Complaint Review: Marshall Carriage Company//Brian S. Mason - Marshall Michigan

Brian's employees left due to poor management and better opportunities elsewhere.  Some of us left last year because of his business decisions, because it was difficult to work with Brian.  During my time there he fired two employees; one of them legitimately was stealing from Brian, while the other apparently didn't meet performance standards.  Those are decisions left up to the employer and I will not dispute them.

However, the rest of his employees have simply quit.  Brian's business is poorly run and he resisted any and all attempts by his employees to assist in filing and streamlining day-to-day activities.

There were never more than three employees on per shift last year, unless there was a ghost tour and the guides were called in.  If employees were just "sitting around and collecting a paycheck," it was due to a slow business day.

He's far from the best employer I've had, and my former coworkers would agree (as evidenced by these reports).  Dealing with him after quitting has been a nightmare.  I've never had a former employer lie about me or my former coworkers, ever.  Following our departure, a former coworker and I had a fairly pleasant conversation with him, and at no point did we ever bring up returning to work for him; a week later, we learned he'd been telling others that we'd begged him for our jobs.

The taxes have been especially difficult.  He's only filed W-2s after we took action.  Otherwise, he was withholding some of our wages and planning to pay us that withholding after the business had filed its taxes--that's not legal.  Some of us didn't even get 1099s and had to speak to the IRS about their tax situation.  Throughout he's been entirely unhelpful.  The only reason anything's been taken care of is due to his accountant's helpfulness, and even then, we've all had to file amended returns.  That should not have happened.  Our wages and taxes should have been filed properly before the filing deadline.

As well, he's still made advances on female employees.  However he would like to conduct his personal life is in his hands, but making advances on employees is unethical in the extreme.

The above report is a complete fabrication, exaggeration, and is outright slanderous speak of Mr. Mason and his company.  I know Brian personally, and know that none what is written above is true, but due to the nature of this website being a free speech forum and for-profit, without paying $2,000 for an arbitrator through the website, nothing can be done to remove the damaging, cruel, and completely fabricated comments stated above.  So, as a consumer, you can hear both sides of the story and decide what you believe.

The above comments are believed to have been written by an ex-girlfriend and ex-employee of Mr. Mason and are nothing but personal attacks, and lies at that.  First of all, did a fifth grader write this?  It's hard to take anyone seriously whose English skills are sub-par at best.  Brian treated all of his employees with the utmost respect, and actually spent thousands of dollars all summer and fall treating them to dinners while on shift to thank them for their hard work.  Brian does not drink all day every day... again, nothing but personal attacks.  Do you have some sort of proof as to what abusive and aggressive behavior you speak of?  Every employee I've talked to of his said he was the best employer they've ever had, treated them well, and allowed them more than sufficient breaks and paid meals.  The $50 a night you claim he spends on alcohol... yes, you're right, he spent almost $50 a night on alcohol... for his EMPLOYEES to drink at the Stagecoach Inn next door.  To thank them for their hard work, he often covered his employees tabs at the bar at the end of the night.  To turn that around and accuse Mr. Mason of being an alcoholic who spends money on his drinking habit instead of his horses shows a severe lack of appreciation for his generosity.

Brian's horses are legal, have all their vaccinations, and if you need proof of this you can contact him yourself and he will direct you to his veterinarians who have their records.  As far as him not paying his animal service providers promptly?  I believe the above poster is referring to the vaccinations she offered to pay for as a GIFT to him, and then after their relationship ended, she decided not to pay the bills and to send them to Brian instead.  Those bills have been paid.  The mare who had a side bone issue had it in ONE leg, not three, and the people who purchased the mares from him were fully aware of this when they made the purchase.  He sold the mares to a farm where they would be used mainly for the young children of the purchasers to show at 4H.  They have since sent pictures of the two mares showing that they are being well cared for.  These pictures are available on the Marshall Carriage Co. facebook page.  The mares had been working hard on an Amish farm before Mr. Mason purchased them and after 3 years working for the carriage company, he decided it would be best for them to stop working so much while they were still young enough.  He did what was in the best interest of the horses by selling them to a farm where they wouldn't have to work anymore.

Every time I have been to the farm where his other horses currently reside, there is a huge pile of hay in the middle of the field and always water in the trough.  Again, saying otherwise is nothing but lies and personal attacks meant to make Mr. Mason look bad.  The horses chew on the trees and plastic fencing because they are horses... they chew on everything.  They are animals, and they chew on those things regardless of whether or not they have food, NOT because they are hungry.  As to the comment that his current horses, Gabe and Chief are underweight... um, have you SEEN those two horses?  They are far from underweight.  Chief in particular is quite a hefty fella.  Define what you consider "underweight" for a Percheron and you might have some credibility, but I highly doubt his horses fall into that category.  They look large, healthy, happy, and full of life.  The horses have no sores on their sides or anywhere on their bodies for that matter.  They are beautiful and well cared for.  His current two horses are rotated every day of work and it is rare that one of them works two days in a row.  He has the horses' names written in chalk on the sidewalk each day that they work and even has a schedule with the horses' work days written on it available at the store.

All of his employees left the company because of a combination of personal issues that stemmed from Mr. Mason's relationship and breakup with an ex-employee that turned into a bunch of high school drama that they were all too immature not to get sucked into, and the lack of a need for the huge staff he brought on board last summer.  Mr. Mason does not need as many employees as he had working for him last year to run the carriage company, and thus has let many of them go to cut costs.  Some were let go because they were found to be stealing from him.  Any smart businessman would do the same if they had a bunch of ungrateful, selfish employees sitting around the store not doing anything and collecting a paycheck from him and then being treated to food and drinks at the bar later that night.  Thousands of dollars were spent all summer and fall to treat his employees like royalty and this is the thanks he gets?

Mr. Mason has filed his taxes with the IRS and has cleared up any confusion or misconceptions about how he was filing his taxes with his employees.  It is all taken care of at this point and the IRS is not investigating him.  Also, I have yet to come across a single person in the community who doesn't think his horses are being well cared for except a jaded ex-girlfriend who is out to destroy his business and his life.

This "child pedophile" that you speak of... is not a child pedophile at all, and in fact was never even an employee of Mr. Mason's.  He was a guy who hung out in the store here and there who was friends with some of the employees and often volunteered to help at the store.  He is not on any registered sex offender list in the country, he is just a little socially awkward and can come across as creepy.  After Brian found out he was making some of the employees uncomfortable, Brian immediately asked him not to frequent the store anymore.  Calling someone of this nature a child pedophile is not only slander, but is completely uncalled for and damaging to that man's reputation.  You should be ashamed of yourself for stooping so low just to attempt to make Brian look bad.

Long story short... the report above is nothing more than inaccurate, malicious, slanderous attacks on Mr. Mason and his business written by a bitter and vengeful ex-employee.  It is all fabricated to paint him in the worst possible light and anyone who wants to know exactly what the Marshall Carriage Company is all about and whether or not it is a respectable business run by a man who cares deeply about his horses and the community, they need only to stop downtown and speak to the owner themselves.  This community thrives on its historical atmosphere and unique attributes, such as the carriage company, which draw tourism and profit into the community.  To take a personal vendetta against Mr. Mason and post something this horrifically inaccurate is not only an attack on him, but on the entire community.