Cork & Olive: Will Rainer Appold Seize Hold of the Reins?

135 thoughts on “Cork & Olive: Will Rainer Appold Seize Hold of the Reins?”

• He won’t open any stores, what are these people thinking? this is the same story that has been going around for months and months. oh, new money is coming in, hedge funds. oh i got another bundle of money, oh new wine. this is the same lie coming along down the pipe. I wouldn’t believe a word of this.

  This man is one of the same as michael. He is involved with Vinocean, which is the same license deborah augenti holds along with another fellow at the company. these people are not to be trusted. Period!!!!
  Deborah michael partner who might i add is like his little puppy dog. when she’s not around he would say what a dummy she is an shrugg his shoulds. yes, debbie, michael thinks your just as dumb as the rest of us fools who got involved!
  anyone agree?

• Rainer is the president of Vinocean..so how the heck he can now be the one in charge of the franchise corp. is beyond me. I don’t see how that could be possible?? On another posting someone said Rainer also owned a company named Sanders Trading & Consulting which gave a $100,000 check to Estate Wine Group in 2003 for “shares”. Wtf??

• Illegal! You can’t go bankrupt, keep the same name and stores, and then open up again. If Appold was going to “infuse” money then he should have done it before. He and Probst are in bed together. If Rainer is going to buy??? or put money into Cork and Olive than he had better have major amounts to pay all the creditors first. Franchisees you don’t need him. Do everything with a vote among yourselves. You can run your stores better than he ever could.
  See when Probst went down so did Rainer. They both own the vinocean, and world wineries. No body wants their wine. So now they both are out.
  Yes Ms. D. Michael always said you were an idiot. To your face and your husbands you were terrific. “Good, Good” Dinners were expensive, wine was poured and he told you how much money you would make on your return. As Birgit would say, “Oh Mike, you are so charming.” Then she would roll her eyes. But aren’t all con men charming?

• Wanda wrote Illegal! You can’t go bankrupt, keep the same name and stores, and then open up again.

  Oh, they can do all kinds of things people wouldn’t believe possible. Read the posts on Cuppy’s Coffee here and on http://www.franchisepick.com. One company sells the “assets” but not the liabilities to a friend and the company keeps going and the original people are left to sue an empty, bankrupt shell while the second entity gets to keep the assets purchased with the franchisees funds.

  It’s a great system.

  A little over a year ago, dozens of people had given $30K refundable deposits to Java Jo’z, which they’d get back if they couldn’t find a location or get funding for their coffee kiosk. When they returned for their refund, they were told: “Sorry. We’re not Java Jo’z. We’re Cuppy’s.”

  All the same people sitting in the same desks doing the same thing, but they were a different company… The guy who took their money – Morg Morgan – had bought the assets of the company – but not the liabilities. Neat trick.

  They did the same thing for another year then sold the company again.

  They’re in FL too… Ft Walton Beach. Do you guys have some sort of a Scammers Organization down there? So many of these guys tend to end up in Florida… lucky you.

• I know Michael and Rainer have been friends for years, but Rainer wasn’t the one who terminated all the employees and screwed the franchisees, michael was. For years Rainer would also give his buddy money to cover bills and payroll. Let’s remember who did the actual b/s talk regarding the company. I think Rainer just might be able to pull it off, if he had the proper people in place and michael no where around. and I also think Ms. Augenti is just too compassionate of a woman to walk away from Michael. Yes, I’ve heard him say the same thing about her that she is ignorant behind her back and then her best friend to her face, money talks unfortunately. sory Deborah, but it is true. Oh hell, Michael has even said Ms. Nelson can’t do her job right and then praised her to her face and that was very recently, but then again I’d stick around if I pulled in Ms. Nelson’s salary and bennie’s as well! It’s as though she was the only one getting paid a descent salary while all others lived week to week, but it didn’t matter because none of the other employees would work 24/7 we actually had other lives outside of the company and he didn’t like that. This monster cannot return to Germany without consequences and Ms. Nelson should not be able to just sit back for the next 5 weeks enjoying a vacation (has anyone been able to verify if this is paid vacation while the employees are still waiting on their last paychecks?????) only to return and begin work making the same money telling the same lies. Only in America, but we CAN CHANGE THIS! or AT LEAST TRY!

