Integrity
A great story that illustrates integrity or just plain old stubborness. A good friend of mine is a contractor and was contacted about installing a sidewalk. He provided the quote to the wife, the buyer accepted and the work began. Upon completion of the concrete sidewalk, the husband is unhappy with the shade of gray color that the concrete dried. The husband refuses to pay and my friend is dumbfounded. Still in disbelief he explains the unpredictable nature of concrete curing and that the color will have natural variations. The husband refuses to pay and calls the police. The wife is embarrassed and mortified.
The police arrive and after hearing the explanation suggests that the husband pay up. My friend at this point is angered, shocked, disappointed and most of all hurt. The wife put her trust in him and his craftsmanship, he delivered the work and did an excellent job. Before the husband could write a check, my friend had another idea.
Since the sidewalk was not paid for he felt it still belonged to him. He asked the police officer if instead of taking payment he could remove the sidewalk. The puzzled officer said yes and my friend proceeded to spend several hours chopping out the hardened concrete sidewalk by hand. The husband, wife, and officer watched shaking their heads in disbelief. My friend did not want to do business on any terms with the husband. Believe it or not my friend took his sidewalk home!
The wife afterwards called my friend and apologized profusely explaining how her husband was out of line, how he humiliated her and the family. She even sent him a check in the full amount for the work.
So I asked my friend, you did the work you deserve to be paid did you cash the check?
What do you think?
Wow! At the end of the day, these are the people we should do business with, that we want to have as our friends. With a friend like that we can move mountains.
All the Best,
Coach K
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