Mindless Chatter, uh? Thursday??

aerial1313

What is wrong with people???  PAY.  YOUR.  BILLS!!!  This is the part that totally blows about owning a company.

No kidding!  It's like hey people we did our part, now pay us. A lot of our work is commercial and it's contract work, so that's not a problem normally.  It's the occasional resedential customer who chaps me.  We fix the a'c or heat and they are now comfy but we are left paying our man's labor and for any parts, not to mention the overhead that keeps the company open. lol  I have found that the worst offenders are the people who can well afford to pay but can't be bothered.  I have no problem telling Ms. Got Rocks that we'll be happy to come out but she has to pay us when we finish because we only give thirty days grace to our good customers who pay their bills on time.  If that type gets ticked off and calls someone else I don't care, because now she owes them money not us. lol

Taking Ellie over to Dallas today for shows...then back home. Gotta figure something out for dinner....maybe Brats on the grill?

I do accounts payable for a company and I understand it from the other side, too.  But, we pay on time unless there is an unresolved issue.  What I hate is when a vendor, such as for lawn mowing or snowplowing, bills us in advance for the month and wants payment before the job is done for the month.  Then they call me and wonder why they haven't gotten a check.  Last I looked, I don't get paid in advance - why should you?

rwbeagles

Gotta figure something out for dinner....

I crockpotted a mess of short ribs the other day.  Today I'm going to shred the meat put it back in its juices and serve it over penne.  Saw Giada do it on Food Network and it looked delish !!

Deb W.

JackieG

It's like hey people we did our part, now pay us.

Abso-frickin-lutely.  We provided a service, we deserve to get paid.  ON TIME!  If you don't have the money to pay us on time, don't contract us to do the work.  So simple.  Ugh, the excuses I'm hearing are almost all related to their internal paperwork snafus.  Guess what?  Not my problem!  Get it straight and cut the check!

JackieG

A lot of our work is commercial and it's contract work, so that's not a problem normally.  It's the occasional resedential customer who chaps me.

Shoot, we ONLY do commercial work.  I can't imagine what a headache it would be if we did residential.  The only thing remotely residential-related that we do is high rise condo complexes, but we contract through the management companies there, not the residents.  But they for sure are the biggest PITA's.  For the same reason you stated; the people that own those condos have money shooting out their ears, so they feel they can gripe and moan about every tiny thing.  Haha, the management companies know it, too.  I had a lady call me a couple weeks ago from one of these high rise condo buildings wanting a quote for work in which we'd have to access the windows from inside the individual units, because of window screens.  Normally we say that it's their responsibility to remove the screens before we get there, and if they don't, we won't clean those windows with the screens left on.  She told me, "the tenants are so lazy about removing their screens, but they're the first to raise a stink if their windows don't get cleaned."  So I feel bad for her, for sure, because she has to hear it from those folks every day about every little thing.

sharismom

I do accounts payable for a company and I understand it from the other side, too.  But, we pay on time unless there is an unresolved issue.  What I hate is when a vendor, such as for lawn mowing or snowplowing, bills us in advance for the month and wants payment before the job is done for the month.  Then they call me and wonder why they haven't gotten a check.  Last I looked, I don't get paid in advance - why should you?

Tina, I do A/R and A/P for our company, so I understand the A/P side as well.   I do get stressed out if I can't pay a bill on time.  And the only reason I wouldn't be able to is because our customers aren't paying us on time.  I think it's just gotten way too commonplace for companies to go out 30 or 60 days on their bills.  I don't want us to be one of those companies.

We have one customer who insists we bill them the 1st of every month, regardless of when we schedule the work for that month.  It's nice because they do only one check run a month, on the 15th, so most of the time we get a check from them within 2 weeks of invoicing.  But for most of our customers, we bill when we do the work.  Only by their request would we bill them in advance (usually it has to do with their budgeting procedures). 

I can't imagine just assuming it's okay to bill way ahead of time.  What if something happened and they weren't able to get your lawn mowing done that month?  Do they then have to issue you a credit?  Sounds like extra paperwork on their end, which is pretty dumb, if you ask me!  Not to mention running the risk of ticking off your customers!

iluvjamison

rwbeagles

Gotta figure something out for dinner....

 

I crockpotted a mess of short ribs the other day.  Today I'm going to shred the meat put it back in its juices and serve it over penne.  Saw Giada do it on Food Network and it looked delish !!

Deb W.

Deb - do you have a recipe you can share? It sounds delicious and I love Giada :)

Last day of work for me too and it couldn't come soon enough. I have to drop my car off at the dealership early in the AM for work but I think I'll workout first, drop it off and then go do some shopping.

I think we're supposed to be about 95 today but then in the 80s this weekend. That'll feel really great after the 100+ temps. DH works tomorrow and the 4th, so it'll be a quiet couple days for me. I do have a long list of stuff I want to get done.

Our stupid fire alarm went off at 3:30 AM again. It only lasted a few seconds, just enough to bolt us out of bed, and then it didn't do it again. It was a few weeks ago that it did it before, so I don't know what's going on nor how to fix it but it sure does ruin my sleep.

Heather & Jackie, I totally understand what you are saying about late payments.  My hands are tied by my boss.  He tells me what to run each week and that's what I do.

