Cork & Olive: Will Rainer Appold Seize Hold of the Reins?
June 22, 2008
(Best Franchise Opportunities) Rumors are swirling about what will and/or should happen next with the troubled Cork & Olive wine franchise chain. Some say Rainer Appold will soon take ahold of the reins.
Dummy wrote:
"So the word on the street is that Rainer is going to re-open the franchise corp. He will be running the show. Who knows?" and "Not all of the other franchisees are on board with this. Several would not touch Rainer with a ten foot pole. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me."
Adam asked:
"What are people’s opinions of Rainer Appold? I’m told that he and a few others are putting up money to revive Cork and Olive without any involvement of Michael Probst.
Does anyone know if it’s true that Appold and Probst are not getting along these days?
Can a Cork and Olive led by Rainer Appold succeed?
I’m told that most of the current franchisees are on board with this, except for the stores owned by Rick Munroe. Does anyone know if this is true/not true?"
WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHO IS RAINER APPOLD? DOES HE HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION? CAN AND WILL HE PULL TOGETHER CORK & OLIVE & GET IT BACK ON TRACK?
AND WHERE IS MICHAEL PROBST IN ALL THIS?
Franchisees, customers & experts vote for their favorite new franchises at Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.
Visit FRANBEST’s: Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and business opportunities.
Information provided by the franchise company. FranBest has not verified every statement or claim, and does not endorse any specific franchises, franchise companies or specific franchise opportunities. We recommend thorough investigation before investing.
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!
DEAR ME – AKA DEBORAH AUGENTI -HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT THE CORPORATE EMPLOYEES WERE LAZY! Talk about pathetic!!! Who was the one who would come into the office with absolutely nothing to do and play scrabble all damn day??? HUH???
we were the ones who worked while we were there. We were the ones who tried our best to do our job but your friends Michael and Stephanie didn’t have enough brain cells to know what actually was the right way to do things but only the corkandolive way to do things which was the absolute wrong way. They were the ones who had their priorities screwed up thinking it was more important to taste wine all day instead of working on a business plan to help the franchisee with their business. They were the ones who were busy spending money on a portal to the website (of which we still can’t understand why waste that money when you could have been paying sales and payroll taxes!
They were the ones who would ALLOW LAZY managers to continue to earn a paycheck even though they wouldn’t show up for work and they were the ones who continued to give these lazy managers their bonuses -it didn’t matter that their store was not selling anything but lets still give them a bonus–WHAT? talked about a screwed up mind! They were the ones who said OH we can’t fire Paula Jones – even though she worked maybe 25 hours per week (and got paid for 40) because she does well at home parties and then John Johnson at the Largo store for working probably 2 days out 5 and still give him a bonus? WHAT??? You had managers who went over and beyond their call of duty – did they get any recognition whatsoever? Don’t think so. Did the corporate employees receive any additional compensation for the extraodinary amount of overtime hours they put in? did the corporate employees receive any type of bonus for keeping their mouths shut? Did the corporate employees continue to show up everyday knowing this could be the day the office closes and did the corporate employees continuously DO THEIR JOB as best they could full well knowing that Michael, stephanie and YOU DEBORAH were out dining, wining (whining) and spending company funds on yourself and prospective franchises in order to pay you (DEBORAH) your bonus???? and Stephanie her bonus??? And you talk about the corporate employees being lazy – woman get a life – only stick with your husband and not the others! Once again you open your mouth wayyyy too much – everyone knew you were the one to go to if information needed to be passed away quickly. Oh… but don’t tell anyone were your famous words! we certainly hope you are keeping up with Michael and stehpanie when it comes to these blogs because they truly do need to know how the employees felt about them. But then again, as someone stated earlier – there might be a line of 50 – no make that at least a 100 employees begging for time to tell their story. It’s called a job woman – we need to pay bills something that you have idea about because you are a golddigger! I need a glass of Probst wine now! or is it vinegar as well??
Wow, former employee on july 2- wow.
Bravo! What more is there to say.
And yes, Moose- I will continue to blog, just because I know you are reading….
(this isn’t josh)
Wanda, whoever you are, high five! It’s been brought to my attention that ME could also be a Franchisee who remains close to Probst. When the company collapsed, one of our Tampa Franchisee’s had prior knowledge the company was shutting down. They did not share this information with other Franchisees and seem to hold Michael in high regard. They were often known to call Michael “The father” of this company. They also complained about various employees of Franchise Corp. I find it sad that this particular Franchise would have knowledge that the company was closing and not show loyality to fellow Franchisees. Since so many people accuse you of being Josh, who in your opinion is ME if not the infamous Augenti?
Your fan,
FE
Former Employee..you totally nailed it..I couldn’t have said it better myself!!
FYI, thank you and I have enjoyed your postings as well. I am sick & tired of hearing how the store managers, corporate office employees and training team are pathetic, lazy, taking humor in losing their income & benefits and all the other garbage ignorant people like ME & Moose have posted.
