From time to time, I find myself shaking my head in disbelief at how incredibly indolent some people in business are.

So I’ve decided to create the “What Were You Thinking” award to recognize these people who inspire me with their ‘Bad Behavior’.

Today’s winner (LOSER!) is a contractor who worked on our home about two years ago.  Did good work, too.  Not long ago, a neighbor stopped by and asked, “Who did the work on your home?  We need to do the same thing at our house and wanted to know if you’d recommend your contractor.”

We were happy to oblige and gave our neighbor our contractor’s phone number.  Today, our neighbor stopped over.  “We wanted to let you know the guy you recommended . . . nice guy, but . . . he didn’t get back to us so . . . we’re going with a different company”.

That’s so wrong!  First, this contractor isn’t doing THAT good that he can afford to lose a piece of business that was put on the tee for him by us.  Second, at some level, it reflects badly on us.  And if asked, we’re not going to refer much less recommend this contractor to anyone else.  EVER!

KEY POINT:
Not Following-up with a Referral  . . . BURNS YOUR BRIDGES / SOURCES — Don’t Do It!