• Has anyone thought that when things starts getting a little rougher that Mr. Probst might decide to leave the country? and then he might be home free without any obligations whatsoever??? Does anyone know of a way to make sure that he cannot leave? Do the airlines needs to be alerted or whom ever can be contacted so this cannot happen??? ANY IDEAS??? We cannot allow him to just pick up and leave!

• Did none of these employees see this coming?? Why didn’t they get out before the doors closed? I feel bad for the franchisees that will never get what they paid for. Seems like all Probst wanted was the check and then disappeared. If Probst has done something illegal, don’t worry, Big Brother will find him, no matter where he is!

• Dear Come On,
  Of course we saw this coming, but not in the way it finally came down. Unless you actually worked for the company you wouldn’t understand. I’m not trying to be rude in any manner by saying that, but it is true. You had to work with the organization to understand exactly what happened during our tenure with them. And yes, many of us were seeking employment elsewhere, but as you are aware, it’s not easy out there, and now… well, it’s even more difficult. And yes, All Probst wanted was the check and then you’d never hear from him again, ask any of the franchisees or employees they’ll tell you the same.
  What is a concern, is that if he leaves the country to return to Germany, no.. we wont find him that’s why something has to be done ASAP!

• Dear Well Now:

  Okay, so what’s he gonna be in trouble with? If he has issues with the IRS, why doesn’t a former employee notify them so that they can speed up any investigations they would have before he jumps ship? The franchisees, I am afraid ,are SOL because unless they can work their stores to be profitable on their own, they have nowhere to go and none of the support that I am sure they were promised.

• Dear Come On,
  All I will say at this moment, is that more than a few former employees have It’s been said that the Dept of Revenue made a visit to the corp office since they’ve closed shop to collect info on sales tax etc… but yet…. we still wait. He’s done many things against the law, yet nothing has been done yet.. that’s why I’m concerned that somehow he will leave and nothing will ever come of all this mess that he, himself, wait… that he and Nelson created. But we’re all working on it trust me!

• Rainer is Probst. Granted he didn’t fire anyone, but he has been involved with everything from the onset. If you franchisees elect to get involved with Rainer you are still involved with Probst. They have been “friends” with him for years and although he acts like they are on the outs now, they aren’t. Their wives are friends.

• Barb….. so you think their wives are friends huh.. hm…. is Rainers wife here? do you have any idea what you are talking about? hmm. just so you know the details……Rainers wife is not here in this country and does not want to live in this country; therefore hardly ever talk to Mrs. Probst. and Mrs. Probst, I’m sure.. has no idea any of this is going on with the man she married…. poor thing she’ll be devastated because he keeps her so sheltered.

• Heard Ms. D and Mr. P are opening a new company as we speak. It won’t be under either of their names, though. Poor Mrs. P – what is her hubby getting her into??

• but will the “new company” be under Mrs. Probst’s name? hmm. has to be in order for Mr. and Mrs. P to continue to live in this country. remember… he has an E-2 Visa.

• Dear Well now,
  Yes I know Birgit very well. And yes she has been “friends” with Rainer’s wife over in Germany. Come on she knows what her husband has done, this time and all the others. And yes, I am sure there have been other schemes. A woman isn’t married to a man for that many years and doesn’t know what he is doing. She knows everything, just like Catherine Zeta Jones in the movie Trafficking. Heck, she might just take over. Rainer wasn’t Birgit’s favorite man, he played around on his wife too many times. This upset Birgit. By the way for the record she is a smart woman only acts like she doesn’t know what is going on. That way she can never be in trouble.

• what company and where? whose name would it go under. I’ve heard this a while ago that something was in the works with deb but not nelson. whose got the scoop?

• I heard Ms. D say she and Michael are in the process of opening a company in Birgit’s name because Michael’s name is not safe to put it under. Ever wonder why the Citrus Park Venture judgement mentions Estate Wine Group, Cork & Olive Franchise AND

• Michael Probst?? I’ll post more when I find out..

• OMG, this is hilarious!!! I truly wish I could tell you what I know and who I am, but don’t want to blow my cover!! Anyone who would enter into any business venture with someone like Probst has to be out of their mind. But, he’s the kind of person who will continue to perform like this and never get caught! I am very glad I did not work for this company when it collapsed!

• Ditto Come on…. Soon you might be asked to testify or make statements. Hope everyone will come together and put all the truly evil trio away. Probst name is dirt and Birgits name is linked to his so I doubt anyone would give them money. Once the newspapers and news find out there is an investigation into how Probst stole from the franchisees.Then they will be seen as victims and people will rally for them.

