No Good Deed

Captain's Log. Supplemental. You know, I’ve never been a friendly person. Sure I could fake it like a professional, but the truth is that I really don’t like people in general. One of the many reasons is that people are ungrateful and short sighted. They can’t see what’s being done for them and, when they do, they could care less. So one could imagine my surprise when my theory about people being ungrateful was disproven on Saturday. But first, a little background.

When I first bought property Beta in 2008, Carver was living downstairs and there was a young couple that lived upstairs, Sean and Susan. Sean was a devious tenant who took advantage of my inexperience and continued lying about the rent until he eventually ditched the place, leaving his pregnant girlfriend Susan to pay me back after I took them to court. Because I didn’t get a money judgment (they never showed up), I had both Sean and Susan sign a letter before he ditched, stating they would pay me back $150 per month until the full $1350 owed (equals to 9 months of payments). Sean decided not to pay anything so Susan was paying me the $150 every month, even though she was pregnant and working part-time at one of those Dollar stores.

After the seventh month, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t like the idea of this chick who’s about to have a baby paying off a debt incurred by her idiot boyfriend. I mean, I knew that I was owed the money but something didn’t feel right about it. It wasn't a conscience thing (obviously), but it just... didn't feel right. Even back then, I knew that if I was going to run my business, then I’ll have to do it my way which meant that I would purposely make dumb business decisions just to satisfy myself. So I called her after the seventh month and told her to keep the rest of the payments and use it for her soon-to-be-born baby. Susan was understandably shocked and asked if she could get my forgiveness of the debt in writing, which I did. She thanked me profusely and that was that. Fast forward about 4 and a half years, when I get a letter in my mailbox on Saturday morning. This is exactly what it said.

“To Mr. Roger Dodger,

    My name is Clarisse Tully. My daughter is Susan Tully who was a tenant of yours few years ago. I work at the DMV and remembered your name when one of my employees came in with your expired license and registration papers. I never forgot that you forgave the debt owed to Susan so I gave you a break on the fees and the paperwork. Wanted to say thank you and I hope you’re doing well.

                                Sincerely Yours,
                                Clarisse Tully.”

It all started to make sense. I remember when I went to the DMV and the guy at the counter was giving me all this bullshit about how I messed up and I needed to get this paperwork and that paperwork. Then he went to the back, came out a few minutes later, and said that everything is fine and that I only had to pay the regular fees. He even told one of his co-workers something like: “Can you believe this guy came in with expired registration papers from almost 3 years ago, and she’s saying that he’s good to go?” He actually seemed a bit pissed off about it. If Clarisse hadn’t done what she did, I would have had to get the car re-inspected (which means I’d have to get the engine oil leak fixed BEFORE it could get registered), re-file my paperwork, and that would mean more re-filing fees. On the fees alone, I would have had to pay another $400.

I was kind of surprised that she remembered because even I forgot about it, but I guess it's a pretty rare sight to see a landlord refuse payment of a debt. So I save her daughter $300, and I end up saving $400 over four years later.  Good karma paid me a net of $100, which is rare because good karma usually pays shit. I could tell immediately that Susan was a decent person. She could have been a douche like Sean and made me sue her in court but she didn’t. Once I saw that she was paying me more promptly than my tenants, I knew she was different so I gave her a break. Now, this obviously won’t change my stance on people or the way I do business. In business, I must have a core set of rules. Everyone who does business has to. But the truly great business people understand that sometimes a rule can bend in the right situation. Bend, not break. I do what feels right, and in this case it paid. In the future, I’ll have to hone that ability to know when to bend a rule and when not to. That’s having a sense for doing business my own way… the right way.