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What a week!
I have this customer, been doing his work for 9 years or so.
Usually pretty slow in paying, got worse this year, so had a meeting with him in March & April, asking him to get up to date with his accounts. He was always sitting at 90 days.
Earlier this month, he got into 120 days. My dad looks after my books & kept chasing him for the money, especially since I was off work for most of the month with my injury, but the owner of the business would not take his call, and the accounts department kept promising a cheque, but none ever eventuated.
So, my dad decided to put them on stop credit last Thursday morning. The guy owes me well over $5000.00
It really hit the fan on thursday afternoon. The owner rang my dad and tore shreds of him, almost had my father in tears. He was pretty shaken up apparently. The language was disgusting, and my dad was subjected to continual abuse until he hung up on the guy.
When I got to work later, I decided to pen an email outlining the reasons for the stop credit, chosing not to ring as the guy was clearly looking for an argument.
He wrote back and said he knows he owes the money, but I’ll never see it. He wrote that he would make it as hard as he could for me to recover the debt.
I wrote back expressing my disappointment, and he wrote back to say he wanted an apology from my father before he would consider any more money being paid to me.
Realising that I was going to go nowhere with this guy, I rang a debt collector, who specialises in the sign industry.
He got onto the guy next morning (after I agreed to the 30% of the invoice fee 😕 ) and told him some home truths.
Then my customer tried to offer him money to drop me as a client. He even offered him debt collection work, if he dropped me as a client. My debt collector was stunned at this guys arrogance.
My debt collector told him to get some legal advice as he did not have a leg to stand on in court.
He must have done that, because next thing he rings me and wants to do a deal.
I told him the only deal on the table will be that when he pays his money, I’ll give him all his files in a format for another sign shop to use (eps)
He told me to meet him at McDonalds on the highway between our offices, and we could talk there. I agreed, but then he said that would not work, and asked me to meet him at his office on tuesday (today). He promised that he would have the full amount waiting in a cheque, as long as I had the disk.
My Debt collector was not happy that I would be on my own in his office, and doubted I’d get the money. He suggested that he was only trying to get me there so he could tear shreds off me also.
Anyway, this morning I had a disaster at work (too long a story here) and looked like I had to cancel our meeting. My mum however volunteer to go on my behalf.
Down she drove, 45 minutes away, and lobbed up at this guys office with the artwork CD in hand.
The bloke went ballistic that I didn’t show.
Mum asked for the cheque before she’d hand over the CD, and was told no cheque had been drawn. My debt collector was right.
Anyway, my mum stood her ground by all accounts, gave as good as she got, and wouldn’t leave until she got some money.
The guy go so fed up, he wrote a cheque out for the full amount, with his accounts lady protesting the whole time.
My mum has got a lot of spunk for a 68 year old. She had to call in to a coffee shop for a stiff cappucino on her way home, but she was not going to let some shonk railroad her son (her words).
Worth her weight in gold. The client said some pretty nasty things about me and dad, which she has chosen not to repeat, but mum knows what this guy is like anyway. Not a very big man to abuse a senior citizen tho.
So, I’ll take her out for lunch this week and try and make it up to her 😕
The week can only get better from here … I hope 😉
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39 Replies
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Blimey Shane good on yer mom for standing up to what can only be desribed as a bully and a idiot.
Andy Gorman will be along I suspect and will say the same as me, the guy needs a good smack in the mouth.
BTW because your mom collected the debt will you be giving her the 30% cut 😉
Nigel
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quote Nigel Pugh – Grafityp:Blimey Shane good on yer mom for standing up to what can only be desribed as a bully and a idiot.Andy Gorman will be along I suspect and will say the same as me, the guy needs a good smack in the mouth.
BTW because your mom collected the debt will you be giving her the 30% cut 😉
Nigel
hope she does not read this mate, I don’t think she’s thought of it yet.
nah, she’ll be happy with a $6.95 special from who flung dung down the road… I hope…. unless she reads this, then I’ll be broke…. :lol1:
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quote Shane Drew:He got onto the guy next morning (after I agreed to the 30% of the invoice fee 😕 )I’d have done it for 20% Shane!!
Good on your mum though,
Personally I would have given the guy a good slap for mouthing off, not the best way to go about it, but often it’s the only language they understand.
