Have Delinquent Customers? ‘Shame’ on Them!

When you run a small business, you will no doubt encounter delinquent payments every now and then. Trying to get your customers to pay their bills sucks. It takes time, effort and it’s not at all fun…unless you live in Spain.

In the United States it’s illegal for business owners to humiliate delinquents in front of their friends, family and neighbors. In Spain it is not, and it turns out that the Spanish are experiencing quite a bit of success with this. Here are some awesome examples of businesses going the whole nine yards to mortify their customers into paying their bills.

1. Employees make flamboyant house calls in top hats and coats with tails.

2. Employees dress as Franciscan friars when they pay visits to delinquents.

3. Collector sends bagpipe players to announce the debt to the entire neighborhood.

Here’s my personal favorite…

4. One debtor hurriedly paid off his daughter’s wedding tab when the collector found the guest list and began billing each attendee for his or her “share” of the debt.

Classic! Whoever came up with that one is a genius. Apparently shame is far more likely to prompt customers into owning up to their debts than, say, the standard phone call or tersely-worded email. I’m not suggesting that you should ever humiliate your customers (it is after all still illegal here in America), but it’s funny to hear stories like these of people who do.

Have a great weekend!