A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

It's the old adage.

You might have a thousand people employed at your company. Nine hundred and ninety-nine of them could be the nicest people in the world, but one big jerk could do irreparable harm to your company.

As I’ve written before, people buy from people. People do not buy from companies, organizations or buildings. The attitudes and perceptions that prospects and customers form of your company only come from the people they deal with.

How many times have you stopped doing business with a company because of someone's lousy attitude?

Here's a unique case in point: for four years, I swam three days a week with the Masters Program at the University of North Carolina. Since parking on campus is scarce, once a year I had to buy a parking pass for about eighty bucks for the year (usually running from September 1^st to the end of July or mid-August). I would try to buy my pass before the students came back to school for the fall term because the lines literally demanded a two hour wait!

Last August, I went to the office to renew my parking pass and was told I couldn’t renew until the school year started. I tried to explain that they could put any start date they wanted on my pass, just let me buy it now like I've done year after year. Unlike college students, I don’t have the kind of time where I can waste two hours standing on line for a parking pass.

Of course, since UNC is a government organization, I was dealing with government bureaucrats who not only couldn’t care less, but could not conceive that people who have real jobs don’t have all the time in the world to waste. In addition, there was a supervisor who was especially nasty.

However, choice and competition are wonderful things. No more than a couple of days later, I found another pool with a great Masters Team. Better yet, this pool is closer to my house, the fees are lower, the coaches better, there are far more people my age and the parking is FREE!

In today's world, there are far too many choices available for customers, effectively allowing them to beat the big jerk at every point of contact, no matter the industry or type of organization. If money changes hands, YOU'RE A CUSTOMER, and you have a choice. If you find yourself dealing with a big jerk, start exploring alternatives.