Free lunch!!
One member of my team had a meeting with a candidate recently. He requested the meeting, and the candidate requested the venue as a coffee shop. When he arrived the candidate was already there, with a coffee. He greeted the candidate, and ordered a coffee for himself.
They had a productive meeting for about 45 minutes, wrapped things up on a positive note, and the candidate left. The bill arrived and the consultant was expecting to see a bill for 2 coffees. Instead, there was a bill for two coffees and a lunch.
Confused, he asked the server if there had been a mistake. “No, he said. “[The candidate] arrived early and had lunch before you arrived.”
So my team member paid the tab.
On the way back to the office he thought to himself:
This is so disappointing. That was a great candidate, and I have a client who is looking for someone just like them. But what kind of person would arrive early and order lunch for themselves, and then leave without even mentioning it? I usually pick up the tab, but it’s appropriate protocol to offer to pay for your share…even if it is implied that the person who called the meeting will pay.
Ultimately, he decided that the candidate’s decision to not mention that they had ordered – and eaten – lunch before he arrived, was a mark against the character of the candidate. So he didn’t contact the candidate with details about the opportunity.
What do you think?
PatentSight GmbH
4 年Be happy to have somebody with some sane common sense working for you who kept a cheapskate from potentially ruining your company's reputation!
Admissions, Marketing & Communications Manager
4 年Bloody rude! Not cricket ??
President & CEO at Shining Prince Entertainment, LLC; xHulu; x20th Century Fox Intl; xIMAX; xHBO Max; xDreamWorks
4 年It sounds pretty bad. ?But as a rule I would always assume the best until it's clear it was a character flaw. ?I would also communicate with the candidate and let him know the impression left. ?It's possible he got there very early and completely forgot about having eaten lunch, but of course still quite bad manners not to at least offer to pay. ?Was there any precedent to who would pay from prior meetings? ?Also, when you say "he requested the meeting" I assume you mean your team member. ?At any rate, always best to communicate about these things so they are on the table and the candidate knows what he did wrong or so that he can provide information that might correct the perception.
Stick-handling the puck to your "a-ha" moment...
4 年Honest mistakes happen. Best is to always ask and allow someone to explain when we feel wronged by him/her. Should we start from the assumption that an act had ill intentions?