Over this past week I have seen some mentions about products and services not being delivered and discussions about what or how things should be done to stop those people from taking advantage of others. I don’t want to start another conversation about that specifically.

What I do want to ask and get your thoughts on is what would you do in a similar case of a product or service not being delivered, but when the owner of that product is an authority figure, someone who you look up to, someone who is recognized in the community as being an honest hard-working individual who gives a lot of themselves to help others.

Just to be clear on what I mean. I don’t mean what someone should do in the case of a scammer or someone who is “shady”. The type of person I am talking about is someone who you like, trust, and look up to, but for whatever reason is not (or possibly can not) deliver on their product or service.

Please keep in mind that the product/service does not necessarily have to be an internet marketing product, or even to be online, but I’m not sure if your answer would differ for online products/services. But I suppose that the price of the product could matter. Personally I don’t think I would do to much if it was a $20 ebook. So for this example, let’s say it’s a higher end product that comes with some kind of service or coaching attached that isn’t being delivered.

So for this first part of the question, I’m looking for your thoughts about these topics;

• How would you handle a situation like that?
• How long would you let the situation go? Would you eventually take any action?
• What action would you take?
• How many times would you contact them?
• Would you even consider asking for a refund? What about a payment dispute?

For the second part of this question, let’s expand it a bit further. What would you do now in the following situations;

• What if the product/service was purchased 1 year ago with a promise of delivery within a month, but you are still waiting. What if purchased 6 months ago with a 2 month delivery promise?
• What if during the wait time for the delivery, you saw no improvement or work being done? What if you did see some work being done, but it’s still not complete?
• What if you had little or no communication about the progress of the product/service?
• What if there was communication and added promises were made, but delays still occur?
• Would you consider asking for a refund? What about a payment dispute?

I also wanted to mention that we can’t really forget about the side of the product owner. We don’t really know what they might be going through, business wise or personal. But then let me ask, should that matter? (short term delay vs. long term delay)

Maybe this is a new product for them and they are still sorting things out, or maybe they are unorganized? What is an acceptable excuse on the part of the product owner for not delivering?

I realize that this is a hypothetical situation, so you can’t answer specifically. But I think it can open up some good dialogue, helping us all deal with situations that we all face as business owners.

Post your comments, let us know what you think.