Getting paid

[Clyde Hollinger]

I agree, Tom, that our clients are usually conscientious in paying for our
services.  I was part-time 1980-1992 and fulltime since then.  I think in
all that time I lost only about $75.

But I try to track down the money a little more aggressively than you do.
After I fill up an invoice book I let a month or more go by, then leaf
through it and see if I got paid from all clients.  (I have a line on the
invoice which says, "Please pay from this invoice.  Net 15 days.")  For any
who haven't paid, I send a friendly reminder letter, which nearly always
works.  If I don't get any response from that I will probably call on the
telephone.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on judgement and forgiveness, but that
subject might be a little far removed for the pianotech list.  You should
probably email me privately if you feel so moved.

Regards,
Clyde Hollinger

Tom Cole wrote:

> Late Night Philosophizing
> -------------------------
>
> It is rare that a customer will not pay me for my services.
> Occasionally, I'll need to leave a bill but soon the check comes.
> Whether it's that piano owners are more responsible or that I know where
> they live or... maybe somebody has a good answer for this one. Suffice
> to say that it's a nice aspect of this business (now institutions,
> that's another story).
>
> I had a customer, Vic, whom I have characterized as
> less-than-responsible. After the first service call, he would always pay
> me in arrears, later and later each time. One time, he neglected to send
> me a check altogether. Returning the following year, I mentioned it to
> him and he apologized and immediately wrote me a check - for the
> previous tuning - and left, as in the past, without paying me for the
> _current_ one. I felt unappreciated.
>
> Years went by and he didn't call. I began to think (hope) that he had
> left the area. Tonight, as my wife and I were enduring a very long wait
> at a popular restaurant, much longer than anticipated, I noticed that
> ol' Vic had entered the waiting area. Too grouchy from hunger and a long
> day to be glad-handed by a non-paying customer, I prayed that he might
> choose not to recognize me to avoid a confrontation.
>
> Not so. He came right over and struck up a lively conversation: trekking
> in Nepal, visited friends in Australia, went to New Zealand, Bali, Alpha
> Centauri... It was difficult to feign interest.
>
> Then, unexpectedly, he asked me if he had paid me for the last tuning. I
> said that, no, he hadn't and, without hesitation, he pulled a $100 bill
> from his pocket and gave it to me.
>
> At that moment, the owner of the restaurant came over to us to say that
> our table was ready.
>
> It's moments like these that I think about judgement and the power of
> forgiveness.
>
> Thanks for listening.
>
> Tom
> --
>
> "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to
> die."
>
> Thomas A. Cole, RPT
> Santa Cruz, CA
> mailto:tcole@cruzio.com