What would you have done?

[Trident-za]

Strange topic... but I feel a bit kind of bad about what I did.

The scenario: I've done a bit of business with my brother's company, buying hardware from them, and they have "outsourced" me for database/software development. I submitted an invoice for "work done" about 3 months ago, and haven't received payment yet. (it was a big project, with a considerable amount of money involved). anyway, I've been chatting to my brother about this for 3 months now, and he has been complaining about their new accountants and how crap they are. Today, I received an email from the accountant - asking me to pay an account that I actually paid last year March, with no mention of me getting paid whats due to me.

Anyway... the accountant is clearly out of his depth. In fact, he appears to be completely clueless! I replied to his email, in a rather abrupt (some might say rude) tone.... and now I feel terrible, and wish I could take it back.

Why? Simple really.... I feel sorry for the guy - I've met him once, and he is as gay as they come. While I personally don't care if he is gay/straight/lesbian/ whatever.... I feel sorry for him because being gay in South Africa can't be pleasant and he must be having a crap life. At what point does the state of someone else's life become more important, or less important, than the business issue? Does compassion count in this modern world, or just the bottom line?

This is a sorry state of affairs.... I have no patience for incompetence.... yet I wish I could take the email back simply because his "lifestyle" must be tough to deal with. Is it better to be polite and understanding (even if just for your own feelings of self-worth) or to be a hard arse who rides over other people's feelings to get what you want?

What would you have done under the same circumstances? And would you feel bad about being rude to an incompetent accountant?

[Seoulstriker]

They have a job to do. If they can't do their job properly which will result in you getting screwed, I would get upset. Things change when you know them personally, though, and you are "friends" with them.

[Abolith]

His life, his choice, he has to deal with it. You need only be concerned with you, your family, and your friends.

But then again I have been thought off as an asshole when it comes to business (almost took my best friend to court over money owed)

[Fee Fi Fo Fum]

His life, his choice, he has to deal with it. You need only be concerned with you, your family, and your friends.

But then again I have been thought off as an asshole when it comes to business (almost took my best friend to court over money owed)

reminds me of a hidden camera show i seen :roll:

[Rilence]

His life, his choice, he has to deal with it. You need only be concerned with you, your family, and your friends.

But then again I have been thought off as an asshole when it comes to business (almost took my best friend to court over money owed)
you must be a really nice guy :cantbeli:

[fred_engles]

In general, Seoul is right that, if he's a bumbling idiot, gay or straight has little to do with it (although I certainly do sympathize with your desire to avoid hurting someone whose life is hard enough as it is).

However, I would still be careful about being rude, since, when dealing with a complicated organization, it is often difficult to know that the person you're blaming for screwing up is indeed at fault.

We've all seen someone yelling at a waiter because they don't like the food or something similar, even though that's obviously not the waiter's fault. Similarly, in this case, the payment of your invoice could have potentially been held up at many different places (a secretary might have misfiled your letter, someone who's supposed to sign off on these things might have ignored it, their software might have screwed up, etc.). In that case, you need to be careful about venting your anger on someone who is potentially not at fault. That is especially the case here, since your brother runs the company, and therefore you can take any complaints you have directly to him, and therefore you don't need to get snippy towards any of his employees to get results.

[Abolith]

His life, his choice, he has to deal with it. You need only be concerned with you, your family, and your friends.

But then again I have been thought off as an asshole when it comes to business (almost took my best friend to court over money owed)
you must be a really nice guy :cantbeli:

Thats not a fair, you don't know the facts. he owed me almost 9K. after I gave him the threat, he paid and we have been friends non-stop. he didn't hold against me nor I him..it was business plain and simple.

[Roger Rabbit]

For myself personally then i'd just forget it unless i felt really bad in which case i'd apologise for being abrupt but make it clear that i wasn't happy at having to wait such a long time to get paid.

[Vance]

Trident you always make the saddest topics. I woulda thought different from a guy who's named after some toothpaste. :(

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Oh come on now. Why would you feel bad? Just because this guy projects his gayness & people give him a hard time? It is possible to be gay, and not advertise it to the world. It's foolish and naive for him to act in a flamboyant manner & not expect people to react to it.

See, this is the reason I no longer tell strangers that I'm fond of putting clown makeup on my naked body, jamming a plumber’s helper up my ass, & singing Madonna tunes into the mirror. "like a virgin whooo! touched for the very first time.." For some reason, people treated me differently once I told them about it.

If the guy is incompetent, he should be corrected. You're totally justified in sending him a slightly nasty email to get his attention. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I'm sure you didn't call him any nasty names alluding to his lifestyle choice...but telling him to get his shat together is quite justified. In fact, treating him differently would be discrimination.