… and wonder why I’m not there anymore.
DISCLAIMER: There is nothing defamatory when you have the truth and you use the truth to expose a lie.
I am constantly getting phone calls and emails from folks who used to listen to the show that have been wondering what happened and why I’m not on The Power Hour any longer. This email (that one of my listeners received on July 26, 2024 and forwarded to me) may have precipitated these inquiries:
Anyone reading this email from the owner of The Power Hour (and The Power Mall), namely, Kathryn Russell, would probably interpret this email as reflecting that I dumped on the show and quit it all of a sudden. That really isn’t the case … FACT CHECK: FALSE
The real truth is, I was fired and so was my wife, Linda:
You’ll notice the date of the email we got … July 13th.
And now you’ll notice the date of the email everyone on The Power Hour’s mailing list got … July 22nd. So which came first? The lie or the truth?
My wife Linda handled customer service duties at The Power Mall on a part-time basis. You should know that if you’re going to be fair to your listeners, you don’t lie to them about what is and what isn’t in your inventory at The Power Mall. My wife kept very good phone records in three volumes of customers that had to wait weeks for their products while The Power Mall processed their credit cards at the time the order was placed. So, where did their money go? To pay us? Many customers called back and talked to Linda and decided they wanted a refund on their order because they were tired of waiting weeks or months for their orders. People put their faith in The Power Mall’s business model.
Linda and I had to retain an attorney to get our last paychecks and my five cases of books back because The Power Mall wouldn’t send them back.
Now The Power Hour is down to one hour a day of broadcasting, with guest hosts. You be the judge. I’m not going to speak for the content here; however, that being said, perhaps you should further judge some of The Power Hour’s guest hosts (edited version) and the language they used (this was on the radio show … NSFW or for young homeschooling ears):
And I got scolded for calling Harris “Chlamydia”? And this host uses words that homeschoolers are probably already aware of? I made sure that guests who were on the show did not use certain language wasn’t appropriate because the show was being broadcast over the radio as well as on the Internet. Hmm. Looks like a double standard, huh?
Not a team player? Linda believes that she was fired because she refused to lie to Power Mall customers, telling them products were in stock when in fact, they weren’t in stock.
In trying to help The Power Hour, I reached out to several radio stations and broadcast consultants, who all listened to the show and responded back that they could not make the show work on their formats because the show carries too many commercials and runs too many infomercial type health segments. This paired with the complaints that Linda was getting at The Power Mall about too many commercials.
I spent up to 6 hours a day doing research for this show. If I did not care about the content, I wouldn’t have spent any time putting stuff together for The Power Hour. Based on the number of calls Linda was getting at The Power Mall from customers asking why it was taking so long to get their products they ordered, it appeared to us that something wasn’t right about The Power Mall’s business model.
Linda and I even took extra time out to record commercials for The Power Hour. Does that make us less of a “team player”?
Linda and I were paid as independent contractors. Yet, in the July 13th email, Kathryn Russell said, “I am your boss”. I think the IRS would think differently. The IRS put out a pamphlet on what constitutes the difference between independent contractors and employees. You don’t regulate someone’s methodology on an ongoing basis and give orders to independent contractors, calling yourself “the boss” to them. I don’t think this scenario is confusing to anyone, especially the IRS.
When Linda and I got that email on July 13th (a Saturday), we both immediately thought that the reason we were terminated was not for the stated reason, but that The Power Hour and The Power Mall couldn’t afford to pay us any longer. Not being a team player and not making payroll are two different scenarios. Thus, we don’t believe that our reasoning was flawed. The fact it took us over a month to get paid, which caused us to have to retain an attorney in order to get what was owed to us, speaks volumes about the direction of the show.
… and as Paul Harvey once said … “and now you know the rest of the story” … “Good Day!”
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