Every company has it’s bad eggs but our “leaders” often ignored or made excuses for them and left the rest of us who really did work above and beyond in our ever changing job roles and responsibilities to try to fix their messes. As you know training was a struggle and many of us made constant suggestions and kept telling the dynamic duo we needed more training and support to truly make a difference in store standards and Franchise operations. Not until the end did we see Nelson finally fire bad manager’s who had been time frauding, stealing and just overall being poor manager’s and redo the Franchise training program.
There needed to be a bigger support team that was mature and could handle the work load and the corporate stores needed real motivation and just plain attention to get back to where they used to be. Plus, how many times did we hear sensible people say we needed advertising for this company? In a bad economy you have to encourage customers to spend on luxury items, not just swing your doors open and try to sell home parties to customers when they walk in.
Bad locations were a major problem and Sip & Dip was out of control and old. How about sales? Bad economy means people want bargains but oh no….Michael did not do sales. Then we don’t pay bills so we don’t get our highest selling wines in for months at a time and get told month after month that the Germans were on vacation, then someone was sick and only one employee could get the wine ready, then it’s on a boat……the store employees get bashed by the customers, the Franchisees are livid not to have their top wines and support/corporate is supposed to solve this how? One lie and excuse after another but hey go out and fix it! If ME wants everyone to stop whining as they seem to think we are doing then how about this……Probst or Augenti, maybe even Nelson can stop hoarding what is left of company money and pay everyone what they earned! Take care of the people who were loyal to a fault and finally reward them for sticking around. You don’t just shut the doors and say “Thanks for all you did.”
There were Franchisees who never even got a call from Probst or Nelson to explain what was happening and ME thinks this is just business. You don’t take people’s money, sell them a concept and then just walk away without a formal notice and one huge apology. Franchisees were still calling around days after this happened trying to get any response about what happened. Maybe ME thinks that just business and not personal but ME apparently has the morality of a rat. Actually I would put ME & Moose on a lower scale.
You want high quality retail manager’s, then you have to bring in seasoned, experienced, customer service oriented employees. You have to train them well, pay them what they are worth and show them support and leadership. You want high quality corporate trainers and office personnel, then hire the right people, pay them well and treat the good ones with the respect they deserve. I saw hard working office personnel who were very dedicated get treated like second class citizens.
Nelson was notorious for favoring men and Probst was unpredictable, abusive and deviant. Augenti thought way highly of herself and we all know about her lovely behavior in and out of the office yet she often slammed many hard workers and made up lies about them. It’s time many of us start standing up for the store manager’s and employees who did care and the office personnel that did an excellent job and made several of our lives easier when they had a huge work load to contend with.
my comments were directed to just a handful of former employees.
I wish the rest of you future success and happiness, and same for the franchisees
goodby and good luck.
As a franchisee, I would like to thank the former employees of Cork and Olive corporate and the ones I had the privilege of knowing from the corporate stores.
Unfortuantely, my appreciation is NOT extended to the trio. Each of you did your very best to help us given the information and products you had to work with. We knew you were working hard and we are very grateful. We ultimately had to learn it all on our own, not because of you, but, because of the structure of corporate. Yes, we did sell items not within the brand, but that was so we could try to pay the rent. Corporate had promised these items to us, even shown us samples of these products, but, never produced them. We bought them ourselves. Yes, we did run ads without corporate approval because Stephanie wanted a five week lead time on all ads. She was driving the major newspapers nuts. She just would not respond to proofs. We did submit every ad to Stephanie. She put us between a rock and a hard place. No, we did not pay our bills on time. One, Michael made promises on build-outs, products, profit, (even the prospectus)that were clearly incorrect. He had the franchisees backed into a corner before we even opened our doors. Two, the wines we could sell were never available. Three, SipNDip and other such brain storms were not profitable. We basically had a choice, pay the rent or pay the wine bill. And believe me, we were working very long hours. We knew what was being said about us at the home office. We were stupid in their eyes. Guess what? We were stupid to have bought into their scheme. All in all, the franchisees are a great group of people who are willing to go the extra mile to be successful and to help each other. It is sad to think one of
them knew of the demise of the company early.
I wish all of you the very best. I hope that you all find great jobs. If nothing else is gained, we have all learned a valuable lesson…if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. Run for your life.
Dear Dummy, being an ex-corporate employee I want to personally thank you for your words. I’m glad that at least one franchisee understood that it was not we the employees that made the final decision for anything. It was always stephanie and michael whose words were the final spoken. BUT.. now, we finally get a chance to voice our own opinion and we feel great about that! We at the corporate office did the think the franchisees were stupid and trust me when I say we understand your position and situation. We continued to work at this company because it allowed us to pay our bills – that doesn’t mean we were not looking for another job – we were. It’s difficult out there and even moreso now that we do not have an income! When I heard that one of the franchisees were aware that the company was closing in a couple more days (they knew on the Friday and we were told Monday morning) I was sickened. I never knew that this particular franchisee was continuing to stick next to Michael and was quite surprised when I learned who it was. I don’t wish to publish this individuals name but… they know who they are. We still await to hear what the bankruptcy court decides what the next steps are. Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 – it seems as though it will be Chapter 7 which is probably best. We can always come up with a new name with the “new corporation” of which I hope i will be a part of – and yes they have talked with me. I can assure you that many changes will be taking place – all good ones! Not only many new products but a face lift for the stores – much friendlier! I’ll keep you posted. but thanks again for your words of encouragement!! Best of success to whomever you are!
