For each of the following situations, evaluate the salesperson’s action and indicate what you think the appropriate action would be:

a. A salesperson copies all of the customer contact information from the customer information software onto a thumb drive, then quits his job. He then page 54 joins a company that sells to the same market, using the customer information on the thumb drive to begin making calls.

b. A customer asks if you can remove a safety feature because it slows down the operators of the equipment.

c. A customer puts out a request for bids, saying that the lowest bid that meets the specifications will be awarded the job. The purchasing agent calls you when the bids are opened and says if you lower your price 8 percent, you can get the job. You ask who the lowest qualified bidder was and the buyer says it wasn’t you.

d. A few months after joining a company, you learn about a credit card that gives you a 20 percent cash refund on meals at certain restaurants. You get the card and start taking clients only to restaurants offering the rebate, pocketing the rebate.

e. A customer gives a salesperson a suggestion for a new service. The salesperson does not turn in the idea to her company, even though the company’s policy manual states that all customer ideas should be submitted with the monthly expense report. Instead, the salesperson quits her job and starts her own business using the customer’s suggestion.

AppendixLO1