Conference 7.286::digital

    
    Wow!
    
    What a great new Digital job opportunity!
    
    A collection specialist who goes after customers to collect monies from
    the customer that WE actually owe TO the customer!
    

    
    We work within the limitations of our tools.  The Dunning System was
    set up to provide an additional tool for Credit/Collections.  The
    Program that produces the Statements does not differentiate in its
    language if there is a credit balance or a debit balance.  I have made
    the decision in my district to include ALL balances, debit and credit,
    on Statements.  
    
    As a corporation, the existance of a Credit Balance on our Trade
    Receivables is a LIABILITY.  In that regard, there is as much need for
    a timely resolution of credits as there is for a Debit.  Further, all
    states have ESCHEAT Laws.  These document the disposition of Abandoned
    Property, and Aged Credit Balances on Corporations books fall under
    that law.  If the balance is old enough, it will be seized by the
    state.  
    
    Moreover, due to political issues, Credit balances are actually harder
    to disposition than Debit balances.  How would you like to be the
    Accounts payable manager responsible for either paying a bill twice, or
    paying for something that you should not have, like returned equipment,
    or a service contract that cancelled two months ago.  It usually does
    not get you a gold star from your corporate comptroller.  
    
    Again, we are working within the limitations of our tools.  It is vital
    that Credit Balances on Digitals Trade A/R be dispositioned in a timely
    manner, and the Statement is one of the most useful tools to advise
    customers of its existance.  The wording of the statements is
    unfortunate, and I invite anyone who has a major problem with it to
    funnel their energy into creating a more flexible program so that
    customer satisfation can be enhanced.

    re: .2
    
    I have and will always stop doing business with companies that demand
    money I don't owe. 
    
    We should NEVER, EVER send an incorrect demand for payment!!!
    
    If the system insists on sending demands for payment for zero balances,
    you better have someone manually check the statements for zero balances.
    
    Bob

	Re: .2 CTOAVX::OAKES

	Oh, I get it now.  Our internal accounting requirements are more
important that satisfied customers or the appearance that we know how to use
computers.  Silly me, I thought that customer satisfaction was the most
important thing.

	Now don't get me wrong, I'm not belittling the accounting requirements
that you so painfully described.  Yes, we do need to track who we owe money to
and yes, we must make the effort to notify these customers that we owe them
money.  These requirements, however, should *never* be allowed to translate
into sending the information via such an inappropriate "pay up now" letter
format.  I must agree with the other respondees to this note that I would think
very negatively about any company that sent me such a letter -- especially if
that company's business is creating and selling computer systems and software.
This is not serving as a good advertisement for our product quality.

	I can only hope that a follow-up apology letter will be going to these
customers.

								-craig

    
    
      Just how difficult can it be?  
    
    	If balance < 0 then send polite letter with refund check;
    
    
    					-al
    

>      Just how difficult can it be?  
>    
>    	If balance < 0 then send polite letter with refund check;
    
    
This will take some tact.  When other companies have a problem like this
they blame it on the computer.  Certainly not an option for us.  Maybe we
could create a fictional gnome in the accounting department who has since
been terminated?

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Betty
    

>    The Program that produces the Statements does not differentiate in its
>    language if there is a credit balance or a debit balance.  I have made
>    the decision in my district to include ALL balances, debit and credit,
>    on Statements.  

Sounds like you're part of the problem.  Why not be part of the solution?
    
>    As a corporation, the existance of a Credit Balance on our Trade
>    Receivables is a LIABILITY.  In that regard, there is as much need for
>    a timely resolution of credits as there is for a Debit.

Then send the dunning letters with a credit balance to DEC's Accounts Payable,
not to the customer.

And whatever you do, DON'T CALL THE CUSTOMER AND DEMAND PAYMENT, as happened
to Terry Kennedy in .0!

/john

    re .6
    
    'blame it on a gnome in accounting'
    
    reminds me of the situation about 13 years ago when a customer, after
    being told for the umpteenth time
    
    	"I'll have to check with Maynard"
    
    wanted to talk to this guy named "Maynard" since he was the only one in
    DEC who seemed to know anything!
    
    	-Barry-
    

    I once worked in the advertising department of a newspaper.  Their
    business department's computer system was ancient, and it was not
    programmed to ignore credits or small amounts when printing monthly
    statements.  The statements showing credits were manually weeded out
    and thrown away, but anything with a balance due was mailed.
    
    Well, it turned out that one of our advertisers was getting a bill
    every month for $0.01.  Soon he started getting statements demanding
    payment of this grossly overdue $0.01 with dire warning messages such
    as "Your credit privileges have been suspended" and "Collection
    procedures will be undertaken."  Eventually this advertiser came into
    the office one day and demanded to see the business manager (the *real*
    head of the newspaper, not the editor).  He handed the business manager
    one of the statements, a penny, and then he asked for a receipt.
    
    - snopes
    

But even those bozos were smart enough to throw away the credit statements.

Why aren't we?

    suggested (too) simple solution.
    
