by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 3, 2026 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been working in credit and collections for nearly 15 years, and I thought I’d encountered just about every kind of customer imaginable. But there’s one long-term customer who has me completely baffled. Our company has several...
by Nancy Seiverd | Sep 8, 2026 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I am the general manager of a mid-size collection agency that has been in business for several decades. Our agency is well known in the industry, and we have about 40 collection professionals who handle claims both domestically and internationally. One of...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jun 5, 2026 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I work as a credit and collection manager for a mid-size tools distribution company, and I have found myself in a very uncomfortable situation involving one of our customers, who also happens to be my cousin. About a year ago, my cousin contacted me and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 7, 2026 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been in credit and collections for years and feel comfortable handling most situations. But I’m dealing with a long-time customer who is always friendly, always appreciative… and always late. He compliments me, thanks me for my patience, and often...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 2, 2026 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been managing credit and collections for many years and generally feel confident handling difficult customers. But I’m currently dealing with a situation that leaves me unsure where professionalism should end and discomfort begins. One of our...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 3, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been managing credit for more than a decade, and I pride myself on being firm but fair. Lately, though, our sales manager has been pressuring me to approve a large credit line for a customer whose financials are shaky at best. I’ve reviewed the...
by Nancy Seiverd | Sep 8, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, Over the past several months, several of my long-time customers have started short-paying invoices, claiming that new tariffs are cutting into their margins. One customer in particular reduced a $100,000 payment by $15,000, stating it was their way of...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jul 7, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the credit manager at a gear manufacturing company and recently received a purchase order from our long-term Canadian customer. Everything seemed normal until I noticed the shipping term was listed as “DAP.” As I’ve never encountered this term on...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 6, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I am the credit risk manager at a small manufacturing company that manufactures all kinds of industrial springs. I’ve been working here for about two years and overall, I have been working in credit and collections for over twenty years. Although I...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 4, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I am the credit and collection manager at a small logistics company. I’ve been working here for about one year and as a small company, I find myself wearing several multi-ethnic hats that are making me slightly unbalanced. Let me explain. I am an older...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 7, 2025 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, Hope you had a nice New Year holiday. I wish mine had been better — I was in a bad mood. Let me explain. I am the new credit and collection manager at my company and started one year ago. In just one short year, I reduced our DSO from 75 days...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 7, 2024 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the credit manager at a liquor wholesaler and have been at my current company about eight years. Liquor wholesale distribution means that we sell to retail liquor stores, mom and pop convenient stores, some smaller supermarket chains, and to other...
by Nancy Seiverd | Aug 5, 2024 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve read your column for years but never thought I would be writing to you myself. But here I am with a problem and not sure how to handle it. I am the credit and collection manager at a small business that sells furniture to restaurants and bars. The...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jun 4, 2024 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I am the credit and collection manager at a plastics recycling company and have been here for about 15 years. Our company buys all kinds of scrap plastic and after putting it through our recycling process, we sell it as raw material to other...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 2, 2024 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the controller / credit manager / accountant and all around cleaner upper at our very small beer and wine distribution company. We import very specialized craft beers and wines from all the world and have hundreds of customers throughout the...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 6, 2024 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, After 20 years, I continue to run the office at a mid-size pottery manufacturing company, which has been in business since 1971. We are very proud of the 30 artisans, who create personalized and customized pottery and ceramic products. In...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 8, 2023 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, My name is Bernice and I’m the office manager at a small scrap recycling business. At first blush, scrap recycling probably doesn’t sound too exciting, but our specialty is the retrieval of large elevator motors and generators which contain...
by Nancy Seiverd | Sep 6, 2023 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been reading your column for several years and have always valued your advice, but I never thought I would actually need to write for myself. Let me start from the beginning. I have been working at my company for almost ten years....
by Nancy Seiverd | Jul 3, 2023 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the credit and collection manager at a small company and we manufacture designer paper bags for wine bottles. Our bags come in all kinds of very fancy patterns and textures, and they look beautiful when someone gifts a bottle of wine in them. ...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 2, 2023 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the collection person at our company and I’ve been employed here for decades. About two years ago I had an illness that kind of wiped me out and I was off work for several months. Although I made a complete recovery, there were some physical changes...
