Missing vital signs

This week I’ve been inspired by two things that happened to me, the first quite serious the second not so, just annoying.

I had the pleasure in visiting a valued housing association client this week and met a charming lady, who for the purpose of this blog shall be known as Jane. Jane while only in her mid twenties is a very experienced collections officer and even though they have been a client for some time this was the first time we had met, we seemed to be getting on like old friends. My mistake was to forget the rules about what should and shouldn’t be discuss with a client if you don’t know each other well. As I said we seemed to be getting on really well, so much so that I said that if she was ever to leave her current employer I would want her to work for Deanem. Towards the end of our conversation, I mentioned the analogy between losing your virginity and becoming a credit controller. For those who follow my blog or who have heard me speak, will know the story. I left the meeting feeling that if I was lucky Jane could eventually come and work for Deanem Collections working on sales & collections. You can imagine my surprise when later I received a phone call from one of her bosses telling me that they felt that I had acted inappropriately towards Jane and that they were very unhappy. My only defence was to offer an immediate apology and explain that had I realised that the story was inappropriate I would not have said it. Obviously in this case I didn't read or see the signs that said I was crossing a line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and can only hope that this episode will not sour relations between my company and client.

The second incident happened this morning, I was taking part in a 40 mile charity bike ride for The North London Hospice. The Hospice, like all hospices it provides vital care and relief to both those who are suffering with terminal illness and their family. The event was well organised and attended with 190 cyclists taking part. The problem came after about 5 miles when there was some confusion as to the direction signs (or lack of) and you had the sight of a group of cyclists stopping to consult a map before moving on. At around 12 miles there was a fork in the road and the direction marker indicated that the riders should take the right fork. Unfortunately, this was a sign for an earlier ride which had not been taken down! This road took the riders up and down a testing course for a further 10 miles when once again all were seemingly lost. It was only when we checked the map that it dawned on us that the road we had been on ran parallel to the road we should have been on. By this stage, due to a sore back I decided to follow the map and head back to the start. What should have been fairly simple but challenging ride was made harder by the fact that a large number of the direction signs had been removed during the night. Once again by not seeing the correct signs I took a wrong turning and spoiled what should have been a fabulous and testing ride.

I can hear you asking what has the above got to do with credit control and debt collection, the answer is, it is about seeing and understanding signs. The skill of a credit controller or debt collector is the abilty to be able to srecognise the signs of when a debtor is or isn't telling the truth. Over the years I have lost count of the number of times a debtor will say “They dispute the debt”. When questioned, the dispute generally is down to either the over selling and under performing by our client or the debtor not having the money to pay what they owe. Occasionally, the debtor will have a genuine reason for not paying due to shoddy workmanship etc. I’m very fortunate in that my collectors are very experienced men & women whose life & business experience enables them to quickly work out if the debtor has a genuine grievance or just playing for time.

As a tip, if your debtor ever says they are not paying an invoice, ask them why? If it’s a genuine reason for say for poor quality goods or poor service and you agree with their assessment, offer them a discount or reduce the price on their next order. I’ve found that if the grievance is genuine and you can address it, not only will the client appreciate the gesture they are more likely to reorder from you. However if the debtor is playing for time you are left with only two options, you can either continue to press them to pay or pass the account to a third party debt collection agency, such as Deanem Collections. The agency should be able collect the debt without upsetting the relationship you would like to enjoy with your client.

If you would like to know more about the work of David or Deanem Collections please visit our website or if you prefer send an email to david@deanemcollections.co.uk