Dummy,
You said it all… I, in turn, wish each and every franchise the very best of luck. You didn’t have it easy; said many times before that once Probst got your money you were SOL, and it was true. He spent your wine pool money on his $300 dinners, private vacations and Nelson’s salary! I hope you all will be successful on your own!
Dear EX-employee:
Are you high?? Why would you want to be a part of any company this trio could possibly open??? Haven’t you had enough? Ohhhh,, sorry, maybe you are the one male that Stephanie wore short skirts for that didn’t have to “really” work and your name starts with a “T”… Hmmmm…makes sense that you would come back for that, you pervert!
Dear Ditto, I wasn’t talking about the Trio of Probst, Nelson and Augenti – I’m not interested in working with them ever again let alone seeing their faces again. I was talking about the Hedgefund people along with one of the attorney’s, and some other investors who are currently working on forming another organization. Give me some credit will ya!
Ditto, Just knowing & working with Timothy he would never lower himself to work for the trio. Also, it’s not the mans fault Stephanie behaved in that manner around men. I also know Timothy wasn’t all that taken by Ms. Nelson. He was just smart enough to manipulate her instead of her manipulating him like so many others. Timothy was misunderstood by a lot of people but if you really knew the man, he was pretty damn smart and stayed calm in a very difficult position. He was often put in a very bad position with the Franchisees with all the bad business dealings the trio were up to. It caused him to seem cold and distant to many thru his e-mails and phone conversations. I can promise you, you would not have wanted that man’s job. He also owned his own business before C&O and tried to make suggestions and offered solutions to get better and more product to the stores but was constantly road blocked by Michael & Nelson. As for being a pervert, the man could care less. He wouldn’t have touched Nelson with someone else’s pole…….
Dear EX employee/Former employee,
If you get involved with any of these ventures you are getting involved with bad people, i.e., Rainard, Giordano, the sleeziest attorney in town, etc. It would be no different than working for C&O. There ARE other jobs out there, trust me!
T, you so would have tapped it if you could!!
P.S. – Because of the relationship “T” had with Steph, he got away with not doing half of his job and blaming it on others…even though he didn’t know what he was doing because he wasn’t qualified to do the job, no matter how many businesses he owned..
“T’ ya know, I thought you were gay when I first met you and I think that you really are. Yuck!
DEAR DITTO…. i think i know who this is and I have to say-you were one of the laziest employees this company hired( many will agree with that).-not to mention screwed the books up enuf cuz you didn’t show up for work but u have no idea what ur doing so chill! lets not lose sight as to why we are complaining here- it has nothing to do with T or anyone else but michael and stephanie. dang.
Ditto, it sounds like you didn’t like Timothy. I absolutely agree any involvement with anyone in that organization is asking for trouble. Even though many of us would not go back, we have to remember some people out there feel lost when finding a new job and will go back to their comfort zone. I know several people feel if the company was reorganized under new owners, they would go back. I am trying not to judge them because I know many of them are scared and need a paycheck. If anyone goes back to C&O they have to know they are taking a risk. Doing my employment search I have not been super excited by everything that is out there and some people can not hold out for a better opportunity. Reagrding people not doing their job, as I said a few days ago, good management starts at the top and if Stephanie allowed people to get away with poor performance (which she often did..look at the Brandon manager, the old Wesley Chapel manager & the old Largo manager) and did not correct the problem, shame on her. If you pay people and allow them to screw around, that’s not fair to the people who do work hard. So, if you really want to blame purchasing, start with his boss who fully embraced what you saw as a poor employee. Ditto, you sound like someone who worked right under Timothy….it’s usually men who use the expression “tapped” and I am confused…..first you say “T” would have “tapped” Nelson, then you say he’s gay…..come on, if your pissed at someone keep the insults consistent. Had he been gay he would have told Nelson that peter pan haircuts are not sexy and he would have slapped Augenti around just for kicks!
I have some info for everyone.
First the franchisees will do great if they stick together and form a co-op on their own. You don’t need anyone associated with Cork and Olive. They didn’t help you before and trust me with more money and the “help” of the “attorneys” you would be better off closing now. Stick together and make it work!
