Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to fire family members in a small Detroit business?
I had coffee with a buddy who runs a bakery on Gratiot last Tuesday, and he told me he's kept his cousin on payroll for 18 months even though she shows up late and messes up orders. He said 'blood ties make it impossible to pull the trigger' and that hit me different because I've got my own sister working my books and she made a $1,200 error last month. On one hand, you want to keep the peace and honor family loyalty, especially in a tight Detroit community. On the other, that loyalty is bleeding you dry and hurting your reputation with customers who notice the mistakes. I'm leaning toward having a hard talk with my sister this week, but I'm scared of the fallout at Thanksgiving. Has anyone else here had to fire a relative from their business here in Detroit, and how did you handle the personal side of it?