Don't make this mistake at business social events!

I was at a seasonal party put on by one of my colleagues the other night. Met a guy there who was the co-founder of an e-newsletter mailing service. According to him it has been amazingly successful. (Though I'd never heard of it.)

He was so full of himself and his success that he didn't think to ask what I do. In fact, he didn't ask anything about me. Instead, he told me how successful he is, how he prices his services (and the massive profits he allegedly makes), who many of his customers are, and then he went on a rant about some customer who had DARED to stop using his services. He even named the customer. He was so angry at this act of disloyalty that he proudly told me that he had threatened the customer, telling him that to get revenge he was going to go offer his services to all of the client's competitors. Apparently, he did so, that very afternoon, at prices so low that it was hard for them to resist. He chortled with glee at how he was going to get even with the ex-client.

I tried suggesting that maybe if a long-time client was choosing to leave there might be a problem, but he utterly rejected that possibility. How dare a client question his service?!

Unbelievable hubris! My take-away is that he is not someone I would want to deal with personally or professionally, nor would I ever recommend him to my many friends and clients who are looking for services just like his. Instead, I'd recommend competitors like Industry Mailout -- a company who's principals have principles that value customer service!