When You’re Not Respected As A Professional
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on May 4, 2011
This personal tale is true. I tell it as a lesson to other consultants and business people to make sure that you teach people how to treat you and to hold them accountable for how they act towards you, on purpose or not.
Back in January I was contacted by someone who had a great deal to work on a project together. He was going to contract with me to provide this service, health care related, something I do that not all that many independents to, that being charge master, which I've talked about before.
This is someone I've known for a very long time, more than 25 years. Therefore, I felt it was someone I could trust, someone who wouldn't take advantage of me, someone who would treat me right, someone who would honor my contract. I decided to go ahead and start the work, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of me.
Of course, I turned out to be wrong. He never signed my contract; he never even read it. I got expense money to visit the client, spent 2 days there for my research, and came back. I get a call a few days later from him complaining about a blog post that he never read. I read it to him, he said it was harmless, but asked that I never do it again. I told him to never call me on anything like that again unless he read the post first; he said he didn't read blog posts.
Move to March. By March I had only been paid a very small amount, and I'd had to ask for it. I contacted him asking for a substantial part of the rest; after a debate he said he'd "loan" me the money; it was my money. The project should have been done at this point, I should have been totally paid for the entire event and been moving on with life. But when you're not treated as a professional by someone who didn't even read your contract, that apparently isn't how it goes. By the way, when I broached the subject he said if he'd seen my contract he'd have never agreed to my terms; funny, but every other client has always agreed to those terms, which are quite fair.
Move into April. He didn't contact me for a month after I got that one payment. I wrote asking when we'd finish this thing; he ignored it. I moved on, got other contracts and other work. He finally contacted me saying he was sorry, had other business, and now was ready to work on it. He then sent me his version of the draft report I'd given him, totally redacted; I refused to look at it. He said he'd rewrite it and then put it on his letterhead; that part was actually my recommendation because it was no longer my report. Did he mention money? Nope.
He sent me what he'd written, and there were multiple questions. I answered them all, realizing that he didn't understand the report or, apparently, didn't read it either, as half of the answers were there above his questions. He had other questions, which I answered, and said he wanted to talk to me at a certain time. I agreed to that time.
Of course he missed that time, holding me up. That's the 4th time it's happened, and it's the last. Obviously I'm not seen as a professional; ain't happening any more.
Based on every recommendation by every other consultant I've talked to about this, and it's been many, he has acted in a totally unprofessional way. Let's list them:
1. He didn't sign my contract; heck, he didn't read my contract. If he'd had any issues with it he should have discussed it with me before I started the work; didn't happen.
2. He has never paid me without my asking for it. I had to ask for expense money and he gave me the smallest amount possible. I had to ask for a portion of my payment and he wrote me a tiny check. Six weeks later I had to get kind of mean, for me, to get half of what I was still owed; I didn't get half, but it was close.
3. He has often not responded to my emails until weeks later. He's told me he was going to contact me at certain times and missed them.
4. The one time I went to his house for us to work together he took the equivalent of 45 minutes to attend to personal business. Very unprofessional. Another time I went to his house to find he wasn't there; he had an excuse, but hadn't called me ahead of time to save me a 30 minute trip across the city.
5. When I gave him the draft report, he started reformatting it as if he wrote it. He then rewrote my report without having any clue what much of it meant. He then took my name off it, which, at that point, even though it was my recommendation, pretty much meant I wasn't really a part of any of it anymore. I at least have kept answering some questions, but it's over now.
I've skipped some things because quite frankly they're not really worth mentioning. I've made every deadline; I did the job completely and accurately and tried to include him in on something that normally I'd never allow someone to see until I was presenting the information live. So, I offered a courtesy that will never happen again. How was I unprofessional? By doing the work before agreeing on the terms of payment.
See, there's two things at hand here. The first is that the deal sounded good, it was the new year, I needed the cash and felt if I got the project done quickly life would be well. Instead, I was hurting and had to find another way around it, which luckily I did. Two, when someone else believes that you need their money that badly they treat you badly and try to take advantage of you. That's happened to other friends of mine and other consultants; I'll only take it to a certain point.
