Credit Management October 2018

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BEST PRACTICE Door Knocking and the White Rabbit A series of whimsical anecdotes of collecting debts in unusual scenarios. AUTHOR – Derek Scott FCICM IN previous articles I have stressed how important I believe face-to-face contact is in relation to trade credit. In a past life they generally came under the banner of ‘door knocking’, but this would relate more to consumer credit cold calls. Generally speaking, more substantial meetings would be formally arranged. Simply turning up at a major customer’s reception was unlikely to yield a positive result. Some cold calls resulted in similar problems that I experienced when dealing with dogs, pigs and donkeys. Locations could also be interesting – sweet shops, hair salons, and even a row of beach huts. One rather unusual location was the famous Pinewood Studios where we provided scaffolding to support parts of the set for a major blockbuster. Unable to get a positive response regarding our debt, a senior credit controller and I travelled to the studio, and after lengthy discussions with the majority of the crew, we were eventually granted permission to speak with the producer in between scenes. He initially pleaded poverty but claimed new funds would soon be available. We were eventually paid £1,000 per week, which our credit controller had to personally collect from the film’s accountant at the studio. The entertainment field provided me with quite a few payment problems over the years and some very interesting locations. I recall two particular cold calls that I made which were different in every way, but had a similarly satisfactory outcome. One of the first calls I made after being sent to work in Scotland just weeks after starting a new role, was to visit a pest control company for whom we had supplied an internal scaffold in a church. We arrived at a dilapidated block of rented offices and entered a dark and dingy room that a few desks and chairs aside, seemed empty. Suddenly a door at the back of the office swung open and a large man emerged. There were no pleasantries exchanged and he was rather rude and lacked any form of courtesy. I diplomatically explained the reason for our visit to which he was not at all receptive, and became even more hostile. At this stage I was a bit concerned things could turn ugly and even had flashbacks to my days as a junior boxer in case I needed to remember some of my old skills. However, the situation soon turned drastically in the right direction, as the branch manager who accompanied me salvaged the situation and the man agreed to make payment. How did this happen? Well, the branch manager suddenly began to recognise the face of the man in front of us. It turned out the pair knew each other from school and had played youth football together. The frosty and difficult exchange quickly changed to smiles and sharing childhood tales, and we left with our cheque. It shows you can never tell what will happen when you go ‘knocking’. Very few ended quite so amicably. The second story involves cold calls on Public Utilities, which was always interesting. I actually found that simply turning up to a local council office was particularly successful, and managed to clear a number of debts this way. On one occasion, I was struggling to get in contact with a senior council engineer who seemingly never responded to either letters or phone calls. The issue was in relation to a scaffold on a bridge over the Thames where a considerable amount of our equipment had been damaged or lost. When I arrived at his offices, the engineer was quite happy to see me, although claimed he’d been simply too busy to deal with this particular issue. I explained the issue in great detail and pointed out that the invoices were now three months old and required prompt action. He nodded in agreement and then stared at his watch. He then took me by surprise by informing me that he wanted to visit the site and stressed he wouldn’t be able to resolve the matter without compiling a report, and that would need to include a site visit. I drove the engineer to the bridge who spent so much of the journey looking at his watch, I became certain he was related to the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. We arrived at the bridge and stood solemnly and silently for a few minutes before the engineer again looked at his watch, and then glanced across at a nearby riverside hostelry. He agreed to authorise the invoices on the basis that I bought him a spot of lunch before returning to the office. Perhaps it proves just how important timing is when turning up to a customer’s doors. It was not the first or last lunch I would be hustled into paying for, but it was the only one where I thought the Mad Hatter and The Dormouse might join us at any moment! Derek Scott is a freelance business writer. The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / October 2018 / PAGE 52
Membership Benefits CICM membership gives you access to all of these benefits Credit Management magazine National and regional events Knowledge Hub Qualifications and training Professional letters after your name Branches around the country Industry resources Monthly e-newsletter Webinars Mentor Hub Recruitment Hub Monthly technical brief Networking and collaboration including social media Legal, insolvency and business advice lines Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Benefits that keep you informed, help you in your work and support your professional development For details visit www.cicm.com, call us on 01780 722900, or email cicmmembership@cicm.com The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / October 2018 / PAGE 53
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Page 3 and 4: OCTOBER 2018 www.cicm.com 12 FROM T
Page 5 and 6: The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.
Page 7 and 8: ICO urges greater transparency in m
Page 9 and 10: CICMQ serves up a treat ONE of the
Page 11 and 12: INSOLVENCY Company rescue Has the G
Page 13 and 14: 3 YEARS IN 2018 Credit Controller A
Page 15 and 16: OPINION Such an increase in commerc
Page 17 and 18: TOWN & COUNTRY Exclusive statistics
Page 19 and 20: European Business Awards Sponsored
Page 21 and 22: OPINION Rob Donaldson, Head of Corp
Page 23 and 24: OPINION AUTHOR - Chris Sanders FCIC
Page 25 and 26: Stalemate -aposition counting as ad
Page 27 and 28: Due to changing factors, landowners
Page 29 and 30: TRADE TALK DEEP IMPACT Planning for
Page 31 and 32: THERE'S a lot of talk in the market
Page 33 and 34: COUNTRY FOCUS AUTHOR - Adam Bernste
Page 35 and 36: n 2.1 q East Midlands 2.5 q London
Page 37 and 38: FROM THE ARCHIVE Credit Management
Page 39 and 40: SPEED UP YOUR AML SERVICEWITH SMART
Page 41 and 42: A Credit Manager walks into a bar
Page 43 and 44: OPINION AUTHOR - Peter Walker infor
Page 45 and 46: EDUCATION - LEARN ONLINE First step
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Page 49 and 50: CICM KNOWLEDGE HUB Access over 1,00
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Credit Management October 2018

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