Pay Your Bills.

[Fatboy]

Getting payment up-front is a great way to avoid the extra efforts.
We started a "50% to 100% payment-up-front" policy 6 months ago (except for credit-worthy clients with a great track record.) We require the other 50% upon delivery (prior to releasing the product or service.)
Our sales have increased, while our bad-debt has gone to almost zero. Also, we no longer provide "art mock-ups" or any type of design work without a payment up-front.
It took our sales team a couple weeks to get comfortable with, and they still occasionally slip (and we get burnt- but less often!) but the new mantra is "O.K., all I need is a credit card number to get started. Do you do Visa or Master Card?"
If they hesitate with the payment, we let them know they can call back when they're ready to commit. We also follow-up via email marketing. Our entire company has improved in efficiency and profitability since going with the payment program.
Thanks,
Chris

To me this is one of the best all time reply s on signs101. This sorts all the hassle out one time!

 

[rjssigns]

awffle house...snicker, snort, guffaw. you made my day.

 

[Ponto]

Years ago I had a friend who sold a simple 50.00 paper sign for a bar.
Took the order over phone... no deposit.

Guy never came to pick it up. My friend decides to go over with the sign.
Arrives... barmaid says he's not there so she can't pay. She gets boss on
phone and hands the phone to friend.

Guy says he's not paying because he doesn't need it anymore. Friend says
be a gentleman and pay something for his trouble. Guy says OK I'll give you half. Barmaid gets phone back and is told to pay half. She pays.......

Friend gets money.... unrolls it out to show her the sign and tears it in half.
He hands her half the sign and says, tell your boss when he pays the rest he can have the rest of the sign.

I still laugh everytime I think of it.

:ROFLMAO:....fair is fair.............

JP

 

[CES020]

I don't think you'll have any legal issues, Freddie moved on to the food bank

 

[visual800]

I will repo til the day Im no longer working because sometimes its ALL that works! Its all that some people understand. No other way seems to get to them like taking their stuff

I dont care if its right or wrong. I dont care if its against the law. laws are BS and rules were made to be broken. personally I would be embarassed if someon repoes anything from me because of non payment

 

[Stuckup]

No I didn't say that. I'm a fair person that's been screwed a few too many times. I have nothing to do with website development. But if you want to screw me, you better hope I don't own MY domain.

Screams you are a HELPER, A Hoper, but very very not weak.

 

[ukads]

The domain registration issues are no longer a problem for most businesses. Too many developers were doing what this guy was and trying to hold the domain hostage, so they developed a way for a business to prove who they are and get the ownership changed.

As for the payment problems, we're just getting into the signage side of things, but I can say without a doubt that my wife's business is one of the worst. She owns a bakery, so if she doesn't get payment up front, the product is, quite literally, GONE after that, making it hard to collect.

 

[GB2]

Ok, I've been hesitant to post this because I know this type of behavior is against popular opinion, hinging on unethical, and in some areas illegal.. and I don't want this to become a debate (we have some lengthy and creative attorney approved legalese on our paperwork that lets us get away with repo's). Anyway, the picture is way more fun than the story so I will leave it at that. I want this thread to be something to laugh about, because I know most of us wish we could do this kind of stuff, but most of us also know better.

Would you mind sharing the paperwork that supposedly allows you to do such a thing?

 

[OlsonSigns601]

Old thread revived..... wondering how it worked out now.

Did they pay? Did you get in trouble with the law?

 

[lexsigns]

In my 28 yrs in the biz I have done repo 2x- Once was a hand painted lettering job on a truck back in the 80's. I did a covert opperation in the middle of the night with a can of easy off. Never got paid but they didnt get to keep the lettering either never heard a word about it.

Other was a few years back- did a bunch of vans for a guy who owed me about 800.00 for a long time. Checks kept bouncing etc. Brought one here and left it for changes. I locked it in my shop and when he came to get it I wouldn't let him in w/o cash for what he owed me. Called my laywer , police and all legal !! garage keepers lien The guy went ballistic trying to break windows screaming and yelling and called the cops trying to get me arrested. They laughed at him him threw him off my property... they waited and he came back with cash and I released the van. He was still threatening to kill me so had to go get a restraining order... funny enough they wouldnt give me one even though the cops heard him threaten me because I hadn't had sexual relations... go figgure- I told them he *uckd me- wasnt that the same thing??? LOL!

 

[mtygabriel]

That was awfully funny!!

It was gutsy to take that sign down and still put up another one. The law and all that works both ways. A small business person who can't pay or won't pay for a sign probably can't pay or won't pay an attorney $1k just like that. So the gamble sometimes pays off when you gotta do what you gotta do!