Secondly I was told that Ronzino purchase shares from Probst and Cork and Olive Franchise and the Estate Wine Group. Probst fired him, now this is the inside scoop part: Probst asked for more money and then when Ronzino’s wife said no Probst told her than she may never see her money again. She asked him, ” Michael are you threatening me if I don’t give you more money than I will loose the money we already put in?” Probst replied, “yes, that is what I am saying. The company needs money and you and Ronzino need to give more other wise I don’t need him”. Then Probst came to Orlando, and took the couple out to an expensive dinner and asked again for money. Ronzino said he had investors that would give several million but needed all the books so they could go over the numbers and make sure it was viable. Ronzino also told him, that they would want say in how the company was run. With that Super German went ballistic and fired Ronzino on the spot. Several days later a law suit was filed and Ronzino asked for the money back from the shares, (this was agreed upon in the documents before the shares were purchased). (If at anytime Ronzino wanted his shares purchased back from Probst he would do so in 60 days. Written up by Probst attorney Giaordano) Also there was an employment agreement written up by our favorite attorney G., who also owns stock. This agreement was till the end of 2008. By the way Ronzino sold most of the franchises with in several months of working. He started working in Oct. officially and was fired by April. He never got his last two paychecks, they took the money back out of his account. Wonder how the company would have been if Ronzino had been aloud to be CEO. Seems to me he was only hired to get his money. Feel for the poor man.
Used to work there also:
Think what you want because you did not know a thing about what I did. I had to FIX what my three predecessors screwed up before I could even begin to get things right, which I did..passed an audit, didn’t I?
Anyway, I have a WONDERFUL job doing the same type of work and my company LOVES me AND my work. I also don’t mind getting up in the morning and going to work because I have a great place to go to.
That’s what I sincerely hope for each and every one of you ex-employees, that you can find a job that you really love with a company that support you and treats you with the respect that you deserve!
Hello, my name is Josh Shields and this is my first and only post. I am not Wanda, nor do I have any idea who anyone is on this site. It is certainly not my style to anonymously slander people from behind the veil of an internet blog. Anyone with a spot of gumption and class would feel the same. Those of you who know me, know this to be true.
For anyone who does not know me, I worked for C&O for about 2 years, split between running the Lakeland location and working for the corporate office. I left the company 5 or 6 weeks before the bankruptcy due to several prolonged core disagreements with ownership. In that time, I had the privilege of working with some of the finest co-workers and friends I have ever met. This was a group of people who actually did care about doing the right thing and doing everything they could to make the concept work. They were met in these attempts with constant roadblocks, setbacks, and a stubborn disposition. Many of these road blocks were financial, but some were home made. Leadership and direction were lacking, and an outright refusal to make adjustments to a failing business model can be leveled solely at ownership.
We were all lied to. It is that simple. This understandably leads to bitterness… And so let this site provide an outlet for those who need it.
As for the former employees who have logged on here to vent, I can only extend my apologies for failing you all. I hope that these past few weeks have yielded a more positive working environment. I wish you all the best, truly.
As for the franchisees on this site, I owe you all even more apologies. I tried my best to instill a positive environment in your shops and provide whatever assistance I ever could. I was never anything less than sincere with any of you, and I hope you can believe that. I still feel that a high service wine retail environment can make money in any economy, and hope that all of you will find a way to at least recoup your investment. Please know that I wish you the best; if there is anything I can ever do for any of you please don’t hesitate to contact me. I don’t know what information I may have that could help, but even if it is just to say hi…
I wish all of you nothing but the best, and hope that this becomes an unpleasant, yet brief, chapter in a lucrative business story.
Take care all of you, and good luck.
~Josh~
so now many are thinking that……………… WANDA………… could be a Ronzino, maybe Tom, Anita or even Mary. Although it doesn’t matter. Only certain people knew certain information and your remarks have shown that you must be one of these three. INteresting. very interesting. As I said, it doesn’t matter who you are.
Wanda
Before you vote Ronzino to sainthood. there are a few facts you should know.
1. Ronzino was the highest paid employee in C&O hisory. 120,000. per year.
2. Ronzino s wife and daughter were both on the payroll also.
3. To add insult to injury, the daughter who lived at the Safety Harbor Resort
Hotel, her room and board were being paid for by C&O.
Talk about bleeding the company. On Mr Ronzino s sales ability, he was
lucky if he sold two or three franchises. From what I hear they were to
personal friends of his.
Mr Probst was no saint. But he did work sixteen hours a day. He was not even on the payroll. Yes he had a nice expense account.
but if you know anything about business, It is an accepted IRS rule.
A business executive may take prospective clients to lunch and dinner.
Part of it is tax deductible.
I am not sticking up for the German. He screwed up big time.
But you have to wonder what could have happened, had the hedgefund people kept their word and loaned him the money .
Wanda I know you are trying to provide facts to everyone, we still have to be fair and accurate.
Wanda
The above facts are all provable in C&O records. Some former employee
may even want to verify.
wow Ditto…you couldn’t have given yourself away more….hello Cathy the OLD accountant.
Nice try Josh……..dba Wanda
heh heh heh
Just for the record, I, ME am not Stephanie or Deborah.
Why would Cathy want to clarify Tom’s relationship with C&O, wasn’t she given the boot just like all the other accountants; or was she one that ran for the hills?
This will most likely be my last entry because I do have another job now, and don’t really have time to be checking the blog daily
.
For the record, I do not have deep pockets. I just don’t blame anyone for my economic status. If I am struggling I find another job, or a “side” job.
The only one that can make you happy is yourself; those people that are always dwelling on their misery, and blaming others for their misfortunes are pathetic and very sad.
