Has anyone been experiencing customer non-payment excuses from the COVID-19 outbreak? We just received our first one stating the AP staff is out of the office with an unknown return date due to the virus.
Any guidelines anyone can share?
Thanks to all
Hi All, have not heard anything from our customers yet with regards to the COVID-19, but thanks for sharing.
I have only heard from one customer and that person tried to blame COVID 19 for their payment delays. Due to the length of past due that isn’t going to work. I would expect to hear from customers those as this disruption will affect all of us.
We are following a similar plan and taking each day one day at a time. CC, extended terms, deliveries changes, production changes and whole states closing down.
We received our first request for extended payment terms yesterday, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This particular distributor deals with cruise lines.
We are handling this on a case-by-case basis, depending on the customer
This is the first I've heard of it. I guess I'd question depending on who was telling me that wasn't paying. People look for excuses, what better than the Coronavirus.
If we start to see a trend, I'll post it.
Thanks for keeping us updated
We are receiving notices to cancel orders and have one larger retailer requesting extended dating.
Also, we are contacting our small to mid-size customers to confirm their retail store is open, AP/Accounting staff is working and asking if there is anything we can do to help assist with open invoices. issues, however, we hope to help our customers and We are trying to keep a pulse on potential problem accounts that will have ST liquidity issues with the decline in-store traffic. Our field sales offices are helping us with the information they receive from buyers and merchants.
It would be very helpful to receive feedback on those extending credit to retailers your thoughts on how best to approach retailers. I want to strike a balance of being understanding while limiting risk
We have not heard anything yet from our customers. NEC is offering deep discounts on licenses and equipment that would allow the employees of our customers to be able to work remotely. We will waive restocking fees if they want to return the equipment by a designated date. NEC has also implemented working remotely for all of the employees in our corporate office until at least the end of March.
Yes, we are seeing payment extension notifications. We are handling it on a case-by-case basis
nothing on the furniture end, but I fully expect to hear about slower traffic and am preparing for the requests to start to trickle in.
Nothing from our customers yet. We’re all working from home as of yesterday but should still be able to do all needed tasks, including paying vendors
My strategy for distressed customers in the current state of the pandemic is to have them enter into a promissory agreement that allows for additional security (UCC, personal/corporate guaranty, letter of credit, interest). Credit terms may be reevaluated depending on the circumstances. This is after providing a 15-30 day grace period depending on the customer relationship and previous payment history.