(J.R. – Indiana, USA) – Last year in August we finished a project for a contractor. We had already done several projects with this company and had received timely payment. After several months, we hadn’t been paid and we tried to contact the contractor many times to receive the check. We decided to contact the owner of the building who lived in another state. They were willing to help us by withholding the contractor’s final payment until they paid us.
Again we contacted the contractor with this information, but they were very elusive and we could tell they were trying to avoid us and avoid paying. We tried our best not to be angry with the receptionists and accountants we spoke to, but it was difficult because we were not given a straight answer.
In the middle of all this, the accountant for the contractor called us asking for our tax information. We were tempted not to respond and give them the same run-around they had given us. But remembering the values of The Company Cube, we sent it right away.
Finally we were able to reach the contractor, who agreed to sign off and allow the owner to pay us directly (which they did). The contractor even asked my colleague if we would consider working with them again. That was another hard question! After all they put us through to receive our payment, it was hard to believe they would ask that. Instead of saying no, my colleague agreed that if we could make better payment arrangements next time, we would be interested in continuing the working relationship.
In the end we felt that we had failed sometimes with this client by loosing our cool. But instead of everyone leaving the relationship in anger, we were given the chance to keep building a relationship with the contractor and their staff.
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