SELF HELP Before giving up part of your hard earned profits to an attorney or collection agent it is probably a good idea to go through some internal procedures of your own. If you have established no such procedures then do something similar to the following: It is possible that the late payment is either an oversight or customer who is unhappy with your product or service. Open lines of communication by having someone with your company contact the customer via telephone to determine if a problem exists with the product or service. This is usually most effective if the person from your company is at least of equal rank but preferably of higher rank than the person being called. These calls are seldom effective if a minimum wage clerk is calling the president of the debtor firm. If the debtor firm’s president is being called, then you need to have president call president. Confirm any conversations in writing and give the delinquent customer a "way out". Do not beat him/her up over the delinquency. Try to find ways for them to save face and reputation with your firm by paying the debt. Without being overbearing, set a date certain for compliance. If these efforts are successful you will not only have saved an account receivable, you will also have saved a customer. The old adage of "you can catch more flies with honey, than with vinegar" was never more true than when dealing with collection problems. If these efforts are not successful, pull the file together for that particular client and forward it to James M. Bright.

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