In Focus Collections


Would I lie to you?


Excuses for late payment can be bizarre and outlandish – and sometimes they are even true


Duncan Grubb Director, Duncan Grubb Consultants duncangrubb@duncan- grubb-consultants.com


I thought with this article I would try to inject a bit of light relief into what can be a rather tortuous business at times, so please bear with me even if you are having a bad day at the office


Forbearance or ineptitude? Most of us, regardless of our position within the credit industry, will at some point have had to get on the telephone to customers and ask them to part with money that should already have been paid. Now, given that, if somebody genuinely


owes you money and has it, nine times out of 10 they will pay you – end of story. But as we all know, a great number of businesses live well beyond their means and only survive because of the forbearance or ineptitude of their suppliers in collecting debts as and when they fall due, and this, of course, is where the problems occur.


Learning the hard way We all learn the hard way – at first assuming that by simply and politely pointing out the omission to the customer’s purchase-ledger


technician, the problem will be immediately rectified, with the cheque arriving bright and early the following morning. However for some inexplicable reason


But as we all know, a great number of businesses live well beyond their means and only survive because of the forbearance or ineptitude of their suppliers in collecting debts


this rarely happens, and a rather chastened and disappointed credit professional will then have to take the first steps in a dance which has probably been going on for thousands of years, and which has kept credit people in gainful employment ever since! What follows is a series of telephone calls


from an increasingly exasperated credit controller which all too often generate responses along the lines of: l “Leave it with me – I will have a look at it.” l “Hello again, oh yes I remember – I will have a look at it.” l “I have had a look at it – what was the problem with it?” l “I will have to look at it again then.” l “Are you sure you have spoken to me about this?” In my case, to avoid either pulling my


hair out – it has all gone now – or even worse someone else’s, I started keeping a


38


www.CCRMagazine.co.uk


September 2017


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