Exactly, Mike. I figure if I can make my deadlines, other vendors can make theirs. :) Sure, there are always “extenuating circumstances.” But, when deadlines continue to fly by, it’s time to take control and tell them goodbye.

@Kevin – exactly. And there are ways to fire people without making enemies. In many cases, the vendor is pretty aware that things aren’t going well – so the news isn’t a big surprise. :)

Burning bridges is NEVER a good idea. Like you said, it could come back to haunt you – and the online world is a pretty small one….

Thanks!

Although making enemies in business is perhaps unavoidable, you want to keep these to the absolute bare minimum.

Otherwise, you never know when one of these enemies will come back to haunt you.

This is great advice Heather. I especially like the reminder that you need to document your issues. This gives you tangible evidence of the problem that you can review – it also may help you see patterns (or other issues) you hadn’t noticed or thought about before. And, of course, it gives you something concrete when you address the vendor.

I think you covered the steps pretty well. One thing you need to remember is that firing a poor performer does not make you a bad person. You need to protect your business and your name.