You’re used to doing this in your marketing, right?
So now that it’s time to shore up some questionable financial contingencies…you’re going to have to do the same… step up, be assertive, and let your concerns be known.
You have to ask…and even ask with a reasonable expectation that there is some grace in their answer.
Because….there should be, and that’s the position you need to take.
There seems to be a pretty generous willingness so far for some companies to meet your concerns. I’ve seen messages in my inbox from cell phone carriers, major car companies, software distributors, media outlets, furniture stores, and more.
What I have NOT seen are the major financial corporations actually coming right out and offering forgiveness. Very little of that. I’m talking mortgage companies, landlords, banks, credit card companies, and insurance companies.
All I’ve seen from their ilk is something like: “….we’re here…we’re with you…we understand…”
Uh-huh… you understand that we’d better not miss a payment, though.
After seeing on a FB group that Adobe is being generous with its Creative Suite customers, I, too, called and asked. They granted 3 months of subscription free, and after that, they knocked off $20 to the monthly price for the time being.
If you are on the hook for some education loans, those are on hold for now.
Other places to ask:
- Credit Card companies
- Bank Mortgage collectors
- Insurance carriers
- SAG-AFTRA Health Plans
- Phone carriers
- Car loans
- Rental collection agencies
- Media (TV, News) subscriptions
- Medical/Hospital bills
- Almost anything on revolving credit
- Pharmaceuticals
…and anything else with a cyclical payment plan.
I’m not one to shirk my responsibilities or my debts, but the people collecting YOUR money are turning around and doing this very thing with THEIR creditors, so why not pass it along to its natural conclusion?
Things may start to LOOK the same, but don’t fool yourself: things will never be the same. This is a world-wide paradigm shift, especially in the finance world.
…and when I say that, I don’t necessarily mean it’s going to be worse. In many respects, corrections were needed. But anytime there is change, there is a certain level of anxiety for all echelons of society affected.
In fact, this is an excellent time to pivot in your own business/life/expectations/routines.
I’ll write about that tomorrow.
Happy Monday!
CourVO
and….
I’m a landlord, Dave. I have a townhouse available for rent. But then our Governor declared that there could be no evictions until the end of his stay-at-home order. In many states there is a 90 grace period after the orders are lifted; I don’t know if that’s true in my state.
What I do know is that an eviction notice often winds up in court. It can take months to be allowed to enforce the order. While the court may order the evicted tenant to pay you back, success in getting repayment is not good.
So, “in an abundance of caution” (a phrase CBSN uses to explain the closure of the New York newsroom), I have taken our townhouse off of the market. It will stay off the rental market until the eviction process is restored to its already weak standard.
It is unreasonable to expect a landlord to carry tenants unless there is a government-backed promise of repayment and the cost of a tenant’s damage to property.