Tammy Adams
Credit Manager, Economy Lumber, Campbell, Calif.
“I try to work with everybody,” says Tammy Adams of Economy Lumber. “We’re sort of in this boat together.”
If a customer is behind, Adams is willing to negotiate and keep the customer on track before taking strong measures.
“As long as they are working with us, and we’re trading dollars, we give them a chance to catch up,” Adams explains. For instance, if a customer continues to order materials, Adams will continue to take new payments and place it against the past due amount –hence, trading dollars–rather than forcing the customer into a COD agreement for new materials only.
“It gives them a chance to complete the next job and get paid for the job and pay us,” says Adams.
However, the credit manager at Economy Lumber occasionally gets the customer who just doesn’t want to work with the company and doesn’t cooperate. In those cases, Adams has discovered a new tactic that seems to be pretty effective in the Golden State.
Adams contacts the bond firm that holds the contractor’s license: the California Contractors State License Board, a division of the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs.
In California, contractors without a license are not allowed to perform large jobs. The license is designed to protect the homeowner or home buyer, but in this case it can benefit the materials supplier.
“What I’ve been doing is contacting the bond holder, or the board, so I can file a claim for non-payment of materials,” Adams says.
In the last few months, she has contacted the board nine times and collected past-due amounts seven times. The exceptions were two contractors who filed for bankruptcy.
“The rest paid up or made agreements to pay,” Adams says.
If the payments are not made, the license is suspended, with the contractor being notified by the licensing board. According to Adams, that’s when panic sets in for the contractor.
“They are actually starting to know me [at the license board],” Adams says.
