MediaEclat™: Conflict of Interest (mediaeclatdotcom.blogspot.com

Companies can falter when they venture into unfamiliar territories or ambiguous areas of business. Take, for instance, a car dealership that decides to counsel a customer on importing three-wheeled bikes from Brazil. These bikes arrive disassembled, and to make matters worse, the wheels must be ordered separately from the Far East. Suddenly, the wheel prices triple just two days after the first bike shipment arrives from Brazil. This leaves you with a container of three-wheeled bikes without wheels, disrupting your initial pricing model. The dealer, having only one traded-in three-wheeler, was unaware of this critical detail due to a lack of thorough research on the import details of this specific brand. Following the dealer's advice, you invested heavily, causing costs to skyrocket. You secured a letter of credit from a local bank to cover the shipment from FOB to the customer, which then defaulted. Should you sue the dealer for providing poor advice?

In essence, it's wise to steer clear of activities that are not directly related to your core business. For example, if you sell a car battery and the customer asks you to install it in the parking lot, doing so extends your liability beyond that of a salesperson. The adage "do one thing and do it well" is sound advice.

Source: 
Managing conflicts of interest.. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Aug 12 2018 from https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Managing+conflicts+of+interest.-a0514405686