Games People Play

There are so many varieties to the game Mr. Smith is playing. What pains me the most is that Mr. Smith thinks I don't know what he is doing. I realize I am up against the smartest man in the world and matching wits against Mr. Smith taxes my meager intellect. But, here I am. Sadly, Mr. Smith isn't the only one who does this. He is the most blatant. And, I really do believe he thinks I am simple-minded.

The game dynamics are always the same. No matter who I am up against. These people didn't invent this game. Neither did I. The play book has been around for ages. To make my life easier, I picked up my own leather-bound copy at a second-hand bookstore. Here is the way the game works.

1. I call, They promise. Nothing happens.

2. I call. They don't take my calls/e-mails/smoke signals.

3. I follow up following the with the rules of our contract. Generally this involves a process server. This gets their attention. They call with excuses as to why this situation happened to begin with. It isn't their fault. They ask for special concessions. They promise reasonable things. I agree.

4. When it is time to deliver on their promise. They renegotiate because something came up. It isn't their fault. According to the play book, my role is to recognize they are trying to do right. So, I am supposed to go along with this new plan.

5. It is now time to deliver on their new promise. See #4.

6. More time goes by, they don't hear from me (because according to the play book I am fat, dumb and happy with the status quo. After all, they have outsmarted me. Or, at the very least, they think they have bought time). Sometimes they will even throw me another bone. Like a check, partial payment or a sweet letter telling me how wonderful I am and they will do what they promised at some later obscure date.

But, there is still that pesky contract. And, contracts are there for when things go wrong--never when they go right. So, I am not calling them. I am calling the professionals who handle these types of things. And, I no longer work with the game-players. They get to leave. They get their wages garnished. They will pay.

There are variations to this cat and mouse game. Such as ignoring the lawyer's letter and contacting me directly, like nothing is wrong. Sending me notes, telling me they are surprised I never received thier payments (they apparently have forgotten we have already gone through steps 1 through 6). There are even tactics like forgetting to sign or date the check. Sometimes I do play along, but generally it is only to suit my purposes.

I recognize the way the game is played. I can generally catch it in the early stages--not that I can do anything about it until we hit the non-payment stage. But, at least I have a bit of head's up so I can dust off my play book.