Numerous careers can put employees into situations of ethical dilemmas and perhaps none more so than working as a commissioned sales consultant. In my career, working as a Solar PV Energy Consultant, I found out very quickly that obtaining leads was rather easy, but actually completing transactions was quite difficult. In fact, even after executing contracts and ancillary paper work, there is no such thing as a done deal until the installation is completed. My first 6 months of working in the industry was a complete struggle and I could not close a deal. There was always an issue such as the upfront costs being too expensive; the property owner's inability to utilize federal tax incentives; inability to find bank financing; or just competition from alternative solar companies. Then, after six months, I met Craig Bacon the owner of Bacon and Graham, Inc. Craig had a clear need for Solar PV energy system. He owned his own successful business and the associated property. He saw his electricity consumption growing rapidly resulting in his energy costs becoming a significant line item on his annual P & L. He had an excellent credit rating and banking relationships for financing a transaction. Finally, he was in a position where he could fully utilize all of the federal and state tax incentives associated with the installation of a Solar PV energy system. After a several detailed meetings and financial model presentations, Craig was convinced. He decided to move forward, make the investment, and go green with the installation of a large, rooftop Solar PV system on his office and warehouse. I could not have been more excited as I was finally going to earn my first big commission. I would not have to struggle living paycheck to paycheck on a small monthly draw anymore. This was when I learned firsthand that a deal is not completed until the installation is finished and the complexities of ethical dilemmas. I was at a pre-installation meeting, one week prior to the project commencement date, along with our installation contractor and structural and electrical engineers. There are many requirements demanded by the state, township, local utility and insurance company prior to receiving final approval to install and operative a commercial rooftop Solar PV system. One of the primary requirements is a structural support analysis for the system weight load on the property. There are also analyses done by the structural engineer to guarantee the integrity of the property with hypothetical weight loads from snow and wind. In actuality severe winds can cause more structural stress than snow, therefore, the structure of the building must be tested to make sure that it can handle the weight load of the panels along with wind rated to a stated Mile per Hour. Typically this rating can be 90mph, although our company always recommends ratings of a higher amount for safety purposes. Unfortunately, what I found out at the above mentioned meeting was Craig's property had a weight load issue. The engineers were trying to redesign the system layout. Their suggested changes would have allowed for the system to meet all state and local guidelines, but just to the minimum level. The only alternative to meet the higher stated rating, which we always recommend, was to install steel structural supports throughout the property as well as install all new roofs. This would not only delay the start of the project, but add a significant expense item to the final cost. All of our project models would have to change and there was a very good chance that Craig would elect to back out of the transaction.
My ethical dilemma had just begun. I had to decide if I just let the redesigned project move forward, which was legally acceptable, or do I inform Craig and risk seeing the project cancelled. In fact, it did not take me long to decide. Before the meeting ended, I informed the team that I intended to contact our client immediately and inform him of all of the issues. I ordered the general contractor to obtain bids on the structural improvements, and had my financial analyst begin the process of preparing a new project financial model.
I spoke with Craig later that day and set up a meeting for the following week, after I had all of the needed information. Craig was very disappointed and I sensed there was a very high probability that the project would be cancelled. Shortly after the conversation, I received information from our contractor that the bids were in and the property renovations would be more than we initially estimated. They once again advised me that we should consider the system redesign as it had receive approval from all governing authorities.
I met with Craig and he immediately told me that the new cost was a very large concern. However, he also told me that he very much appreciated my integrity in telling him all of the issues in detail. However, he couldn't afford all of the improvements alone and asked me to pay for half of the costs, which i agreed to do. In the end, he stated that he fully trusted my opinion asked me to advise him on the best decision. Although it cost me half of my commission, I advised him to delay the project and make all of the structural improvements.
Five months after the completion of the project, New Jersey was hit with the worst storm in its history. Many rooftop solar systems throughout the state were destroyed along with the properties supporting them. The first business call I made the day after Superstorm Sandy hit was to Craig to find out the status of his property and our Solar System. He told me that both the system and his property were in perfect condition even though properties throughout his town were severely damaged. He believes his property would have been damaged also if not for the new roof and structural additions. He could not stop thanking me for my advice. I always knew I had made the right ethical decision, but now upon reflection, I also knew that I had made the right moral decision.