You still don't get it. Those stores you mentioned don't just figure people are going to steal and chalk that up to the cost of doing business. Or why would they pay for security and security cameras? What you suggest is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plan for a client not to pay you sometime this year. Stay away from the Kool-Aid. You're making it too strong.
Getting "stiffed" by someone in this line of business usually means it is a difficult collection action such as one of the following:
1.
The balance due is not worth the time/effort necessary to collect it:
a. The debtor may have disappeared
b. The debt is less than the court cost/time put in
c. I have already collected enough in advance to justify not chasing the remainder
2.
The debtor may have filed bankruptcy and unless paid voluntarily the debt has been legally discharged
3.
Fraud (mostly online) the perpetrator is unknown, can't be located, and investigation is too costly.
4.
Chargebacks
a. Credit card disputes may resolve by technocratic compliance; meaning you lose a valid charge if your submission is missing a given detail.
5.
Disputes - even if the customer is wrong or unreasonable the best response may be to a forgive part of what is due and move on.
6.
Customer types - knowing how to handle an abusive versus a uninformed customer can be more important than what they might owe.
DJs are usually the worst customers:
a. DJs often return purchases after using an item (Even w/ a restocking fee used goods are worth significantly less at retail.)
b. DJs often make false claims about rented gear to evade payment
C. DJs are the customer type most likely to cause damage due to mis-use or lack of knowledge
d. DJs swap out their own defective gear/parts when returning rentals
There are times when you are right and should say so, and then there are times when you should just keep quiet and create a better customer experience.
Rentals to DJs for example, are a prime area where certain losses are a cost of doing business. All of my rental gear has fail-safes built-in which protect the gear from damage but, are not disclosed to the customer. If someone comes back post event to tell me a particular piece of gear was "no good" - I am able to verify if in fact the gear was mis-used or developed a true defect. (Rarely is there any ambiguity.) Where the fail-safe prevents any real damage it is often better to play along and deal with the mistakes of inexperienced DJs sparingly - creating future business with those who can grow into better customers; or to discontinue business with those arrogant or unreliable.
That does not mean being a push -over - it means understanding that you are in business to generate FUTURE income and need to know how to balance the value of a current receivable against a better customer experience. Your income can be effectively more than simply the money you are currently owed.
I have often forgiven a few hundred dollars balance in situations where the client has gone on to spend many thousands more in future business. Being profitable is more important than being right.
