Never burn a bridge!

Chuck Ellis

Member
Messages
6,997
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee
I see several posts on here that someone is "done with XXXX"... we fault companies for not doing what WE want, when they're actually doing just what we are... that which is best for them and their business plan.

My opinion and you may blast me for it if you want, but never burn a bridge... you may have to re-cross it someday.

I've gotten irritated with companies and stayed away, but found that eventually I have to do business with them again... example, in my former career I did international shipments. I used a particular carrier to one destination, but one day they screwed up a shipment and I didn't get them to make it right, so I stopped using them, used alternate carriers and routings... came a day when I had a piece of freight that wouldn't fit any other carrier except them... was forced for the sake of my customer to go back to them and make a booking. Now I'm glad I did, I met my wife through the carrier... she was a new agent with them when I called them again... 23 years later, I'm still fond of that carrier.
 
I am one of those you are talking of. And yet I agree with you. Never is a long time. I though in my hobby choose who I send my money to for a product. The world of work is another whole ballgame. It is foolish to restrict ourselves in the world of work, remembering their attitudes/ethics and such so you can choose when to use them. They just don't stay as primary. Maybe in time they will move back up the list near #1, yet, don't think my wife would appreciate me finding another wife!:eek::rofl:
 
Never is a long time and things can change.

However, there are some companies I will go out of my way to avoid doing business with because I don't agree with their business practices. Economic boycott is (imho) one of the most effective way of expressing dissaproval with a company. Sharing (politely and hopefully rationally although sometimes the latter can slip a bit in the heat of the moment :rolleyes:) with other people in your peer group your reasoning for the boycott can help increase the pressure for change. If you're REALLY mad and the company appears intransigent to change you can aim for collapse of the enterprise although its generally unusual for one person to be able to generate that much pressure (and its not clear that that has the desired effect as much as you'd like it to in the broader scope either).

I continue reserve the right to do business with most of them in the future if I feel that they have sufficiently reformed, but a few I'm REALLY mad at so they'll never see another dollar from me unless I slip and make a mistake (usually because of repeated infractions over time).
 
And here I was thinking you were gonna say never burn a bridge when you can blow it up:thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl: I had bridge burned about a year ago. The guy lost 8K of my dollars over the last year and he knows it. Had another on that was stacking wood in the middle of the bridge when I reminded him I spent 13K at his place of business last year. The light went on in his head and the very next day he was waxing the bridge just to make sure it stayed shiny:thumb::thumb:
 
Last edited:
Top