If you have a personal relationship with a client, they will usually do everything they can to take care of you in the lean times.
IMO the demolition industry has always been the epitome of "rugged individualism". Wreckers don't fit well with corporatocracy.
I wish I had a dollar for every situation that was worked out in the field "mano a mano" which if the corporate office ever caught wind of it they would have had a fit and would be sending reams of change order paper over the fax machine. Doing favors for somebody is what builds personal relationships which perpetuates the business relationships.

I don't think bigger means better. A lot of developers and owners think so. I think it gives them a warm and fuzzy feeling. Me, I think I would much rather the owner of the demolition company on the jobsite rather than having to deal with corporatocracy. I've said it before, it's a relationship based industry and when it goes corporate it gets lost.

Speaking of change orders, I was in a project kickoff meeting. There was about 30 people present. Eveyone seated around the table intoduced themselves and told what their title and responsibilities on the project would be. The Construction Manager had a guy there solely responsible for any claims made on the project. I thought to myself " Boy there is nothing like setting a project off on the right foot"