Glad its been resolved mate. 🙂
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You’re too nice Shane. I wouldn’t have given him any usable artwork. Well done though to you and your family for sorting him out – he should be ashamed of himself 😀
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yep mate your too nice good on your mum for standing up to him.
nowt but a shit head and a bully
ime with phil would have given him a set of duff files cashed the cheque and returned with his smack in the mouth. as a recipt.
sometimes its the only option.
hope he gets no joy from the local sign guys either.
make sure its a slap up lunch with wine and pudding for your folks. -
Thanks guys….
Yeah I suppose the files were something that I should have kept, but it is not my style to play his game. I was trying to make the whole thing run as smooth as I could. A bit naive really.
Even before I went down the path of the debt collector, I offered to consider a payment plan.
I also do heaps of work for this guys main opposition, and he was telling me months ago that this bloke is nothing more than a bully. I took that with a pinch of salt tho, I had never seen that side of him before in 9 years. But I guess you only see that sort of thing when you ‘cross the line’ with these type of guys.
He told my mum that Karma would catch up with me.
I’m not into that sort of stuff, if my work is no good, I’ll not survive. I’ve done OK till now. I’d suggest any new sign shop he gets will charge him much more than I charged him. I pretty well looked after him after 9 years, so we’ll have to see who has the last say in the matter. Worse part is I’ll never know.
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Hi Shane
Well done to you and especially your mum but I’d be really worried that he’d stop the cheque at his bank. Is that possible?
I can see why you offered to trade the files for payment and I hope it works OK.
In a more normal situation, As a matter of policy, if a client wants to take his files elsewhere, I always make a £25 charge for gathering the files from our archive and burning them to CD. That way I don’t feel quite so bad about losing a client (happens rarely).
John
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would you want to muck about with the "family Drew "?…….i know i wouldnt 😥 😥 id rather be a benifits fraud investigaitor in Paisley on a friday night after the pubs had shut 😀 😀 😀 ….well done shane mate …and your ma ….hey she sounds a bit like "coddy jarrots"(jimmy cagney) mum in white heat !!!!…."look at me ma ….im on top of the world !!
hey next question shane …has the cheaque cleared ?
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quote John Stevenson:Hi Shane
Well done to you and especially your mum but I’d be really worried that he’d stop the cheque at his bank. Is that possible?
John
I’ve got him on fraud charges if his cheque bounces John. He has already admitted in an email to me that he knows he owes the money.
My debt collector will know tomorrow if the cheque has cleared, if not, he’ll lodge a fraud claim with the police here. That way it will cost me nothing in legal fees, as the police will do the leg work for me, as a fraud charge.
He’d be a fool to go down that path, but he may actually be that nasty that he’ll do it to give me grief.
We’ll see. Stay tuned :lol1: If it bounces you’ll hear me from over there :lol1:
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I don’t even know where to start with this one!
First off, I would have walked into his reception and given him a smack on the chops. Then I would have handed him a pen to write the cheque with. You’ve demonstrated the patience of a Saint, Shane.
Be sure to name him in the bad customers section so none of our other Aussie buddies get stung by this tosser.
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oh dear… hope it clears shane… uk banks take 5 working days on some chq and then they state that this can be reversed at any time.
we would have done a similar method.. might have given the files too him too so we never see them again.
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What a bastard, Hit the cunt, shoot the fucker, String him up by his prick the good for nothing arsehole, shit cunt bastard fucker
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what you do is get Da Boys to pay him a visit. Bag over the head, goood beating, chuck in the van, take him to some bog in the middle of nowhere and leave him to get back himself.
Tieing the bag to his head is mandatory but beating the shit out of or into him is optional as is string him up and using him as punch bag or for karate practise. -
lot of agression in this thread 😮
Shane glad you’ve kinda got it sorted, fingers crossed the cheque clears.
Revenge is a dish best served cold :lol1: I’ve got a memory like an elephant 😛
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Glad your Mum looked after you mate!
It just goes to show that even long standing customers can give you grief.
I also hope the kite clears, I just had one bounce on me, from a charity set up to help small start up busniess on a local council estate. The EC have given them 10m per year, but I reckon a lot is being syphoned off in "administration"Peter
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I think we all have had bad payers on our books but I am glad that I have never had abusive customers.