My time at C&O was great, because I made it great. Of course I had to jump every roadblock that was thrown at me, just like everyone else; but I learned to do things my way, and was able to remain happy.
As far as being a fan of Michael’s; I am not a fan of his ethics; but I learned to speak to him calmly and without threat. He never yelled or cut me down, in fact I think he may have even respected me because I never treated him like I should be running his business.
The employees I was speaking about know who they are, as far as the corporate OFFICE staff goes; I wish all of you the best. I never have said that any of you were lazy, but I will still have to say that you all knew the direction the company was heading. Of course we were all told things were going to get better; but everyone that worked behind a desk at the corporate level always had the numbers come across their desks, if not daily then at least weekly. We constantly were witness to vendors and service providers come to the office asking to be paid what was owed them. I believe that those that were there until the end have no right to complain about the lies that led them to believe it was never “that bad”, because those of us who worked behind a desk at the corporate offices knew perfectly well what was going on.
I do wish you all the best.
In case anyone cares, yes Tom Ronzino was getting paid a hefty salary, but Anita was not on the payroll. As far as Mary goes, she worked for the company so of course she would be getting a salary..she wouldn’t be expected to work for nothing. When Mary was hired she was to be the business support for the Orlando area, but we didn’t have any franchises in the area at the time. Yes, she stayed at the Safety Harbor Resort, but Michael was told by Tom himself that he should look into a short-term apartment rental so that when Mary and/or Tom came to Tampa they had a place to stay. Michael was on the payroll but he only made a minimal salary; instead the company paid for EVERYTHING you could imagine…his mortgage, his car, his wife’s car, their insurance, their home phone, their lawn maintenance, their pool maintenance, their electric bill, their water bill, the wife’s travel to Germany, and the list goes on..if you add it all up it came to approximately $150,000 a year, tax free. Tom Ronzino might have been paid a high salary, but that’s the agreement Michael made with him. I guess if you really think about it, Tom gave Michael $250,000 and was being paid back $10,000 a month before taxes.
The corporate employees knew very well what was going on with the company, especially those who dealt with the vendors and the bank accounts. It is truly unfortunate that the company was run into the ground the way it was..if Michael would have curbed his spending and if he AND
Stephanie would have had any inkling how to manage the money flow the company certainly would not be in this position. But, hey, he’s not the first nor will he be the last business owner who has a concept and no clue how to handle the finances. I wish everyone the best of luck in finding new employment..
Okay, So I am not Ronzino, Anita or Mary. I have met Ronzino but only breifly.
The info I have is from a friend. With that said. I do know Anita NEVER got paid for anything. Probst promised he would pay $2500. for each franchise sold but didn’t. By the way the first franchisee sold Probst paid the man $10,000. for it.
Ronzino brought in over $900,000. in the short time he worked. Mary was employed by Probst because he said he wanted her because he could trust her to do a good job. Maybe he was planing a little visit to the Safety Harbour?
So were ever you got your info from Ditto and enuff you are wrong. Probst didn’t get a pay check but paid for his and BIrgits car, their house, insurance, water, electric, grocery, vacation, $300. dinners many times a week and clothes. So he got paid plenty. He got soooo paid that it put the company under.
The $120,000. a year was never paid only promised. Ronzino only got paid for 5 months. He must have been a good salesman to have sold such a franchise with nothing but corp. stores and no sales figures. Also Probst used a mail drop to advertise the sale of franchises only 1st. while Ronzino was selling.
Enuff and Ditto you are either Probst, no he doesn’t know how to use the internet. Maybe Steph, or Augenti?
It really doesn’t matter. Everyone got screwed. SO the reason behind all these blogs is to get justice. To give Probst, Nelson, and Augenti what they deserve, a jail cell.
And Me I will keep you up to date so at least read the blogs.
YES PROBST DID RECEIVE A PAYCHECK. So Wanda, I’m not sure where you are getting your info, I’m sure most of it is correct, but not entirely. I know for a fact. AND FYI IS correct with everything that was listed. I know for a fact as well.
Ditto is not me……
Also, I never knew Ronzino so I cannot comment on anything that happened before my time. No, I did not get the boot, as someone mentioned; I quit before the fall!
I truly wish all employees the best in finding new jobs where they can finally be happy and not have to worry every day if the landlord is going to post a sign on the door because the rent wasn’t paid!
“ME”,
It really doesn’t matter who you are because you carry a high opinion of yourself and your remarks are flat out degarding. That is what is pathetic & sad. People can dwell all they want “ME.” It’s their right regardless of how you view their knowledge of the company. I really doubt you’ll quit posting, more likely you’ll cowardly make remarks under another fake name. As for your clam assertiveness with Michael, good for you. I never had a bad word with the man either and treated him with respect because he owned the company. I did my job as many did. As for doing things YOUR way…wow, you must have some magic touch because many of us were never able to do it our way. Had we been able to, things would have been much better. So, take care “ME”, good luck at whatever you are doing now and we won’t miss you.
