a facility visit is not possible, then a promotional agent shall document telephone
contact with the licensee.
   (3)
 A promotional agent shall evaluate the facility annually, or more often if necessary,
to ensure operation as described in subrule (1) of this rule.
  A new facility shall be evaluated semiannually during the first year of operation,
or more often if necessary.
   (4)  A promotional agent shall monitor compliance with the rules and policies
of the commission.
   (5)  A promotional agent shall hold in confidence information regarding the facilities
for which the agent is responsible.
   (6)  A promotional agent shall arrange for additional licensee training, if needed.
   (7)  A promotional agent shall explain program rules and policies.
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From drob1946 at gmail.com  Mon Aug 27 11:57:29 2012
From: drob1946 at gmail.com (David Robinson)
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2012 07:57:29 -0400
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Is your PA doing any of these things
In-Reply-To: <A81279534A3F4D01A67C757990524191@Reputercat>
References: <A81279534A3F4D01A67C757990524191@Reputercat>
Message-ID: <18E3ABE426C04018BC2EC1209B3AEB01@STATION04>

Dear Joe, 

 

   As a former PA, I have some thoughts about these requirerments.  First,
It is unfortunate that so much emphasis is placed on policing the operator.
Yes, the PA might have some supervisory role to the facility, but not to the
operator.  I would like to see the rules reflect more of the assistance
that the PA could be to the operator.  The six week rule is okay, but it is
evident that this is not being followed and even those who need assistance
are not getting it in a timely fashion.  The question is why?  I know that
scheduling can be difficult, but it needs to be the priority of the PA and
they need to be working with the operators as the primary goal and not being
slaves to the management.  

   Site visits should reflect what actually happened at the visit and
useless or unnecessary monitoring should not be included when visiting an
operator.   Equipment and training decisions should be in consultation with
the operator.  New operators need to be seen more then once a week, and
other operators should be visited as many times as the issue warrants.  

   One of the major problems is that the PA is not trained well enough to
make good decisions and give good leadership to the operator.  Stay away
from the office, visit the operators, call them when needed no matter what
time of the day or night or on the weekends, and push the system to get the
necessary services and equipment to the operator so he or she can be
successful. The PA needs to quit making excuses for poor performance and
with the operator, make the tough decisions about a business that needs to
be made, including expansion, trimming back or shutting down. Don't police,
dig in and help as a partner.  That is what a PA should be doing. 

 

Dave Robinson

 

  _____  

From: vendorsmi-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:vendorsmi-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Joe Sontag
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 9:12 PM
To: VENDORSMI List
Subject: [Vendorsmi] Is your PA doing any of these things

 

Below is the promulgated rule that, at least for the present, states clearly
what your Promotional agent should be doing when they're on-the-job.  Let's
hear from you about your experiences and thoughts about this rule.  I'd even
like to hear from program management regarding its position that the section
about monitoring operators for compliance with employer responsibilities is
unworkable and harmful to the BEP.

 

Joe Sontag

 

R 393.21  Promotional agent; role; duties.
   Rule 21.  (1)  The promotional agent is the commission's
representative to
the vending facility licensees.
 A promotional agent fulfills a supervisory role in the program.
  A promotional agent shall do all of the following:
   (a)  Assign equipment to the stand.
   (b)  Monitor the licensee to ensure compliance with employer
responsibilities.
   (c)  Monitor compliance with applicable commission rules.
   (d)  Assist a licensee in running a clean and efficient business and in
complying
with all of the following provisions:
   (i)  Meeting state standards.
   (ii)  Being profitable and well managed.
   (iii)  Meeting the established profit expectations of the business.
   (iv)  Providing high-quality customer service.
   (v)  Conforming to the terms and conditions of the permit.
   (2)
 A promotional agent shall visit the facility every 6 weeks, or more often
as necessary,
to offer suggestions and assist in obtaining the items of equipment or the
service
for which the commission is responsible.
 A promotional agent shall complete a field activity report after every
visit, which
shall include an assessment of the facility based upon the goals identified
in subrule
(1) of this rule.
 If a facility visit is not possible, then a promotional agent shall
document telephone
contact with the licensee.
   (3)
 A promotional agent shall evaluate the facility annually, or more often if
necessary,
to ensure operation as described in subrule (1) of this rule.
  A new facility shall be evaluated semiannually during the first year of
operation,
or more often if necessary.
   (4)  A promotional agent shall monitor compliance with the rules and
policies
of the commission.
   (5)  A promotional agent shall hold in confidence information regarding
the facilities
for which the agent is responsible.
   (6)  A promotional agent shall arrange for additional licensee training,
if needed.
   (7)  A promotional agent shall explain program rules and policies.

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