We're just in the middle of buying shop premises at the moment, which is why the entries are few and far between.
It's been a reminder to me, if I needed it, of how dog-eat-dog the business world is. When you work in a business where everyone knows one another and has to deal with same people again in the future, reputation is important. It's vital that you're seen as reliable and trustworthy.
Not so when you're buying property (commercial or residential). The property owners- and I guess the buyers as well- know they're not likely to be dealing with you again so notions of honour and ethics are somewhat different.
We started negotiations with a landlord to rent one of his properties. In the theatre world, a manager would be called dishonourable and unethical if he or she began negotiations with another promoter if they had even a pencil (provisional) booking.
Not so in the property world, it seems. This landlord had no scruples about beginning negotiations with another prospective tenant after negotiations were already under way with us. As our 'rivals' were a more established business, they got the shop and we were out-of-pocket for £1000 in solicitor's fees. And, no, our man wasn't interested in compensating us. Fortunately we hadn't had the survey done or we would have been a further £1500 down.
This is not to say this fellow is dishonourable or unethical, just that different rules apply in the property world. I am under no illusions, having been a business person most of my life, that the world of business is about profit not sentiment- companies may present themselves as ethical, compassionate, caring, loyal to their customers or whatever- but this is a response to what they feel they need to do to keep selling their products at a profit, nothing deeper. Tesco are generous to schools but they trample on suppliers and rivals.
From my own experience as an employee, I found that you can be loyal, help your boss turn a company around, protect him from mistakes and coups, and still be shafted when his interests don't coincide with yours.
When business people complain about red tape what they really mean is that they resent laws and regulations that make them behave better than they otherwise would. Still we're now negotiating for another property and look forward to the challenge of running an ethical business at a profit.