• So, Rainer claims he and Michael are no longer friends. He is bad-mouthing Michael to the franchisees hoping they will come on board with him. Says it will be totally different with him running the show. Former employees, tell us the truth. We need to know. Did Michael scam Rainer just like he did the rest of us? Is Rainer a better businessman than Michael? Is he legitament?

• Hey, Former Employee,

  I think you are right on. The only time Probst was “with you” is when you were giving him money. I have heard that he had conversations in his corporate office where he said he didn’t give a “fudge” about payroll and was gonna pay someone else, probably Ranier instead!!!

  Nelson is just as bad, I am told. Supposedly, she covered for Probst most of the time. BUT, now that there are tax issues that have not been resolved, that it is the responsibility of Probst and Nelson to get straight.

• Wow, I just kinda came back to life for a few hours and got hit with this. But, they told me I could do a lotta good if I would just tell the truth about a certain company in town.

  Now, Cork & Olive Corp is totally gone. Franchises are a hit and miss, but may survive individually if they really work it.

  Michael Probst and Stephanie Nelson will be in jail within the next ninety days for their part in the illegalities of the company.

  So, I have to go now… If you sing “Jailhouse Rock” I may come back, but for now… “Elvis has left the building!”

• Speak up. Help put “these people” in jail. There is no reason not to speak up. Probst never cared about anyone. He told me he doesn’t have friends and he doesn’t care about anyone. With that knowledge, tell the story. Don’t leave anyting out.
  As far as Probst screwing Appold, he would take advantage of his own mother and more than likely has.
  He has been “friends” with Appold for 30 years, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t steal from him too. I think they will remain tied together because of all the links they have. Stealing from our gov.,stealing from everyone-franchisees, vendors and landlords, etc. They import and distribute wine and sell retail. So with that being said, proceed with caution!

• Michael Probst and Stephanie Nelson will be in jail within the next ninety days for their part in the illegalities of the company.

  If Michael Probst goes to prison, we have an idea for how he can make back some of the money he owes. Prisoners make “prison wine” in their toilets; they will love having Probst to help monetize their endeavor:

  http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/06/cork-olive-probst-prison-wine-humor/

• Wanda..I have been speaking up..to the right people..let’s hope they do their jobs!!

  From what I hear, Stephanie is squirming at this moment..claims she’s “not an officer on paper.” I’m sure I speak for many ex-employees like myself and a host of vendors and franchisees…Stephanie might think she’s safe but we would all testify that she called the shots just as much as Michael!

• Don’t forget Deborah Augenti in all of this! She was the one who sold the franchisees the bill of goods. She may have made payroll for all of you occasionally, but, she did NOTHING for the franchisees. After she made her sale, all she did was complain about how much effort the franchisees were. She said, “Life was good before franchises.” Really. You thought these poor souls were going to make you rich, famous and powerful. Sorry, they may just make you famous.

• Let’s face it..the only reason Deborah Augenti covered payroll was so that she could brag about the fact that she did.

• Deborah Augenti is just as crooked as Stephanie Nelson, Michael Probst, and Rainer Appold. Don’t think for a second they weren’t all tied to this big scam. Deborah knew there were problem, looked people in the face, Michael looked people in the face and complained how everyone did their jobs. Same with Nelson, Just goes to show the ones who complain are the ones who back stab the most. We all work hard, and he worked hard to find his next person to rip off. He didn’t care if i was your last cent. What a bunch of pathetic people. They will be judged in the end, believers or not, they will be judged!

• Dagonit, you guys have me laughing from my grave! That toilet wine bit was just too funny! And to think I died on my toilet when I coulda been making wine in it!

  Michael, you’re just a “hunk of burnin’ love”.

  XXXXXOOOOO,
  Elvis

• I AM THE IRS AND AM REALLY NOT HAPPY WITH THE CORK AND OLIVE CORPORATION, ESTATE WINE GROUP, ET AL. I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET PAYMENTS FOR PAYROLL AND SALES TAXES AND DID NOT GET THEM, WHICH UPSETS ME! MOMMA IRS WON’T BE HAPPY WITH THIS!

  I GUESS I’M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION TO MAKE SURE THESE PEOPLE KNOW THAT I MEAN BUSINESS.

