Finally got a check that was 90 days late after a single phone call

This past Tuesday, I opened my mail and there it was, a check for $1,850 from a contractor in Springfield. I'd sent three emails over three months with no reply. I called his office Monday morning, just asked politely if he'd received the invoice. He said he'd look into it and mailed it that afternoon. I guess sometimes they just need a real voice. Has anyone else had a payment magically appear after switching from email to a call?

4 comments

4 Comments

drew7062mo ago

Guess they needed to hear the panic in your voice.

max_schmidt772mo ago

$1,850 just sitting there for 90 days is wild, I'd be losing my mind. @owens.laura is totally right about the paper trail thing, we all got tricked. It's like an email goes into a black hole but a human voice makes it real, they can't just ignore you. I had a client once who found my invoice in their spam folder after six weeks, but only after I called.

victorhernandez20d ago

That's an interesting take, but I see it differently. You say "a human voice makes it real," but in my experience, picking up the phone just gives them a chance to make more promises they won't keep. I've had clients swear on the phone they'd pay that day, then nothing happens for another month. At least with email, you have a timestamp and proof of what they actually agreed to. A five minute call can feel productive, but a week later you're right back where you started. To me, a solid paper trail is still the only thing that holds up if you ever have to take it to small claims court.

owens.laura2mo ago

Wasn't it crazy how we all thought email was the best way to keep a paper trail? I totally believed that for years. But after my own version of your story, a check that sat for two months suddenly arriving after one five minute call, I had to change my mind. It's like the sound of a real person makes it urgent in a way an email just doesn't. Now I pick up the phone way sooner, and it almost always works faster.