A Class Act - Quartet Service

A Class Act

“Well, it looks like we’re going to need to look after ourselves for a while.”

It was 2004 and CEO John McCormick had just received a call from a technician at Quartet, the service provider for their office phones. Quartet’s rates were increasing and John couldn’t afford it.

He didn’t blame them for the raise in price. Quartet’s competitors had approached him for years trying to sway him with their own services, but none could compare on the rate Quartet had maintained. It just wasn’t possible for John though. They were strapped for cash already and couldn’t take on the additional expense. He also knew there was nothing Quartet could do. He had worked with them long enough to know that Quartet wasn’t making much money on the relationship.

Fortunately, the technician offered to come in for a couple of days and help ease the transition. Things were going to change pretty dramatically for the office without their support, and John could use all the help he could get.

“At least they dropped us nicely.”

It was almost two years later when John received his next call concerning Quartet. Apparently, they were involved in a request for proposal (RFP) and surprisingly, wanted to use John as a reference. John conceded with some apprehension. It had been a while since they had done business together. The first question he was asked concerned Quartet’s price increase and John’s decision to discontinue service.

Thinking back to Quartet’s departure, John responded, “It was the nicest we’ve ever been fired. Those guys are classy.”

As it turns out, Quartet won the RFP because of John’s comment.

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