  OKAY, I GOT A MICHAEL PROBST AND A STEPHANIE NELSON THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT PAYING TAXES… A JUDGE WOULD PROBABLY DETERMINE THAT THEY NEED TO DO JAIL TIME FOR THAT.

  WHAT DO YOU THINK??

• Oh, junior IRS stand in line.
  Hope a Judge will give them back to back sentencing, so to speak. Again Probst has had another week of fancy dinners, cigs, and Starbucks. Think about it. Probst stole money from everyone he met, didn’t pay taxes, has lots of judgements, and lawsuits, but still gets to walk around free to spend the money he accumulated and placed in off shore bank accounts. Funny! More than likely the only thing that will put him in jail will be the IRS.
  What I really think is a quick court trial with lots of media and the people he has screwed over watching. Nelson first so she sings like a bird. Then Aurgenti (Plasto woman) and watch her turn on him. Then Super German realizing he can’t get out of this. His wife Birgit looking on. Then he gets on the stand and have the attorney’s play with him. In the end Birgit will be better off. She could go back to Germany were she always wanted to be. Probst will be in jail in America pleasing the other inmates. Don’t think they serve Starbucks in jail? Nelson will be put in some nice woman’s prison. Augenti will also be put away, loose her money and won’t be able to maintain that taunt look any more. What will they all do? Maybe we should all send pictures after they are sent away of everyone in Starbucks with the comment “thinking of you.”

• This is nothing new with small, new companies trying to make it big. They all can’t be Starbuck’s!
  But as record has it, the owner and the CEO’s are usually the only ones that are ever touched by the courts because they have the responsibility to stay within the law. Stephanie is not an officer, she was more or less a manager. You may think she was calling the shots, but when it came down to it, Michael always had the final say. He was EWG & Cork&Olive!
  Deborah Augenti was the Director of Franchise Sales, and she did her job; she sold franchises.
  Every small company has financial issues, especially ones that are trying to expand before they are ready; unfortunately only a handfull make it out alive. Those that die the terrible death have all had issues with borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and vice versa; it is an instinct of survival. I am not saying that they are correct in their actions, or even ethical; i am just saying it is a fact of life.
  The franchisees aren’t scrambling to keep their heads above water. They are having an easier time of it now; with no royalties to pay, etc. Now they call the shots, and can finally sell the products they have been dreaming of. For most, they are looking forward to being able to turn a profit.
  Every company that is newly selling franchises can not guarentee that their plan is a perfect one; they can only sell their concept as unique and alluring. Most of the franchisees that bought into the company knew perfectly well that they ultimately were on their own as far as making their businesses successfull. No owner of a franchise, for example a McDonald’s owner, can rely on the corporate entity to make them successful, if they do they fail. The only thing the mother corporation is there for is to offer advice on sales, help get mass advertising at an “affrodable” rate, and to supply the branding through products they choose. The franchisee has to be business savvy. Anyone who purchases a franchise and has no business knowledge, sales experience, or has never run their own business will fail, no matter how well run the mother corporation is.
  As far as the employees being duped by Michael and the concept, you have to have been pretty ignorant to think things were all daffodils and roses at corporate. As a former employee, with more than 2 years under my belt, I saw the signs within the first week of employment with a C&O store. They were going to have to do a lot of climbing to get out of the sink hole that kept getting wider and deeper. Those of you that sit an boo-hoo are simply pathetic. The running joke by every employee was not “what if” but “when”; so those of you who are now crying foul and full of it and are just trying to get the attention that you only wished Michael paid you when you worked for him.
  Bottom line, the business concept was great; but the employees were lacking in their sales skills, and attitudes; the stores had not making the money the company needed to survive for a very long time. Unfortunately, deciding whether to pay rent, utilities or product invoices was a daily chore because the stores made little to no profit.
  Anyone who worked at corporate knew that the franchisees were surpassing the corporate stores in sales and customer base very rapidly; and this was because the franchisees were motivated by building their businesses and knew that if they failed they would lose a very large investment; our corp. store employees only cared about cashing their paychecks, the success of the company was not any of there concern.
  The main thing Stephanie was guilty of was sticking up for the very same managers that rang each of those corporate stores to the ground.
  Amen!

