The Value of Reputation

Last week, I took my 17-year-old daughter shopping for a car. And because the life of a writer/e-mail newsletter creator/blogger is reasonably modest (at least all the ones I know), we were forced to bypass the dealerships with the lighted signs and fancy showrooms and head for the trailer offices, dirt lots and windshields with phrases scrawled on them like "Low Mileage" and "AC Works" in yellow wax.

I was led to one particular lot on West Tennessee Street through an Internet search and quickly found myself inside a car that was not at all what the 18 online photos had led me to believe it was. After a disturbing test drive, we returned the car and began to look around for a hidden gem amongst the clunkers. As we were searching, out of nowhere we hear someone yell to us from a car whizzing by. It was a middle-aged woman yelling something like, "Don't buy a car from there." I looked at my daughter and father-in-law (who was in town visiting) and asked, "What did she just say?"

Within seconds, the passionate consumer advocate had done a U-turn and came back around for a more personal interaction. She proceeded to share her unfortunate experience with this dealer and warned us not to trust anything we were being told. Although I was sure we were not going to find the right car there before she dropped by, she motivated me to get to my car just a little more quickly.

Reputation is an important thing, and it certainly doesn't take much to ruin it. We can do everything right for a really long time and then make one mistake that deals a significant blow to our public perception. The kind of error that hurts is not the honest mistake but rather the intentionally poor or neglectful treatment of a customer. I am going to assume that none of us would knowingly lie to a client, but allowing something bad to happen to someone who has entrusted us is a tough situation to explain away.

Again, I doubt it would ever be intentional, but being lazy or inattentive for even a short amount of time can result in damage to that business relationship and cause your reputation to take a hit.

As my good friend Jay Colle likes to say, Tallahassee is the world's biggest high school, because someone you know will know someone who knows you. Your reputation is especially important here, so protect it with everything you’ve got.

By the way, we are still looking for a car.