Nice try Josh…….dba Wanda
heh heh heh
RE: Ditto on July 5th, 2008 7:35 pm Used to work there also:
Think what you want because you did not know a thing about what I did. I had to FIX what my three predecessors screwed up before I could even begin to get things right, which I did..passed an audit, didn’t I?
so if DITTO is not Cathy – then explain how you “passed an audit.” It’s okay Cathy – it’s doesn’t matter. no big deal. go enjoy your wonderful job that you finally get respect at.
AND TO ME: ok BOB – you weren’t there long enuf for Michael to get angry with you. besides we needed an in-house IT guy – unfortunately in the beginning there were all sorts of problems that weren’t there until you started. without the help of the former IT guys – you wouldn’t have figured it out alone. With your “new’ job – you really should watch what you say and how to approach women – sexual harassment charges didn’t happen at the former C and O but I can guarantee they will happen to you one day if you’re not careful. stick with your wife, flirt with her more not employees and franchisees. unbelievable the stories about you. But i’m not losing sight as to why we are here telling our versions. some stuff just isn’t worth discussing such as this.
Wanda is not Josh everyone…….believe me, it is not Josh. The mystery continues……
Again, Ditto is NOT me. I liked Bob. I think he was very professional and knew more about IT than anyone gave him credit for. He was dealing with a very screwed up system left to him by Tony and others and had to deal with the fact that this small company wouldn’t invest the money it needed to in order to allow for a true system.
Hey, Bob, call me, might have a job for you!!!!
Cathy, Cathy, Cathy..c’mon we ALL know it’s you..it’s rather funny that you won’t admit it. But, hey, who truly cares? If you had half a brain you’d be dangerous..now go sit down before you hurt yourself..lmao!!
Wanda
It is interesting, that anyone who doesn.t agree with you is labled one of the the three, Probst , nelson, or Augenti.
I am not a betting person, but I would bet the trio has never posted on this site.
I don,t know if they ever read it.
I will defer to FYI.. He or she seems to know more about Ronzino than I do.
Keep Smiling.
Sooo, its been brought to my attention that some of you think I post on here. Sorry, nope. I am man enough to own my words and not hide behind some pseudonym.
Since I was the witty youngin’ that would always make a joke of what’s going on, I have to say that reading the shit in here is like reading the slam book from Mean Girls.
NEW RULE – if you are going to talk shit about someone, use your real name.
Also, lets leave Mary out of this, she was the most sweethearted person that ever worked for the company and I think that we all would agree that her family was the reason alot of us had hope in C&O at the time.
ANOTHER THING….I don’t care to know who Ditto is, but gay does not equal yuck honey. Welcome to 2008, oh wait, being gay has been around for as long has history.
I am glad I got to work with alot of you, and the ones I didn’t, you already knew that I didn’t care for you. Why are people taking this shit so personally & slinging personal attacks to their co-workers. I don’t think that brewing on what happened to us all is healthy. Whats happened has happened and picking the reasons why it didn’t work is pointless. Let’s live in the now.
PS – miss many of you!!!
Shane
I think Shane (yes, the only one) is really Stephanie Nelson. Comparing this conversation to Mean girls is something she would say. And stating NEW RULE – if you are going to talk shit about someone, use your real name.? Type A personality all around.
Unless it’s Augenti. So PC. …but gay does not equal yuck honey. Nice try. Definitely Augenti. Unless its Rainer…
or.. unless it’s michael in disguise or maybe the accountant that was number 2, 3 4, 5, 6 or # 7! LOL!
shane -yes-sounds like the real SHANE and he is a sweetheart himself and I agree with him!
Who care what deborah says or what michael thinks or where Stephanie is….none of us are involved with them anymore TG!!! FORWARD MARCH!!!
and we miss you too shane!
Just like the movie… come back, Shane…
FYI, Shane, ADMIN is my real name. Johnny Cash shoulda done a song about my daddy. I’da taken Sue for a name any day.
No, I am not Regina, but this could make ya laugh if you really sit back and read the crap that all of you have written. If you would spend half of that energy lookin for a new job, you wouldn’t have time to read this shit!!!
lol, I miss you all. add me on the myspace if you dont have me!
To omg:
Again, I am not Ditto, however, you obviously don’t know a thing about accounting or you would be praising me for the info that I was able to get out of that company. I knew there were problems after about two hours of employment, but stuck it out for nine months while seeking other employment. Trust me, there is no accountant in this world that could EVER completely figure out that mess!! But I do have more than half a brain cuz I got a job and you don’t!!
Listen, I was alerted via email that someone mentioned my name on here as “The Joker” I have a strong idea of who you might be – and I highly suggest you leave my name out of your stupid games. From what I have read, this is supposed to be a forum where previous employees of Cork&Olive could voice their opinions and frustrations, (yes, believe it or not we experienced frustrations while working there) but this website seems to be a place where several children are coming to play their games since they have no life elsewhere. Don’t even get me started because I would probably embarrass several people and I will not sink to your level. Leave my name out of your pathetic blogs.
and by the way…as the former Human Resource and Payroll Manager, I will agree that the majority of the information that has been posted is correct. And once again, whomever (should I use their initials?) is using my name as The Joker should cease immediately. Don’t you have anything better to do? evidently not.
