It’s a clear, documented rule in most agency contracts. Seriously ask any HR director ‘Never Shag The Client’, it ranks right up there with ‘Gross Misconduct’ and ‘Failing to disclose anything that you may later rely on in court.’
But I’ve never been terribly good at obeying the rules and shagging the client, as any self-respecting account director will confirm, is not usually a planned strategic campaign more a drunken, tactical, niche, one-off at the Christmas party. Although not in my case…
This particular client, who should remain nameless to protect reputations (Rosemary), worked in a notable American software company. Birddog works in the IT sector so we had plenty to talk about and ultimately won the business leading to a five year working relationship. Rosemary was obviously attracted to me from the first meeting (ahem) but we all know the rule ‘Never Shag The Client’. And given the fact that I was involved in another relationship and, what with the minor inconvenience of Rosemary being married at the time, she did a pretty good job of feigning total disinterest.
So it wasn’t for another two or three years that, with a change in both our personal circumstances, we found ourselves alone and together on a Saturday night. Actually, Rosemary had first managed to invite herself along on a long-weekend I was spending with friends in the Lake District. Nothing happened on that occasion we were naturally both concerned with professional decorum. On another occasion I invited her to the cinema only to turn up and find that she had invited her mum and her sister along to maintain proper standards of etiquette.
Imagine my surprise when then, a few weeks later, she cooked me dinner and as we sat on the patio dealing with a number of pressing business issues, she jumped on me and simply made me have it!
So, let the record show, I never shagged the client she shagged me. We’ve been married now for what seems like forever, we have two beautiful daughters (from my side of the family) and I’d like to think that she hasn’t broken the same rule twice!