They gave me the runaround

Here’s the situation. My team and I work with small business owners. Medical physicians and dentists to be precise. And many of them applied for government loans this year due to the economic impact of covid.

As often is the case, government money comes with strings attached. So we partnered with a law firm in Ohio to offer our clients compliance policies.

All went well in the beginning. For the first few months, we sold a handful of policies. I would gather information from the client and send it to the law firm. Within a week, they returned a custom policy as promised.

So far so good.

Then things changed. For reasons I can’t explain, recent communication from the law firm has abated drastically.

I have payment for two new policies that are over a month outstanding. But when I ask for an update via email, I get no response. And when I got them on the phone, they gave me the runaround.

“Sorry for the delay.”

“We’re working on it.”

“It’ll be done soon.”

All bullshit excuses. Never answering my questions directly.

What they really mean to say is, “We do not value our business relationship with you.”

It’s an extremely frustrating position to be in. And while writing this post provides a measure of cathartic release, I’m still on the hook.

I’ve put myself in a position where I’m responsible for an outcome, but have little control over getting it done.

So yes, I’m writing this post to vent. And also to help me think about how I can avoid predicaments like this in the future.

What should I have done differently?

A handful of ideas came to mind:

• Made a soft recommendation for this law firm instead of inserting myself into the transaction?
• Vetted the law firm more thoroughly?
• Been better at communicating my expectations from the start?
• Put some kind of working agreement in writing?

What can I do now?

Well, there’s not much I can do at this point other than stay persistent. They can’t ignore me forever if I refuse to go away.

The only thing I can’t do is nothing. I can’t sit silently and abdicate my responsibility to my clients. My relationship with them is at stake. They trust me to follow up on my word.

Yet despite my best efforts, I’m still on the losing end of this deal right now.

Other than another phone call, there’s no recourse left. How long I can expect this drama to drag on, I’m not sure.

Moving forward

In the future I’ll be more careful. I’ll vet my sources more thoroughly. And I’ll make sure that my business partner has some skin in the game.

If my ability to deliver a result hinges on someone else, I better make sure that they have something to lose if they don’t follow through on their end of the bargain.