Very early in my Alabama landlord career, Mr. Smith told me he deposited his rent--in cash--into my bank account. The money didn't show in my account. When I asked him about it, he told me that he couldn't find the receipt but assured me the money was there.
After the bank searched for two days, they couldn't trace that transaction. I brought this to Mr. Smith's attention. He offered to redeposit the money into my account (this time with a cashier's check and he gave me a receipt). He calmly explained when the first rent money he deposited finally showed up, just let him know and I could pay him back.
Now, if the bank lost that kind of money, I wouldn't be that calm. I would be raising all kinds of hell. Not Mr. Smith. He never flinched.
When this happened, I marveled at how someone could blatently lie and expect to get away with it. Knowing him the way I do, I am certain he really thought I believed his story--and still do.
There is no point in questioning the integrity of a liar. You already know the answer. Instead of Mr. Smith just saying, "Hey, I will get you the rent three days later" (which is what this ordeal amounted to), he told a whopper, completely discrediting himself, damaging any future relationship and ensuring I thought him a liar.
Most of my tenants tell the truth about rent. I am more likely to hear, "I will get it to you Tuesday" than I am to hear, "I sent it" when they really didn't. If they just aren't going to pay up, they don't call me back or go to any effort.
I will rarely call someone a liar. And, I am darn sure of this standing before I do. I don't believe for a moment Mrs. Martin sent me a check a couple of weeks ago like she said she did. She may have sent one last week. Or, she may have sent one this week after I suggested in my voice mail that she was a bit lacking on the truth. If I am wrong, I will post it.
The difference between Mr. Smith and Mrs. Martin is that Mrs. Martin didn't start out this way. There was a time when if she said something, it was true. Now her credibiity is gone. She may have the best of intentions. And she may be on the straight and narrow path from this point forward. But, I will never know. She will always be from here on out, a tenant who didn't tell the truth.
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3 comments:
It's so sad when someone with a good track record ruins it simply because they couldn't tell the truth that inevitably was going to surface anyway. What was the point in lying?? You were gonna find out anyway. (and did) Big time bummer!
Our children have realized that they will eventually get trapped by their lies, so it is better to be honest. It still baffles me that so many adults don't get that.
I think so many adults can't see past their noses. They have what I call the "Scarlett O'Hara" syndrome. They will lie today knowing full well that tomorrow they will get caught in their lie but they think "I'll just think of another lie to cover this one tomorrow" and go on with their lives. It's the instant gratification thing. The "I want to spend my money somewhere else tomorrow so I'll lie to my landlord today and by the time my landlord finds out I'm lying, I'll have a brand new lie to tell them that will buy me even more time" attitude. They just don't seem to get that eventually their time will run out and they will have to find a new landlord to play with. Of course, it will be the "old" landlord's fault 100% in their book. These are the types of people we have to deal with every day of our lives in this world. This type of people work in our banks taking care of our money. They work in our hospitals keeping us alive and they work in our schools teaching our children. It's scary but they seem to grow in populace rather than diminish.
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