Robert and Naomi - Sad but true. I've been mostly blessed to have similar relationships to those Naomi describes but unfortunately it is the few 'bad eggs' who ruin it for all of us. I've had close 'friends' who would blatantly steal client info from my docs, charge me to pull a copy THEY missed on a search, never pay me for doing a search for them yet demand instant payment if they did one for me, etc. Naomi makes a great point about client retention, i.e., that it really comes down to quality and speed - which the 'undercutters' never seem to understand. I would add building good relationships with other abstractors comes down to respect and consideration...which some will demand but never give :( .

Thank you both for your responses :)