“Ed said that won’t help.”
Of course, we’d seen this firewall tactic before. We’d just never seen a firewall as flame-resistant as Edith.
“Ed said you guys had better get your act together and quick,” Edith told me quite sternly one day.
It was apparent that Ed had problems. Maybe he had cash flow issues or had a client back out of a job. Maybe he had health problems or a sick relative. But neither he nor his secretary/wife/mouthpiece ever talked honestly with us about whatever might have been the real concern. Instead, they successfully (at least for a little while) held us at bay by sending us scrambling to fill customer service holes that didn’t exist.
While being dedicated to credit policies is important to us, we know that hearing the true cause of a customer’s distress is key, too. Perhaps we can help. It’s a good thing when you help an existing customer stay in business so he can continue being your customer.
But Ed never gave us that option and eventually left us with no choice. We turned him over to our attorney who filed a lien on the job. A few weeks later, we had a check. In the end, I guess Ed thought the millwork was okay after all.
Sometimes when a customer is stonewalling, you need some help to unlock the door and get payments through. The key is to know how long to wait and how much effort to expend before calling in the locksmith.
Tad Troilo is a manager for Cranmer’s Kitchens by Design in Yardley, Pa. 215.493.8600. E-mail: TadNT@aol.com.
