Friend is a loan officer. She goes to a personal trainer. Over the last 6 months or so she's referred clients to her trainer. Not overtly, but when it came up in conversation that someone was looking for a trainer she'd say, "Hey, I go to a good one, here's her number." Like that.

Well, apparently her trainer has a lead on someone needing the services of a loan officer. So the trainer comes to her and asks, "How much is a referral worth to me?" Friend asks what she means. Trainer says "Well, if I send someone to you for a loan, how much of a 'finder fee' do I get?"

So, friend says "Well, that depends, what kind of a lead is it? How big of a loan, type of property, etc."

Trainer says, "I'll let you know when you tell me what the finders fee is."

Friend was floored. She kinda thought she and the trainer were friends, and as stated had referred people to the trainer with no expectation of reimbursement. But now she sees herself as just another paycheck to the trainer, and kind of feels like a "mark."

I had the same thing happen to me years ago with an auto mechanic. He'd made thousands from me over the years fixing my car. Got to be very friendly with him. Decided to sell car and mentioned it to him. He says he has another customer looking for one. Introduction results in sale.

When I stopped in to tell him thanks for hooking me up with the buyer, he flat out said "You're welcome, and you owe me for that referral since you didn't have to advertise it. I think $200.00 ought to cover it."

I was like WTF? He made a mint from me fixing that car when I owned it, and he was going to continue to make a mint off that car because it was sold to another one of his customers! Told him I'd get back to him about that on payday and blew him off. Found another mechanic.

So is that the way of the world now?
Is it expected?
Isn't 'word of mouth' resulting in more business enough?

My local nissan dealership have sent me a couple of $100 checks for referal fees whenever anyone buys a car there and mentions my name. I was glad to refer folks there because I know they would get a good deal, didn't really expect them to just pay without me following up with them. Can't say I complain when a $100 check arrives in the mail.

Some people have no cooth.

Trainer - tell 'em to go scratch. How unprofessional.

Gas station sale - Did ya tell him how to collect that $200?

Dealership checks, sweet! My dealer usually give me a freebie oil change, I've now had 5 straight. My 75K is due, that's timing belt time, aint it?

MGJ

Timing belt is due at 105k I believe.

When I lived in Baton Rouge, they had a concept they called 'langappe', which was explained to me to mean 'that which is given freely'. It takes the idea of a little something extra like the 13th donut in a Baker's Dozen to the Nth degree & tries to apply it to everything.

As example, I had to fly a crew to Dallas to help the local office. When I was going over the time sheets the following Friday, I noticed that everyone had like 16 hours travel time instead of the 4 or so they should've had. When I called the crew leader to ask her about it, she said that that's what they would've got if they had drove. I told her they didn't drive, they flew & she just kept saying that's what they would've got had they drove. We went around & around for maybe 10 minutes trying to explain why they weren't getting the extra time.

Some stores had minimum crew requirements & if we came up short, the inventory would be cancelled. Company policy was to give 2 hours for showing up. You wouldn't believe how many times someone would put that on their timesheet when them not showing up was the reason the store was cancelled in the first place.

Sounds like you guys need to add the phrase, "Go fuck yourself" to your vocabularies.

Ding-ding....winner.

If they don't take the pocket knife, I always ask if a shoebox full of twentys is out of the question..

Swwwwweeeeet!

I'll be heading to Vegas in about a week. Travel time with flying is about 8 hours total (that's including packing at the office before heading to the airport).

Can I put 36 hours on instead, since that's what it would take "if I drove it."

Oh yeah...and the return trip, too!

72 hours instead of 16. COOOOOOL!

What I was thinking as well.

These people need a kickback from Chuck Norris.

That'll teach 'em.

AHHHH hA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

Words to live by

In some businesses, its expected that a referal fee is in order, but, the arrangement is up front before that relationship commences.

If someone expects a fee when no prior arrangement was made, that's Fuck You Time.

In my business, I tell people up front...if you do a good job, I can refer you to people. I'd appreciate it if you could do the same for me.

No exchange of money...just referrals for good performance...both ways, as applicable.

If they want money....its bye bye.

Everything goes in Business, if you think people will act any other way than be greedy and ruthless then you are bound to be taken for a ride sooner than later...

Pretty ballsy since you can advertise nationwide for $35 with AutoTrader or free on craigslist....

The crap people expect these days never ceases to amaze me

We get paid OT to travel. I love it, but like everything else, it only takes one idiot to mess it up for the rest of us. We got a guy in our group who would go to the airport 4 hours early and log the time on his sheet as "travel time." Then he'd sit in a bar and order lunch and 4 or 5 beers and have the balls to expense it. The rest of us had a little "intermediary justice" meeting with him to say, "if you keep this shit up, and a new policy knocks down our OT... we'll have to kick your ass in the parking lot."

This jackass saw absolutely nothing wrong with his behavior. When we suggested that it was nothing short of stealing, his response was, "it ain't like they don't have the money." Unbelievable.