"RUNNERS" - FRIEND OR FOE?

A friend of mine joined me for a drink and he just came back from a business meeting in Kuantan. His regional staff had fixed up a meeting with someone who can lead him to securing a so-called lucrative project. And so he drove all the way from KL to Kuantan, eager to find out what the whole deal is all about. It so happens that the staff introduced him to a third party (best described by Malaysians as "runners") who claims that they can "secure" the deal with a click of his finger just because he has good connections in the department who happens to be his brother or uncle or aunt or what not. Later, this runner was not there to discuss about the "job" but more like demanding a lot of things. We're talking about opening up a branch and appointing him as the manager lah, as the middlemen lah... all sorts of things. My friend was flabbergasted because he had just met this guy and he was asking for the world! Tsk..tsk..tsk..
Well the moral of the story, please be careful when dealing with these people. Maybe there are ones who has managed to bring fortune to both parties in a fair and win win situation, but there are ones (most likely the majority of it) are there for their own fortune and prey on gullible business owners who are desperate at getting a project but failed to take into account the numbers and risks involved. As for my friend, he put up with listening to the runner's blah blahs for hours, just to be polite. After that, his staff had to put up listening to his boss's blah blahs for wasting his time and money for a faux business talks.