General Consultant Discussion

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  • 1.  Wizcommerce - Caution, Volatile

    Posted 03-24-2025 13:24

    Woof... I don't know if anyone has dealt with Wizcommerce before, but after my experience today... I felt it necessary to share (mainly for you to approach with caution). Here's the narrative.

    Div (Divyaanshu Makkar) reached out to me 2/10 with an interest in the Sage 100 REST API that I've collaborated with Phil McIntosh to create. February was a jam packed month, so we scheduled a meeting after 90 Minds' Meeting of the Minds and before going out of office. We were exchanging emails via restapihelp@malik-inc.com and their email addresses, and to ensure they got on my calendar, I explicitly provided the correct email to invite. 

    They sent the invitation to the wrong email address. The sender realized (quickly) that they messed up and they'd correct the invite (spoiler alert: they didn't). I forwarded it to the correct email that I specified originally. Accepted from that one, rejected from the wrong email (giving the invite a solid 1 accept, 1 reject). I thought from there it'd be as simple as showing up on-time.

    Cue the reality check. I showed up on time, waited 15 minutes, and then dropped as no one showed. Sent an email advising I was waiting and let them know that the earliest I could connect with them was in a couple of weeks. I also mentioned that if the integration had fallen in priority for whatever reason, to let me know so we could adjust accordingly. The response: a passive aggressive one that was very pointed in trying to shift the blame to me (almost like he didn't want to look bad? Unsure.). To paraphrase how it made me feel, I saw a very clear misalignment in business culture/partnership, and with that I advised that I'd be exiting the conversation and wished them well.

    You'd think that'd be the end of it, right? Nope. In response to wishing them well, I got an incredibly rude/unfavorable email in response (shocker), to which I simply provided a succinct bulletpoint response outlining the history of how we got there. 

    Now... you might think, "Self, this seems a bit small-time/isolated issue." True. While it seems a bit tame when you zoom out - holy cow. If anyone else had a Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde moment, I'd want to know about it. No clue if this helps anyone in the ecosystem, but wanted to share my experience. 

    Normally when I try to help someone navigate the intricacies of an ecosystem - I get positivity. Never have I ever encountered someone or a firm that was blatantly hostile while providing help. Anywho... that's my story. Thanks for attending my 90 Minds Community Talk. Have a great day, all!



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    Best Regards,

    Basil Malik
    President/CEO
    e: basil@malik-inc.com
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  • 2.  RE: Wizcommerce - Caution, Volatile

    Posted 03-24-2025 13:42

    I'm here for this tea! 

    Thank you, Basil.



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    Karen O'Lane
    Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
    kolane@asifocus.com
    559-448-0900
    559-577-4142
    http://www.asifocus.com
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  • 3.  RE: Wizcommerce - Caution, Volatile

    Posted 03-24-2025 15:44

    PS - Chat GPT is GREAT at creating reply emails to leave no doubt that the conversation is over and done. I used Chat GPT for this last week and the email snippet it suggested worked great. 



    ------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz
    wayne@s-consult.com
    Schulz Consulting
    (860) 516-8990
    CT
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  • 4.  RE: Wizcommerce - Caution, Volatile

    Posted 03-24-2025 17:27

    Really need to remember this one. I use it for so much already that I should instinctively get feedback on this type of communication as well.



    ------------------------------
    Best Regards,

    Basil Malik
    President/CEO
    e: basil@malik-inc.com
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Wizcommerce - Caution, Volatile

    Posted 03-25-2025 08:40

    Use caution anytime: 

    1. Private equity is involved
    2. More than 3 IT people in the conversation and none knows anything about what they're asking you to do
    3. Prospects who know "nothing about what they have" but they know exactly what they should pay


    Stop Loss: 

    1. Use an expiration date of not more than 14 days on all quotes
    2. For informal quotes use "Starts at" for the pricing and always in writing - never verbal
    3. In all instances where the prospect is not an existing customer - 100% up front or let them walk (especially true with well-funded PE type companies)
    4. If applicable and this may only apply to my personal situation but ROR is a nightmare and I don't want to spend three weeks following through an ROR with repeated calls - I'm using a boilerplate that allows the end user to manage their ROR. process themself. 



    ------------------------------
    Wayne Schulz
    wayne@s-consult.com
    Schulz Consulting
    (860) 516-8990
    CT
    ------------------------------