Asking The Right Questions
One of my prospective new clients who I have sampled a few months ago has still not placed an order and this is glaringly obvious that something is wrong. The savings which should be the most important for any business are at around R3000 per week or $180 so not huge, but over one year that is well over $9K.
This is a problem I come up against all too often and all it tells you is someone who is an employee of that company is pocketing a back hander from their current supplier. This in my mind is a form of theft as they are benefitting from the company and the company is the one losing out. I find this sickening as this could be bonuses paid to staff or it could mean keeping an extra staff member whilst someone is stealing even though they are on the company pay roll.
Yes, receiving a "backhander," or secret payment or bribe, is a form of theft because it involves the unlawful and intentional appropriation of something of value, typically money, to one's personal gain, often through fraud and betrayal of trust. While the legal definition of theft varies, the act of taking or receiving a bribe is a dishonest and illegal appropriation of assets that results in financial loss to the victim, making it essentially a form of theft or corruption.
A backhand payment is theft.
My contact on the inside who asked me to sample and quote told me he is a little shocked and disappointed because he tried to help the company and basically his efforts have been blocked. I advised him today to talk to a director who knows about the sampling and ask the right questions. When an owner of the business knows what is happening internally the company will change as this is just scratching the surface of what is happening.
Obviously I would like the business as I know they are also expanding and this number will double later this year so the problem the company has is not just a loss of $9K per year, but now a $18K deficit. Asa business owner I know how many clients it can take to generate $18k and the good thing about this is this is not having to find new clients, but guaranteed savings right under your nose.
Over the years I have uncovered some shocking theft taking place and this is happening by people who are already earning a decent salary in trusted management positions. Again it can all be prevented if those higher up do spot checks and know their businesses inside and out.
The one company I sampled and quoted a few weeks back would save in the region of $60K per year has still got to give me the go ahead to supply and the longer the silence then I suspect a similar problem exists. This is depressing especially when you know how companies are struggling in these economic times and are being robbed blind by their own trusted employees. This is someone earning a salary and scoring an extra $5K per month. Maybe not a full $5K as I guess the supplier is making extra profit ,but this is still money lost to the company.
Both these cases are easy fixes as all it will take is a visit to those who are the owners or the ones in charge at the top bypassing the ones doing the buying who are the crooks in the chain. I have done this in the past and is the last resort as I have nothing to lose and feel obligated to highlight these problems which may or may not end with me supplying. if I owned a company and someone fed me information that I was unaware of I would appreciate it as left unmanaged long term could cause other internal issues.
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So if this is rampant in the FIAT industry ? What’s happening in the crypto industry ? On our own blockchain . The skimming off the top must be rampant .
I would agree with that assumption. Especially when there are no checks and balances so the opportunity is wide open.
People in business only pay attention to what they measure. I also read a quote the other day that an unviable business will remain viable, because its inefficiencies (or in this case, corruptions) are outweighed by its profit margins.
So in this case, I imagine, they may be making enough already to not even care, or not realise that there's more optimisation to be made. I have met a lot of smart business owners, but I have also observed a lot of deluded and puzzling decisions being made in business for no apparent reason other than people being oblivious to the truth.
Yes it looks like they do not care as long as the profits are flowing, but as we all know this can change quickly.
I guess this probably happens everywhere in some fashion. Too bad though, unless the owners are sharing in the profits on the backside as unreported income for themselves as well. Unfortunately, when it is rampant, some folks in the positions that are stealing fool themselves into thinking it is an accepted part of the position. Who knows when you are guessing what thieves might be thinking.
Really too bad for the companies though, especially with the struggles you tell about.
You do wonder how can they not be aware of what is happening.