Playing Hardball

I'm learning how to Play-Hardball. Today our brokers practically did fraud, claiming they had issued Receipts for the stay (one of our brokers being a sex offender and his trial and transcript can be found online, including a picture) but clearly there is no receipt of receiving these receipts. Basically claims made with and no proof and ignoring the protocall.

Interestingly We are swamped with potential business. It is a simple matter of using the failure to pay for TWO MONTHS as grounds as their ACTIVE termination of the contract. We will suffer maybe 2 weeks of delay, but we will have a new campaign up and running, which happens to have a down-payment in most cases.

Suspicious Activity.

I'm beginning to notice the severe frequency of shady business going on can really alter my world view... but I have to always tell myself, this is the situation in one of the most lucrative markets in the world, BPO in the Philippines. It also help there is a slight cultural bias for Philippines agents.

In terms of suspicious Transactions over regular and legitimate transactions, lately there have been so much that requires my signature that needs to be overlooked and reviewed again. Maybe (a guess) out of the 50+ documents I have to review per week, I have to double check more than 2 per week (2 is the lowest so far).

Currently there are exposures to Sexual Harassment (a Foreigner Team Leader Dating his subordinate agent) and Labor disputes (that same foreigner firing and threatening OUR employees and leveraging stiff sanctions with out DUE PROCESS, and the previous management hiding behind his desk*)

*this is because of incompetence. A well run contact center is not held hostage by its foreign partners, its supposed to be a partnership.

Three Way Partnerships and being Above Board.

As I was exposed to deceit I am also exposed to how it is to be above board. It is not about protecting YOUR OWN, it is protecting the interests of ALL PARTNERS and Stakeholders.

When a client is going to incur a late fee penalty, you not only warn him, you make sure the information gets to him. This is the same with many of the Accrued costs, because we learned that incompetence and fraud within the company begins when debt is ignored to alter the actual bottom line.

Its the same way my mom or boss would alert fellow business owners when they notice something shady, happening in their own business. Its not a matter of honor or justice, but actually out of Professional Courtesy. People who are mindful if other people are being taken advantage off are the type of people you will want to do business in the future.

In a 3 way partnership: A broker, client and our services, the fact that the Broker is talking behind our back and we only talk to the client when everyone is present goes un-noticed... especially a Client who is impotent in REINFORCING the 3-way partnership. If you have done everything in your power to be ABOVE BOARD and you partner doesn't want any of the DIRTY LAUNDRY to be seen (strange for an american company) then they don't have the BALLS in the first place to do what is right and do what it takes to make a relationship work.

Of course, this is a signal to Play Hardball and get out of the relationship. Right now, given all the potential business we are getting because of good credibility those sex-offender broker can go suck his own cock. We can say that the the interest we have accrued having NOT been payed by our Client (because the Sex offender is trying to get us to pay for his trip in Olongapo) is enough that it is more expensive to continue this business with them than to accommodate a new client with better signals and indicators of fair play.

A different Life.

Dealing with this many deviants is the first of our management team, yet our most seasoned veteran, our COO, seems to be adequately prepared (and overwhelming calculating and cautious he reminds me of fictional characters I've only read about).

I was trying to prepare myself against Sociopaths and Psychopaths with the trolls I've been dealing with, its a surprise real life can be a simple as Ignoring such sources of stress, ulcer and sleepless nights.

I have to say it helps having the baby boy and the wife to look forward to when going home. They both really help compartmentalize the problems.

Catharsis.

Airsoft is my biggest Bang for Buck catharsis. The high i get doing OK (not even getting a kill) is much more than any of my computer games or other hobbies. I think there is a sense of childish fulfillment in playing soldier/warrior that is ingrained. Catharsis is much more potent when there is an aspect of fulfillment accompanying it.

I'm not playing right now. Too busy, but hopefully after June 20, I can play again.