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UP / Thumb of Michigan | Yes and no.
Managed a fertilizer and chemical retail outlet in the early 80's. Same town as I grew up in, so did business with some people I'd known my entire life. Very close friend (stood up in each others weddings, each of us is a Godfather to one of the others kids) started buying product from me. First time he had done any business with my company. And the business wasn't because we were friends, it was because I did a lot of things his current supplier wasn't doing. Our rental equipment was maintained much better, we delivered product, and we offered a cash discount if paid in 10 days or less. I also didn't know it at the time, but his then current supplier had given him some bad chemical advice. I know he could have bought the products he bought from me cheaper at his current supplier, but he placed more importance on the other things. When he came in to place his first order, we had a talk about the relationship right away. He knew he was going to pay more doing business with me, but he intended to "keep me honest" on pricing. Laughed about it, but I knew what he meant. When he called, if it was business related, he told me so. And we kept the entire conversation business only. Same thing when I stopped at his place, of it was a business call.
Couldn't have worked any better. I went from zero business to about 85% in a couple years with him, and never had a cross word. Personally, or business related. I think its because we laid out some parameters right off the bat, and never crossed those lines. If we were having a couple beers together, business never came up. And we never discussed last weekend's road trips on a business call.
Had a very bad deal happen with another friend who I grew up with. He was selling vehicles at a fairly large dealership. Tried to put a deal together, didn't work out. I get a price from different dealerships and take the best one. I won't take a quote from one dealer to another to beat them up on anything. I personally think doing so is a little on the greasy side, maybe its just me. Give me your best price the first time, I won't be back to give anyone the opportunity to match or beat anything. Anyway, my friend lost out on the deal and was pretty mad for a few years. We got past it though, and glad we did. Took some time though.
So, like others have said- having a conversation up front makes all the difference. And sometimes, even that's not enough. You still have a potential for a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. | |
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Ending a business relationship