At this point I'm done. Since he says he doesn't read blog posts he probably won't see this, though it's definitely in his best interest. As I said, I'm writing this as a lesson plan, not because I'm angry; I was angry before, but not now. Here are my terms, plain and simple.
1. I will not respond to any more emails or phone calls unless he reads this. No more answers; you wanted this to be all about you, so now it is on you as well.
2. I expect to be paid the rest of what I'm owed by the contract that wasn't signed. The contract I sent is valid; I've checked with legal people. When I get the check for the money I'm owed I'll contact you again.
3. The only way I go on another site visit is if I have all the money in the bank; that's it. That part isn't in the contract, so if I go, it's by my good graces.
4. I've spoken to both my consultant friends and a lawyer; you can say the contract was never signed, but you can't say the work wasn't done, since I was on site & thus can prove I did the work. I'm on solid legal ground. How will that look for you? Frankly I don't care. My ethics are sound. I've been professional throughout all of this; I will sleep well. Per my lawyer, you hired me as an agent of the facility, and thus the facility is as culpable for my payment as you are, especially since I had to sign their confidentiality notice.
Folks, this isn't how business is supposed to be done. This is no way to treat someone who's supposed to be in the same profession as you. This is no way to treat someone who saw you as a friend, someone that could be trusted. I often talk about consequences of actions on this blog; here's a great example of that.
Whether you're an independent or working for someone else, you deserve respect if you prove you can produce. If you don't get it, get out, move on, or demand what you deserve. Or you can just keep taking it and feeling bad; I'm done.
That’s right. π You go boy!
Thanks for the support Miss Sue.
That’s some mate you got there Mitch. What I don’t understand is why you started the work without first making sure he signed the contract?
Still, contract aside you did the work and so you’re owed your dues. Sending the account directly to his client seems like a great idea, not only will you get your money but he will get the dues he deserves.
Sire, sometimes my level of trust is higher than my level of good sense. Not always, but it probably happens to all of us at one time or another.
We are just alike Mitch. Trust is higher than good sense sometimes.
Isn’t it a shame, Deneil. Hopefully I’ll continue learning my lessons from things such as this.
Mitch,
Apparently, someone took kindness for weakness. Oops!
Hopefully, your cost recovery actions will have the desired effect on this person’s future behavior; you may have saved a fellow consultant from this blatant mistreatment in the future.
Cheers,
Mitch
You know Mitch, I write about respect often around here as you know, but I have found that often the people who don’t treat you right are other consultants, those who’d have problems with someone else pulling mess like this on them. It’s a major reason why some people don’t trust consultants, and it’s a shame.
Oh I have several examples of highly unprofessional behavior from clients and prospects I had in the years. Especially the simple fact “no signed contract = no starting to work” is hard to get. We got burnt in the past, where we would work for few weeks with the promise of a contract from a trusted partner. Won’t happen again, and it’s always very fun to see how some client still wonder what is it all about, along the lines of “come on, don’t you trust us?”.
I always wonder what a possible legit reason for not signing a contract could be. The CEO is out of town for a month? Hardly, and even if so, there are so many ways to sign a damn contract.
If someone delays signing your contract there IS a problem behind it, it’s not about the CEO being away or other bull like that, rest assured.
Good stuff Gabriele, and I was going to bet that you could identify with it. Overall it seems that I’m on high legal standing here, but to me, it’s not really the money, although having to beg for it is distasteful. It’s the respect, the feeling that I wasn’t and still am not being treated as an equal. Many studies show that employees don’t leave because of money; they leave because they weren’t treated the way they felt they should have been treated. Money is way down on the list.
You know I don’t trust all that easily, but sometimes even I can get sidetracked by it. Still, I need to remember that business is business, plain and simple. We both know I won’t make this kind of mistake again.
What really hurts is you’ve known the person for decades and there’s already a level of trust in there. I admire your attitude!
Thank you Anne. You’re right, that’s really the deepest cut of all.
Bad business and not a very good friend!
My biz is a bit different- coaching on an hourly basis, but I always get paid BEFORE the coaching call.
Sad to say, but doing business with friends and family is not a good idea. I’m sure we all have a story about that!
