"Sorry, we'll pay as soon as possible..."

[Pat Whatley]

My advice, and I don't mean this to sound stern, or elitist, is simply...don't offer credit to anyone who you think is not stable and very solvent.

I only invoice very well established companies, most of whom can provide D&B information if asked, and companies that typically have the operating capital available to cover slow periods. What I'm hearing is that they've been slow so long they're depleting reserves here at the end of the year. I haven't opened a new account for anyone in years.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Well it's better to owe you .. then to never pay you at all

a contract is only as good as the people that sign it

no one ever said life was fair


just keep at it hopefully all will work out

 

[Gino]

I had a guy, just yesterday ask me to drop a sign off he had originally agreed to pick up. I said Okay, but when my guy gets there have the check ready. He said no problem. When he got back Jeremy gave me the check and said the guy was making fun of you.... I asked how ??

He said you must be having cash flow problems...... you must be slow with work and why else would you be forcing your customers to pay upon receipt ??

I told my guy to forget it and he said... well, he said he caught you in a lie. I asked how so ?? Well, he said if you were so busy, you couldn't have sent someone over there to drop off his sign and then demand money without leaving the invoice there to be paid 'whenever'.

I didn't say much to my employee, but the matter of it is this. That customer has no right talking to MY employees about how we do business. He should be discussing business with me or shut the F*** up. The main reason I demanded money was for a few comments made from him earlier. He ordered the sign on Friday and wanted it by Wednesday. However, when I asked him for a deposit, he said he didn’t have it and was submitting this quote to the Borough's 'Beautification Committee' for grant money. I told him Okay, but I’ll want full payment when the sign is finished and he picks it up, whether he has their money or not. He agreed. He then asked me to send him all of our past invoices to him by fax so he could get those into the grant also. I reminded him that he had already gotten grant money for everything we did for him up to this last sign. and he said… so what. Anyway, I called him a day early and told him he could pick his sign up by lunchtime. He said he couldn’t and told me he wanted it delivered. I told him our truck was in the shop and wouldn’t be available until Thursday. Then I asked one of my employees to take his truck over and drop the sign off and be sure to pick up the check. We got there about 2:30 and the guy griped about being late and having a window of time between 12 and 1pm and we screwed him up. Then he went into this other crap making fun of me and I gave my guy $5 for gas money and the place is only 3 miles away. Plus, I didn’t charge the guy for delivering and he comes down on my crap ?? What a turd.

He’s the one squandering around to make ends meet and because I play hardball, I’m the meanie. Tough F***ing crap and too bad for your predicament, but I didn’t cause it and don’t intend to let it happen to us with people like him stiffing me.

Pat, you gotta get tough and start making business about business and let these leeches go…. and when they can afford to pay, they’ll come back…. if at all. You don’t need customers that have excuses and stories about the accountant has the check book or the person that writes the checks isn’t in today.

Heck, I had a lawyer a few weeks ago that said his check book was being audited. I said, well, let’s take a walk down to your bank and you can make a withdrawal if your serious about these signs. We went down and he took out abut $3,800 and counted it into my hand right there in the bank. I thanked him, had the job done in about two weeks and guess what…. his check book was somewhere else this time and I asked…. are we making a trip down to the bank again ?? He laughed and asked if he could put it on a credit card. Sure, follow me out to the shop and we’ll take care of it right away. He said he had another meeting and couldn’t afford the extra time, so I said… let’s go to the bank. He looked at me, smiled and said… let’s go.

I have two tricks and my first trick is simple. I don’t feel embarrassed to ask for MY money. I don’t screw around with excuses any longer. It is what it is and I stick 100% to the storyline and don’t listen to the BS they give me. After they are finished explaining this that or whatever…. I immediately say… Okay, that’s all fine and dandy. Now where’s the balance ?? That’s the other trick. Make sure you have a deposit, so you’re not out the whole amount. Collecting half of what someone owes you is a lot easier than collecting the whole amount. Collecting the whole amount in my eyes has become a problem of your own business practices not faring well.

Get deposits and be a tough ol’ SOB collecting the rest. ​

 

[signage]

Pat I would look into adding the interest clause due to them taking longer! At least you will be getting paid for being their bank on the orders/signs you do for them Talk to your attorney and get it drawled up for your new policy starting Jan. 2010!

