The following is my submission to NACM’s “Most Memorable Credit Experience” writing contest. The winners were announced today and inexplicably, my entry did not make the top three. I can’t imagine how anyone topped this. The articles will be published next month so we’ll wait and see. Until then, you be the judge. It's a true story.
My Most Memorable Credit Experience
Tom, not his real name, was a concrete contractor with a penchant for beer. He was known to have an impressive monument to Bud in the form of his discarded empties piled in his yard. It was said that he started drinking at dawn, about the time of his first pour, the term for a ready mix concrete delivery. Often, Tom came to my office and offered me a beer because, he said, he did not care to drink alone.
I was the credit manager for one of Tom’s few remaining concrete suppliers. He paid most of his bills in cash for fear that if he deposited money into a bank, previous creditors would claim the funds. We sold Tom strictly on a “job basis”, meaning every sale was secured with lien rights and we arranged for joint checks with the general contractor beforehand.
On one particular job, Tom’s concrete bill was about $20,000 and for some reason, the general contractor was not paying. I threatened to file a lien. The general offered to pay for the material if we sent him copies of the invoices. I had no objection to this request, since, if the claim went to foreclosure, the general contractor would get them anyway through discovery and he was, after all, willing to pay.
Tom balked because he did not want the general contractor to know what he was paying for concrete and our general manager agreed. All this did was delay payment further. Finally, after a few weeks of back and forth negotiations, Tom consented to surrendering the invoices. I sent them off and followed up with the general contractor for a payment date.
Tom grew more and more impatient with my collection efforts. His efforts, of course, were going nowhere and I assumed his performance on the job was behind the general contractor’s reluctance to pay in the first place. Finally, as my lien time was nearing a deadline, I received word from the general contractor that I could pick up a check.
That same morning, just as I was making final arrangements with the general contractor, Tom came into my office. It was a little before nine in the morning and he was already swaying. He said, “Come on, let’s go get our @#%* money.” I saw a revolver in his hand. It looked like something Gary Cooper carried in “High Noon.” I was dumbstruck and seconds from bolting from the office.
A drunk with a gun was no way to start the day. Our salesman and I told Tom to sit down and stay put. I assured him that I was just leaving to see the general contractor and I’d be back with a joint check, shortly. The general contractor’s office was only fifteen minutes away. As I pulled into a parking space in front of his office, I saw Tom’s pick up parking next to mine. I told Tom; again, to sit still, I’d be right back with the check. It would take just a few minutes. I went inside and asked to see the general contractor.
Sometime within the hour or so that I’d made the deal with the general contractor and the time I arrived at his office, the general contractor had a change of heart. Rather than pay the entire $20,000, he wanted to pay only $15,000. We were going to have to negotiate.
The general contractor had no real basis for taking a $5,000 deduction and I still had lien rights. After about twenty minutes of haggling, the general contractor conceded and instructed a clerk to prepare a check for the entire amount. During all of this, Tom was waiting in his truck, probably refreshing himself with more beer. The general contractor complained of Tom’s behavior over the last few weeks. He said Tom had threatened to shoot him if he didn't pay. I suggested that it may not have been an idle threat.
As we waited for the check, Tom strolled in and approached us as if we were associates he recognized in a restaurant. I started looking for a hiding place beneath the desk. Tom looked at me and asked if everything was okay. I told him that we were just waiting for the check and I’d be out soon. I did not see a revolver in his paw. Tom said, “Okay then.” He turned and left.
“Do you think he’s armed?” The general contractor asked. I nodded and said he probably was. He went to his clerk and asked her to hurry up with the check. A few minutes later I was back out in the parking lot with the joint check for the full amount in hand. Tom signed it off and he drove from the lot, hurrying off to his next job. That’s the problem with job basis selling, I thought, you’ll sell to just about anybody.
Tom, not his real name, was a concrete contractor with a penchant for beer. He was known to have an impressive monument to Bud in the form of his discarded empties piled in his yard. It was said that he started drinking at dawn, about the time of his first pour, the term for a ready mix concrete delivery. Often, Tom came to my office and offered me a beer because, he said, he did not care to drink alone.
I was the credit manager for one of Tom’s few remaining concrete suppliers. He paid most of his bills in cash for fear that if he deposited money into a bank, previous creditors would claim the funds. We sold Tom strictly on a “job basis”, meaning every sale was secured with lien rights and we arranged for joint checks with the general contractor beforehand.
On one particular job, Tom’s concrete bill was about $20,000 and for some reason, the general contractor was not paying. I threatened to file a lien. The general offered to pay for the material if we sent him copies of the invoices. I had no objection to this request, since, if the claim went to foreclosure, the general contractor would get them anyway through discovery and he was, after all, willing to pay.
Tom balked because he did not want the general contractor to know what he was paying for concrete and our general manager agreed. All this did was delay payment further. Finally, after a few weeks of back and forth negotiations, Tom consented to surrendering the invoices. I sent them off and followed up with the general contractor for a payment date.
Tom grew more and more impatient with my collection efforts. His efforts, of course, were going nowhere and I assumed his performance on the job was behind the general contractor’s reluctance to pay in the first place. Finally, as my lien time was nearing a deadline, I received word from the general contractor that I could pick up a check.
That same morning, just as I was making final arrangements with the general contractor, Tom came into my office. It was a little before nine in the morning and he was already swaying. He said, “Come on, let’s go get our @#%* money.” I saw a revolver in his hand. It looked like something Gary Cooper carried in “High Noon.” I was dumbstruck and seconds from bolting from the office.
A drunk with a gun was no way to start the day. Our salesman and I told Tom to sit down and stay put. I assured him that I was just leaving to see the general contractor and I’d be back with a joint check, shortly. The general contractor’s office was only fifteen minutes away. As I pulled into a parking space in front of his office, I saw Tom’s pick up parking next to mine. I told Tom; again, to sit still, I’d be right back with the check. It would take just a few minutes. I went inside and asked to see the general contractor.
Sometime within the hour or so that I’d made the deal with the general contractor and the time I arrived at his office, the general contractor had a change of heart. Rather than pay the entire $20,000, he wanted to pay only $15,000. We were going to have to negotiate.
The general contractor had no real basis for taking a $5,000 deduction and I still had lien rights. After about twenty minutes of haggling, the general contractor conceded and instructed a clerk to prepare a check for the entire amount. During all of this, Tom was waiting in his truck, probably refreshing himself with more beer. The general contractor complained of Tom’s behavior over the last few weeks. He said Tom had threatened to shoot him if he didn't pay. I suggested that it may not have been an idle threat.
As we waited for the check, Tom strolled in and approached us as if we were associates he recognized in a restaurant. I started looking for a hiding place beneath the desk. Tom looked at me and asked if everything was okay. I told him that we were just waiting for the check and I’d be out soon. I did not see a revolver in his paw. Tom said, “Okay then.” He turned and left.
“Do you think he’s armed?” The general contractor asked. I nodded and said he probably was. He went to his clerk and asked her to hurry up with the check. A few minutes later I was back out in the parking lot with the joint check for the full amount in hand. Tom signed it off and he drove from the lot, hurrying off to his next job. That’s the problem with job basis selling, I thought, you’ll sell to just about anybody.
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