In the course of my career as a professional property valuer, there have been many occasions when I've undertaken jobs for clients for which I did not get paid the fees for my services. This is not a problem unique to me only. As a matter of fact, many of my peers have had similar experiences. Furthermore, it is a common problem faced by many other professionals too, not just the valuers.
It has been suggested to me by fellow valuers, that we should not be held liable if we were not paid for valuations done. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. The point is that we are professionals, and once we prepared valuation reports, it is reasonable to expect anybody reading those reports, to rely on them. This is of course subject to limiting conditions such as the purposes for which those reports were prepared, and other exclusions which would have been clearly specified in the reports. The person reading those reports is not expected to know whether or not we have been paid for our services. But even if he did know that we have not been paid, that still wont suddenly diminish the standard of care expected of us as professionals.
As professionals we owe the duty to perform to the best of our ability regardless of the amount we are paid for our services. In the very competitive job market, fees are often discounted, sometimes by ridiculous margins. However, that should not be a yardstick for the services that we provide. We are all expected to uphold the highest of standards. If I think what the client is offering to pay me does not commensurate with the time and effort required to do the job, then I would have to reluctantly turn down the job. But once I accept the job, then I would try my best to do it well, fees notwithstanding. It is not enough for us to claim that we are professionals, but we must also practise professionalism.
There are many people who claim themselves as professionals in their respective fields of expertise, but not all of them actually behave professionally. Their conduct, to say the least, does not measure up to the title of a professional.
A couple of days ago, there was something of a stir in our state's football team. Although I'm not a football fan, I couldn't help but notice the commotion. It was reported that a number of the players boycotted a training session on grounds that they haven't been paid their salaries for 3 months. This is in the midst of preparing for a match. I saw a post in facebook where this matter was raised, and there were many comments in support of what the players did. There were comments saying something like "No wonder we lost; because the players were not paid their salaries."; and "How are we supposed to improve the performance of our players if they're not paid their salaries?"
I'm not sure what's the truth about the management of the team and what's the story about the unpaid salaries. If it's true, then I sympathize with their predicament and there is room for improvement in the management of the team. However, I can say that the people who boycotted the training session are not professional football players, because their conduct doesn't reflect professionalism. If they are not happy playing for the team because of unpaid salaries or whatever other reasons, then they should tender their resignation. For as long as they've agreed to enter a match, they should play to the best of their ability, whether or not salaries have been paid. A professional shouldn't use the excuse that they are not, or unwilling, to perform to the best of their ability because that is all they would do for the amount that they are paid.
The expectation of a professional is very high, and one is expected to practise professionalism to be worthy of the title.
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