Advice on strange LinkedIn situation

[AG Consult]

Hi Everyone,

Just after some advice if anyone can help.

A guy contacted me last week on LinkedIn enquiring about a couple of services that my consultancy offer. To cut a long story short, I declined to do the work as I am against the industry that he is in and I didn't want any association with his company or his industry.

This morning, I woke up to half a dozen emails from connections of mine on LinkedIn saying he had been in touch with them and had warned them not to do any business with me and stay away from my company. He didn't give them any reason. Furious at this fact I tried to contact him by email and phone but with no success.

This afternoon, he has proceeded to contact the people who have endorsed me for various things. Not by LinkedIn though, he has actually contacted the companies they work for by phone and asked for them by name. Luckily 2 of these people are close friends and ex-colleagues so they told him exactly where to go as they knew he was talking a load of rubbish.

I am just a little concerned about what he might do next ? Is there anything I can do or report him too ? what would everyones advice be ?

I've never experienced anything like this before so I am at a bit of a loss as to what steps to take. This could potentially be damaging to my business if he continues.

 

[MASSEY]

Woah, you must have really offended the guy.

Did you treat his enquiry with disgust to make him angry?

Legally speaking you probably have a case but it would ofcourse cost you money to persue it.

My biggest concern would be a load of negative reviews appearing on the net in your name.

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

Yes, what exactly did you say to him? That is a rather extreme reaction. Did you say this "I declined to do the work as I am against the industry that he is in and I didn't want any association with his company or his industry", and if so, did it lead to an acrimonious exchange?

 

[The Byre]

Another good reason to stay away from LinkedIn.

 

[AG Consult]

I didn't put it as blunt as I did in my opening post. I politely declined (I did tell him I was against the industry he is in and that was my reason) and even recommended one of my competitors to him who will most likely do what he needs.

Had an email this morning from another of my connections saying he had been in touch with them. I will try contact him again today.

The Byre, I tend to agree with you. LinkedIn used to be a great online networking resource, however it is more and more becoming like a Facebook/Twitter style platform these days.

 

[estwig]

Nothing to do don't fan the flames, keep your head down, it will blow over.

 

[AG Consult]

Nothing to do don't fan the flames, keep your head down, it will blow over.

I am not going to do anything to hasty, but if it continues I may need to take further action. Hopefully he gets bored after a day or two.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I did tell him I was against the industry he is in and that was my reason

There is your reason - although his actions are wrong.

When I was doing the typing service and the call answering I had occasion to turn away work for very similar reasons - but I never actually told the potential client that. I simply said we had too much work to be able to take on their contract at this time (or similar).

You have to be very careful what reason you give for turning work away, and you've just found that out.

I had one client (for the call answering) who had used us for two months, then made a major complaint (unfounded), but to get rid of him, I said he could leave and didn't have to pay the bill. He then came back to me a week later and wanted to sign up to the service again, but said he would only pay if he was happy. When I refused, I got a barrage of abuse through emails and he started putting up false reviews on Google, FreeIndex, etc. To counter this, I simply asked my other customers to write reviews, which buried his complaint on about page 4.

 

[Mail Workshop]

Sounds like a nutter. Avoid at all costs!

 

[AG Consult]

There is your reason - although his actions are wrong.

When I was doing the typing service and the call answering I had occasion to turn away work for very similar reasons - but I never actually told the potential client that. I simply said we had too much work to be able to take on their contract at this time (or similar).

You have to be very careful what reason you give for turning work away, and you've just found that out.

I had one client (for the call answering) who had used us for two months, then made a major complaint (unfounded), but to get rid of him, I said he could leave and didn't have to pay the bill. He then came back to me a week later and wanted to sign up to the service again, but said he would only pay if he was happy. When I refused, I got a barrage of abuse through emails and he started putting up false reviews on Google, FreeIndex, etc. To counter this, I simply asked my other customers to write reviews, which buried his complaint on about page 4.

