That which is not addressed

My wife and I were in a meeting with a company that we did business with. The business relationship was not going well. Their company had undergone a lot of changes and was not on its game. My wife told them that we had been approached by several of its competitors. She asked why should we consider staying with them.

I thought that we would hear an interesting response filled with persuasive arguments on why their company was the right choice. Instead, I was shocked at what I heard.

They ignored the question and moved on to talk about mundane issues that were not related. Within a few minutes, we wrapped up and said goodbye; they were all smiles and promised to follow up as if everything was fine.

This was the second time we had expressed concern about working with them. Both times, we were ignored.

Denial is a common response to complaints, but it is not effective. The client will move on sooner or later. Better to face it, talk from the heart and, even if you don't have the perfect response, at least you're in reality.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
www.labov.com