• Dear Me, you made some valid points, yet unless you personally worked at the corporate office, you truly did not know the true Ms. Nelson. As someone else wrote on one of these blogs, she was a corporate seagull, fly in sh** on you and then leave and she did the same with everyone who worked for the company with the exception of her favorites which were typically men since she felt extremely threatened by women possibility due to her lack of higher education. She was very professional at donkey kissing Michael. Would you give up a hell of a salary, give up your Mercedes, cell phone, insurance, company debt card and all other bonuses that were attached with her position?? I think not. I mean come on you take a woman who was backing her husband with his career and then then poof you are made into a director of operations position with no prior experience? how successful could the employees be if the person in charge was very inadequate herself. there were many talented, intelligent people who, at one time or another, worked for this corporation yet if you didn’t do what Michael and stephanie wanted to do, then you were dissed, told you were useless even while customer witnessed this happening. No Michael didnt care who was around when he would remind you that he was the KING in charge. Perhaps those smarter ones were the ones who got out a short while after they figured it out. The rest who stuck around might have been more foolish, yet it was called a job and the job paid for the mortgage payment, etc. I still say Stephanie Nelson was just as responsibile for the demise of the company. she lived just as well as michael did when it came to living as though the company was already the “starbucks of the wine industry.’ she’s just as good at being a con artist as he was- he taught her well, and dont let anyone tell you anything different.

• oh and dear me, although she might not have been listed as an “officer” she certainly was an acting officer which makes her just as guilty. Ask any one who worked there, including the current franchisees as to whether or not anyone could do anything without her approval which includes advertising. her word was final. so be it.

• I am a former corporate employee, and am well aware of SN’s love of the male employees.
  You are also correct in saying she was not qualified for managing the operations of the company, everyone knew that!
  As far as the franchisees go, most did what they wanted even without her approval. Plenty of them were advertising without permission, and even had other wines and products in their stores without corporate’s permission.
  As far as Stephanie giving approval for advertising and such; tell me the name of a company who’s owner is the only one that gives approval on such matters. Having the power to give approval for such things does not make you an officer, nor does it make you legally responsible for the companies dealings.
  Stephanie definitley thought she was the head honcho, and indeed at times she had to act like it; but that does not mean anything in the end.
  It was Michael’s company, and he was very careful not to give anyone the power to make any real decisions. Why do you think Tom Ronzino’s stint there was such short lived?

  It all boils down to accountability. The managers never had to show accountability for the way they mismanaged their stores, the “corporate trainers, etc.” never had to show accountability for their inconsistency in training our franchisees, the “director of training” never had to show accountability for his inconsistency in training the trainers, Stephanie never had to show accountability for her lack of qualifications when hiring these “directors of” and managing the management team,a nd Michael never had to show accountability for his faults. The franchisees who knowingly broke the aggreement only to sell those items that were part of the corporate model, were never held accountable.

  In the end Michael may be the only one who will have to show accountability.

  He made some very bad decisions, some may have even been maliciously made, but for the most part he loved his company and only wanted to succeed. He did not agree with anyone who wanted to stand in his way, or thought they knew what was better for the company than he, the man who gave birth to the concept, model and idea.

  Perhaps that is why he baulked at the hedge fund having controlling interest; would you let someone buy your only child just because you haven’t been able to feed and cloth them 100% of the time? This company was Michael’s baby; and although he was often insensitive, rude and sometimes just plain cruel, he tried to be the best parent he could, no matter how misguided his efforts may have been.

  IF the company is not salvaged by whatever corporation that may be waiting in the wings, than of course, Michael should be held responsible for his financial decisions that ultimately put an end to the life of his baby. But like any parent who has unintentionally cause pain to their young children, he should be allowed to mourn his loss in peace.

  The only ones’ who really have a right to come after him are those who have been financially burdened by his decisions. As far as the employees, especially the one’s from the corporate office, you all knew what was coming and had plenty of time to find other employment. You were not foolish or ignorant, you chose to stick around either to laugh as the ship sank, or because of plain laziness. The end was well over a year in the making!

• great concept yes! but to sell franchises to people and not let them know the company could be in jeopardy is wrong. so all those people who put up with the trio deserved to be told what was going on!

• Well, bottom line is Michael, Stephanie and Deborah would lie to anyone who would write them a check. Business plan was flawed from inception which was the demise of the company. Employees were treated with total disrespect, and encouraged to believe in the BS company they had created. When it fell, they didn’t care about anyone but themselves…

  I can’t wait to see the witness line at the court hearing! Could go on for days!

