Do the business owners here give preferential treatment to customers who pay quickly?

[JDgreen227]

When the heating/ac service company we have used since 1993 got our service request yesterday, they were busy as heck because of the heat wave, yet they had a serviceman here less than TWO HOURS after our call, and that guy needed a minimum of one-half hour's drive to get here. When I complimented him on the quick response he told me his employer had flagged our request as "priority" although it wasn't an emergency, because we have always paid the bills from them promptly, either in cash the same day service was requested or if the amount was large, we paid them by check immediately upon being billed, usually within one day of getting the bill. I recall one time back in 2003, the post office had returned our envelope containing the check we had mailed to them as being "undeliverable" because the postal service had ruined the address on the envelope and I drove the half hour to their heating/ac business office the next day to hand them the check for $4200 personally. The owner told me he had NEVER had something like that happen, and gave me a tour of their facilities and introduced me to the staff I didn't already know.

Got to thinking....do the small business owners here also give priority treatment to the customers who are prompt in paying their bills?

 

[joemd11]

Now that is what I call service. Wish more places followed that philosophy.

 

[joemd11]

Forgot to ask. What was the problem?

 

[Artisan]

"Existing" Clients go to the head of the line. Indeed repeat clients
reap, at times, huge benefits. All repeat customers get a least one
free call ocassionally. If they call w/ a 2 minute job I will say hello,
I say goodby and tell them to call me when they have a real problem.

I reserve the right to change all rules at anytime as well. I have done
jobs free for those in need more times then I can count. That is a
feeling that is worth much more than a check...:horseshoe:

 

[ruren]

Definitely. I have gone out of my way to accomodate good customers because it is worth having them come back, and told the guy that took 90 days to pay I was too busy to take on his project (and always will be).

I have also found the people that care about treating my business fairly are also the ones that bring other good customers around by word of mouth and are worth a bit more work to keep them happy. The ones that don't want to pay you generally are the ones that will talk bad about you no matter what.

 

[brain55]

Absolutely, my best customer who not only is 30% of my business also writes a check on the spot without questioning my invoices. I will nearly stop everything if they call with a problem. I have also begun rewarding same day payers with a 10% discount. Cash flow is so important for me as a sole-proprietor I try to avoid charging parts when possible. I have a customer that I would like to do more work for but they are owned by an out of state management company and they take six weeks to pay, needless to say I don't jump for them.

Brian

 

[2manyrocks]

Quick paying customers that are reasonable to work with get priority service from me. Customers who can't be pleased are welcome to go elsewhere.

 

[Western]

Quick paying customers that are reasonable to work with get priority service from me. Customers who can't be pleased are welcome to go elsewhere.

Ditto for me! I like when they pay promptly as they expect me to work "promptley

 

[bigtiller]

I have offered my HVAC guy cash on the spot with a little bonus but he would rather send me a bill a month later. That way, if there is an issue with the repair he can deal with it and only have to do the paper work once.

My tractor dealer needs a day or so to add up the bill so it gets mailed also. It's kind of hard to get a cash discount around here.

 

[Dadof3]

Be patriotic. Fight income redistribution. Limit yourself to cash transactions.