Editor’s note: Jeff Allen has heard every employer excuse you can imagine for not paying up — and dozens more that defy imagination. A few years ago he began documenting them in a weekly collections column. Because of the importance of collections, Fordyce will periodically reprise the most common situations he addressed. The complete collection is here.
What Client Says:
We thought the referral was a free sample.
How Client Pays:
Some fee-avoiders think that the more outrageous the lie, the more likely it will be believed.
For this bizarre “defense,” the hiring authority simply says that he believed the fee schedule was for future placements. So you gave a freebie to prove all that rootin’ tootin’ recruitin’ really works.
Article Continues Below
5 Ways to Hire Like It’s 2021
You must set the record straight before the sendout. You must date and personalize your fee schedule. You must get a client signature or at least nurse an email acceptance.
It’s just not realistic to expect an “unclient” to admit a fee schedule was even received, let alone accepted.
Documenting receipt and acceptance of a fee schedule by either a signature or email reply will avoid this nonsense forevermore!
