My new accounts clerk also handles inquiries from trade creditors
and banks requesting credit ratings on customers. We require companies
making such inquiries to submit them to us by mail or fax. While
looking for a credit report on her desk, I spotted an "interesting" credit
inquiry sheet that had been faxed to us that day. On the left hand
side, it asked these standard questions:
What caught my attention were the questions on the right hand side.
We were asked to:
"Check Each of the Boxes Below that Applies to this
Customer."
The choices were:
-
Prompt and satisfactory
-
Slow but considered good
-
Slow but considered satisfactory
-
Slow and unsatisfactory
-
Slow and not recommended
-
Takes unauthorized deductions
-
Regularly takes invalid claims
-
Placed for collection
-
COD only
I responded to this credit rating request by stating that we do
not offer any subjective ratings about our customers.
I encourage credit professionals to make sure that anyone providing
credit ratings knows not to respond to these types of compound questions. |