I finally got a deadbeat to pay by switching to text messages

Honestly I had this one guy who owed me $450 for a driveway job I did 3 months ago. I sent him emails, formal letters, even a handwritten note but he ghosted every time. Last week I tried texting him directly on a Tuesday morning around 9 AM with a simple reminder and a link to pay. He replied within 20 minutes saying he forgot and sent the money that same afternoon. Ngl I think emails just get buried or ignored but texts feel more personal and urgent. Has anyone else had better luck with text follow ups over traditional invoices?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.uma3d ago

I used this exact method with a client named Rick who owed me $320 for a pressure washing job. Emails went ignored for 6 weeks but a quick text on a Wednesday afternoon got him to pay within 2 hours. Text messages feel way less formal and harder to ignore in my experience.

shane_morgan3d ago

Yeah @knight.uma nailed it, texts feel way more personal and people can't just leave them sitting in an inbox for weeks. I've had the same luck with clients who ghosted emails suddenly answering a simple text within an hour.

faith273d ago

Wait, did you send the text from your personal number? I had a similar issue with a client once but it backfired kinda bad. Texted him about a fence repair he owed me $200 for. He paid right away then started blowing up my phone at 2 AM asking for more work. Took me a month to get him to stop. @knight.uma mentioned Rick paid fast too but at least your guy didn't become a stalker. Guess it works better when you use a burner number or Google Voice. Texts definitely feel more direct though, emails just sit there like junk mail.