    1.Where customer owes us he gets reminder the friendliness of which
    is an inverse function of time and amount due to Digital.
      
    2. Where balance is zero then send statement quarterly/half yearly
    to confirm that according to our books we are all square.
    
    3. Where we owe (or appear to) money and said money is due send
    statement to our accounts subdept with reminder to pull finger out
    and either pay or resolve situation if no money is really due.
    
    4.  Train our telephone debt collectors on the difference between
    debit and credit.
    
    
    j.e.
    
    if we are unable to differentiate between plus,zero and minus balances
    on accounts then its time to shut up shop 

    
    I wonder just how much money is being lost, not to mention customer
    satisfaction and its impact on future business, as a result of some of
    the shortfalls of our administrative billing system, for both sales as
    well as Customer Services maintenance contracts.  You would think that
    the people doing the work, and those affected, should be able to come
    up with a nice detailed list of all proactive changes to improve
    efficiency and effectiveness, and then implement them.
    

    There is a simple solution to this problem that is currently being
    addressed to all potential letters reaching our customers. A little
    bit of background first :
     - Each District Credit Office has the options of what type of Dunning
    Items they would like their Customers to receive. This would include
    Credit Memo's issued and/or Overpayments made by the Customers.
    They also can set Minimum & Maximum Balances selected for Dunning
    and can avoid sending notices for anything less than a Certain Dollar
    Amount (say $10.00).
     - Before any Dunning Letters are sent, the responsible Credit District
    (actually even the individual collectors) has the opportunity to
    "preview" all of the items a customer has scheduled to receive in
    a letter. They can then "Delete" items or even the entire letter
    before it is sent, thus avoiding letters for pennies, or when it's
    inappropriate.
     - Most Credit Districts that Dun Customers for Credit Balances
    have stated in the letters that " a minus sign (-) represents a credit
    or overpayment which can be used on your the your next remittance". 
    
    Obviously there are some problems with some of the Dunning Letters
    being sent by some of our Credit Districts, as well as some not
    "previewing" them as well as they should, which needs to be addressed. 
    As the Business Support Manager for the Nat'l Accts Receivable System
    (NARS) I will be reviewing this problem. 
    
    To clarify, this is not a Country wide problem and appears to be
    happening in only a small portion of our Credit Districts. However,
    I am concerned that "any" of our Customers could receive such letters,
    and will go out of my way to stop this from happening in the future.
    
    It would also have been more helpful and addressed sooner, had someone
    thought to contact the US Country Credit Organization about this
    problem, rather than finding the problem in a Notes File. I would
    appreciate a call for any future type Credit Issues.
    
    Mike Murray 
    US Credit
    223-9912
     
                                                          

    re: .13
    
    One of the reasons for problems turning up in Notes conferences rather
    than being referred in the first instance to the correct department, is
    that most people aren't familiar enough with Digital's structure to
    know how to find the correct department!  I have been at Digital since
    1975, and I was not aware of the existence of the US Country Credit
    Organization until I read .13.
    
    Looking in the Digital telephone book under Credit, I see several phone
    numbers, none of which appear to be Mike Murray's, and a reference to
    Field Order Management Services.  None of the numbers listed for Field 
    Order Management Services seem to be Mike's, either.  Had I called one
    of these numbers would I eventually have been led to Mike?
        John Sauter

    When companies grow as large as this one has, it's often difficult to
    trace functions by names, personal contacts, or through paper
    directories that perforce lag the structure.  That's why media like
    Notes and conferences like this one are valuable means of
    "broadcasting" info and getting a return back from "somewhere|someone
    out there in the ether" who happens to know the answer, or where it's
    to be found.
    
    Not to apologize for the difficulties of bigness, but one-to-many
    communications like NotesFiles are a useful remedy, or at least a
    helpful palliative...  :-)
                

    
    	Re: .13
    
    	Mike,
    
    	Thank you.  This might not be the most direct mechanism for
    complaints (though I agree with .14's comments), but it is nice to see
    that it is being addressed.
    
    							-craig

Mike has contacted me and will be drafting a response for me to post in
the conference where this surfaced.

/john

John,

Thanks for all your help. I would appreciate it if you would place
a reply for me (although it may be lost in the discussion).

* It is not Digital's intention to send Dunning Notices to Customers for
insignificant amounts or when deemed inappropriate. It is our intention
to notify our Customers that certain items are past due or need to be
addressed. These items would include Credits due for either returned
products or for overpayments. The problem with Mr. Kennedy's letter on
Note 271.6, is that the Dunning Letter content itself should include the
statement " a minus sign (-) represents a credit or overpayment which
can be used on your next payment remittance". 

This statement was omitted from the Dunning Letter that was generated
at the local District Credit Office and needs to be addressed. I'm not
making any excuses, but it seems that a Customer complaint such as this
makes us stand up and take notice. I am now in the process of reviewing
all of the Dunning Notices that are being generated out of each of our
Credit Districts, to insure that our Customers receive the proper 
message. *


/Mike