This courtesy prevents the members of a given profession from trying to steal each other’s clients. But it also prevents them from coming to the aid of consumers who have been harmed by others in the profession.

For instance, patients who have received damaging treatment from doctors and who are justified in bringing suit often have a hard time finding other doctors who will support their claims. By the same token, doctors who know that another doctor is hooked on prescription medications to the detriment of his or her patients routinely look the other way. It’s the polite thing to do.

Lawyers are another “closed set.” They simply don’t want to bring suit against each other because it “isn’t the thing to do.”

Then there’s law enforcement. Our newspapers are filled with stories about police officers who turn a blind eye to other officers’ misdeeds. From dealing drugs or stealing merchandise to drunk driving, wife battery, and even beating someone to death, other officers overlook it because they’re a part of the brotherhood. Cops who do testify against one of their group are often shunned – and even forced out of the job.

Real estate agents are expected to have enough professional courtesy to respect other agents’ relationships with clients and customers. And those who are ethical do. Others, however, are all too willing to bad-mouth other agents or even tell outright falsehoods about them as a means of stealing their clients. This is one profession that hasn’t quite adopted “courtesy” as one of the rules of doing business.

Considering all this, I’ve been thinking about how far professional courtesy should go when it comes to my field of copywriting, and the “sister” fields of graphic design and website creation.

Since there are subjects I don’t write about, customers sometimes ask me what I think of some other copywriter to write those projects. If I know someone is good, I’ll say so. But if I don’t like their work, I’ll say that I don’t know and will advise them to ask for samples and references before making a decision.

After all, since I don’t write about the stock market or computer software, my opinion could be off base.

I do the same with graphic design and web creation, but I’m wondering if that’s the right thing to do.

If I know that a certain designer always brings their projects in two months late, or is difficult to work with, should I tell someone who asks about them? Or am I right in giving the same advice – “Ask to see samples and references?”

I’d love to hear your opinion…