How about a Deadbeat Customer List?

doug925 · Nov 11, 2008

I mean a list to NAME said deadbeats, so they cannot get any work from anybody.

Sure they ~might~ find somebody, but in the interests of protecting others, and a bit of revenge we should post'em.

Heck we expand said list to include real PITA customers, so you know when they walk in to PITA-Surcharge them

What do you think? :scratchchin:

Doug.

rj newbould · Nov 11, 2008

doug925 said:
I mean a list to NAME said deadbeats, so they cannot get any work from anybody.

Sure they ~might~ find somebody, but in the interests of protecting others, and a bit of revenge we should post'em.

Heck we expand said list to include real PITA customers, so you know when they walk in to PITA-Surcharge them

What do you think?

Doug.

Probably not a good idea. Things of that nature tend to get out of hand and some folks put in bad info just for personal revenge for something or other...

We will not get into that... Thanks anyway...

david n · Nov 11, 2008

It would be nice to put some of the deadbeats on a list here, but it would be an ugly site to behold. I know where you're coming from, I have a coulpe of dead beats of my own. I agree with RJ though. It makes for a better forum to keep things on the positive side.

doug925 · Nov 11, 2008

Oh, ok.

Thanks anyway.

Doug. [walks off mumbling] "deadbeat customers suck" :bawling:

Blue Steel · Nov 11, 2008

RJ is bang on the money about that one. BUT wouldn't it be fair to post about your experience with customers good and bad? How you spot the duds what makes you think someone is worth doing business with? Anything that sets off alarm bells with you?

One I can think of is the "mad inventor" type, who wants you to sign confidentiality agreements gives you only a bit of the whole job and thinks it should cost nothing when you have little idea what you are making and have to do a lot of work getting the bugs out of the drawing, which might just be on butchers paper.

Stephen

rj newbould · Nov 11, 2008

Blue Steel said:
RJ is bang on the money about that one. BUT wouldn't it be fair to post about your experience with customers good and bad? How you spot the duds what makes you think someone is worth doing business with? Anything that sets off alarm bells with you?

One I can think of is the "mad inventor" type, who wants you to sign confidentiality agreements gives you only a bit of the whole job and thinks it should cost nothing when you have little idea what you are making and have to do a lot of work getting the bugs out of the drawing, which might just be on butchers paper.

Stephen

That's good Steve. Just so we don't get into naming names..

Careful what you say about mad inventors though...

rj newbould · Nov 11, 2008

doug925 said:
Oh, ok.

Thanks anyway.

Doug. [walks off mumbling] "deadbeat customers suck"

They sure do... At least you can drown your sorrows on that neat beach.

Blue Steel · Nov 11, 2008

rj newbould said:
That's good Steve. Just so we don't get into naming names..

Careful what you say about mad inventors though...

Nothing mad about your inventions RJ.

Stephen

Joe D Grinder · Nov 11, 2008

Posting their names is an exellent way to network and get to know new people. Their lawyers, for instance...Joe

FlatBeltBob · Nov 12, 2008

You know who they are , and they know who they are , so leave it at that .
A while back , I posted a bad deal I had with a customer . It was very therapudic to vent to a group of my peers . I got a lot of feedback of what I should do , what I should not do , and why I was the one to screw up in the first place .
The process forced me to pause , and do nothing rash . In the end , I just kept my mouth shut and let the situation pass.
Bad Karma has a way of catching up to you . You may wind up burning other bridges you never considered .
But I admit it is fun to secretly wish they would crash & burn .

david n · Nov 12, 2008

FlatBeltBob said:
But I admit it is fun to secretly wish they would crash & burn .

I second that!

rj newbould · Nov 12, 2008

david n said:
I second that!

I third it.

Putting anecdotal experiences in here could be useful in helping others to avoid some of the pitfalls we all encounter from time to time. Just so you keep from giving positive I.D. of any kind to the negative "other side".