You aren’t supposed to be turning against each other. What the heck is going on.? The evil trilogy is the problem. What went on with you employees is in the past, Let that stuff go. Vent about how a man came to America with a concept built it on other peoples money, brought in several evil followers and then took advantage of everyone they met, including franchisees and employees, Then there is a long list of vendors, investors, and construction workers, media people and sooooo many more.
I agree Wanda. We’re losing sight to why these forums were actually created- to voice what we know and to help put an end to the trilogy getting away with it! It seems there is a trouble maker on here that is playing games using other people’s names such as The Joker pretending to be Regina. I know Regina and she does not even write like that let alone talk like that. Several of us (we talked) believe it is the old accountant Kathy or Cathy whatever that is trying to start trouble like she always did. A note to Kathy – we know you are DITTO ( you gave it away a few times) so go away and stop causing trouble! Sorry Regina I know she’s a pain.
Slight chance that we get patd – do we need to fill out any paperwork?
Again, I am not current Ditto. And No, I am not Joker. I have work to do, so I will say see ya’ll and best of luck in finding jobs!
paychecks? HA ask Ms. Nelson – oh wait – she took the rest of it for her PAID VACATION and forgot about the hard working employees that didn’t get paid yet! nice woman eh! NOT we are all still waiting for it. I was told that it could be a few months but that ‘hopefully’ we would get our last check. Thank Mr. Probsts too.
P.S. to whomever thinks/thought I was a pain. For the entire time I worked at C&O, I MADE SURE you got paid, so think about that before you determine that I started trouble!
Pauline and I had to deal with the stress of knowing the REAL financial situation and trying to keep it from you all. I think we both deserve a lot of credit for dealing with the situations at hand that Michael and Stephanie dealt for us!
Hello Wanda have you heard anything about what’s been going on with the bankruptcy? I heard there was a hearing yesterday and another one today? any idea???? I certainly hope Mikey and Stephie and Debbi don’t get to just walk free!!! what can we as ex employee’s do? any idea?
So… we are about 6 weeks into all this crap! I have to admit.. I am prob. the most relaxed I have been in months. I have realized that C&O was just a stepping stone in the direction I am headed. I think if we were all honest with ourselves we would all agree that we were done and ready for the next step. It has taken a toll and we have all paid. It is time we all move on. We were dealt an injustice but have we not gained an enormous amount of strength through all this? We had an incredible amount of stress and indecision but who really came out on top? We did! We knew and know how to run a business and what not to do! We can take these strengths and move on to a more productive job and life. We believed and worked through all the sh..! We came out on top! We as a team worked our tails off and made a difference! We may not have gotten paid for our efforts but do not let the couple of people that thought they had us by the balls take that away from us! We stuck it out and believed! That is something no one can take from us! We did that! We worked hard! We believed! We kept the dream! As a team we tried our very best! The franchisees know that! My time with all the corp. team was an awsome experience! I love all of you and have developed friendships that will last a life time! I would go through all the sh.. again to have that! I love you all! No exceptions!
Fags!
[This highly intellectual and insightful post was obviously not from the person previously posting as "Wanda" - ADMIN]
SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME THAT MICHAEL AND STEPHANIE ARE NOT JUST GOING TO WALK AWAY FREE FROM ALL OF THIS MESS THAT THEY PUT THIS COMPANY THROUGH???!!! THEY HAVE GOT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TAXES AND RIPPING OFF THE NEW AND EXISTING FRANCHISEES!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE HONESTY AND RESPECT OF THE AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM???? AND as an FYI…. word on the street has it the STEPHENIE NELSON IS PACKING UP AND MOVING TO CALIFORNIA WITH AND FINALLY GOING TO GET MARRIED AND SET UP SHOP THERE! INTERESTING EH?
Yes – And how many told there kids – no vacation this year Michael & Stephanie didn’t pay us for vacation time owed or last paychecks… There both dirtbags.
Just though you should all know that Reiner just bought Cork and Olive and is planing on trying to sell franchises. Proceed with caution folks. He is in business with Probst and has been in business with Probst. So if you even think about doing business with this smooth talker, remember he is Probst “mini me”.
Maybe Stephanie Nelson ??? will return from CA and become Reiner’s VP? Maybe Probst will be his CEO.
So if Reiner is the owner of World Wineries and Vinocean than he can’t sell retail wine too. I imagine that is why Augenti has the license.
This has all been planned for a long while. The puzzle is finally coming together. They are all guilty of fraud. All the Germans knew how to get around the law with the help of their attorneys.
Spread the word… Hopefully blogs like this will warn people in the future not to do business with scum like them!
