Favours shower

Everybody is asking favours from me. OK, make that almost everybody. What do I get in return for being so nice? Do people remember you? Not that I expect something in return when I do things out of love and goodwill for others but sometimes it does get tiring…

I have worked in Company A and Company E; I am now working in Company S. An ex-colleague from Company A is interviewing for a job at Company E and he has been texting and emailing me with questions on what to expect for the interviews, what are the tips and tricks to “ace” the various rounds of interviews. I have been nice and have given him a fair view of how things are. But I wonder if he is even going to remember and appreciate. This is an ex-colleague whom I have not heard from since the day I left Company A (more than 2 years ago) and suddenly we are in touch again.

I did a favour and spent one hour this afternoon talking to a potential new client for my vendor. The situation is this: Company S has engaged vendor C to provide consulting and systems implementation services. So I am the client and I work very closely with vendor C. Vendor C is pursuing a new client and this new client wants to talk to an existing client about the project and user experiences with the software. The new client is at the last stage of decision making and it was supposed to be my boss to talk to them. But due to schedule conflicts, it became me who spoke with them. So I spent one hour giving them a fair and honest view of the software. At the end of the day, if the new client decides to go with Vendor C, Vendor C’s Sales Director laughs all the way to the bank. That’s it. Full stop. Nothing else.

Yeah, I have heard a lot about “what goes around, come around”; “there is such a thing as retribution”; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”; blah blah blah. But sometimes, you really wonder whether the good guys always win? Does it pay to be nice? Does it pay to be good? Is someone keeping an equation of the favors you have extended and the favors which you have received and making sure that they balance? Or should we not even be caring about such things but believe in spreading love and goodwill among mankind (this sounds so Miss Universe!). I don’t know…mabbe I shouldn't even be babbling about this but it's a thot that came to my mind.