Corporate Junk #10

We had sent an invoice to a client about 6 months ago after our product had already been fully delivered. The invoice was only $4000. It took us months of phone calls to the client's accounts department before we finally received the cheque 2 months ago. When I slit opened the envelope, the cheque was $2000, half of the total amount!

This client is a corporate client. Their boss even won some entrepreneurial award. Bah! The accounts department had the audacity to make a unilateral decision of paying us half of the amount. We were never informed nor consulted before they sent us a cheque of half the amount. When my staff called and checked with the accounts clerk, Amanda (name changed to protect my identity, haha!), she promised that the outstanding payment will be put in their next bill clearing cycle and we would receive the payment next month.

Today (which is two months later after the last cheque), we've yet to receive any updates and payments. My staff called Amanda to check again. She informed me our payment was put in their payment queue but was rejected. My staff kept pushing for a definite date which the payment will be sent to us but Amanda just kept repeating she'll do her best.

After my staff had ended the conversation, I decided to take things into my own hands. I dialed their reception and asked to be transferred to their Accounts Manager. From the receptionist, I learnt of the manager's name (Jenny, again name changed to protect my identity :p) and her direct line.

When the accounts manager answered my call, I told her that our invoice had been due for 6 months already and we have not received full payments. Jenny wanted to pass me to her staff but I informed her that I've already spoken to her staff and we've been informed that the payment for us had been rejected. I told her that's why I called her, to find out why the payment for our goods had been rejected. Jenny was surprised too and said that she'll speak to her staff.

Within 5 minutes, Amanda called and demanded to know why did we tell her superior that our payment had been rejected. She claimed that she never said that. I calmly replied to her, regardless if you had used the term "rejected", if as you've claimed that our payment had been put into schedule and later not approved, isn't that rejection? Then she tried the nice lady approach and claimed and she had been helping to settle the problem for us. She had been settling the problem for us in the past few months. I told her off curtly. You've not been settling the problem. Did we receive the full payment for an invoice that had been sent out for 6 months already? No. If that's the case, you've not settled the problem and you've not been settling the problem. Settling the problem is sending the full payment that is due to us. Any other scenario is not settling the problem.

Then she told me to check for the payment details next Tuesday and hung up the phone.

If I don't receive payment by next week, I don't care if their boss is some big shot who had won some prestigious entrepreneur award, I'm ready to storm their office!