Customers are not always as they are perceived.(extra credit)(Viewpoint essay)

I had just started a new job and was reviewing files when I came across an account with which we had been doing business but had never gotten a credit agreement signed and on file. In talking with the salesman, he indicated that the customer refused to sign a credit agreement and if we pushed him, we would lose the account. There was limited information available from the State, credit bureaus and other sources, and we were the sole supplier. The account was a small family-owned restaurant that always paid on time. In addition, the owner was close friends with the owners of my company.

Since I was new--only eight weeks on board--I didn't want to give up on the issue. I found it odd that, as long as they had been in business, there was virtually no information on file. I asked the sales manager to go on a customer visit with me, with the intent of getting an agreement signed or at least gather more information that would give me a comfort level with the account. The sales manager said that he would do it, but he didn't feel that we would be successful. "In fact," he said, "if you piss him off, he will stop buying from us and probably call the president.., my job might be in jeopardy." I said to the sales manager, "Humor me. I'll take my chances. If anything, it would be nice to get to know you better and have a nice lunch."

Well, we showed up just after the lunch hour, and we hadn't made an appointment ahead of time. The sales manager pointed out that if the customer knew he was bringing me with him, he wouldn't meet with us. When we arrived, the owner came out from the kitchen and greeted us. After a busy lunch, he wanted to sit down and relax. The sales manager was very clever in that, when I made my initial speech about the account having been set up without an agreement, he quickly excused himself from the table saying that he needed to talk to the cook in the back. The owner slammed his hand on the table and said, in a very loud voice, "I am a man of my word, I don't need to fill out a piece of paper to get credit in this town, and everybody knows me?' He went on to say, "If that isn't good enough, I'll buy my product elsewhere."

As you can probably imagine, I was taken aback and really didn't know how to respond. I dealt with all kinds of emotions in a split second: fear, embarrassment, humiliation, anger, you name it. I was tongue-tied at first, then, I calmly smiled at him and said the first thing that popped in my head. "I understand where you are coming from, and if we could just do business with a handshake and everyone paid their bills on time and I didn't have to worry about having a credit application signed, it would save me a lot of time and hassle. In fact, the product we sell to you would be cheaper in ...