Glad that things worked out, but I wouldn’t have given him any artwork, or under extreme duress I would have given him a blank disk untill his cheque had cleared and then posted a proper copy to him.
We can all do without customers like this one (:) (hot)
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sorry I wouldn’t have given any art work I would have waited for the cheque to clear and deleted it all, than if he takes you to court with the evidence you have ,it lets all the other sign guys in your area know what sort of a barsteward he is
Lynn
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:cheer: go Shane’s mum :cheer:
glad its sorted now m8 – the lesson to learn don’t give clients that much credit I guess. id rather give a discount for a Cash payment than wait months for a cheque – cash-flow (or lack of it) is the biggest killer of small businesses and the perpetrators are often larger businesses 😕
John
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Thanks Friends,
I know what you say about the files, but I gave my word so that was that. Giving my word then giving a blank disc would just be lowering myself to his level.
I don’t plan on working for him again, so the files meant nothing to me. I’ll put them on Brands of the world anyway, so the new shop will not be any better off with an exclusive.
I am pretty well know in this blokes circle of opposition, I sign for most of them, so I don’t want to give him any ammo to discredit my name. I think I have done everything possible to make the transaction as smooth as I could. He chose to be stroppy, so at least it does not reflect too badly on me.
Putting him on stop credit could be seen by some as a negative I suppose, but it will not hurt for the other clients to know that I will go that far if it comes down to it.
I sort of see that as a positive if you know what I mean.
I’ve already picked up a new client today that wishes to pay in 7 days directly into my bank. He wanted to know if that was OK with me. 😮
His first order is $2000 worth of banners. His last sign shop was really expensive apparently, and charged a fortune for artwork too. It was some really big organisation in the city, and this company felt they were just another number. I was reccommended by another company that liked my personal service, so I’m happy.
I’ve almost forgotten about the other bloke already.
What was that about Karma? :lol1:
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Sorry to hear all this trouble Shane, and good on your mum love the spirit.
Great to see there is the other side to customers as well with this new contact, my philosophy too, if you are real nice the good ones will always find you and you will get rid of the bad (‘cos you don’t need them).
Take it easy
Dave
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:funky: The Cheque Cleared! Everyone down to my place in 10 minutes and I’ll shout the breezers!
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Congratulations Shane (and mum)
Mine’s a pint
John
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Shame you’re not in Perth Shane…I’d have escorted ya mum 😀
Good result in the end 😀
Hey as an aside, one of our suppliers here in Perth will post in their newsletter if there are any bad payers or general nasty people that other sign shops should steer clear of. Your suppliers may do the same, make it hard for the bloke to get a reputable sign shop to do his work and stop anyone else having to put up with the grief this guy brings.
BTW the newsletter doesn’t mention names…Just things like:
"If you are contacted by a paintball Company in the Fremantle area, you may want to ring Anthony first". This way they stay nice and legal with it all.
Do you include a section on your quotes that states that if customers don’t pay in full or as agreed, that all collection charges will be incurred by the customer? This saves you the 30% for the debt collector’s fees.
Many local debt collectors will do you up a conditions of trade for about $250.00 which includes clauses like entering premesis to collect payments/signs and permission to use logos.
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Thats good advice Leeroy, thanks for that.
Our local suppliers don’t do that, but I’ll pass the suggestion on.
I don’t have the clause as you suggest, but I will in my next invoice book run. 😛
Unfortunately on the Gold Coast, it is an over serviced market (sign guys moving up from south, or southerners deciding to semi retire from the interstate sign industry etc) and any number of sign shops will take on the difficult guys for a long term contract.
On top of that, lots of guys know I’ve had this contract for over 9 years, so they have this feather-in-their-cap thing happening, that they have taken it off me.
Not a lot of love lost amongst gold coast sign shops I’m afraid.
