This’s a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody have done.

This is a great little story perfectly explaining a situation that I am in right now. I recently approached an old client of ours about their domain names being under our account.  I told them that we need to get this taken care of and that they owed us for the cost of the least at $12/yr.  The response I got was none at first and then I decided to email them again.  After my second email I got a response “That’s not my job!”

I was trying to be nice before, but now my tune has changed a little.  Now they have made it my job somehow for their property.  I have a good mind to keep the domain and forward the domain to our site as it is a directly competing New Media Consulting site.

That really boils my pot when people say “that’s not my job!”  Ok, if you are the VP of the company I think you should be concerned about your domain name, as you are a company supposedly specializing in New Media, which by it’s very definition would require any of their customers to having a domain name.  Who’s job is it!  Why wouldn’t you tell me if I should contact someone else, better yet, hold on to the lead and make sure the people that need to talk do so.  The part where I am torn is that we helped to start the company then all of the founders went seperate ways.  I am trying to be professional over this matter.  Now only the owners of the umbrella company are around from when we started  but do not appear to be involved in the day to day activity.  A whole new crew of people that could care less apparently about the company they work for now.  I had emailed one of the owners a week ago about this matter and have not received a reply.

So here I am searching in the kindness of my heart what to do on this matter.  Should I forward the domain to our website to get their attention and take their potential clients?  Or should I let it lie and when they finally come to terms of what has happened and reach out to us tell them that the price is no longer the cost of the lease but now you owe me $XX,XXX amount of money?  How much is a website domain name worth that is the name of the company, that they have used for 6 years?