If not, watch Judge Judy π
Carolee, with coaching I do exactly as you do. Actually, with most contracts I get a significant portion up front, as when I did that webinar some weeks ago. But every once in awhile you don’t lead with your head, and you get burned somewhat. Shame, but sometimes I guess that’s just how life goes.
Mitch,
when I saw the title of this post, i was pulled in to read it because i knew it was going to have a lot to do with being treated as a consultant.
The problem some people have with paying consultants for their work is very baffling, because we really do our work. But why do they think otherwise and treat us unprofessionally?
1. The way we present ourselves.
You mentioned this in the post, when we appear desperate, we unknowingly position ourselves to be at the client’s mercy.
2. Their perception of the value we bring.
I have always believed in a way, consultants are physicians helping clients solve certain problems. The clients ultimately have a perceived value of what our solutions are, to some it is much, to others, it’s nothing. So payment is the only way to gauge their perception of the value we bring. Once a client refuses to pay, that’s an indication that they don’t value what we stand for. Back out.
The two points, may be easier said than done, but i have read from Peter Block’s book, Flawless Consulting that when there is no involvement on the clients part, their is no commitment.
We should always be patient till the problem because unbearable for the client. At that time, their willingness to pay will be much higher.
Just my two cents.
Great stuff, Tito. You know, worrying about getting paid from a client is tough to begin with. Worrying about getting paid by another consultant, someone who does what you do, is just shameful. I had someone else do something similar years ago only it didn’t involve money. It involved this guy forgetting he was a consultant himself and not returning any phone calls or email after he’d asked me to come visit where he was and write up a proposal.
Overall, it’s like when people go to the hospital. They’re always more willing to pay when they’re in because they perceive the care they’re getting as making them better. Once they’re home, they forget how they were treated and find reasons not to pay hospital bills. It’s a shame but it seems to be customary. Unfortunately, there’s mistrust on both ends, so even hospitals can’t get all their money upfront before treating patients, and the same goes for consultants sometimes.
Wow Mitch! But you know what, you handled it a whole lot better than I would have. You remained the TRUE professional in spite of….Trust me, that can be hard to do when you deal with people like that.
Some people tend to think friendship outweighs following the rules of business.
Here’s the other thing, you had sense enough to know someone was not considering you as a professional. I bet there are a whole lot of people out here who can’t even recognize when someone is “doggin'” them and treating them less than…
Thanks Bev. Very disappointing process this one was, and it’s too bad. One of us needed to remain the professional, right? Now we’ll see just how “professional” I have to be as time goes by.
Hi Mitch,
Your handling of this unpleasant situation is open, honest, and commendable. I think one by-product of having a deal with someone who is considered a friend is the go awry is the hurt that accompanies it. It’s unfortunate that you have to go to such lengths to get paid, but I’m glad you did.
In 25 years of consulting and coaching, I’ve had a few similar situations. They were the reason I went to a retainer structure and why I handle friends-as-business-partners with kid gloves.
Thanks Vernessa. Overall it’s just a reminder to treat all business contacts as business, unless it’s my wife’s niece. π
This situation is typical of the supervisors at my workplace. They want you to complete an assignment and then they doctor the output with their name on it to verify to their boss that they actually played a part in the solution. Interesting about their not reading your work. This disrespecting behaviour is the same here with a myriad of questions and verifications that demonstrate that their knowledgde is limited. So I have changed my output style to simple two sentance paragraphs and my writing level to no more than grade eight – so they can understand it. I have also made friends with people near them so that I can anticipate the current fad of speaking words so that I can tailor the work to most synergistic betterment completed with a asute quality based assemblage of the head office speaking language.
Luke, it’s a shame that your work isn’t valued any better than that by the people you work with. At least, in a way, they value you, even if they feel the need to take credit for some of your work. I hope you find your way into a much better situation one of these days; I bet you’ll shine.
I donΓ’β¬β’t understand is why you started the work without first making sure he signed the contract?
you may have saved a fellow consultant from this blatant mistreatment in the future.
Cheers,
Mitch
I started the work because I knew the guy and thought not only that I could trust him but that he’d read the contract that I’d sent him. I’d known him for a couple of decades; just not well enough it seems.