Think you're right Ashley. Looks like I have been too honest. Well, we live and learn. I just hope he stops, and sharpish.

 

[estwig]

I am not going to do anything to hasty, but if it continues I may need to take further action. Hopefully he gets bored after a day or two.

He will get bored, don't give him a reason to do anything other than get bored.

Think of how to make light of the situation to other people, you need a joke/story to diffuse the situation.

You try and help someone out and look what happens? The only nutter on the internet suddenly wants to be my new best friend ever - typical!!!

EDIT: You made a mistake having a pop at the fellas business, it's ok to make mistakes, just try not to make the same ones more than once!

 

[Ashley_Price]

Think you're right Ashley. Looks like I have been too honest. Well, we live and learn. I just hope he stops, and sharpish.

I wouldn't worry too much. If he is contacting people connected to you on Linkedin etc., then they obviously know you well enough to be connected. If anyone believes a stranger over someone they're connected with then that's up to them.

 

[HazelC]

He will just get bored, but it is horrible..... I've been there

 

[David Davies]

Wow! An extreme reaction indeed.

In the Sandler System we use a strong upfront contract (UFC) to deal with the awkwardness of saying 'No'. For both parties.

"Mr. Customer you may not hear anything today from me that is of interest to you or you may hear things that you believe just won't work for you. I want you to know that it is OK to tell me No.

Likewise, I might find that as we explore your particular challenges that I may find that I cannot help you. I hope you will be equally as comfortable hearing No as I am.

I know sometimes that can feel awkward and perhaps you would rather leave me with a 'let me think about it'. But I am going to take that 'think it over' as a politely worded slow No.

I just want to be sure we are both comfortable with that?"

Not particularly helpful after the Lunatic has left the Asylum. But hopefully useful for those awkward No moments in future.

As for what to do now?

I agree with everybody else. Let the 'red mist' settle and he will desist. What he is demonstrating right now, to anybody he can find, is exactly the reason you did not want to do business with them in the first place.

Your clients are letting you know what is happening, so you have some strong bonds of trust out there with some very smart people.

That, if nothing else, should keep you sleeping soundly.

 

[CompuGlobal-Hyper-MegaNet]

What a pathetic, petty, mad, evil and plain strange person.

He's intent on destroying your reputation - and who knows - he may already have reached out to some people who AREN'T your trusted friends and ex-colleagues and may already have put doubt in the mind of some of your business contacts.
We hope he would stop - but we're rationally trying to second-guess the actions of an irrational person.
I would've thought that he'd face such mild rejection on such a regular basis that he'd move on to the next victim soon, but that's not guaranteed.

If he's an employee of the company, I would submit a formal complaint. He's trying to ruin you and you've done absolutely nothing. I've often taken the higher ground in the past and let it roll over, but in situations like this, I would not hesitate to turn the screw back onto the initiator. This is exceptionally unprofessional behaviour, unjustified and very damaging to your business.
I would also draft a 'cease and desist' letter to both him and his company (getting it checked over by a solicitor to confirm it's watertight) holding them both joint-and-severally liable for any libel, slander, rumours etc from this point forward, with a fine of £100,000 (or something equally outlandish) for every instance of it discovered.

 

[LynetteGreen]

He will probably do his own reputation more harm that yours though his actions. I always think when I hear people badmouthing others that it says more about them than the person they are talking about. Still, horrible for you to go through though.

Others are right, this will blow over and in future I think Ashley is right about giving different reasons for turning work down other than you are too busy.

 

[Vectis]

You could try and turn this into a positive - contact all your Linkedin connections yourself and give a quick précis of what's happened (not the full details, just something maybe a bit humorous, about this chap who's got the hump with you and is now acting like a nutter). Apologise for him contacting them and, you never know, something positive might come from it. If nothing else it will put you in contact with people who you possibly haven't contacted for a while which may lead to some new opportunities.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Agree with PC above

 

[tony84]

Take a screenshot and upload it as a photo on linked in.