And, I Thought Screws Were Just Hardware!

In a recent conversation I had with a fellow commercial real estate professional, he asked me what I thought he should do about a recent business encounter. Someone, who had an obligation to pay him a commission, utilized a technicality to pay him a lot less, in fact a fraction of what he owed. Then, to add insult to injury, that person elected to make minimal payments over an extended time period, without interest, despite having no contractual right to do so. After understanding more details of the circumstance, it appeared that the real estate professional's interpretation was balanced and realistic. It was plain to me that he had been screwed by this person, and that, while the real estate professional may not have perceived the payor as a bad guy, the payor obviously was not interested in doing right by the real estate professional. In my book, someone who avoids doing the right thing when the opportunity to do right exists IS a bad guy!

I didn't find this question, nor the answer, to be overly complicated. My response was simple and obvious: I advised the real estate professional to pursue whatever business and / or legal remedies that were available to him, collect his money, and never ever do business with that person again...PERIOD!

To me, and to most people, there would be no other answer. When someone has demonstrated that, while they didn't necessarily do anything bad, if they have an opportunity to do the right thing, but don't, for whatever they claim are their justifyable reasons or extenuating circumstances, in my book they move into the Bad Guy column.