So recently, I received a notice that my case against Samsung Canada and CPR Vancouver, the cell phone repair shop, has been processed. Apparently, they have until about September 20th to respond. Otherwise, I suppose it will go to a default ruling.
This got me thinking about business in general. I have so much proof in this case that it’s kind of crazy they’re still pushing it. It makes you wonder — when you have a situation that could be rectified pretty quickly, even if you personally don’t think you’re in the wrong, wouldn’t you consider the potential consequences of dragging it out further?
In this case, I would imagine it’s one of the worst scenarios a company could face: someone who’s willing to go all the way through the legal system because they strongly believe they’ve been wronged. And considering how much evidence I have, imagine how badly this could backfire. They could have easily fixed this based on all the proof I provided, so why didn’t they?
It’s always that discussion — in this case, at most it might have cost them a hundred or two hundred dollars out of pocket. But now, because we’re going through this process, they may potentially have to pay somewhere in the four-figure range, plus all the documentation and costs that come with legal proceedings.
You really have to think about that when running a business. Even if you don’t think the person will necessarily follow through, if there’s a chance they will and they have a reasonably strong case, maybe you should just speak to them and settle it instead of letting it go this far. Now that it’s reached this point, it makes you wonder — will they actually continue to fight it all the way, or will they finally say, “Okay, this person is serious. Let’s sit down and really listen”? It’s one of those things where, just because you’re a big company, you can’t forget there are real people on the other side. If you have the resources to rectify situations like these, maybe you should try to solve them early on.