Jan 18

Written by: Javier Callico
1/18/2011 

… at least for a while.

This is the story of my relationship with a long-time client. I’ve been doing business with them for more than 10 years, but a few months ago I decided that by stopping our relationship I’d be doing them a favor - here is why:

I started working for this company as a full time employee and because it was a small company, I had to do be proficient on a number of different levels, such as software development, network administration, support for existing applications, documentation specialist, meeting with clients, etc. It was a great learning experience for me, but eventually I wanted to concentrate on what really drives me – software development.

So, after working there for 5 years, I decided to find another job. When I informed them of my decision, they asked me to continue maintaining a small server farm that hosted all their applications and services. I accepted, because I wanted to keep myself current with that subject, and more importantly, I considered it fair payback for the years that they had employed me.

After a few months, I started to see the task of remote administration more as a hobby and less as a business. I tried to save this company as much money as I could, even under-billing for hours spent troubleshooting an issue. Due to this mindset, my support-style became reactionary – something I had promised never to do. In my opinion, this evolution occurred over time and resulted from my losing my objectivity and trying to be all things to this client – friend first, and solution provider, second.
The consequences are obsolete infrastructure, and a growing list of support tickets that needed to be resolved.

In the end, I chose to terminate my relationship, because we had both grown beyond what the current situation described. I emailed and called them, detailing my reasons and though it was an initial shock, they understood, and I believe, appreciated my honesty.

What have I learned from all this?

1- Always keep yourself honest and be realistic about the quality of your work. If you don’t have the time, resources, or motivation to provide the best possible service to your clients, don’t keep them as clients.

2- When you are ending a business relationship with a client, always try to make their transition process to the new service provider as smooth as possible – this benefits both the client, and you.

3- Keep your focus on what you really want to do and remove distractions even if you will be impacted financially.