On the other hand, if you want to relate a positive experience, and there is no negative aspect to identifying them, then that should be fine. Spreading good words can also be helpful.

david n · Nov 12, 2008

rj newbould said:
On the other hand, if you want to relate a positive experience, and there is no negative aspect to identifying them, then that should be fine. Spreading good words can also be helpful.

Send all of your positive customer info to me in a PM! Names, numbers, and contact info would be great!

77ironhead · Nov 12, 2008

FlatBeltBob said:
But I admit it is fun to secretly wish they would crash & burn .

it's also fun to secretly help them cra........ummm.........nevermind........ :leaving:

AlleyCat · Nov 12, 2008

I had a positive experience with General Electric. It was the day I stopped doing business with them.

gary350 · Nov 12, 2008

doug925 said:
I mean a list to NAME said deadbeats, so they cannot get any work from anybody.

Sure they ~might~ find somebody, but in the interests of protecting others, and a bit of revenge we should post'em.

Heck we expand said list to include real PITA customers, so you know when they walk in to PITA-Surcharge them

What do you think?

Doug.

We had a dead beat customer once. We sent them parts then it was impossible to get them to pay. After 9 months they were still saying, the check will be in the mail today. So the next time they placed an order we did nothing. They called and wanted the parts we told them the parts will be shipped today. A week later they called we told them the parts will be shipped today. About 5 days later they called we told them the parts will be shipped today. A few days later they called we told them the parts will be shipped today. A couple days later they called in a panic, we have to have those parts our customer will sue us for stopping production lines, so then we told them to pay up now or you will never get another part from us. They sent an over night payment for past due orders plus advanced payment for the next order then we made the parts and shipped them. After that we demanded they pay first then we will make the parts.

doug925 · Nov 12, 2008

Joe D Grinder said:
Posting their names is an exellent way to network and get to know new people. Their lawyers, for instance...Joe

Joe, I am not worried. ;-)
Slander is only slander when not true!

Besides, let them sue me. They cannot pay me, their lawyers won't touch them! :rolleyes5:

3t3d · Nov 12, 2008

doug925 said:
Joe, I am not worried. ;-)
Slander is only slander when not true!

Besides, let them sue me. They cannot pay me, their lawyers won't touch them!

Not a correct assumption!!
That is the type of deadbeat that the lawyers Love!
YOU have everything to loose, they have Nothing to collect.
Who do you think the lawyers want to represent?

I had a deadbeat, that left a WIDE wake of destruction in his path. His lawyer was WAY to eager to come after me. My lawyer then explained this to me.
They openly, maliciuously stole anything they laid their hands on.
Wrote bad checks everywhere. Had a local moving company go pick up known stolen stuff.....
And had(have) a lawyer drooling, ready to represent them.

It's a crazy world out there.

david n · Nov 12, 2008

I had a customer that was always late to pay (sometimes 6 months to a year). Of course the guy just built new 4000 square foot home on 100 acres, had new Harleys and a Vette in the garage, his wife drove a new Suburban, he drove new 1 ton diesel pickup to pull his new $30,000 fishing boat to his new lake cabin. The poor guy had some big bills you know. They eventually filed bankruptcy, left me and other small shops out in the cold (some others went belly up because of this guy), kept all of their personal goodies and let the big creditors fight over the business leftovers. And here I was working full time day job of 50 hrs a week, driving a rusty 2wd Chevy pickup, buying my first home and trying to get a little machine shop going by getting paid for a $300.00 invoice. I'm just glad I learned from early mistakes and experiences, so I guess it was not all for nothing. Sometime later I get a call from the guy and he says he's back in business. I don't think I let him finish his first sentence and I hung up the phone. I'd say if a guy can't pay you, but drives a new caddy, vette or new $40000 pickup, that's the first big red flag.

moonlight machine · Nov 12, 2008

We have a customer who filed bankruptcy and left us hanging on 354,000.00 Now the bastard is using front companys to try to buy from us again..... He must thint we are stupid or something.

How about a Deadbeat Customer List?

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