Complaint Review: The Sod Store Inc

 I a college student at the nearby campus, worked for Jeff Gordon's 'The Sod Store Inc' alongside two other young adults over summer break, laying down sod in the heat or drizzling rain in Jax, FL. The pay was to be a digit above minimum wage an hour and payday was every week. After working 53 hrs in one week, I only received twenty-five percent of my paycheck in cash. Promised to receive the rest soon after never happen. So two days after my payday and I was not paid the remaining balance of my check, I quit. I would call and call, text and text (his preferred mode of contact) and stop by his shop when it was at 10536 Atlantic Blvd in the Avis car rental lot. Jeff would never have the owed money.

Jeff would give a sob story of how business was slow or how my former co-workers weren't working fast enough, or how he feels bad he cant pay us, or how he will pay me in two days because my former co-workers were finishing up a yard. But sadly after those promised two days I would never hear from him, he'd never answer my calls or texts, and when he did, it was with another excuse of why he cant pay. How can you not afford to pay your employees but you're steadily getting paid from customers paying for the sod and the labor of the "slow workers"? Jeff complained about my former co-workers' lack of speed laying down sod, de-weeding a yard, or tilling the yard but he wouldn't even help them at times (from personal experience as well), he'd sit in the company truck sleep, or eating his most favored sunflower seeds or chewing on tobacco.

I compromised with Jeff so many times, asking him to pay me out of his savings account, borrow from a friend, family member, anyone, he stuck with his excuses. Its hard enough for us college students to balance school and work as it is, we barely have money for food and other necessities. So for me to be cheated by someone for ten twenty dollar bills was just a slap in the face. I contacted proper legal services and proper law enforcement. It all boiled down to a civil suit or an mutual agreement between Jeff and I. Jeff failed to follow through and a civil suit, I had no money for. To this day I have received no call, text, email, or my remaining balance of my check from Jeff Gordon. And to this day he owes one of my former co-workers over two thousand dollars, the reason I quit before his debt got too deep with me. I respect Jeff as a man, Jeff was the coolest boss I've ever had in my entire life for that week. I just don't respect his business practices and moral actions.