Cheers
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Shane,
Good to hear it worked out well in the end…. Our tinting business has similar problems…..it’s more often than not the huge businesses that don’t pay…..for months. We’re currently owed a lot by various companies most of them fairly large. Luckily we have a low tolerance of it all now, 30 day terms, 60 day reminder, 90 day court….they usually pay up, but without interest or court costs….so it gets drawn out a bit longer while the courts make them pay the costs and interest etc. Of course, you chances are, we don’t get any more work from them…
Then theres the businesses that "go bust" owing a lot of money to us….there are too many companies and individuals out there who screw the system, take as much on credit as possible, syphoning off the money then going bust owing many companies and the tax man….
We used to have a fitter who did our debt collecting! He was huge, and always came out with the cheque….we usually got repeat business too. Unfortunatly he moved on.
Good on your mum anyway Shane, she should start up her own business!
Adam
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I read this with a sick knot in my stomach.
Who the hell do people think they are, shouting at an older gentleman on the phone, and being rude to someone’s mom?
Not to mention being a deadbeat slow/no pay scumbag.
Good for your mom!
You know, by sending her, it probably shamed that jerk into paying.
You are better off without him.
Love the BOTW idea.
It is so good, that feeling of knowing that our parents can still help us.
You are lucky to still have both of yours!
And Karma will get that customer.
love….Jill -
Great to hear you got paid in the end, scary how many nutters are out there.. (:)
Gold Coast people are supposed to be easy going… :lol1: -
quote Daniel Gillen:Gold Coast people are supposed to be easy going… :lol1:
🙄 yeah.. right 😉 Who told ya that? 😛
Thing is, out of all my slow paying clients between brisbane and gold coast, the slowest are all gold coast businesses 😕
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sheesh! the guys mad. cant trust people like that. its a wonder you didnt react earlier tho. give yer mum a kiss ´ey!
bernardo
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hello shane, the only way to look at this, is there is only one loser in this and thats him, if you have given him a good sevice at that sort of credit terms he will be the loser, this has happen to me before and in over 22 years of trading i have moved on to bigger and better customers,on ward and up ward, what goes around comes around, replace him with with better customers and if he calls again double the price and tell him you cant fit him in for 8 weeks
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quote bernardo maldonado:sheesh! the guys mad. cant trust people like that. its a wonder you didnt react earlier tho. give yer mum a kiss ´ey!
bernardo
I know what you say Bernardo. But after 9 years I thought I knew him pretty well.
Thanks Alan. I don’t miss his account at all frankly although I thought I would at the time.. Replaced his $15,000 a year contract with another client that has already done $5,000 in the last 2 weeks… and they pay every 7 days 😛
With the rising cost of fuel here, my bus and coach clients like him, are all struggling, so I am a bit wary of the whole transport industry at the moment.
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Just an update on this ex client…. Just found out he went broke about 3 months ago.
Took longer than I thought tho. The replacement sign shop lost money I’m told….
What was that about Karma? :lol1:
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Beautiful 😀 ….bet he hasn’t learned his lesson – bound to be blaming everyone else for his ‘misfortune’ 😮
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Trouble is Shane we all pay for these b**tards, and over here that type would be starting up again with another name and screwing another load of suppliers. There’s a builder down my road, I think he’s lived there for about ten years – he’s had more business names than that in the time. He’s just gone under again owing over £52,000.
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quote ::cheer: Go Shane’s mum :cheer:As we say around here, Ain’t mama happy, ain’t nobody happy! (:)
Oddly enough it was probably easier for her to get it – it’s so much harder to go after your own customer who you have a history with, your mom, she doesn’t know this guy from Adam (I’m guessing), just that he owes you money. You don’t play with my mama in that department, either. She’s much much tougher than me (at 83), though you wouldn’t know it to look at us.
Too bad we all have to deal with these weasels – fortunately they’re few and far between among our customers. -
I think you should buy her one of these mate! A mum to be proud of.
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Happy days – what goes around comes around 😀 😀 😀
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Jeez shane, whats your mum like after a flat white 😀
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cheers guys, appreciate all your comments.
As an added update, I was called into quote on a fleet of buses for airport transfers, and I was getting really excited.
They had bought this original clients buses, and another bus company that had also gone broke recently, and asked me to quote on resigning the fleet with their new name.
Sweet, I thought.
Found out that the original client is working as a ‘consultant’ to the new bus company, and gave me a really bad rap. I’ll not be getting any more work there then :lol1:
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