I’m one pissed business owner seeking to fight back what I have lost for employing the wrong guy whom I took in out of a favour for a friend.
Several years ago, my friend’s company was retrenching and he along with a few staff was made redundant. Being a good guy he is, he called me to ask if I can take in some of his retrenched colleagues. He himself had no problem getting a job, but not his other colleagues. At that time I was in need of a sales manager, so we met and discussed what can be worked out. Finally, I decided the only guy suitable for the sales manager job was a young chap who was doing tech support in the company. Though lacking in sales experience, but technically competent which is a good base for technical selling. He just got a house and getting ready for marriage in a few months, so imagined how glad he was when I decided to take him in.
Barely 2 years into the job, due to his lack of experience in sales & marketing, his performance was anything but satisfactory. His contribution barely covered his salary and expenses, which I have factored in for up to a max. 2 years. Just as I was about to review his performance, he tendered resignation claiming he had better offer from an MNC. I wished him luck and off he went.
Since he left, he had been in touch with me and gradually we became friends. It seemed like he is doing well in the company, and was promoted to a regional sales manager. So one day he called me up saying he has the intention to venture out on his own. Again I wished him luck, and a few weeks later he gave me his new name card of his own company. But interestingly, he is still holding on to his job. A year later, I’m into a negotiation with a European company for a distribution right here in Singapore and Malaysia. Since he is now working on his own biz, I thought maybe he will be interested to help me with this new product I’m going to represent. So we met and talked.
Strange enough, as I was wondering what happened to a few of my customers who had stopped buying from me, my new principal was giving me quite a bit of trouble and threaten to cut me off if I did not meet their target. They kept revising up their prices and stopped believing my report I sent them monthly. Finally, we cut ties in end 2005.
Last December, I received a call from a business friend who is in the same industry. I found out someone actually took up the distribution right of my previous representation. I’m curious to know who is it and I called him to see if he knew about the new distributor. He said he knew nothing and told me to move on. He is still holding on to his job and worked his business at the same time. According to a friend who knew him well, he actually enjoys the situation he is in, getting good pay and running his business at near zero cost. I had my suspicion all along, that’s why I called him to see if I can detect anything to confirm what I suspected. Finally, a close business friend called to inform me about the new guy who was leading the business is actually a buddy of his. And I was told, the buddy was recommended by him, it’s all going according to his plan. Now it started to make lots of sense to me - the poor work performance, loss of customers and distribution right!
I really feel like walking up to his managing director and tell him the whole story and warn him. But that's not something I'll do.
What would you do if you were me?
I suggest you make sure you really learn something out of this bad experience and let go what has happened? Life got to move on and it's better to focus your energy on making new successes rather holding on to your past failures. I know, that might not be an easy thing for you to do, but it's the right thing to do.
Hi MVC,
Thanks very much for your advice.
Indeed, I've worked hard to gain back those lost customers and thanks to my past record and customer relationship, now it's almost no love lost.
I welcome fair competition and respect people with integrity. I do not condone such underhand business building, whenever there is an opportunity to get even I will not let it pass underneath my nose. A clear signal need to be sent to all the people around me - Don't mess with my business.
Honestly, I do not see such act as underhand...i think it's just part and parcel in business.
Would it surprise you that even bosses/managers would "steal" customers when they leave their old company?
The unfortunate fact of life is that relationships count. When an individual engages in a fruitful relationship with another (between companies), that link exists mainly because of the individuals or groups. When one side breaks apart (quits), that relationship can quickly and easily deteriorate if the new personnel do not meet the "mark". This happens all around, and applies beyond business boundaries.
If my hairstylist quits and works with another saloon, I'd very likely follow her to the new shop.
The counter would be to think up a system that maintains customers by virtue of the company's resources and corporate culture/reputation, and not by the thin thread of employees' individual relationships. I do not believe it is possible to totally eliminate it (else we might as well buy stuff from a company manned by robots), but it can be reduced.
The melody of logic will always play out the truth. ~ Narumi Ayumu, Spiral