Tell me about a customer or stakeholder relationship you lost — they left, went around you, or stopped trusting the work. What happened?

A single missed deadline has a script; a lost relationship doesn't, because it usually died over months and the candidate had chances to notice. What they saw and when — and whether the loss changed how they run other accounts — is signal no success story produces.

• When did you first sense it going wrong, and what did you do?
• What reason did they give — and what was the real one?
• What did you try that didn't work?
• What do you watch for now in other relationships?

Early warning signs named honestly, including the ones they ignored, a real attempt at repair, their own contribution stated without prompting, and a specific practice changed since — not just "communicate more".

The loss is explained entirely by price, politics, or an unreasonable contact; no attempt at recovery; or no example at all — nobody senior has a clean record.