Forever Friends!

In business, there are some people you should never do business with. Your friends and your family! Yes, sometimes friends and family can give you a heck of a lot more headache than clients who are practically strangers to begin with.

About a two months ago, a friend of mine, well more like an ex-colleague asked me to do some work for him. We were both working together about 7 years ago when I was in this event company. He was the marketing manager and I was the key account manager. We got a long pretty well both as friends and as colleagues.

After a couple of years, he left the company and a year or so later I followed suit. We stayed in touch and met up for those 'teh tarik' (drink) sessions from time to time to just catch up on old times. Then he opened up his own business doing premiums and stuff. At that time I was working in my previous company.

Being a close friend, I'd call him up first before any other supplier whenever I had clients who needed premium items and when he had clients that needed advertising or design work done, he'd call me. It was a mutual win-win thing for both of us.

As I was saying, about two months ago, he wanted me to do some work for him for one of his clients. As per the usual, a quote was given and being a friend, I didn't squeeze him too much on the quote like I do to my normal clients (LOL!). Everything was agreed upon before proceeding, the production and delivery time line and also payment terms.

The project was for a fridge magnet. We started work on the job and that's where things got dicey. First he asked ridiculously impossible things like wanting a sample on the spot. In the first place, he agreed before hand that he doesn't need a sample. When I told him that they would be additional charges for the sample and that it most definitely wouldn't be ready on the spot, he started making a big fuss.

He started harping about him being a friend and giving me business in these hard economic times and all that crap. I was stunned. First of all, I didn't beg him for the job, he came to me. Secondly I have other clients of my own. Thirdly, the project is so small that it really is not worth doing but as a friend I agreed. My boss wasn't too keen to take the project in the first place but because I vouched for this guy, he agreed.

To cut a long story short, this friend of mine gave us grieve throughout the production of this fridge magnet with demands like wanting partial delivery and all that nonsense before our agreed upon delivery date. After we finally got the job completed, my boss and me both breathe a huge sigh of relieve! But that wasn't the end of our problems.

When it came time for payment, I called him up and he started berating me about chasing him for payment and that the job was not done to his satisfaction, etc, etc, etc. Chasing him for payment? This was my first time calling him and even then it's one week plus after the payment terms date.

And if I did such an unsatisfactory job, why hasn't the client rejected the darn magnets? I was appalled. If this was my usual client, I wouldn't have been bothered cos I expect them to do stuff like these. But this guy was a friend! Someone I knew and worked with before and now he's treating me like some loan shark chasing him for payment!

After about 2 weeks, he finally called me up and in the harshest tone he could muster, yelled at me and told me to meet him in a shopping mall in the busiest part of town to collect my cheque saying he doesn't have time to come to my office cos it's in a secluded area! He said if I'm so desperate for the cheque then I'll have to just drive up and see him.

I felt so cheap, really I did. If it was up to me, I'd have told him to stuff that cheque so far up his behind that it would come out his mouth. But I kept my cool and said, ok I'll come over after lunch. Then just as I was about to leave after lunch to see him, he called and said he's not free to see me cos he's got more important things to do and that he will fix a new time next week when he's free!

That was when my fuse ran out! I screamed at him and told him in no uncertain terms what a fraud he is with such colorful language and a few remarks about bodily harm, it would have made Mike Tyson or Eddie Murphy blush! Then not just stopping there, I went up to the office and even wrote him a nice long email to cement my colorful phrases which I uttered to him over the phone.

That actually worked cos he's never known to see me loose my cool that badly. The very next day, he called me and in the nicest of tones said if I could meet him in another shopping mall and he'll have my payment ready. LOL!

Almost a month and a half late with loads of stress, shame and anger thrown in but I eventually did get my payment. As for my friendship with him, let's just say that if I see if walking on the road somewhere, I'll run him down! Hahaha!

The moral of the story is to NEVER do work for your friends and your family members. I've had a bad experience with doing work for family members before too but that's a post for another day.
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