My job mainly involves working with suppliers. Most of the relationships I have developed are pretty good. But one organisation really pushes it. They are inconsistent with their communication, make promises they can’t keep and will do anything to avoid admitting they have made a mistake – which is far too often.

The final straw (for me) came after I sent an exhaustive email outlining how one such error had caused significant problems for the organisation I work for and our clients. The response was not an apology or even a response to each of my points, but a short note offering a payment that they described as “a one-off gesture of goodwill”. The problem is, I don’t have the power to end this business relationship. And I already get the sense that some in decision-making roles think I’m being over-sensitive about this issue. Am I?

This email may be a one-off payment, but it’s not a one-off instance of fault shirking. It’s not an exception, but part of a long pattern of behaviourCredit: iStock

I won’t cover the ins and outs of this business relationship (which you’ve described in your longer email) because I don’t want to risk your anonymity. There may also be legal aspects to this arrangement that are best left for a lawyer. I can, however, give my opinion on whether you’re being too sensitive: not at all.

You seem particularly insulted by the term “one-off gesture of goodwill”, and with justification. Without an apology, acknowledgement of the trouble they’ve caused or any kind of explanation, this payment seems much more like an attempt to bustle quickly past accountability than a “gesture of good will”.

On its own, the term rings hollow, but when combined with “one-off” it borders on the oxymoronic. “One-off” suggests that their goodwill is like an expensive, single-use product, something to employ only if there is no other course of action.

But, goodwill isn’t an item on a shelf; it exists in something like an internal reservoir - we (as an individual or organisation) don’t have to use it, but it’s available to us at any time. goodwill that can strictly be used just once – like an autoinjector slammed into someone’s leg to relieve the symptoms of anaphylaxis – isn’t goodwill at all.

Your organisation ignores this dodginess at their peril.

They’re using “gesture of goodwill” because that’s how the idiom goes, but it seems to me they’re actually talking about “a demonstration of patience”. What they’re really saying is something more like “we’re going to indulge your complaining – because we’re tolerant – but only this time”. It’s not hard to infer that “if you dare to raise your concerns again, we won’t be so generous”.

This isn’t just avoiding blame, it’s subtly shifting blame to you. It’s not their problem – it’s yours. You’re the whinger. You’re the troublemaker. You’re the wet blanket. What you’ve described as an “error” is just the illusion of a petty nitpicker.

QOSHE - Am I over-reacting to this dismissive email from a client? - Jonathan Rivett
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Am I over-reacting to this dismissive email from a client?

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11.04.2024

My job mainly involves working with suppliers. Most of the relationships I have developed are pretty good. But one organisation really pushes it. They are inconsistent with their communication, make promises they can’t keep and will do anything to avoid admitting they have made a mistake – which is far too often.

The final straw (for me) came after I sent an exhaustive email outlining how one such error had caused significant problems for the organisation I work for and our clients. The response was not an apology or even a response to each of my points, but a short note offering a payment that they described as “a one-off gesture of goodwill”. The problem is, I don’t have the power to end this business relationship. And I already get........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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