Comments on: Do you really have integrity?

By: whole being

whole being — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:41:50 +0000

went on religious retreat a decade ago. priest stated, “well maybe you’re on of those people who have no integrity.” wnated to choke him.
He asked what I came seekign. I said, “You know the whole absolution, understanding and strength to do bettter next time thing.”
He declined. I’d still like to choke him. must be some truth there for him to live rent free in my head this long.

By: 80

80 — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:12:57 +0000

I am doing an essay on integrity, and you have helped me a whole lot.
Thankyou very much for giving me another perspective.

By: beley

beley — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:32:55 +0000

I don’t see anything ethically wrong with a no-returns policy given you fully explain the membership and benefits, and disclose the no-returns policy before someone orders.

By: chart3

chart3 — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:29:00 +0000

Beley is right on point. I’m the webmaster for a company that takes credit card payments by phone for membership to an online trade association/network. Before the accounts are considered officially activated, the member must sign and fax back a document that protects us against chargebacks and offers increased protection against members who want their money back after the fact for whatever reason (this part is a little tricky ethically but works well for the business). Out of 103 sells last month, there were only 3 cancellations or new members who wouldn’t returned the signed document so their accounts were deactivated. This represents a return percentage of 2.9%, much less than the industry standard of 20% or so that was recently quoted to me by our sales manager (the 20% number may or may not be an accurate figure).

My point is that maximum protection provides the means for you get and keep your money.

By: xposed

xposed — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 01:27:04 +0000

Hey Andrew,

Awesome article. I think you will find a lack of integrity acrossed any industry, although there may be more or less integrity in specific industries, it does exist in every field =(

I have work coming up that will involve some Web Design and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some generic templates that I should use to bring some organization to the process?

Contracts, Information Gathering Questions, etc…

Note: I have downloaded the Web Site Ebook Sample, and do not have the money for that at this time, so any other suggestions would be appreciated!

By: csi95

csi95 — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:53:43 +0000

It’s unfortunate, but you’re going to find unethical people everywhere in life. In all lines of business. In all countries. In all societies.

Whenever money is involved, there are going to be people who will lie, cheat and steal to get it.

In the end, you have to do three things:

1. Protect yourself as best as you can by having iron clad contracts, and getting as much payment up front as possible.

2. Make serious efforts to collect money from anyone who doesn’t pay. Don’t let them off easy.

3. Know when to quit. Despite my rule #2 above, there comes a point when you’re wasting more time, effort and money trying to collect from a deadbeat than it’s worth. Every business needs to factor in a certain amount of fraud into their pricing. It’s unfortunate, because the upstanding people who do pay on time end up paying more to cover the losses incurred from the deadbeats, but that’s how all businesses do it.

By: aneitlich

aneitlich — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:19:03 +0000

Local team,

Yes and no. My major integrity issues currently have to do with local providers. I have some off-shore teams who are fabulous and trustworthy.

By: Local team

Local team — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:03:47 +0000

Everything comes with a price. Offshore team seems to be cheaper, but after couple of these experiences, you go back local where you have more possibilities to have some sort of control…

By: beley

beley — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:04:31 +0000

Trust is definitely an issue, but you can’t just work on a handshake.

It’s trust again. You have to trust people that you are doing business with—so maybe we should all be a bit more careful about who we do business with.

Wouuld you work without a contract? Hopefully not. In a few short interactions with someone you can’t expect to come to know them well enough to know if they would ever be dishonest. Getting a signed contract is part of good business.

I also have a special form for credit card payments also, that protects me just in case they try to do a chargeback. It actually is more preventative though, because just knowing they signed the form is probably going to prevent them from trying.

You should trust your clients, but you shouldn’t be naieve and believe that none of them will do something like this. Protect yourself in business and in life…

By: jont17

jont17 — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:06:41 +0000

It’s trust again. You have to trust people that you are doing business with – so maybe we should all be a bit more careful about who we do business with. I know that I find it very difficult to turn down exciting offers of work even if the company seems a bit dodgy. It’s even happened that I’ve sworn not to do business with somebody and they have subsequently offered me a really juicy project and I’ve gone for it.