"welcome to the real world...." Topic

I am accustomed to cynically thinking there are three classes of people in the world – ‘The Idiots'.' The people who are idiots but have managed to hide the fact', and ‘the at least vaguely intelligent.' (about 8 of us).

My occupation is essentially debt-collector, but a major part of my time is spent deciding whether we can lend large amounts of money to companies. As you might imagine, at the moment I spend most of my days waiting for the ‘phone to ring so someone can tell me ‘The Norwegian Monkey-Humper Company Ltd', who I said could have a gazillion quid in credit has gone into liquidation. It's a happy time, as you might imagine.

I spent most of this morning in discussion with the CEO of a very large Mail Order Business which has gone TU, owing us money. He wanted me to accept x in the £ in Full and Final Settlement. I wanted him to pay us x/£, but also to agree to pay more should he find a buyer for the very substantial mailing lists and IP, plus Stock.

It's a straightforward enough fight – I need to keep things legit so the Liquidators can't make us pay it back. He needs to keep the offer small enough that he can sneak cash, stock and his attractive Blonde PA out the back door before the liquidator arrives.

But the conversation kept getting side-tracked, as he was unable to stop bleating. How he could not understand why people had suddenly stopped buying his luxury tat. How suppliers had suddenly stopped providing him with goods and services on Credit (meaningful ‘I mean YOU' tone in his voice) and worst of all how the bank, which would normally just up his overdraft, suddenly won't.

I agreed, it was too bad – but he kept on and on – and I suddenly realised he thought it was only him and his business that this was affecting. The Banks, his creditors and his customers had all stopped throwing money at him for the first time in 15 years (a significant number) and it was as though it was some sort of PLOT against his business.

That the World is in recession very precisely BECAUSE of the above three factors had utterly escaped him, For the last three months, the constant barrage of doom, gloom and Misery spread by the media had gone right over his head. Iceland sinking under the North Atlantic waves? He had missed that. Every other tat-merchant closing up shop and gassing themselves. Passed him by. New President of his Country elected because he kept saying ‘I will make it all better. Go back to sleeeeep' in a soothing voice? Passed him by. The worldwide recession was a plot to put his mangy little Inc out of business.

It got so I was laughing at him, unable to grasp the scale of his idiotic self-obsession.

This man has spent the last 15 years running a business that turns over many millions of dollars. He has hired and fired hundreds of people, and has now run that business into a wall. And he clearly doesn't have the sense my cat was born with. How can this be?

I have added a fourth class. He is in it, all by himself at the moment.

Well, I can sympathise with him.
He's losing his dream and all he gets is a smartass kid who laughs at him.
Maybe you should try running a business. It isn't that easy.
Credit agencies are your best friend until you really need them.

A little empathy might go a long way.

"‘The Norwegian Monkey-Humper Company Ltd'…has gone into liquidation."

, I've got to call my broker…

smartass kid?

well ok…. but not a credit agency either.

It's not running a business I am talking about. Try this.

'I asked the bank to increase my Headroom to 5 Million from 2.5 million, and they said no. Just like that'

'Well yes, the credit crucnh is affecting us as well'

'No… I don't mean the credit crunch – I mean the bank won't increase my overdraft'

'I know.. getting Credit is becoming the curse of us all'

'NO NO NO Pat, you dont understand – I am not talking about _Credit_ – I mean they wont lend me more money so I can keep my business going!'

Pat

I sent a demand letter to a guy who was using some intellectual property without permission. He calls me up and alleges that some other guy gave him permission and promised him six figures of money and a bunch of other stuff in exchange for God knows what. His story is consistent with the facts, so whatever. He pulled the IP from his website and agrees to destroy goods, etc. This was pretty small potatoes stuff, anyway. Thing is, the guy we are threatening to sue tries to sell me into his failing business. I'm not sure what he was thinking. Was he so desperate for money that he would try and upsell the attorney who is threatening to sue him? I mean, in a few more minutes he might have convinced me that we should sue him.

I have added a fourth class. He is in it, all by himself at the moment.

He deserves it…

"A little empathy might go a long way."

Worth repeating…

He can have empathy If he pays for it :) I am giving no more empathy on credit.

Pat

There is a explanation for people who act like this. I'm not saying that it's any less insane, but there is a explanation. It's simply that news or laws are things that only happen to other people. It's doesn't happen or affect them. It sounds insane but I've seen it too many times to deny that these people really exist.

And it's not general stuff in the news either, it things like, shooting someone while doing a carjacking and getting caught and sent to prison. I have friends who are cops, and they are always catching some guy who thinks he cannot get charged and taken to jail for doing something, even major stuff like murder, because either it can't happen to them for some silly reason (I'm under age I'm only 19 or nobody saw me do it, no matter my prints are on the gun and I had the guys wallet on me) or that they know someone else who did it and didn't get caught, so that means they should be able to get away with it to.

My cop friends love catching guys like this because they end up ratting out all their friends trying to prove why they shouldn't get charged because these guys did the same or worse.

There is a legislator in my state who voted in laws to put those automated camaras on the freeways to catch sppeders. Turns out that after they have gone in that he has gotten 50+ speeding tickets from them, and can't get them 'dismissed'. Now because they are affecting him, he against them and is supporting a bill to get rid of them. What did he think when he voted to pass the law? That he was exempt?

That's a fairly good measure of the man imho Eclectic Wave.

He's American too – maybe you know him ? ;)

Pat

He can have empathy If he pays for it :) I am giving no more empathy on credit.

Pat

LOL – I'm using that line on drunks at the bar. Priceless!

I'm self-employed and frankly anyone who runs a business needs to let off steam occasionally – and if it happens to be you just be patient.

If you get a salary paid into your account regularly every month just understand you haven't got the faintest clue about the stresses of people who don't.

Mostly caused by people who do….

That said…..if you run a business, it is smart to stay abreast of the news. For someone to run a company and completely miss a news story like, well, the recession kind of proves to me why his business went pear-shaped.

Because if he had bothered to watch the nes occasionally, he may have been able to do something to soften the blow.

When I worked as a Tax Collector the MD of a local company couldn't understand why I wouldn't take his product as payment for overdue tax.

I frequently spoke to employers who couldn't understand the money they had deducted from their EMPLOYEES wages to pay the EMPLOYEES tax wasn't theirs to run the business with.

It looks like in this discussion, The Tin Dicatator and Sane Max should change names.

The financiers aren't hurting. They're the ones who got bailed out, having to take no responsibility for their own incompetence, so it means nothing to them that others are suffering the consequences.

JW

No bankers, politicians or financiers were hurt in the making of this recession