Short-Term Punch Always Loses

Everyone knows that a sell-and-run merchant will get found out one day. All buyers absolutely loath such a salesperson.

A plant involved in the cotton industry shared a tale with me about how they are trying to repair a relationship caused by just such unwelcome behaviour.

A long-term vendor-consumer arrangement was on-going. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the first flush of youth, and discord emerged over a certain product’s pricing. As a result, a particular product had gone unsold and undelivered for quite some time.

Frustrated, the seller invoked a contractual clause that meant that the customer simply had to take it. The buyer reluctantly agreed. But when the bill duly arrived after an eventually renewed supply, the seller had put on an amount for an extra third of what was actually delivered.

The customer couldn’t believe it. Any chance of relationship rescue was on the rocks. Short-term supposed gain had been sought at the sacrifice of sustainable business.

Not only that, but word soon spreads. Only a small handful of possible clients exist in the market, and their view is likely to be similarly clouded to that of the original customer. This makes remedy even more troublesome.

A short-term punch always, always, loses in the end.