It seems to be part of our nature to wait for an opportunity to push forward our story/truth sometimes to the detriment of all involved. That is to say we may feel wronged about something but does someone always need to be sacrificed on the altar of truth for the offence? Or another way is to say, did you really feel slighted or was this just an opportunity to voice our concerns and agenda?
I visiting with a client recently to go over an issue they had with another company that they were doing business with. The company had agreed to provided my client with a service for a fixed price and had ran into problems delivering due to an unforeseen increase of materials costs involved. My client was one call away from getting involved with what would have been a protracted legal battle where both sides would of lost time and money.
The issue had escalated quickly
The issue had escalated quickly when the service provider contacted my client and informed them that the they could not complete the service if the difference was not made up by my client. There was little explanation given other that they had run into issues with one of their suppliers and had to switch to a new one at a higher price. My client had made the assumption that the service provider was taking the route so many companies take when bidding a job and had bid the service light in the hopes it could adjust the price later once the job had been started. What my client did not know took myself a few phone calls to discern. There were only two suppliers for one of the key components involved with the service and one had just filed for chapter 11. Unable to deliver on any of the contracts it had agreed to because of its legal issues. That had left the service provider scrambling to get there component from the only other supplier and having to pay a premium to get them. Once I had a chance to sit down with my client and explain to them what I had found out it allowed them to evaluate their options and determine the way forward. After a few phone calls the two parties agreed to a small increase in the price to keep the deal together and move forward. To get back to the statement I had made at the beginning. There are times when we run into a problem or issue with another person and have a hard time seeing past how we are effected. To compound this most of the time the other party is not always forthcoming with all of the information making the situation worse. In effect thinking somehow everyone is supposed to read each other’s mind. When situations reach an impasse like this, good communication were all parties lay there cards on the table needs to take place. Sometimes it’s helpful to have someone willing to listen unbiasedly helping them find an equitable solution so they can continue their relationship.
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