Not a Place I Want to Be

I recently had an interaction with a fellow who I will call Pomp. Pomp is short for pompous, and the name is apt because I have never in my life, that I can easily recall, had an interaction with someone who was so pompous and condescending and so full of himself while being full of something else at the same time.

I contacted Pomp because he was in charge of a project that was accepting bids for certain contracted work. There's a fellow I know who needs jobs, is good at what he does, and I wanted to know if the bidding was still open. Eventually he told me that the guy could contact him to get the bid info, but this was also after telling me that everyone in business is just out for themselves, and essentially if you ever have loyalty to someone who does work in your house you are a fool, because they will just cheat you. The fact that you know a job will be done well, and guaranteed with good service in the case of a problem is moot. It all comes down to getting the best price, and if you don't well then the world is gonna take advantage of you.

How sad. How sad and pathetic. This man claims to be a businessman, well I know plenty of businessmen who would very much be out of business if their relationships with their customers and suppliers were not a factor in their dealings. If everything were always only based on the best deal then only the cheapest companies would make money.

I was reading an article this weekend about my favorite Mayor, Michale Bloomberg. As much as I chide him for his pomposity and nannyish ways, he is a huge philanthropist, and also loyal to a fault to his executives and political aides. Now, this is a guy who has made loyalty part of who he is, and part of who he is is a billionaire. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet it's not an attribute he developed AFTER he made all that money.

I feel sad for Pomp that he lives in such a cynical world, a world in which everyone is out to get you. The main thing I realized is that I never want to do business with him, and certainly if ever I am in need of his services, I would certainly look elsewhere, even if he's cheaper. Because relationships matter, and I don't want to live in a world where they don't.