Thank you for your input. I admit to not having followed the company before the Barbers took control, so I can't speak to what happened when Lee Arrowood ran the place. Question: if Lee Arrowood stole from the company, how come no lawsuit or criminal complaint ever came about? Is there evidence of any?
I have spoken to many people who were there when Brendan Melling was the General Manager and their opinion is not quite the same as yours.
Brendan Melling was reputed to have knowledge of the lead batteries but is not trained as an engineer nor did he ever work in a battery manufacturing facility. He also had a very limited knowledge of lithium ion cells, which is a drawback when leading a lithium ion shop. Managing a lead acid battery retail outfit does not train a person to know everything. The best example I was given was his ridiculous idea for a battery with a hole in it for cooling, which displayed a total lack of lithium iron phosphate cell technology. No one makes batteries like that.
In addition, as an Australian, Brendan Melling had no knowledge of American employment laws. For example, when employees were let go, none were offered the chance to continue their health insurance coverage through COBRA. Considering that this is required BY LAW, failure to do so is a major violation.
I know of one former employee who fell gravely ill and ended up in the hospital without coverage because of Brendan Melling's failure to obey US employment law. The person wrote several times to the company requesting the COBRA paperwork but was ignored. This is specially despicable since allowing an employee to continue coverage would have cost the company nothing. This was Melling's responsibility and he failed to fulfill his obligation. The company would have been sued if it had not shut down.
He may have been well meaning and dedicated, but others were hurt by his lack of experience.
AI