• WOW, ME, if nobody else could tell, you are definitely Stephanie trying to “explain things”. Nobody cares what you think at this point, because there are too many people that will testify in court that you were definitely “THE DECISION MAKER” when Michael wasn’t around, so you are just as guilty as he is!

• Michaels idea of marketing was leave open the store doors so they know where open.

• I had to stop reading this blah. Michael Probst is a CON MAN. A THEIF. A LIER!

  The only thing Probst loves is himself and money. He doesn’t care about Cork and Olive, the franchisees, or anything else. He was a tyrant, just like some other Germans before him. He didn’t care about his employees and let them know that on a daily basis. There was no job security, no community. The employees concerns or ideas didn’t matter to Probst, or Nelson. They were just people at the stores so they could sell franchises make lots of money and then put the whole business up for sale. This was his plan from the beginning. I know this because he told me.
  So in turn the employees didn’t care about the stores. Yes, the job was a pay check, big surprise? I don’t think so, nobody is going to really put the time and effort in a job if the people they work for are always belittling them.

  As far as who is responsible for the demise, the trio again. They all knowingly took peoples money lied to them to make a buck. Yes, companies do in fact have financial difficulties in the beginning and may juggle. Probst and Nelson didn’t juggle, they spent like there was no tomorrow. Both didn’t know how to money manage, people manage or manage anything. What makes all of this soooooo wrong is there is a government agency that made them write a business plan carry it out, show success and then write and submit for approval a document called a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC). In this there can be no judgements, or hanky panky going on. Well, that 2 inch document kept being passed on to the unsuspecting future business people for review and none of them ever were aware of the trouble Probst and the companies were in because he didn’t list it.
  With this being said. The Trio are guilty. They should be made to stand trial and be given sentences for the crimes they have committed.
  As far as the franchisees they paid a hefty amount of money to Probst and the company for 10 years of support, Probst fault the company failed. There was an advertising fund and it wasn’t used to promote business but was used to promote Probst lavish lifestyle.
  The employees unfortunately worked for the wrong persons and company. Let them vent. It is all they will get from Super German.
  As soon as I have a date and time for people to tell the C&O story I will post.
  By the way I warned Nelson that she would be the fall girl. She new what she was doing was wrong and didn’t care. Remember I also told you Probst used her credit cards to purchase things for him. Wonder if this was ever paid???

• Listen – ME is not STEPHANIE it is Deborah. For One Stephanie is supposed to be in Mexico about now – how convenient! How’d she afford that trip? oh wait–paid vacation ? HMMM might wanna have someone check into that one. Remember how she (deborah)always stuck up for Michael and his dream-and continues to do so? and she always mentioned how this company was his baby-hell he had one son who he didn’t even acknowledge probably because he wouldn’t give his old man money to spend on himself.
  And thank you WANDA for letting ME AKA DEBORAH know that it is the employees RIGHTS to voice their opinions (THIS IS AMERICA – FREE SPEECH NOT GERMANY) because during the duration of our employment that certainly was never the case or else we would have been fired not laid off. and also when I find out the date and time of the trial which is supossed to be around July 24 or so – I will be posting as well because we ALL HAVE THE RIGHT to watch the Julisturm Tower of Germany to crumble and I DO HOPE STEPHANIE is standing next to it as it crumbles on top of her as well!

• to wanda / josh
  and your little tribe of pathetic, cowardly groupies.
  I know you are having the time of your life,spewing lies and inuendos.
  it is not surprising that you have been fired from most of the jobs you have held
  my sympathy to any employer who might hire you.
  assuming you are ever able to find a job.
  it is obvious that you would rather sit in a blog and unload your useless banter.
  someday you may realize that it is you , who is corrupt and petty.

• awaiting moderation. July 1st, 2008 2:50 pm to wanda / josh
  and your little tribe of pathetic, cowardly groupies.
  I know you are having the time of your life,spewing lies and inuendos.
  it is not surprising that you have been fired from most of the jobs you have held
  my sympathy to any employer who might hire you.
  assuming you are ever able to find a job.
  it is obvious that you would rather sit in a blog and unload your useless banter.
  someday you may realize that it is you, who are corrupt and petty.

• Sounds like MOOSE is a pissed off Stephanie! Well, trial will tell who is gonna wear orange when there are 50+ people standing in line to tell their horror story of working for the company!

