This morning one of my German end clients rung me up.
When I saw the number I kind of already guessed what the call was about as I have read in the news that they went into turmoil and had to shut most of their shops due to the corona crisis.
The client isn't small by any means, they turn over a billion Euro annually but their CEO and CTO felt that they have to speak to their preferred suppliers in person.
I appreciated that massively. What a great personal approach. The person's running the operations of the company took the time to speak to a small supplier like me.
Usually, they let the purchasing team handle communication towards their suppliers.
They started by apologizing about 5 minutes for having to take up my time and letting me know that they had to let one of my freelancers go due to the corona crisis and that they want to give notice, which was contractually 7 days.
They generally felt sorry as they thought that apart from their own business struggling they put me into a position where I get into trouble.
I stopped them there and said 'Stop apologizing, we are all in the same boat, we need to support each other in times of crisis. I will give the freelancer notice from my side and will pay him for the upcoming 7 days out of my companies pocket and you don't sweat it. We will finish our contract today. Apart from that once you are back on track and need a freelancer for a new project give me a shout and I will find you the first one for free. No strings attached.
Not just did I lose business until the end of the year (That´ s how long the contract would have run), I will also pay 7 consulting days out of my companies pocket and offered them my service for free.
I know this client for 10 years. We've been through good and bad times together. They always helped me out when I was struggling.
I wasn't even thinking twice in offering that to them as we are business partners and their well being is very important to me.
We are in times of crisis. Our clients need our help at this point. Always remember WHY you started your business in the first place. I am sure it wasn't for the money part alone.
Please look after one another and don't always expect something in return for a good deed. It's no time for selfishness.
You can find the Original Post HERE.