It’s Friday night and I need some way to wake me up so I can start this journal again.
Yes, on one hand, it’s the end of the week and I have two days off from a miserable job that I can’t get out of due to my non-compete agreement. So, since this is end of the week and this is a blog that is supposed to be about non-compete agreements, I thought, how about a weekly column on non-compete agreements. So, here it is.
Who Should Be On A Non-Compete Agreement?
Since non-compete agreements are taking over a lot of professions now, I thought that I would look at some of them and see if they should have non-compete agreements. Now remember, if you’re new to this, the standards aren’t very high. The profession has to have trade secrets. This means that you can steal clients from a business because you have a relationship with the client, even if it’s just one client. Specialized training is a bonus.
Person who washes your hair at a Salon - Now remember, hairdressers are on non-compete agreements. They can be fired at anytime for any reason and have to work anywhere from 10-50 miles from their previous location. But how about the people who wash the hair before they see the hairdresser?
Here are my thoughts. Yes, you can develop a relationship with this person. It could take at least three minutes for that person to wash your hair. You may not be able to talk to this person because the water is running but if you go to the salon enough times, you know who that person is. So let’s say her name is Jane and she leaves the salon. You could be walking somewhere and suddenly Jane is in front of you. Here is the potential conversation.
“Jane. You’re not at the hair salon anymore. The new person who is washing my hair is a little rough. Not as good as you.”
“Well Rick, I’m at the hair salon down the block now. They’re really nice people. You should try Tina. She’s really good. She can do wonders for your hair.’
“I don’t know Jane. I really trust Rhonda. She’s been doing my hair for over a year now.”
“Come on, Rick. Give Tina a shot. It’s not like you’re obligated to see Rhonda.”
“Maybe you’re right. I suppose one time couldn’t hurt.”
Yes, Jane should be on a non-compete agreement.
Used Car Salesman - I saw an article that said that a used car salesman is on a non-compete agreement. Really. Why? How many times do you go out and buy a car even if it's not a used car? It seems ridiculous. I don’t get it. Where is the relationship? So what if the salesperson goes to another dealer down the block. It’s not like you’re going to shop for a car anytime soon. Not buying this one. Break out the sirens. This is ambulance chasing.
Waiter/Waitress - This seems like a no-brainer if you saw the movie As Good As It Gets. Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson. If you haven’t seen the movie, then you should see it. It’s a great movie and you do see a relationship between Helen Hunt, the waitress, and Jack Nicholson, the customer. She can go to another restaurant and Jack Nicholson will follow her anywhere. Yes. Waiters and Waitress’s should be on non-compete agreements.
Messengers - I worked in an advertising agency many years ago. We had the same driver come in many times. He would see us, say hello to everyone. There were two women in the office who liked him and wanted to go out with him. Now if he went to another service, then I could see that company wanting him to come back. Yes, messengers should be on non-compete agreements.
Bartenders - Might be hard to have a relationship on this one. On one hand, if you’re in a bar and the music is loud, then you can’t hear what the bartender is saying. On the other hand, if you’re a bartender and your flipping bottles like Tom Cruise did in the movie Cocktail, then you’re going to remember the bartender. Then again, if you have too much to drink and get drunk, then you won’t remember who the bartender is.
Now a bartender could be considered to have specialized skills since he or she went to school to learn to make drinks.
Is it a toss up? I don’t know. Let’s face it, everyone may not get drunk in a bar. If you're a guy, you're trying to pick up a woman. Or you can be depressed and sit down and talk to the bartender and tell him why you’re upset. He or she can listen while serving drinks to other customers. I would have to say yes to non-competes here because a bartender does have the potential to get at least one patron to switch to another bar if he or she leaves.
Rick Holman
Yes, on one hand, it’s the end of the week and I have two days off from a miserable job that I can’t get out of due to my non-compete agreement. So, since this is end of the week and this is a blog that is supposed to be about non-compete agreements, I thought, how about a weekly column on non-compete agreements. So, here it is.
Who Should Be On A Non-Compete Agreement?
Since non-compete agreements are taking over a lot of professions now, I thought that I would look at some of them and see if they should have non-compete agreements. Now remember, if you’re new to this, the standards aren’t very high. The profession has to have trade secrets. This means that you can steal clients from a business because you have a relationship with the client, even if it’s just one client. Specialized training is a bonus.
Person who washes your hair at a Salon - Now remember, hairdressers are on non-compete agreements. They can be fired at anytime for any reason and have to work anywhere from 10-50 miles from their previous location. But how about the people who wash the hair before they see the hairdresser?
Here are my thoughts. Yes, you can develop a relationship with this person. It could take at least three minutes for that person to wash your hair. You may not be able to talk to this person because the water is running but if you go to the salon enough times, you know who that person is. So let’s say her name is Jane and she leaves the salon. You could be walking somewhere and suddenly Jane is in front of you. Here is the potential conversation.
“Jane. You’re not at the hair salon anymore. The new person who is washing my hair is a little rough. Not as good as you.”
“Well Rick, I’m at the hair salon down the block now. They’re really nice people. You should try Tina. She’s really good. She can do wonders for your hair.’
“I don’t know Jane. I really trust Rhonda. She’s been doing my hair for over a year now.”
“Come on, Rick. Give Tina a shot. It’s not like you’re obligated to see Rhonda.”
“Maybe you’re right. I suppose one time couldn’t hurt.”
Yes, Jane should be on a non-compete agreement.
Used Car Salesman - I saw an article that said that a used car salesman is on a non-compete agreement. Really. Why? How many times do you go out and buy a car even if it's not a used car? It seems ridiculous. I don’t get it. Where is the relationship? So what if the salesperson goes to another dealer down the block. It’s not like you’re going to shop for a car anytime soon. Not buying this one. Break out the sirens. This is ambulance chasing.
Waiter/Waitress - This seems like a no-brainer if you saw the movie As Good As It Gets. Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson. If you haven’t seen the movie, then you should see it. It’s a great movie and you do see a relationship between Helen Hunt, the waitress, and Jack Nicholson, the customer. She can go to another restaurant and Jack Nicholson will follow her anywhere. Yes. Waiters and Waitress’s should be on non-compete agreements.
Messengers - I worked in an advertising agency many years ago. We had the same driver come in many times. He would see us, say hello to everyone. There were two women in the office who liked him and wanted to go out with him. Now if he went to another service, then I could see that company wanting him to come back. Yes, messengers should be on non-compete agreements.
Bartenders - Might be hard to have a relationship on this one. On one hand, if you’re in a bar and the music is loud, then you can’t hear what the bartender is saying. On the other hand, if you’re a bartender and your flipping bottles like Tom Cruise did in the movie Cocktail, then you’re going to remember the bartender. Then again, if you have too much to drink and get drunk, then you won’t remember who the bartender is.
Now a bartender could be considered to have specialized skills since he or she went to school to learn to make drinks.
Is it a toss up? I don’t know. Let’s face it, everyone may not get drunk in a bar. If you're a guy, you're trying to pick up a woman. Or you can be depressed and sit down and talk to the bartender and tell him why you’re upset. He or she can listen while serving drinks to other customers. I would have to say yes to non-competes here because a bartender does have the potential to get at least one patron to switch to another bar if he or she leaves.
Rick Holman