Stick to your promises

Ok, here's a question, is a guys word still a contract? In the old days his word was his honour and I still try to stick to it, but why promise one thing and then a week later you change it? Why promise anything from the start? Next question, if the guy changes his story every week or so, is he bullshitting us?

I'm starting to get the feeling the only way to fix this problem is with a baseball bat and a dark alley.