We have a guy who does sewer and drain work that we have to use from time to time.  He was telling me that when he does work for the big W place, they will pay him after 60 days if he's lucky.  He always thanks me for making sure we pay promptly.  I told him there are two vendors we absolutely have to pay on time: 1. the snow plowers because people won't come into our restaurants if they can't get into the lot and 2. the drain cleaners because the health dept will shut us down if there is a hint of a drain/sewer problem.

cakana

Deb - do you have a recipe you can share? It sounds delicious and I love Giada :)

Ingredients

4 pounds beef short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

Cathy:  After I browned the ribs, I just threw everything in the crockpot and cooked on low for like 6 hours or so.  There is a heavy tendon on each rib so you'll want to cut that off before you shred the meat.

Deb W.

Edited to add that I didn't bother pureeing the sauce just left it chunky.

Advertising agencies are the ABSOLUTE worst at paying on time.  They typically get paid either up front by their clients or by the time the schedule starts running.  Then THEY tuck that money in a high interest account and hang on to it until the last possible second.  I have absolutely NO problem letting them think that if they don't get it paid before the 90th day (and the schedule ran say April, they didn't get billed until May) that I'll loose my commission.  I have NEVER told anyone that, but if they assume and want to fed ex the payment, I'm not gonna argue.  When my income depends on other folks paying their bills on time, I'm not one bit above letting them assume something......

sharismom

Heather & Jackie, I totally understand what you are saying about late payments.  My hands are tied by my boss.  He tells me what to run each week and that's what I do.

Tina, it's rarely the actual person who cuts the check who is responsible for slow/late payments and I would never get mad at that person, especially if it was you. :)    We used to do work for the K Marts till they all closed down here and they were the sloooooowest at paying.  Too many people have to "approve" the invoice and that slows things down.  Bet Wally World is the same way. 

iluvjamison

Cathy:  After I browned the ribs, I just threw everything in the crockpot and cooked on low for like 6 hours or so.  There is a heavy tendon on each rib so you'll want to cut that off before you shred the meat.

 

Deb W.

Edited to add that I didn't bother pureeing the sauce just left it chunky.

Oh thank you. I'm gonna love this and I have all the ingredients except the short ribs, so I'll pick up some of those this weekend. My stomach is growling just thinking about this.

So, union met with city the last day or so and they reached an "agreement" that they're now bringing back for another vote of the members. This will be the 3rd agreement they've voted on. The 1st one was voted down by the members. The sr. guys and the union seemed to think they had more bargaining leverage and could get a better deal. The 2nd one was in the process of being voted on when the city said "um, no thanks, this is for 4 yrs and we don't want a deal that goes that long". This 3rd deal gives up all pay raises (including the 5% they'd get in 2 wks) for 30 months and in return gives 1 yr layoff protection. It's almost comical that the union blew it this badly. The 1st two deals had some 2% and 1% raises over the next couple yrs plus a bunch of paid time off in lieu of the raise they were giving up. This latest one has nothing but it will save the guys due to get laid off this week. I don't think the sr. guys will go for this one either. I am just dumbfounded at how poorly the union has handled the whole thing - Wow!!! 

JackieG

it's rarely the actual person who cuts the check who is responsible for slow/late payments and I would never get mad at that person

Oh, no, me neither.  I'm always very, very nice to the A/P people I speak with.  It's just irritating when they give you this long saga about their internal paperwork.  I don't care!  It's really not my problem!  I was just talking to a very nice girl the other day, who tracked down information and called me back no fewer than three times with updates.  She's basically the "middle man," so how can I get upset with her?  But, did I stress the urgency of them sending me the $40,000 check they owe us?  You better believe it!  And, I think that because I was so nice to her, she was able to get TPTB to do a special check run just for us.  By the end of the last conversation, she and I were joking around and laughing.  And, I was totally impressed that she went above and beyond to track down our payment for me.

We have two customers who habitually pay late.  I don't know if the previous A/R person was consistent with late payment inquiries, but I hope that eventually they're going to get tired of hearing from me every month and start paying us on time.

I'm starving.  BF said he was going to take me out to lunch so I can get the heck out of the office for a while.  He's late and my tummy's grumbling.

I feel like I can't get enough food in mai belly! Probably the 1/2 mile swam I did last night.

/That's all for now folks. :)

JackieG

Tina, it's rarely the actual person who cuts the check who is responsible for slow/late payments and I would never get mad at that person, especially if it was you. :)    We used to do work for the K Marts till they all closed down here and they were the sloooooowest at paying.  Too many people have to "approve" the invoice and that slows things down.  Bet Wally World is the same way. 

Aww, thanks!  Our company is seldom late with payments.  I have some leverage and my boss trusts that I send stuff out when it needs to go.  On the really big stuff, that goes to the bosses first.  The only time it gets confusing is when one wants to hold it and one wants to pay it (I work for 4 guys).  I remind them that when thugs are dispatched, they will look for me, not the bosses, and I'd appreciate not getting fitted with cement shoes and being sent to sleep with the fishes while they sort it out!

Deb W, that recipe sounds delish! I think I'm going to move closer to you because you seem to know how to cook all the good stuff!  And since I live alone, don't have lots of friends, big meals and fancy stuff just doesn't cut it.  Food is meant to be shared!