Assessing Vendor Integrity
“Who you are, is what you do when no one’s watching.” is a long-held belief of mine. It’s my standard for my own behavior, for raising my daughter and for selecting software vendors to introduce to a client. And given the number of vendors I talk to, I like to find out pretty quickly who they are.
And so, when I engaged with a service provider recently for my own business, one who several people in my network recommended, I assumed not only a certain level of trust, but that the trust had been earned through personal integrity. I gave him Phase 1 of a decent-sized project, and it was completed exactly as my network had predicted: on time, within budget, and to spec. Except for one small problem that needed to be fixed.
Knowing this provider had several other tight deadlines that week, I proposed he have the fix to me the following week. Since Phase 1 had gone well, I made this offer while already planning Phase 2. What happened next? Out of sight, out of mind.
When we finally did connect, through my initiation, I commented how it would be a shame to throw away this relationship over a lack of service, especially given how we had met. No, he responded, he wouldn’t do that.
Huh? He wouldn’t do that?
He had no idea that by not giving me high quality service, his reputation with the entire network was at risk!
This incident was small relative to the large dollar commitments my clients make to vendors I recommend, but it illustrates several important points about the buyer-vendor relationship.
- While we all prefer the assumed trust that goes with an introduction over a cold call, just how much trust can be assumed and how much needs to be proven through direct experience?
- Whose responsibility is it to initiate trust? Would I have been better served if I had insisted my provider fix my problem immediately? And is this why buyers and vendors both put on their heavy armor before entering negotiations?
- Armor doesn’t lead to win-win relationships between buyers and vendors. Trust and personal integrity do, as well as a vested interest in each other’s success. Whether it’s developed over time or from the first day, it has to be mutual.