Complain, Complain, Complain

If you’ve ever sat on hold with the cable company for 40 minutes while you tried to get an issue resolved, you already understand the agony involved in most customer service interactions. But with more and more people cutting down on non-essential costs—like cable, gym memberships, and weekly blow-outs at the salon, to name a few—due to the recession, an increasing number of companies are ramping up their customer service efforts as a way to keep people coming back for more…

How to Get Others to Pay Up

It’s old news now that many businesses, feeling the recessionary pinch, have been delaying payments to their suppliers. In boom times that might not create a crisis, but until the downturn ends, cash flow is probably a paramount concern. The following tips should help you get the money you’re owed.

Invoice Early
If you drag your feet on invoicing, you essentially keep cash from coming in. Plus, the longer it takes to get paid, the less likely you are to get paid. Stay on top of your accounts receivable, and send bills out promptly to get paid earlier and show that you are paying attention to outstanding balances.

Invoice Often
If you bill weekly instead of monthly, you won’t be waiting until the end of the month to send out invoices—and can get paid faster. If weekly is too much to handle, try biweekly instead…