I don’t take pleasure in firing vendors or anyone for that matter though this may be the exception. ‘Michael’ handled our payroll for years. Every year, I watched our fees go up with no advance notice or explanation so I inquired as to why his rates were outpacing inflation.

I was told it’s because he has the “best payroll staff in the industry” and therefore he increases their pay each year. He went on to say that he was competitive and customers who have left him often came back because other firms “typically screwed things up.” Annoyed, I dashed off a terse email to our CFO saying that’s the kind of thing people say when they don’t have a real reason and then I hit send a bit too quickly. Only I accidentally sent it to Michael. [Read more…]