Modus operandi (plural modi operandi) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operating".

Being in Palm Beach Country Florida, where Donald Trump had his mansion, Mar-a-Lago and now his golf course, Trump International, I have run into a number of people that do not like Mr. Trump for some reasons that are both unconscionable and borderline criminal, if true.

So I write this as a means of attempting to get others who may have experienced similar behavior from The Donald and his maze of attorneys, to collaborate the stories which appear to have a common theme.

I have heard a number of contractors and subcontracts tell me  similar stories over the years. They contract with one of Mr. Trumps companies or contractors to do some type of work and/or supply materials or product(s). Mr. Trump or one of his representatives is “not” happy with the quality of workmanship, materials or products supplied. Now here is the common theme. They are “seldom” happy with the workmanship, materials or products supplied despite the real quality, and therefore withhold payment.  Now here is the main question in this. Do they do this to merely get out of paying the final bill or is the workmanship, materials or products supplied really inferior? Do they live with the final product or do they have to have it redone or replaced because of te poor quality? My understanding is that he keeps the produce and most often ends up getting the invoice discounted and therefore that’s Modus Operandi. The purpose of this article is to get more evidence of this.      

As a former manager of our family run interior design company, I was involved with quality control on a constant basis. My father and I made an asserted effort to check all work done for our firm.  I found that there was no such thing as perfection in either quality of workmanship or products so it was always an issue of acceptability and we demanded high quality and learned what was acceptable and what wasn’t. On a number of occasions, we had to sue clients over this very same issue and often times we felt that they were just trying to get out of paying the remainder of the bill, as stories of The Donald appear to insinuate. By withholding payment, the idea is to force a compromise on the amount of the payments, a legal but highly unethical practice, if it purely a business strategy rather than real dissatisfaction with the quality of the work or product. Demanding perfection is not a valid position, as one can always find fault in some part of the human experience.  I personally wouldn’t accept Mr. Trump’s hair style but he seems to be satisfied with it.   

According to a NY Times report, Mr. Trump’s companies have filed for bankruptcy four (4) times since 2000 which is another way of potentially getting around paying contractors and subcontractors their fully contracted amounts. Others companies he has partnered with have also filed bankruptcy according to various blogs and news article.

If you or someone you know has provided quality work, materials or products on one of Mr. Trumps projects and has not been pay the full amount, please write a quick letter and just tell your story in an honest manner. At this point Mr. Trump’s business practice is just being questioned and we need more substantive proof by witnesses that this is his Modus Operandi and not just good business practice of demanding high quality performance from his contractors and subcontractors. I have my suspicions but we need to have a high number of people provide collaborative stories to understand the true nature of the Donald and company.