A few weeks ago, a friend of mine came to visit me. While he was visiting, another friend asked me about him, so I introduced them. As it turns out, my second friend was looking for a plumber and they had a follow up conversation. The next day, another friend suggested another plumber (I knew him, too.) This brought to mind three other possibilities, so my second friend had 5 choices.

Confused yet? No sweat! Here it comes. The first introduction was an accident. Had my second friend asked me if I knew a good plumber, I would have introduced him to #2, first. I probably would have mentioned the others, but I would have given #2 an advantage. #2 couldn’t do the deal. He’s the best solution. The most highly trained. Should have gotten the business. Hasn’t.

So, how should I feel? He’s the only plumber that I had a conversation with to give the lay of the land. He’s not in the running and I’m bummed. What should I do?

Incidentally, we’re not really talking about plumbers. The occupation’s been changed to protect the guilty.