Is this for real? Do the current franchisee have to do business with Rainer? What’s the deal?
stephie is selling her condo and moving to CA to get married. he already has a new VP and trust me it’s not HER . she has NOTHING do to with the business nor does he want her part of it. and neither is augenti…… she is still in biz with mikey and going to have a company that has individual distributorships for a small fee of course! HA………. THIS HAS BEEN VERIFIED, PROBST, NELSON NOR AUGENTI ARE PART OF NEW COMPANY – CALL HER AND FIND OUT [Deletion]
[Please don't post people's personal contact information. Thanks. The Mgmt]
Wanda
As usual your info is flawed. Rayner is part of a group taking over c/o in
chapter 11.. Nelson and Augenti are not involved in the new group.
The whole situation is flawed. I am writing what I hear from sources that I think are reliable. If the info is flawed then sorry.
Glad to hear Stephanie will be out of the area. Hope the people of CA are careful. Probst is the lowest form of the human race, didn’t “his people” pass in a bunker?
Thanks for the correct info.
Dear Enuff,
I would like to know why you always tell me what is wrong with my information but you never give any?
Are you concern about the injustice these AH’s have given innocent folks or are you one of the band of thieves members?
wanda
give it up…it is over.
goodbye
what is over enuff. Are you the “fat lady that sings?” It is over when the Probst is in jail.
Again, enuff lots of scolding but no info.
enuff – we’ve had enuff of you… it’s never over, these people need to be stopped from taking advantage.
enuff – have you been paid for your services @ Cork & Olive?
wanda
you are one sorry ass angry idiot
Not angry at all, just want to see you enuff and Super German get what you deserve. Glad that you are upset with me.
wanda
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
As always in life there are good people and bad. We all decide which we are. Obviously enuff is angry with me because I choose to tell all I know and hear about a very bad person/ persons. Too bad, enuff I will continue as long as there is Super German and his gang of thieves. Can’t decide which gang member you are and frankly don’t care.
wanda
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
7 million in debt……. No asset, no direction, no investors, no business. Bush Ross is still behind the loser. New bankruptcy attorney, different name same office as his “old attorney”. Guess the thieves stay together.
Are you hoping to pull out of this one? Don’t think you can pull it off. You may have thought you can get out of this mess. It will catch up with all of you. Your former employees remember you stole from them. The franchisees now realize that you sold them a business that was already going under.
Still drinking coffee at Starbucks? Can you still afford to buy those $300. dinners?
wanda
First you say he stole millions.
Now you say he doesn,t have a pot to P in.
Sounds like you don,t know your ass from second base.
whats with you enuff? why u picking on wanda. shes just providing info to all involved and u seem to have a problem with this. he stole millions from many poeple -maybe even u yet u probably dont care. he doesnt have a pot to p in which is the way all involved want it. lets not forget what this forum is about. what ever happened to stehpanie nelson? did she finally move to another planet? about time! and what ever happened to the employees final paycheck? I’m still waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like the new plan is to pay former employees first. Hope they they can do it. As far as Wanda, just don,t like one sided bull sh t.
enuff, why do you not like one-sided bull? That is all any of us ever got from Michael and his babes. And it was all lies. Do you not care about the good people who spent hard-earned money investing in this racket? Do you not care about employees who worked their tales off and had to lie to franchisees just to keep a job, only to be screwed? Do you think it is ok for Rainer to come back in and demand that things return to the way they were as if contracts were never broken? Sorry, now you are dealing with people that are on to all of you. No more free rides. You will have to work your tales off for a change.
One sided?
I am on the side of right. Super German has gone bankrupt to the tune of 7 million. Yes, he stole the money from everyone he could. Now, does he have a pot? Who knows?
All I know is that he is still able to reopen stores and everyone he owes money to is left wondering how this is able to happen.
And I don’t care what enuff is saying. Thank you what’s going on for understanding why I bother to blog.
By the way how do you know enuff that he is planing on paying his former employees? Is he planing on paying all the formers he owes money too?
Probst is no longer involved in c & o. The new company is being run by a group
of three. One is Rayner, one is the former cpa from the hedgefund. I don,t know who the other one is.
But employees, vendors, franchisee s are better off than they were before.
Why ? Because now there is a bankruptcy judge overseeing everything.
No gurantee,but better.
All I am saying is, rehashing all of the old crap doesn,t help anyone.
.
Probst is no longer involved in c & o. The new company is being run by a group
of three. One is Rayner, one is the former cpa from the hedgefund. I don,t know who the other one is.
But employees, vendors, franchisee s are better off than they were before.
Is the new group planning to enforce the franchise agreements of the abandoned franchisees, or are the franchisees able to operate as independents? Can they continue to use the name & trademark?
admin
To the best of my knowlege, the answers to both of your questions…is yes.
well now everyone might find this to be interesting: http://www.sunbiz.org. document number P08000107072. MIchael Probst, CEO of his new company MERGER AND ACQUISITION CORP. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????? HOW CAN THIS MAN BE ALLOWED TO OPEN ANOTHER BUSINESS WHILE SCREWING ALL HIS OLD EMPLOYEES,FRANCHISEES AND INVESTORS? WHAT THE HELL?????? This was just done on 12-4-08. I MEAN SERIOUSLY ARE YOU KIDDING ME?