 

[Farmboy]

I understand that everyone runs their business their own way. I don't understand though why everyone is not collecting 100% on the order when it's taken. We do it here. I just ordered a computer from Signburst and had to pay for it upfront. If I order anything online I pay first. No one bats an eye or even thinks twice when asked for payment here. I realize we don't do the quality of work here that some of you do. Our stuff is down and dirty and out the door. I had fear of asking people for all the cash up front. I could have lived with that fear and kept getting screwed. It was a fear of losing work. That fear never came true. Try it.

 

[btropical.com]

We are contemplating doubling the invoice , Bill is $100 dollars put down bill is $200 dollars and 50% off if paid within 45 days or what ever time . That way if they turn out to be bums when we sue we get double the amount lien and judgement , customer gets 2 broken legs/daughter pregnant / slashed tires and judgement against them for double invoice

 

[Custom Bob]

I just told a good customer of mine that I needed $1200. down to start a big box truck lettering job. The $1,200 would cover the materials only. He said no problem. Stop by and pick up a check. Long story, short. They gave me $750. I told them that I needed the 1200 and that being it was around the Holidays that I didn't want to tie up alot of money in materials. They said thats what there giving me and they'll pay the rest when the job is done. So I deposited the check and I'm sitting on their money. I refuse to buy anything until they give me the balance. It's been a week and they should be calling me soon to see how things are going. I'm going to tell them what I told them before. That I need the full 1200 to get started. Otherwise they can wait or have there money back.
I trust no one and I am not taking any chances these days. I've been shafted enough in my day.

 

[JimJenson]

I don't understand though why everyone is not collecting 100% on the order when it's taken.

If you want to do business with for example, Tyco international, you either accept terms of Net55 or go elsewhere. Many others business's are net 30, as well as cities, county's and states.
My observation is that many of the larger corps do business by purchase order. Getting on their lists as approved vendors is a much sought after position. Tyco has no problem finding vendors.

 

[TheSnowman]

I'm sayin' tough crap on the net 60 company's. They always need stuff yesterday, then wanna take forever to pay. Not worth it to me. Then again, I don't have HUGE accounts...it's just annoying factory's that tie up my money.

 

[Gino]

I just told a good customer of mine that I needed $1200. down to start a big box truck lettering job. The $1,200 would cover the materials only. He said no problem. Stop by and pick up a check. Long story, short. They gave me $750. I told them that I needed the 1200 and that being it was around the Holidays that I didn't want to tie up alot of money in materials. They said thats what there giving me and they'll pay the rest when the job is done. So I deposited the check and I'm sitting on their money. I refuse to buy anything until they give me the balance. It's been a week and they should be calling me soon to see how things are going. I'm going to tell them what I told them before. That I need the full 1200 to get started. Otherwise they can wait or have there money back.
I trust no one and I am not taking any chances these days. I've been shafted enough in my day.

I don't know about your area, but around here and most courts in the land, once you accept a check you have now changed your original conditions and have elected to accept the new terms by DEPOSITING it.

If you state the terms, conditions, rules and whatever else you can say or write at the bottom of a quote, you just contradicted your own terms and accepted their new ones by depositing whatever they give you. In fact, if the guy was clever on your deal... he could've typed in the little memo portion at the bottom left.... 'Payment in Full' and that would be your ONLY payment and by depositing it.... you accepted these new terms. Be careful when accepting something other than your own terms being verbally or written in and then changing your whole view on things.

 

[Jillbeans]

I got the old "I forgot the checkbook" the other day, from a repeat client, after doing vehicle lettering for them.
Also noticed people are getting way pickier and choosier about every last detail. And I am careful to do a good job.
Love....Jill

 

[signage]

Gino speaking of the little not on the check, did you notice on my check to you for the 101 meet that it said I was purchasing your company and expecting my payments monthly! You're late with you payments:ROFLMAO:

 

[Bigdawg]

I don't know about your area, but around here and most courts in the land, once you accept a check you have now changed your original conditions and have elected to accept the new terms by DEPOSITING it.

If you state the terms, conditions, rules and whatever else you can say or write at the bottom of a quote, you just contradicted your own terms and accepted their new ones by depositing whatever they give you. In fact, if the guy was clever on your deal... he could've typed in the little memo portion at the bottom left.... 'Payment in Full' and that would be your ONLY payment and by depositing it.... you accepted these new terms. Be careful when accepting something other than your own terms being verbally or written in and then changing your whole view on things.

