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huggytree
07-28-2011, 01:48 PM
went by a family friends house today and noticed a competitors van in their driveway..our kids play together and its one of my wifes best friends...i am friendly with them also and see them all the time....im not best friends with them, but we are social together

it bugs me.....i asked my wife if she wanted to confront them or not....does it really matter? no, but it still bugs me....i give good deals to friends and probably wouldnt have saved them money + im very slow and im sitting around at home with nothing to do...

any stories to tell? (im not really looking for advice, just starting a conversation)

vangogh
07-28-2011, 06:31 PM
No specific stories to share, but similar things have happened to me. I think in some cases the person didn't realize I provided the same service they hired someone else to do. Once, maybe twice someone I knew and would have expected would think to hire me hired someone else and it did bug me a bit and made me wonder why. In the end it wasn't a big deal. It's a person who's hired me for other things and who I know has relationships with several people who offer the same services I do.

I know the feeling though. It does bug you when you first hear, but there are so many reasons why someone you think would choose you goes with someone else it's usually not worth worrying about.

seolman
07-28-2011, 07:36 PM
I have avoided using friend's businesses simply because I didn't want to risk my friendship over a potential disagreement over price or quality.

billbenson
07-28-2011, 09:00 PM
A friend didn't consult me when he had a web site done and it ended up costing him several K (site was junk, domain was hijacked by Network Solutions etc.). He just didn't want to put me out and mix business with friends. There may be positive reasons why he didn't call you. Personally I wouldn't mention it.

Business Attorney
07-28-2011, 09:10 PM
. . . there are so many reasons why someone you think would choose you goes with someone else it's usually not worth worrying about.

1. They have used the same plumber for years
2. He is her brother's best friend
3. As seolman said, they didn't want to risk your friendship over a potential disagreement over price or quality
4. They thought you worked only on new construction or major remodeling jobs
5. They had a coupon or won some work at a charity auction

. . . and so on . . .

Let it go. Don't put them in an uncomfortable position. But just in case it was reason #4, make sure that over the course of things you let them know what you do.

I tend to not mix social friends and business, so it happens pretty often that I learn of a friend who used an attorney for something I could have done. That doesn't bother me at all.

I have a business-oriented practice and there are a lot of matters - like house closings and divorces - that I generally don't do. Every once in a while I learn that a regular client used a different attorney for something we could have done. In those cases, it is usually my fault because I handled one type of work for them and didn't make a point of educating them about all of my firm's areas of practice.

thebizinator
07-28-2011, 10:01 PM
@seolman I'm the same way. I think it kind of goes along with business owners hiring their friends to work within their own company. I wouldn't want a slight disagreement to ruin a friendship and my business at the same time.

vangogh
07-28-2011, 10:58 PM
I think we all agree it's not a big deal. It happens and I know at times it stings momentarily, but there are so many legitimate reasons for not hiring family or friends.

Kavey
07-29-2011, 11:35 AM
Personally I would count it as a blessing. I prefer NOT to work on my friends and family's cars. They expect you to treat them as a friend or family rather than as a customer. I do it, and I lose out on income by doing it and if something isn't right you can bet I will hear about it at thanksgiving dinner or something. I never "offer" to work for friends or family, but I don't turn em away either. I consider it charity more or less because I know they will have a problem if I charge em full price. They like to look up prices at autozone and say well why are you charging me double? Well I am not putting a duralast crank sensor on your car 5 times for free.. that's why. LOL

vangogh
07-29-2011, 02:02 PM
They expect you to treat them as a friend or family rather than as a customer.

True. Maybe not all, but more often than not.

Steve B
07-29-2011, 03:07 PM
I also avoid hiring friends - so the business situation doesn't get in the way of a good friendship. I don't mind being the one to do the work for friends however. I feel I have more control over the situation if I'm the one doing the work.

Dan Furman
07-29-2011, 09:20 PM
I have avoided using friend's businesses simply because I didn't want to risk my friendship over a potential disagreement over price or quality.

This. I almost always avoid doing business with friends/etc.