On Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:56:54 -0700, Terry Pulliam Burd
> wrote:

>As many of you know, I'm a paralegal in a law firm, which has little
>to do with the following, but just setting the scene. My boss was
>taken by a client to dinner the other night in LA after the execution
>of a successful contract. Mind you, the client has a 7 figure plus
>bank account, but tends to be a bit slow in paying his bills and a bit
>over interested in the cost of things or what he has paid for things.
>He also considers himself quite an oenophile.
>
>While he perused the wine list, he found what he was certain was a
>typo. Wine X, which is a favorite of his, was priced at $X7 and he was
>sure it should have been priced $200 more than that (I checked - he
>was right). He promptly ordered 4 bottles, 2 to take home. First of
>all, I wasn't aware that you could order wine in a restaurant as if it
>was a liquor store (this is southern California, so who knows). More
>importantly, I can sort of see ordering 1 bottle while pointing out to
>the staff that you think the price is a typo and you should at least
>get the one bottle at that price, but I was offended that he ordered
>several bottles and rather gleefully left thinking he had really put
>one over on the restaurant.
>
>My first reaction when my boss told me this story was that when we
>finish the current lawsuit, we not take on any more work for him. If
>he's willing to cheat a restaurant, he won't hesitate to cheat anyone
>else. And a client like that we do not need or want. My boss
>acknowledges my concerns, and says that he is more valuable to the
>client than the client is to us, so if I want to cross him off our
>client list, it's okay with him.
>
>Am I overreacting?
>
>Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

i don't see an ethical problem here. it's sort of a reverse 'buyer
beware.' you may say he's selfish in that two other people will not
get such a hot deal, but that's rather tender-hearted.

it's not like, say, he got $200 dollars over back in change and kept
it.

i wouldn't give him the boot, but i would proofread any contracts with
him very carefully.

your pal,
blake