Ask a Manager: Business and Politics

[minoanmiss]

supplier said not to do business with them if we disagree politically

What if one of your suppliers makes a statement on social media saying, “If you don’t agree with me, then don’t do business with me” about a current political hot topic and you don’t agree with them?

The owner of one of my primary suppliers made this statement. They are a small business and I am one of their main customers and if I don’t do business with them, it would be a huge financial hit for them and could possibly cause them to go out of business. I picked them because I believe in supporting small businesses, but I do have a secondary supplier who would love to have all my business, so there would not be an issue if I don’t have them as my supplier.

Do I take them at their word and the most recent order I placed will be the last? Do I give them a warning and say something like, “You may want to reconsider your statement if you want my continued business”?

It depends on how strongly you feel about the topic! If their stance is one that you consider immoral or harmful, it would be extremely reasonable to choose to take them at their word and take your business elsewhere. They’re inviting you to, after all.

If it’s not in that category and it’s something like, I don’t know, your local car tax, but you still want to address it, it would also be reasonable (and perhaps interesting to you and eye-opening to them) if you said to them, the next time you’re talking, “I saw your post telling people not to do business with you if we don’t agree about X and I want to be up-front that we do see it differently. Do you really want me to take my business somewhere else?”

Comments

[green_grrl]

FAFO

[otter]

As a small business, I've quit working with other small businesses when the owner doubles down on being an asshole, after I've asked for basic respect. FAFO is apt.

[jack]

A couple of people on AAM pointed out that LW didn't specify which sort of politics were involved. It doesn't directly affect the answer, but if supplier's opinion is "I think I deserve human rights and don't want to work with people who think I don't" that's a lot more justified than if the opinions are the other way round. There have recently been more statements like this on multiple ends of political spectrums.

I think my answer would be, it sounds like LW is more annoyed by "don't want to work with people who disagree" than by the opinion itself. If so, it's probably more reasonable to point that out than to unilaterally remove the business.

OTOH if LW genuinely doesn't want to work with people with that opinion, then they have the freedom to withdraw their business, whether or not they specifically say so first. Although again this hits very differently if supplier's viewpoint is something that mostly affects themself, as if it's something that hurts anyone else.

[mrissa]

I think the people who are minimizing what ICE is doing to us here in Minneapolis cannot fathom how bad it is for small businesses here (and in any other US city if they decide to go there). If this is one of those cases, LW might think that the ONLY risk to the small business is alienating a supplier--but the small business owner knows better, they know what they're seeing on the ground. The small business owners who have been taking a stand around us know what they're risking by taking a stand, but I think they also know what they're risking if they don't.

There are, of course, people with the opposite position. I am less worried about them for some reason.

[lilysea]

If a business owned/operated by a trans person takes the view "if you don't support trans rights, don't shop here" that seems reasonable to me.