That is totally an urban legend... if it were that easy NO ONE would be in debt

From Snopes:

Section 3-311 of the Uniform Commercial Code does state that a debt can be discharged with a check designated as payment in full "if the person against whom the claim is asserted proves that the instrument or an accompanying written communication contained a conspicuous statement to the effect that the instrument was tendered as full satisfaction of the claimHowever, it's up to the claimant to prove "that within a reasonable time before collection of the instrument was initiated, the claimant, or an agent of the claimant having direct responsibility with respect to the disputed obligation, knew that the instrument was tendered in full satisfaction of the claim."." So if you receive a check marked "paid in full" made out for less than the amount you have agreed upon, you'd best not cross out the words "paid in full" or write "disputed" on it and cash it anyway, as you risk having the entire debt discharged. However, this condition does not apply to "transactions conducted or performed, in whole or in part, by electronic means or electronic records, in which the acts or records of one or both parties are not reviewed by an individual in the ordinary course [of business]," which means that this scheme will not work at all for most bill or credit card payments, as those payments are typically handled by automated systems and not humans.

 

[signage]

Thanks Stacy there goes your Christmas Present!

 

[imagep]

I have a customer who requested a quote for 5000 paper menus yesterday. We don't do paper printing, but we have done all his signage and vehicle graphics ever since they opened and they now come to us for everything. So I call our local printer, give them the details, email the files over to get a quote etc. I get a call back and it turns out this same customer has stiffed THEM (our printer) last year over hours and hours of layout/artwork time. Apparently after 2-3 revisions a day for who-know-how-many days, they decided they didn't like the look and just went somewhere else. And when the printer tried to invoice/contact this customer they just ignored and avoided them.

Carry on.

I learned many years ago that restaurants are the worst possible customer for offset printing. I avoid them like the plague.

I once did a bunch of paper menues for an Indian restaurant, the guy complained about the bill I mailed him. At 12 noon I showed up at the place, and took every menue off of every table, snatched them out of customers hands, and stormed out making as big of a scene as possible. The jerk called me the next day and asked me if I was ready to negotiate on price, I told him that I had negotiated all his menues into the trash can.

Of course I lost the customer, but I feel that I did their next victim, oops - I mean printer, a favor.

 

[omgsideburns]

Gino has this one on lock down.

 

[B Snyder]

I have a client who recently requested that I sign up for electronic funds transfer for payment. This company is a major German auto manufacturer. Instead of receiving a check in 60 days they want to electronically transfer the funds into my checking account in 60 days. I declined and they asked if they could pay with a credit card when orders are delivered instead. Well, DUH! I'd been asking them to do that for years!

 

[Farmboy]

Jim,
I do bend for county and state jobs also a few colleges. I'm not losing sleep over not getting jobs from huge corps. Not the customers we want. btw...even when we take a PO from the county or state 75% of the time they have a check in their hand when they come pick up. They love how we treat them.

 

[Dice]

Just Say No.

Just Say No. That is half the battle.

One of our clients is very big (fortune 500) so they love pushing around the little guy. Made us sign a TOS agreement Most Everything was reasonable, jobs must be done at X price in Y Time, except they tried to sneak in 60 day payment terms in on the contract. We said No. They said no one changes the terms of the TOS. We said we do. We sent them a revised contract changing the 60 to 30 added late fees.

They signed it.

You gotta set the expectations in the beginning. Being too nice and people WILL take advantage of you.

 

[imagep]

One of our clients is very big (fortune 500) so they love pushing around the little guy.

"Buy low, sell high, collect early, pay late, you'r dismissed." That was the professors only words during my first finance class in college.

A lot of big companies hire these fresh out of Harvard MBA whizz kids, who have no business experiance other than their classes. They think that by implementing some basic concepts they make the company profitable.

The upper management (who also has little or no real life business experiance), is dazzled when that new MBA presents some charts showing how paying in 60+ day terms will save the company millions, but if they had ever owned or managed a small business, where they had to deal with all managment operations, instead of being isolated to just one function, they would realize that any money (interest) saved by paying slow is lost by loosing cooperation and importance to their vendors.

I (almost) always pay withing terms, I very rarely hassle my vendors, and thus I am as important of a customer to them as the bigger guys. A few weeks ago, I had ordered paper for a rush job, the paper did not get loaded on the delivery truck, but I was able to get my paper company salesperson to bring just one ream of paper from the warehouse (25 miles away). If I had not been considered a profitable customer, I would have never recieved service like that.

 

[MARSERdesigns]

Being too nice and people WILL take advantage of you.

So True!