Talk Talk (Not the ’80s band)
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009This is a very important announcement. More critical than ‘Jon and Kate want to suck out each others’ eyeballs’. Bigger than ‘Balloon Boy was a Hoax.’ As vital to human life as Jalepeño Tostitos. (Start the drum roll): the announcement is that it is really important to communicate with people you know, and with whom you may be having conflict. Be they friends or spouses or that client who owes you money or your kids or Aunt Mulva or traffic-ticket-giving cops (who, technically, aren’t people). Speak with them. Twitter them. Ping ‘em with an e-mail. Put ten digits together on that iPhone and press the green button. Ring the bell. String the can. Buzz the tower. Spank the monkey. Well, maybe not that last one.
I had a client for whom I was doing some ongoing work who got into some financial trouble. This caused the client to curtail payments to me. I worked with the client on this. However, I did some subsequent work for the client for which I required separate payment. Some problems ensued with that payment. I made repeated efforts in many of the above-mentioned ways (including, in addition, good thought osmosis and hopeful finger-crossing) to talk to the client about this. Nearly four months went by without a peep, not even the Easter candy kind. Ostrich heads were George Hamilton tan compared to the client’s. Buried deep, 24/7.
What was I to think? Did the client die? Had they fallen, and couldn’t get up? Rabies? Shingles? The heartbreak of Psoriasis? Nah. Maybe it was just that the client didn’t want to discuss something that had all the appeal of ipecac.
The client eventually made contact after things went further south between us. We may yet make full amends. Currently I’m out some money, but more importantly now I’m leery. And sad, because it didn’t have to get to this point.
If you’ve got troubles with your restaurant manager, let him know. Tell the store owner about the employee you used to rave about that now makes you suspicious. Talk to your boss about the report with the chocolate smudge you submitted. Call the IRS before the fifth notice arrives. Speak up! Most people are willing to solve problems, even though there may be some discomfort involved. And by discomfort I mean stuff that might cause your sphincter to tighten up. But fight through that and talk. It’s worth it.
