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"The check is in the mail"

by dvduval
12 replies
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So yesterday I asked a customer for the 4th time if they were sending the money, and the latest excuse is their records indicate they sent it last month, and they would request a new one, and I should just rip up the old one if I receive it. This is after verifying the address twice already. In between requests for payment, the customer asks for more work of course.

At what point do you say, "I need to have the money from a cleared check in my account before I will do anything else for you"?
#the check is in the mail
  • Profile picture of the author Joe Benjamin
    Originally Posted by dvduval View Post

    So yesterday I asked a customer for the 4th time if they were sending the money, and the latest excuse is their records indicate they sent it last month, and they would request a new one, and I should just rip up the old one if I receive it. This is after verifying the address twice already. In between requests for payment, the customer asks for more work of course.

    At what point do you say, "I need to have the money from a cleared check in my account before I will do anything else for you"?
    I'm not trying to be funny, but this is a strange question.

    I know YOU are being serious, but do you REALLY need someone to
    tell you how to handle a situation you solved yourself already?

    You walk on thin ice when you start doing work based on faith and
    past payment because it might be that one time where you do $5k
    worth of work and think nothing of it because "they paid all the time
    before" -- and than they don't pay -- ever.

    Stand up and tell them all work is done based on compensation for
    all work you they want done. Period. If you are "scared" you'll push
    them away for being honest -- than they weren't going to pay...

    anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    Yea, on the last work we did which was small, their site was pretty much down. We fixed it out of empathy, but yea, I get your point. I could have really put my foot down, and said they need to fedex the check immediately, but I didn't go that route.

    Just sometimes it is tricky deciding just how much you want to squeeze.
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    We continue to refine our rules and text throughout our customer area. There are always those people that present an exception, and this was one. Hopefully, this one is about solved.

    Often with good customers we do continue working beyond what they have paid for due to having a good history with us, and this was one such customer (since about 2005).
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  • Profile picture of the author Supernatural_fan
    what you have described just now is exactly what's happening with me these days..i have an employer who owes me a paycheck for a whole month, and she hasn't send me that money in 2 months...i thought about stepping up, and i kinda did two times before, yet i can't really do anything about it; just let it work out in time; what drove me towards this decision is that she is such a lovely woman, nice all the time, offering feedback and stuff, praising my work, yet she had a lot of problems ( health issues, clients not paying her etc), so i can't really start threatening...i thought i had 100% confidence in her, yet i doubt that her excuses were valid; what i do know is that i trust her paying what she owes; so i think that as long as the employer is also your friend, and you trust him/her, then you can be patient and wait for whatever he/she owes to you; i was never an impulsive person, so probably that helped as well
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  • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
    Dvduval,

    I think you probably should have put your foot down there, but give it enough time for the check to arrive before acting. Certainly I don't think you should do anything else until you have been paid for what you have already done.

    Supernatural_fan,

    I really think you need a reality check!

    If you were owed money for over two months, it's time to stop having faith in her good nature. Some of the nastiest people I have ever met could look you square in the eye, shake your hand and make every fiber of your body trust them. Words are meaningless, and I think you need to remember that expression "Money talks..."

    To both of you: What is your charity number? I don't mean this to be harsh, but I don't like to see people walked on in this way, and feel you need to take a stand.

    Cheers,
    Colin Palfrey
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    • Profile picture of the author Supernatural_fan
      ah, I know Colin...but it's ok, i'll receive them eventually...what i failed to mention is that she keeps giving me work these days, paid a part of it..yet the big money that she owes is still "in the queue" , i'm not the only one in this situation, she has a whole team of writers that didn't get paid; anyway, i got to say that she's a major exception..i don't normally do this "charity" thing; it will work out..i have faith in this. thanks, Colin
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      • Profile picture of the author scottk1216
        In god we trust all others pay cash. When I need a new laptop the store doesn't let me use it for 6 month then pay for it. If your customers want credit let them get it from MasterCard or Visa and pay you with that.

        I do not work without money exchanging hands first. Depending on the client this could be 1000 to 10,000 you are letting them charge.

        I have some associates who have had success with a faux 10% discount for early payment followed by a 25% late fee for late payment put it in writing and if they complain heavily about it they are likely people who do not pay their bills on time and you should not do businss with them.

        It is to easy to find good clients to waste precious moments of your life dealing with bad ones.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tracey_Meagher
    For web design work offline in Ireland, myself and my husband have waited up to five months to be paid on several contracts (some of them with big, well established businesses). There's a fine balance between judging when to push for payment so hard that you damage the relationship for good and when to hold out because you know there will be ongoing work with that company or individual.

    We've been pushed to the point where we have demanded payment (finally getting it and choosing not to work with the company again) but we've also held out for months on payments from individuals who we feel will pay, (realising that they may be struggling) and who will also come back for more work.

    You've got to read the situation and person as best you can. The same course of action will not necessarily work in every situation.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketingva
    I've learned the hard way to not do work until I'm paid. All my clients pay me in advance and I just fired one client who didn't pay on time. My time and skills are too valuable to give away. I bet the non paying client gets paid on time for her work and her skills yet she won't pay you.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    It is really up to your discretion here. Since you say this is a long-time client, you might have to hold out a little longer if you don't want to permanently damage the existing business relationship you have with them.

    This is a very subjective matter, and ultimately it is up to you to make the call when to put your foot down and demand payment. There is a fine line to walk between being hard-nosed and demanding, and being too soft and getting taken advantage of as a result. I imagine it's even harder these days, especially with the present state of the economy over there in California.

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author LauraJames
    A variety of lessons to be learned. I would recommend setting a firm date and sticking to it. My company gets payments in advance. For established clients, we will sometimes take a down payment and allow for the project to be paid off over a set time schedule. This is done for larger projects. If a payment is not made on time, the client is aware that an interest penalty will be charged. Fortunately, this has not occurred.
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