Lunch story: Vivek, I’d like to take you out for lunch

Lunch story: Vivek, I’d like to take you out for lunch

From 2015 to 2018, I supported a commercial operations client at ZS. Just before my visit in June, there was talk of the client moving their office from New Jersey to Boston. Many employees, including my client contact, decided to take the severance package and leave around December.

When I was in the US, my client contact mentioned that he wanted to take me out for lunch as a token of gratitude. At the same time, a ZS partner from India was also visiting and wanted to meet this client contact, hence, I requested the client contact if the partner could join us for lunch. 

I had decided to pay the bill since he was the client, and I could claim it under my per diem. Our client contact drove us to the restaurant, and we had a pleasant lunch, chatting about kids and hobbies. When the bill arrived, I expected my India manager (the partner) to offer to pay (since if I offered in front of him, he might have felt offended), but he didn’t say anything or acted in anyway to offer to pay, and the moment passed.

After lunch when alone, I asked my partner if we should have offered to pay. He casually replied, “That’s fine!” Although the amount might have been insignificant for my partner and easily reimbursable, I felt uncomfortable because this was a unique situation for the client contact. The client contact was paying out of his own pocket while on notice and likely searching for a new job. 

The next day, I offered to pay the bill when I met the client contact again, citing I will claim it under my per diem claim. He considered my offer for a moment but then declined, saying he wanted to treat me. He casually mentioned that next time I was in the US, I should treat him to lunch, knowing that the next time may not happen since he would be out of the company by then. 

By the end of December 2018, he had left the company, and I left ZS in June 2019. In September 2019, my new company sent me to the East Coast to meet clients. Guess what I did?

I called this client contact and took him out for lunch, this time a prepaid one that I paid for in advance! We had a great time, talking openly like friends. I felt a sense of satisfaction knowing he valued our relationship beyond the client-vendor dynamic and took the time to meet me again over lunch!

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Read past stories like above at https://lnkd.in/d9ijze8r