What’s the most ridiculous client-firing story you have? Mine involves a Costco
By Abi Harmon · October 3, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
What’s the most ridiculous client-firing story you have?
Mine involves a Costco hot dog.
Years ago, we had a Fortune 100 client where one of the senior leaders had started repeatedly missing our weekly calls.
The writing was on the wall.
So one of our executives did what good executives do: tried to get closer to the relationship. She scheduled time directly with this person to understand what was going on and see if we could fix it.
They no-showed.
The explanation?
They had just experienced a Costco hot dog for the first time, and it made them late.
Which, listen. I respect the Costco hot dog.
But a week later, this person left the company to join a competing agency.
And the business followed shortly thereafter.
Years later, I recently heard this story retold as a funny anecdote about how they had single-handedly gotten us fired.
And it made me think about something I’ve learned after a lot of years in business:
How you leave a relationship matters just as much as how you enter one.
Clients fire agencies. Executives change jobs. Business moves. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. None of that is particularly remarkable.
But avoiding conversations, disappearing when you already know what’s coming, and turning someone else’s lost business into a punchline years later?
That part is a choice.
I still love a Costco hot dog, though.