Indian consultant fires client for disrespecting his team, earns praise on LinkedIn
Rahul Aswal, a Delhi marketing consultant, sparked a LinkedIn debate by firing a disrespectful client.
A Delhi-based marketing consultant has won hearts on LinkedIn after he shared that he fired a client for mistreating his team. Taking to LinkedIn, Rahul Aswal shared the story about the time a client crossed a line and he decided to drop them. He revealed he made the "hard call" to fire one of his client, not over delayed payments, but because his team was "disrespected" during a shoot.
"I made a hard call last week. I fired a client. Not because they delayed payments (even though they did). But because they disrespected my team during a shoot. They thought it was okay to be rude to the people who showed up at their office to help them grow. They crossed the line. So we stopped delivering. And we walked away — on principle, not ego," he said.
Take a look at his post here:
He added that he believed clients were not "doing a favour" by paying for their work. "Your team is your real leverage. Protect them like it’s non-negotiable. Because if you don’t stand up for your team today, don’t be surprised when there’s no team left tomorrow," he advised.
He said that he did not want to kill the company's culture by retaining bad clients and instead chose to keep those who respected his work and his people. "Someone out there still thinks of you — because of how you made them feel when it mattered," he said.
Aswal's post gained popularity on LinkedIn with many labelling his take as a "breath of fresh air" amid stories about toxic work environments.
"It's commendable what you did. It is very rare that we find leaders taking a stand for their team!" said one of them, while another wrote: "Sometimes, these hard calls really pay off. And your team will remember this and pay you back with their dedication. Good work.
