Savage counsel – little white lies
In a piece that first featured in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas. This week, he talks about when it’s okay to lie to clients.
Hi Chris,
I often find myself telling little white lies at work – I tell people on the phone that I don’t want to speak to I’m about to duck into meetings. I told my colleague her new haircut was great when really it wasn’t and I praised someone’s work when actually it was kind of shit. After each of these occasions, I felt pretty terrible and wonder if you could tell me how can I speak with candour in the future – for my sake and others.
Tread cautiously. Being truthful all the time is a hard road to follow. White lies are called white lies because they are basically harmless. They protect the feelings of others in most cases. Sure, we can train ourselves to become more truthful, when it makes sense. STW CEO Mike and I made a pact on a recent trip to tell the truth in every conversation we had. Within two hours, in our first meeting, we came away knowing we’d told two untruths each. And about silly stuff.
In answering this question, I can’t help but think first about how we work with clients. I often challenge our teams with this: is it ever okay to lie to a client? There is always massive debate. Instinctively they all shout ‘No’, and then, when pressed, most reveal they have in fact told white lies to clients. My answer to that question is that it is never okay to lie to a client. They will find out, and never forgive you. But it is okay to tell a fib every now and then. There is a difference in my book. I told a client once I was sick and could not attend a meeting. That afternoon he called me while I was well into a four-hour lunch celebrating another client’s promotion. “Feeling better?” he asked. “What do you mean?” I replied. I’d even forgotten I was supposed to be sick. And that’s the problem with lies. You forget them, and get caught.
A fib, or white lie, is where you gently manage perceptions to keep the peace. This is fine in life, I reckon, and simply common sense. For example, the client calls, anxious to find out how we’re progressing on the ideas for the big presentation to his boss in two days’ time. Fact is, we have not even started on this project as we’re too busy sorting out a crisis for another client. I could tell the truth and say: “Are you crazy? We’re so busy sorting out an issue for a more important client we have not even started on your project. Probably get to it the night before and fingers crossed we’ll nail it, but who knows, I sure don’t.” Somehow I think that would be unhelpful. So I reply this way: “All’s on track. We’re really excited about the presentation to your CEO; she is going to love this thinking.” That’s a fib which is okay to sometimes manage your communication when you know that candour – telling the truth without malice – is going to be counter-productive and will unnecessarily hurt feelings or cause stress and anxiety. Fact is we will get it right for the presentation but telling the client we’re behind schedule is not helpful. So I tell a fib to keep things calm. I reckon that’s okay. And we all know those occasions when a fib is the way to go.
But, of course, it is a good thing to try to minimise fibs with everyone you deal with, while ensuring you never lie. Give it a go – cautiously. Let’s start with this one: now, just before I do your annual performance and salary review, tell me, truthfully, I really want to know, really… does my bum look big in these jeans?
Chris Savage is the COO of the STW Group. He will be speaking on Tuesday 25 June at a breakfast at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel on the topic of ‘How to become the oldest person in the room’. For tickets contact Kaitlyn Davidson kdavidson@propertyoz.com.au. Mumbrella and Encore readers get a discounted rate of $125 (normal price $155).
This story first appeared in the weekly edition of Encore available for iPad and Android tablets. Visit encore.com.au for a preview of the app or click below to download.
I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed this.
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Agencies lie to clients all day lonh – about deadlines, how many people are working on the account and how many people are being billed.
Making up excuses for why things take so long because only 1/2 the number of billed people actually work on the account, but you can’t tell the client that.
Whacking at least 3 hours of retouching onto every estimate and then bullshitting the client when they ask saying things like make th image punchier, bring out the highlights, adjust it for print, (even when the image is perfect as is).
Having the production manager/studio manager go through each job # to see how much estimated studio time is not billed and then them sitting down and logging onto the timesheet programme as different mac operators to make sure all the studio time is soaked up so no refunds needed to client.
I have never worked at an agency in my life that wasn’t ripping off the client somehow.
Now working client side, I have found that the big advertisers I worked at are extremely ethical and always want to follow the law, contracts etc and do nothing shonky.
But I still remember how ghastly working in agencies was, so i will still sign off any estimate you give me, so long as the agency duchesses the hell out of me.
Sad, but true
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ha ha ha ha bloody ha….hang on let me stabilise. did somebody say client side is ethical, law abiding and do nothing shonky ha ha ha ha ha tee heeeeee. big breath ha bloody ha.
Bet the writer would love to name the agency he was unhappy working for…no Axe to grind there eh wot???
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Rubbish @ Client (ex Agency).
Generalisations. ‘All Agencies’.
Yes, some. All, far from it.
Clients, ethical. Yes some. All, far from it.
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