[pianotech] slow paying customers revisited

[John Ross]

I gave up years ago trying to get them to pay faster.
I appreciate their business.
I just keep more on hand for the bills. It is money I can't spend, but one of my costs of doing business.
I always meant to say 2% per month on accounts after 10 days.
Never got around to it as I figured it was more trouble than it was worth.
It might get them thinking though, if they thought it was going to cost them.
Since '75, I have never let it bother me.
It does seem that the ones that have it, are the slowest to pay. i.e. lawyers, doctors etc.
John Ross
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Shawn Brock 
  To: Pianotech List 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 10:28 AM
  Subject: [pianotech] slow paying customers revisited


  List,

  I know we had a thread going not long ago on slow paying customers and last year I had complained a little about some of the churches I serve.  I have some
  questions that I would like to gather some answers for and some statements that may or may not be out of line (you tell me.)  First: how long do you give
  commercial/institutional/church customers to pay the balance for your services?  For most of these types of account I have been giving 14 days from the
  date of service to the date of payment due.  That seems more than reasonable to me, after all the phone company and other utilities don't give you that
  much time from when you receive the bill to the due date.  Perhaps I'm being unreasonable though?  I have 2 churches that are my slowest paying customers,
  and they are maybe the richest churches I work for.  Each has 5 pianos that get regular service and both are slow paying.  Its funny...  It seems that
  the people with the least amount of money are the first to pay, I find that those folks are the ones who have a check waiting on the date of the appointment...
   So back to the topic at hand.  I had cut the slow payers back to a 10 day due date or a "payment due on date of service" instead of the 14 days I had been giving them.  That hasn't seemed
  to help!  Each time I work for them it never fails that I have to make numerous phone calls to get my money.  They both have a long list of excuses that
  they run through (the accountant is on vacation, the accountant is sick, we misplaced the invoice, we thought we had 30 days, a check should have been
  in the mail to you, I will have to check with someone and get back with you) and so on.  I could have understood this once or even more, but this is every time I deal with these people and I'm sick of it!  These 2 churches were served in a 2 day period and now they are both past due by more than a week.  I wouldn't be as quick to complain but we are talking over $1000 that is due to me and I could use it.  Last I checked I still have bills to pay.  So what's the answer?  Maybe I should charge more and give them a discount if they pay on time?  Or is that to complicated?  Maybe I should just stop working for them?  Damn!  I'm sorry but when it takes people more than 30 days to pay that seems a little excessive to me.  Its not like these people even have to pay taxes...  One thing that fuels my fire is these are the same people who will call you and want you to come out to tune for a concert the same day, or the next day.  They new about the concert months ago but didn't have the foresight to schedule the tuning.  And then...  They show you gratitude by paying in a month and a half!  "We need you now and we will pay you when ever we want."  Well, that's how it seems any how.  Come on people and share your wisdom with me.  I could use it...  After all we are not just talking about $1000 which is in my opinion still a substantial amount of money.  We are talking about 2 days worth of work and we are also talking about principles.  If they couldn't afford to pay it would be different but at a glance you know that you are just getting kicked around.  All comments and ideas are appreciated.

  Regards,
  Shawn Brock, RPT 
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