If you’re a baby-boomer and older, there’s no doubt you’ve seen the “Who’s on First?” comedy skit between Bud Abbot & Lou Costello several times when you were growing up. They certainly brought out a lot of laughs with their silly antics. At least they did for my generation.
But in case you are a relative youngster and have never watched the banter between these two comedians, their humor arises from the fact that the names of the baseball players they are trying to discuss, are the same as questions or common phrases.
In short:
- “Who” is the name of the player on first base.
- “What” is the name of the player on second base.
- “I Don’t Know” is the name of the player on third base.
When Bud Abbott tells Lou Costello that “Who” is on first, Costello interprets it as a question, asking “Who’s on first?” over and over, thinking Abbott is being evasive, not realizing that “Who” is the actual player’s name. As the banter continues, they get more and more humorously frustrated with each other.
Well, you’ll have to watch it to appreciate how hilarious these two comics were and how their shtick has remained a part of American humor to this day.
Moving on…. Our agency received a claim a couple of months ago that reminded me of this “Who’s on First?” situation. Here’s what happened.
The claim, for over $50K, was against a sushi restaurant located within a well-known Atlantic City, New Jersey Casino. The creditor, a wholesaler of seafood products, had been doing business with this debtor for about 18 months and during that time, orders had to be put on hold twice due to slow payments. When payments became seriously delinquent, the creditor ceased all further shipments.
As is common in the wholesale food industry, which is highly competitive, credit risk management controls are not often established, let alone adhered to. In this case, an online order form was submitted by the sous-chef that lacked terms and conditions, required no e-signature, and had no real legal teeth to it. Subsequently, the product was shipped and billed out the next day, and payment was expected within 30 days.
The payments by check did not come from the restaurant but from the management company for the casino, where the restaurant was located. In addition, it turned out that the restaurant was owned by two other companies, one in New York and the other in California, each having a 50% stock ownership interest.
Upon receiving the claim, we tried to first contact any individual who was connected to the restaurant. Unfortunately, since no one would communicate with us, we then turned our attention to the management company, which turned out to be a PO box in Newark, New Jersey. Getting zero response there as well, we attempted to contact each of the two shareholder companies. With the one in California, we were successful in communicating with the Director of Operations for the restaurant, but she would not give us any indication as to whether they have any responsibility for the debt. With the other shareholder in New York, we could only leave messages.
With normal collection efforts not moving the claim along, we have consulted with two collection attorneys in our network about taking this claim. During our conversations, they kept asking, “Who is the debtor?” It was not only what entity to litigate against, but also which entity to go after to seize funds in a bank account, assuming we could obtain a judgment in our favor.
In short, although an employee from the restaurant ordered the product, it was paid for by the casino management company that no contractual relationship with our creditor. In addition, although we located the shareholders of the restaurant, suing one or both shareholders could end up being a wild good chase.
While we are still trying to pursue the collection, we have been asked by the creditor to establish and implement a wide range of credit risk management controls. Our goal is to help our client identify exactly who their customer is and require signed documentation from the start to keep their standing against a customer legally sound and secure.
Your comments are most welcome.
Nancy Seiverd, President
CMI Credit Mediators, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Image by freepik.com
