Warning! Are you too close to your customer?

It is hard to argue with the positives of a close working relationship with your customer.

It can deliver value, innovation and efficiency for the taxpayer and the contractor.

But there are dangers as discussed in my last blog that reviewed a Washington Post article about the relationship between a government official and one of his contractors.

A commenter who described him or her self as a “retired consultant” said close relationships are bound to develop and “that is good. But the legal boundaries are CLEAR and failure to respect them is clearly and simply WRONG.”

David Frenkel, of Reston, Va., blamed corporations for not taking their ethics policies seriously.

“When professional relationships don’t pass the smell test they should be reviewed and actions taken to reduce the chances of embarrassment to the company or worse,” he said.

Both comments sparked several questions for me:

First, what are the warning signs of a relationship that is too close?

Second, what do you do about it? Especially, if it is an important customer and your employee is a big earner?