It's aggravating when you get a Bad Moment in the middle of what should be a triumph, isn't it?.

I'm just, you know, over breaking my heart for this place. It's hard to keep caring. You've all heard my endless whining about ingratitude and stupidity, so I won't repeat that particular theme today. Instead, I'll offer a variation.

Three locations have closed in the past three weeks. Two were owned by one pair o'nuts and the other by a hitherto unmentioned she'Nut. In both cases, I've been beating my head against the wall for a year trying to find business and drive it to these people. No matter what I drove, they just were getting enough "good" leads to keep the bills paid.

Or, so they said. Just now, I was told that these Bad 'Nuts did not, in fact, "fail" due to lack of business.

No, in fact, they seem to have had an abundance of business. So much so that they decided they would be better off taking their little gold mines and running away from the home office. Each of these former 'Nuts has, in complete violation of their non-compete agreements, reinvented themselves as a competing, stand-alone businesses.

And, yes, they left owing us here at home tens of thousands of dollars.

The pair o'Nuts are suspected of having spent the last six months funneling money into a sekrit account, while crying poverty and not paying us their contractual fees.

The she'Nut actually declared herself bankrupt--but not until a month after she incorporated her new business (operating out of the same physical location) and moved all of her assets over to it. About all she left in the old 'Nut business was her debt to us and now, via bankruptcy, she's asking the courts to absolve her of having to pay it.

Why do I even bother?

Although this is a unique situation, I honestly do feel, much of the time, as though I've spent most of my business life enriching people who subsequently pack up and move on without so much as a good-bye wave.

I was already in a funk today. It's month-end reporting and for the first time since I wandered into the Argonut Café--sixteen months ago--leads were flat last month from the same time last year. That's the first time I haven't delivered an increase.