[wpietri]

Whoa. Just yesterday I was talking with a friend who years ago was sent to London to deal with a UK custom software vendor. He had a Friday meeting to talk with the CEO and lay down the law: they had to show my friend the software they were building right away or the deal was off.

He showed up for the meeting; the CEO was called away urgently. My friend was taken out for a very boozy lunch and given many excuses and platitudes. He held firm, though. Demo or trouble. They rebooked his meeting for Monday.

Arriving at their office on Monday, he found that the place had been totally cleared out. The only thing left was a photocopier that had been smashed. The CEO had, in the British phrasing, done a runner, leaving the employees suddenly out of work.

The good news is that my friend ended up hiring one of the employees, who turned out great.