• As far as Stephanie’s personal AmEx credit card being used to purchase things for the company..that card was paid off and then some. When I started working there that card had a $10,000 balance. Stephanie made sure that card was paid off and then cancelled it. Sneaky woman, Stephanie, she would pay for things on the AmEx card, have the company pay the credit card bill and also put in an expense report for the same items..nice..

  As far as Stephanie not being an “officer” of the company..take a look at the corporate store offerings. Stephanie is listed as a “key employee”, with the title of Chief Operating Officer. Obviously Stephanie read this document, but she allowed it to circulate anyway.

  And some of you might like to know, Stephanie has been stripped of her car, her cellphone, company debit card, etc..

  Looks like she’s not standing behind Michael, instead she’s sticking by her story that she wasn’t the decision maker, only listened to what Michael told her to do. The fact is, like I said in a previous post, whether or not she actually held the title of an “officer” of the company she KNEW what was going on, especially with payroll and sales taxes not being paid. She was DEFINITELY in a position of authority when it came to saying what would and what would not be paid..just ask anyone who worked in the accounting department..I’m sure they’d ALL agree.

• OMG you mean to tell me STEHPANIE NELSON basically STOLE money from the company? that’s exactly what she did if she charged items on her “company credit card” and then submitted an expense report for the same items”.. WTF…. no wonder none of the employee could get any type of increase in their own salary, Ms. Nelson was hoarding it all for herself! this is totally ridiculous and needs to be addressed with the courts – it very upsetting that, even though we knew she was two faced to employees but to go and double-dip on the expenses is a litle overboard!!! what a snake! Man I hope when she returns from CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO that she is brought up to date on all this crap so she knows that her ’employees’ weren’t as stupid as she thought!! MIchael taught her better than we imagined! I’m so furious that she had a facade being a semi-nice person with that raisin hair and those expensive clothes that Michael insisted she purchase by actually giving her a clothes allowance(more or less)! WTF AGAIN!! (ask Augenti about that one) and to think the entire time she was actually stealing from the company – even when the health insurance was cancelled about a year ago – it probably wouldn’t have been if you didn’t double dip! this is absurd!!! STAY IN MEXICO STEPHIE!!!!!

• Moose wrote: wanda / josh and your little tribe of pathetic, cowardly groupies. I know you are having the time of your life,spewing lies and inuendos.

  Hmmmm wrote: Sounds like MOOSE is a pissed off Stephanie!

  Actually, I think maybe Moose is bucking for a spot on Steph’s left butt cheek, right across from Woody:
  

  
  
  Check out FranWorst: Worst Franchises Anywhere

• ADMIN – you truly have a fantastic sense of humor! perhaps her cell makes will ink a moose on her left cheek ! LOL

