Generally speaking I find that if you lead your life in a manner that helps those around you, and if you're nice to those around you, that makes them more likely to be nice to others. Kind of a "pay it forward" type thing.
One thing I can say is that in all my years of business, and working corporate, I've never knowingly fucked someone or ripped them off. I've been ripped off definitely, but I've never knowingly screwed someone over. It may not be much but I'm proud to be able to say that.
two stories for you:
I was the finishing manager at a condo development a few years ago. Due to errors and delays the developer was giving various perqs to homeowners to make up for some of the delays. One perq was upgrading their rnge hood to a over the range microwave, or an upgrade to black or stainless appliances.
Well this one young lady (very hot I might add) had a unit where the closing was delayed for various reasons and the final one was thta the previous manager had ordered the wrong hardwood due to a coding mix up. This was going to dely her closing for a week.
I approached the project manager and said we should upgrade her range hood to a stainless micowave because she was going to have to spend a week on a friend's couch. He said no. I was kind of surprized because they'd done a lot more for others that were put out only for a few days.
So I called up our appliance supplier and ordered one. They gave it to me at cost (really good price actually). When I said I'd give them my personal credit card to pay for it they asked if it was for me. I said yes. When they got back to me on where to deliver it to they asked if I wanted it sent to my office, I said no, and told them the unit number. They said, wait, you're paying for a unit's microwave range hood? I said Yes, and told them the story.
Welll, the next time I had to contact them with an order my contact told me that I had really impressed her, she had it approved at a higher level, and that they'd like to offer me 5 top of the line appliances, in any finish, at less than the price the builder was paying for builder quality. Basically about $10,000.00 worth of appliances for about $2000.00. I couldn't use them at the time, and didn't have a place to keep them so I had to pass. Turns out I could use them now, but coudn't then.
Well, word got around that I'd done this and a few of the trades went the extra mile for me. For eg: the painter did a unit on a sunday night so I could close it the next morning. The developer got wind of what I'd done and called me into their downtown office one night and asked me wtf I was doing. I simply said to him "right is right".......He was pissed that I made him look bad, I said "I didn't make you look bad......YOU made you look bad and right is right". I was gone a month later....