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Lorrainelovesplants



Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 8:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Awwwww..........Im a sweetie.........ask anyone who's met me.

I can just be....persuasive

and persistent




and loud

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:
Awwwww..........Im a sweetie.........ask anyone who's met me.

I can just be....persuasive

and persistent




and loud


Ah Stubbornness - one of the Seven Deadly Virtues

(I should know!)

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

So sad: a beautifully talented friend of mine has just announced that she's decided to take a 'proper job' as she can't take the stress of waiting for people to pay (or not...) for costume they've ordered, had made to measure and then decided not to buy.

The world is poorer as her talent will now be stifled in an office, and all because a few selfish or stupid people couldn't or wouldn't pay what they owed.

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I suspect there's more to it than just non-payers, as she could put a system in place to rectify that, but the pressure on small business is huge right now, every payment counts. You can never underestimate what a difference the security of a wage brings, even if there's a chance there of your job being taken away, out of your control, at least when you're working the money is coming in regularly and predictably.

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Rob R wrote:
I suspect there's more to it than just non-payers.


Yes there is, but non-payers are the worst part of the problem. (I simplified it for posting on a public forum!)

I didn't bother mentioning weather, cancelled events, recession, difficulty/cost of getting hold of materials, increased utility bills etc. etc. as I assumed that most people would realise that the the problem was more complex than I put in one short post!

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Midland Spinner wrote:
Rob R wrote:
I suspect there's more to it than just non-payers.


Yes there is, but non-payers are the worst part of the problem. (I simplified it for posting on a public forum!)

I didn't bother mentioning weather, cancelled events, recession, difficulty/cost of getting hold of materials, increased utility bills etc. etc. as I assumed that most people would realise that the the problem was more complex than I put in one short post!


I mean non-payers are relatively easy to rectify, compared to all the others things. You can charge interest, take deposits or payment up front, not take work from persistent offenders, etc. That may be the excuse she is making for the decision but I doubt it's the biggest problem overall.

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You are right of course Rob, the main cause is the general lack of customers at all because what she makes are non-essential garments so they go to the back of the spending queue.

But when some of the few customers you have then default (despite your best efforts) it's stressful, demoralising and ultimately unsupportable because there are bills to pay.

eta. and in that business you can't afford 'persistent offenders' - one strike and you are out (unfortunately I believe that some of the defaulters are "friends" of hers and are taking advantage of her friendship to default.)

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Midland Spinner wrote:
So sad: a beautifully talented friend of mine has just announced that she's decided to take a 'proper job' as she can't take the stress of waiting for people to pay (or not...) for costume they've ordered, had made to measure and then decided not to buy.


I think people should be quicker to litigate: https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
It is not difficult, and I would expect that in many cases, a pre-action letter which points out the added costs will likely achieve results.

yummersetter



Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

yummersetter wrote:
That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.


Or if what you supply is non-essential or luxury they can easily decide to do without.

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Midland Spinner wrote:
yummersetter wrote:
That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.


Or if what you supply is non-essential or luxury they can easily decide to do without.


So you are faced with the choice of losing a customer because you don't want to deal with someone who doesn't pay, and losing a customer because they are upset that you went to court.

I know I am a bit odd, but I am not finding any difficulty in choosing.

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

yummersetter wrote:
That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.


Providing you have a steady flow of debtors that should provide a steady cashflow. The only time it becomes a problem is when you've either got no working capital or when the late payer is an anomaly in an otherwise tight cashflow.

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hairyloon wrote:
Midland Spinner wrote:
yummersetter wrote:
That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.


Or if what you supply is non-essential or luxury they can easily decide to do without.


So you are faced with the choice of losing a customer because you don't want to deal with someone who doesn't pay, and losing a customer because they are upset that you went to court.

I know I am a bit odd, but I am not finding any difficulty in choosing.


A customer is only an asset if they pay (it must be something about seamstresses, I've been telling my mum for years that she needs to not treat everyone the same and up the prices for the late payers - if you're going to have to wait for the money, make it worth waiting for!).

Perhaps she should turn her hand to repairs and alterations as the luxury market dries up & repairs are a little more cost effective against buying new.

Midland Spinner



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Rob R wrote:
Hairyloon wrote:
Midland Spinner wrote:
yummersetter wrote:
That depends where the power lies - if the slow-paying customer has a host of suppliers to chose from and can easily drop you off the list, and you need their orders to stay in business, aggressive tactics can put you out of business far quicker that a month or two's wait for payment.


Or if what you supply is non-essential or luxury they can easily decide to do without.


So you are faced with the choice of losing a customer because you don't want to deal with someone who doesn't pay, and losing a customer because they are upset that you went to court.

I know I am a bit odd, but I am not finding any difficulty in choosing.


A customer is only an asset if they pay (it must be something about seamstresses, I've been telling my mum for years that she needs to not treat everyone the same and up the prices for the late payers - if you're going to have to wait for the money, make it worth waiting for!).

Perhaps she should turn her hand to repairs and alterations as the luxury market dries up & repairs are a little more cost effective against buying new.



1) It's up to my friend, I was only commenting in a general way - trying to highlight the plight of creativity in a recession. This isn't about my business (we don't usually take commissions - we make things & sell them, which is different and has its own issues).

2) I meant that if you aggressively chase one customer for defaulting it may well put off other possible customers who probably only hear half the story. in my experience, the ones that don't pay have the loudest voices & the most elastic memories about who said what.

3) Repairs & alterations would be just as stifling to creativity imho and not as well paid as a 'proper job'. I understand her choice to take a job, I'm just sad that selfish people have led her to it by choosing to order stuff & then not completing their part of the deal.

yummersetter



Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 12 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hairyloon wrote:
So you are faced with the choice of losing a customer because you don't want to deal with someone who doesn't pay, and losing a customer because they are upset that you went to court.

I know I am a bit odd, but I am not finding any difficulty in choosing.


I didn't say anything about customers who don't pay. I wrote about customers who pay within two months. Just to restate, that is the usual time taken for the majority of UK professional businesses where the only people who pay immediately are the general public. And yes, after 27 years of running my company I have enough 'late' payments coming in to pay my suppliers within two months. Your reputation is important, and if you start chucking court writs and retaliation about people will only use your company if it is unique for an essential supply.

When we first started business we bought supplies on our credit cards and thought we'd be paid on delivery of our photographic shoots. Our first client looked at our cash sale invoice and my outstretched hand and said ' I'll pay you this once but I'll never use you again, this is unprofessional.' And although we were business neighbours for 25 years, he didn't. I work for companies like the BBC and the national press and they make it very clear that you don't set the terms, they do.

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