Right ladies and gents, gather around please. If you have ever had to chase customers for money, you will have heard all the excuses under the sun. Not only excuses, you will have also heard most of the following and wondered what is the best way to respond that ensures you keep the upper hand whilst also getting your money. Wonder no more- here are our suggested responses to the top 5 FHDR (Frequently Heard Debtor Responses)-
Them: “Do what you’ve gotta do”
You: “I certainly will but I would rather work with you and avoid that because it may involve further action and further costs being added, which if things are tough is probably the last thing either of us want”.
Them: “You will get paid when I get paid”
You: “Ah we are in the same boat then, I am pleased you can see this from my perspective but I guarantee if your customer said that to you, you would say it’s not your problem, so please just let me know how much you can pay today as a show of good faith and I will be happy to wait another week”
Them: “Call me back, I am driving”
You: “Ok fair enough, but this is really urgent and there is something I want to run past you, so please if you can pull over now so we can discuss I am happy to hold”.
Them: “I’m not paying so send in the debt collectors, I don’t care”
You: “That is an option I am considering but I would much rather work with you and understand exactly what it is that you aren’t happy with so I can try and help”
Them: “You can’t get blood out of a stone”
You: “You can’t, I completely agree, so if things are tough let’s look at an affordable payment arrangement so they don’t get worse, how do you feel about $100 a week?”.