• Wow…..you can’t make this stuff up! ME….who ever you really are, unless you ever worked in the corporate stores and also for the Franchise Corp, you have no idea how hard some people worked to keep Michael’s “baby” alive. Many of us knew the company was in a lot of trouble, HOWEVER ME, many of us were told consistently by Nelson & Probst that Franchise Corp. was healthy and would carry on after EWG was gone. Of course we always knew not to trust those two but when you really love a concept, love working with wine and feel a responsibilty to helping the Franchisees in any small way possible, it’s not laziness that keeps you on board, it’s drive to make a small company work. Another thing ME….how smug and cowardly of you to call the corporate employees lazy, careless and whatever ridiculous comments you made. Every retail organization has plenty of store employees just making a paycheck. That’s retail but wasn’t it the repsonsibility of the owner and his top people to monitor and LISTEN when there were true concerns about employees who were not worthy of working in the company? I know from the moment I was hired I was given great responsibility and then was just left to train myself and figure it out on my own. Many of us struggled to get Stephaine to listen and often our calls/e-mails were ignored. Things became worse once the company decided to Franchise. The corporate employees were flat out ignored. The store visits became non-exsistent and the store bonuses for maintaining store standards disappeared with no explanation. Any encouragment & incentives to work hard were gone. The bonus structure was a damn joke. We were told if we stayed with the company we would go far, we would be rewarded to be exact. I have been in retail for a very long time ME and have never seen an owner and his right hand people treat their employees with so little interest. Wanda is very correct when she/he says Michael expressed his lack of care for the stores. He said it to several people. Stephanie often made remarks that the stores would be sold so there was no sense in bothering with firing bad employees. It was a constant reminder to the corporate employees that when their store was sold, their job was gone if they weren’t absorbed in to Franchise Corp. So ME, when you stop visiting your employees, take their incentives away, leave them with a pathetic bonus structure and tell them that their store will be sold soon (as Stephanie often liked to claim) what do you expect from a group of people payed one of the lowest retail management salaries I have ever seen? Not to mention the constant degrading remarks people like you let slip out there about how pathetic they were. You think the degrading remarks didn’t make their way to the stores? I knew a lot of good manager’s/employees who left due to Michael’s abuse, Stephaine’s lack of leadership and rude treatment from the corporate office. Good training, strong work ethic and overall good management starts at the TOP. Michael & Stephanie allowed many people to figure out how to run their stores by themselves. They also ignored very valid compliants from many manager’s about bad employees/manager’s in the company. The remaining corporate manager’s hung in there because they were told they would have Franchise Corp opportunities no matter what happened to EWG. Then on the Franchise side ME, once again, people were given great responsibility with no training. You want to slam the “director of training” and his “corporate trainers”, please, start with the TOP once again! You start by bringing in to the Franchise Corp. two super young guys to handle the Franchisees! Stephaine and Michael just let them loose and rarely monitored where they were and what they were doing. You can’t just have meetings with people and expect them to go out and assist business owners! These two were set up for failure and then left alone to do whatever. Then you bring in more people and just tell them to go out and “help” the Franchisees. Once again, no training. How can anyone truly help these business owners when you are not given the tools to do so? The biggest complaint the Franchisees had was lack of product, lack of marketing and inconsistent training. Hmmmm, ME…..how can the support team fix lack of product when Michael would not make the Franchisees pay for it? Gee ME, he kept sending them product without collecting payments until the very end! The corporate team had no control over that and when Franchisees brought in products that were not approved, Michael & Stephanie allowed them to get away with it! Stephanie always said when we were a stronger company, then we could have more power but for now it would have to slide. No control from the beginning sank that ship ME, no consistency! Every concern, complaint and issue that was brought to the Top people was often explained away with excuses and lies and then the support team had to go out and figure out how to do their jobs with little support from their bosses and no way to really fix big issues. The Franchisees had really tough questions and problems to deal with and they always complained about the lack of communication regarding the state of the company from Michael & Stephanie. They also complained that once Michael got their money, he ignored them. As for the employees just sticking around for a laugh and laziness, that is just plain disgusting. Yeah Me, it’s hilarious to loose vacation earned, sick time earned, expenses, a last paycheck….what a hoot…..super hilarious ME! The ones who stuck around ME were there because they didn’t want to give up. Also ME, the job market is very bad right now. And how about gaining experience ME? Many of us wanted to gain more experience so when we did leave, we had a better chance for finding a career…not just another job! You obvioulsy were not financially hurt by this company. Sounds like you have very deep pockets. You said Michael unintentionally hurt his children? Now that is hilarious ME. First off….I was never a child of that bastard. Second, many of us were happy to stay out of his path and did not want his attention due to his irrational, hot tempered behavior and last ME, how can it be his loss when he verbally expressed how he didn’t care about it? Doesn’t sound like a parent who cared about his children….sounds like a bad foster parent who only cared about collecting his money. Mourn his loss in peace……you must be a big fan of Probst. If you are in fact Debroah Augenti and really who cares because whoever you are makes little difference, let’s talk about honest work ethic! Champion scrabble player in the office, known gossip who often fueled troublesome rumors that got back to the corporate stores, known hater of corporate employees, happily made remarks about how ignorant the Franchise owners were, proud Gold Digger/Social snob wanna be and enjoyed getting employees in trouble or fired. Oh yes……..let’s not forget about “activities” outside of the office on company time that would make the rich hubby frown. There’s more but I don’t have enough room for a novel. Good companies start with good owners who never give up on taking their concept to the next level. They have strong business plans in place, responsible money management, consistent policies that are enforced and they lead by example. If you don’t enforce a good work ethic and enviroment then it’s your fault when you have careless management throughout your company. Just like parenting, you have to provide structure, consistently teach good values and provide a healthy environment to grow in. And whoever Moose is…you should just be ashamed by calling yourself Moose…..talk about pathetic!