Credit, Its Principles and Practice

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ...correspondence he should familiarize himself with the character of the customer. He should put himself in the customer's place and endeavor to feel the effect that his letter will produce. The Cost of Making a Customer It should never be forgotten that it costs money to sell goods and get customers on the books; and the best customers are often the easiest to drive away. Some houses go so far as to calculate just what it has cost in expense money, advertising, time of office and salesmen, to sell a prospective customer and to make him a regular purchaser. If the credit man or the collection manager will only bear in mind what it has cost to take the order, he will never deliberately drive a customer away from the house by harsh letters. To sum up the subject, it is simply a plain, straightforward, courteous letter that produces the best results. Collection Correspondence Regarding the actual collecting of accounts, whole books have been written, and the subject will therefore be treated very briefly here. The first collection letter, after a statement has been submitted, might be termed the first request. After this first request there are probably a number of good customers to whom can be sent a second request on a regular form; but to the chronically slow ones it is better to write a letter to fit the individual case. Where the letter makes specific requests for a settlement within a certain time limit, and seems rather blunt, it is sometimes advisable to write just a few words of a complimentary closing so as not to make it sound too harsh. This is left to the judgment of the correspondent, who must know the condition of the account on the books. After the second request letter has gone out, the...