Friday, July 27, 2007

Client From Hell ...

I haven't posted anything in quite a while (well, 3 days is quite awhile for me anyway ...) It's been partly because of my workload and the other part is because I'm such a lazy pig at times :) I've been so lazy that I've even neglect my running for close to 4 days now, well, it's also due to the rainy evenings we've been experiencing in my area. I could just run in the rain, I have no qualms about it, but it's the lighting accompanying the rain that frightens me! I guess I'm gonna have to step up my training from tomorrow (today cannot la in case you're wondering, need to do grocery shopping with the wifey, who knows maybe can get those 'almost-free' longans again ... hehehe).

I actually have no idea what to post right now. I wanted to bitch about this client I have who gave me grief a couple of days ago, but my anger with this particular client has subsided. I'm a person who seldom loses my temper, if and when I do, I usually cool down pretty fast (like maybe in a couple of minutes ... hehehe).

Well, since I'm on the subject of anger, I might as well rant about what happened with this client I mentioned about. I have this client (duh), a public listed company (I shall not name names for fear of being sued!) and all that. We're one of the Agencies on their panel. We do quite a lot of work for them, have been for the past two years or so. They expect a lot from us, in terms of creativity, concepts, costings, delivery, time lines etc. As a professional (we'd like to think we are anyway ... hehehe), we often go out of our way to accommodate their requests. I personally had to work till the wee hours of morning when we were doing their annual report making sure everything was completed on time. Had weeks of sleepless nights and all that (to the point my wife was complaining ... ).

So, the other day I called them to ask about outstanding payments (which is quite a bit by the way), some even dating back to September of last year. I called the accounts department and asked in a polite and friendly way about whether there was any cheques ready for us. Boy, was I ever not prepared for the response I got. She went in this loud, unwomanly, irritated, shrieky voice 'NO, NO PAYMENT LA, DON'T CALL ME' and hung up the phone! Who am I supposed to call if not the accounts department? I was speechless for a whole 30 seconds (which is an eternity for a blabbermouth like me).

For a while there I thought we owed her money or something cos from the tone of her voice it sure seemed like it. Then when I finally recovered I was totally boiling from rage. I mean, here I was just inquiring politely about our payment status and I got treated like shit! Hey woman, your company owes us tons of money, the least you could do was reply politely that the cheque wasn't ready, how hard is that? I didn't dare call her back to give her a piece of my mind cos I know I would have said some very nasty (maybe even vulgar) things to her. I was that mad!

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth going through all the trouble for clients who in the end have no respect whatsoever for the individual or the Agency. I treat all my clients with the utmost respect (after all they are what pays the bills for me). I never say no when they ask for something to be done within impossible deadlines. I personally go out of my way to get things done and I'll always find a way somehow to make it work for them (by harassing my suppliers no less ... hehehe). Even my wife complains that I baby them too much. Maybe I should just be nasty to them ... then again, I can never be nasty. It's just so not me. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to put up with the crap they throw at me.

But all that said and done, I'm not letting that accounts lady off the hook so easily, the next time I call her for payment which will be next week, I'll be much more prepared and I have a 'nice' response ready for her ... muahahahahaha ... I'll let you guys know how that went ;)

16 comments:

  1. That girl has not attended customer service courses, that's why la. She could have at least made excuses like the boss hasn't signed the cheque cos he ran away with the cleaner or something ... hehehe.

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  2. I encounter such pple before at my ex company. Owe money still can shout at us over the phone... #%^&^*^*(...... Opssss... sorry.....getting a bit pissed off there ;)

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  3. I have the same problem with being way too nice to people who don't deserve it.

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  4. Ah, the infamous deadbeat customer. We all get these people. A few months back I had a problem with one that refused to pay for some custom software I provided because he "hadn't installed it yet".

    Man ... if I could get away with saying this to Microsoft or other big companies, I'd have stacks of CDs and DVDs with software I "haven't installed" :P

    I hope you don't get too many customers like this. People are generally decent, but it's customers like this that make you wonder why we try so hard.

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  5. I really hate it when that sort of thing happens, collecting the money is not the fun part of earning it, as you well know.
    Good luck with the folow up call!
    Cheers!

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  6. People can be really rude! You are doing your job and your right they owe your company money! Boo on her! Let's hope she was just having a very bad day! I am totally still trying to find a longren! Hope this finds you and the family well! Take care and don't let the hateful people get ya down!

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  7. Sweetiepie, ran away with the cleaner? now that's an original one :) Hmm, maybe I'll use that the next time my suppliers chase us for payments ... LOL! Yeah, she seriously should attend a course on some heavy duty manners!!!

    Janice - Actually most my my other clients are pretty decent when it comes to payments, except this particular @#$%@*&! client!!

    Wolfgang - Doesn't that tell us something? Not to be too nice to people anymore ... but then that would be stooping down to their level but that's just so not me.

    Jason - Now that is the best excuse I ever heard for non-payment of goods. LOL!

    Knicksgrl0917 - &^$%#@&*!

    Lavender - Oh, I'm gonna harass her for payment every other day until she is so fed up of me, she'll break down and give me my money ... LOL!

    Barrett - Actually it's people who owe us things that can be so rude. The thing is her company owes us money as far back as last year and they still have the cheek to be so rude!!!

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  8. Blow the bastards up!

    Greetings from Singapore!

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  9. Hui Sen my friend. That is an excellent idea. Now, how the heck do I even start to begin with blowing the @#%$!@%'s up? LOL!

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  10. I freaking hate these people who owe us money, yet treat us like WE are the ones owing them!

    They were all nice and smily when they took stuff but when it comes to payment, OMG.. I wish I have a super powerful hand so I could slap them through the phone! LOL!

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  11. Cindy, if you do have that super powerful hand, please let me know and I'll give you my clients number so you can slap them thru the phone for me. LOL! And yeah, I hate these kind of people too ...

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  12. Nick, what a great story! I could feel your anger all the way here! LOL :) And I laughed imagining u being speechless for 30 secs :) :)

    I totally know what u mean... we always do ur best for our clients, endure sleepless nights, less family time, late payments, attending to change after change after change and yet, when it comes to payment.... this is what we get? I've never had a client screamed at me when I call for payment (and why should WE call since they're supposed to be paying US?!!). My clients usually play hide and seek with me, from the accts ppl to the boss - they sometimes mysteriously disappear into thin air whenever I call regardin payment!

    Hope u guys get your $$ soon and this reminds me, I have some phone calls to make myself! LOL ;)

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  13. nick, it's the same here too. My clients alway asking for the impossible tasks and we hv to find way for it. And $$ is always late.. :(
    I hv this particular client who did the same as the lady u mentioned. She shouted at me, as tho' i am the one who owes her $$. I am so frustrated now, talking about her. 'arghhh...'

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  14. Marzie, I really was speechless, and a whole 30 seconds at that. LOL! I don't really chase anyone for payments, but they owe us since last year so I just HAD to call ... yeah, I knwo about the hide and seek part, they become magicians when it's time to pay, but before that they're like slave drivers ...

    Jean - It's nice to know (well not really nice la) that all clients are the same ... I'm gonna be Mr. Mean from now on when I call for payments ... LOL!

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