Bob Lewis
Columnist

Should consultants offer a money-back guarantee?

analysis
Jun 30, 20081 min

Dear Bob ...Here's a little something from the competition. I think you'll like it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKKJTPSMYKZKM8. [Note: It's a blog post from Gerald Weinberg in which he explains his policy of offering a no-questions-asked refund for any client that doesn't feel his work is worth what they paid. - Bob]- Stirring the potDear Stirring ...I'm not quite as trusting as Weinberg. It doesn't hap

Dear Bob …

Here’s a little something from the competition. I think you’ll like it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKKJTPSMYKZKM8. [Note: It’s a blog post from Gerald Weinberg in which he explains his policy of offering a no-questions-asked refund for any client that doesn’t feel his work is worth what they paid. – Bob]

– Stirring the pot

Dear Stirring …

I’m not quite as trusting as Weinberg. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen that consultants accept engagements from clients that turn out to have a different sense of business ethics than they do.

I can almost hear the wheels turning now: “I engage the consultant. At the end of the engagement I can always find a pretext for finding the results unsatisfactory. Now I get the results for free, maximizing shareholder value.”

Then there’s the popular game of “blame the consultant,” played whenever it’s inconvenient for a client to acknowledge internal failings.

Good consultants do a lot to make sure clients are happy with their work. As long as there are clients that are structurally “unhappy,” though, I don’t see myself engaging in unilateral disarmament, nor do I recommend it as a practice.

– Bob