Life and Times

I don’t like to write about work here too much, but this is something that’s been weighing heavily on my mind, so here goes:

I recently decided to stop working with a certain PR firm (which will remain nameless) that I’ve had several problems with over the past few years. I let their clients know that I’d still like to be notified of news, but that they’d have to contact me directly. And one of those clients, whom I have a good rapport with, wanted to know why. I wrote a lengthy email, but this is the basic gist:

I’ve mainly made the decision because after dealing with them for several years on many different clients, I’ve come to the conclusion that “there’s always something” — ie there’s always something that goes wrong in the way news is communicated, or an embargo breaks (when they are aware that the person who does so breaks embargoes) or what was an embargoed story has its time changed at the last minute and someone gets an exclusive.

Whether this is due to mere incompetence or the firm just acting in poor faith, I’m not sure, but the point is that I’m just tired of having to deal with some inevitable screwup every time I get contacted by [them]. Frankly, I just don’t trust them when they come to me with a certain bit of news, or at least, I don’t trust that they will hold up their side of the bargain in making sure that whatever news they’re trying to communicate will be executed on well.

It’s not that I don’t like the people there. I actually consider some of them my friends. It’s just that I don’t trust that things will ever run smoothly. So when I’m asked to agree to an embargo, or to speak with one of their clients, there’s always a bit of hesitation, always a question of, “How do I know that this time will be different?”

And frankly, I’m tired of having to ask that question.

I need to trust that the person I’m working with knows not to pitch to the guy (or gal) who always breaks embargoes. I need to trust that the embargo is for real and not a de facto exclusive for someone who’s going to run a half hour early. I need to trust that if I ask for comment or confirmation on a piece of news, I’m not going to be stalled until someone else has the story.

If you’re a PR person or firm, you’re trading in relationships. And if I can’t trust you, I’m not going to work with you.