Ghosted by a Customer? Here’s What to Do.

The term “ghosting” is commonly used in the dating world to describe a person who stops responding to calls or texts suddenly and without explanation. But credit professionals also can be victims of ghosting from customers.

A customer can start dodging communication from you for a variety of reasons—even if you think the business relationship was going great. One day, your calls may not be picked up as frequently, your emails start to bounce back or get completely ignored, and your customer becomes distant. The feeling of horror takes over and you come to the sudden realization that your customer is indeed ghosting you.

Luckily, credit professionals can still be ghostbusters. Some customers may do the slow disappearing act, while others may disappear immediately with no warning. In either instance, taking a proactive approach to Know Your Customer (KYC) practices with both new and existing customers can help you stay prepared. “In our department, we do a lot of front-end work in order to help mitigate any risk,” said Brendon Misik, CCE, CICP, senior manager of credit at Nutrien (Deerfield, IL). “We do the work of regular reviews on customers, pulling credit reports and taking note of any patterns trending towards negative cashflow, not having the ability to pay and overall financial difficulties.”

One early warning sign that a customer is about to cut off contact completely is if you call your customer and they screen your calls, which means they let the call go straight to voicemail. “Nine times out of ten, if your customer is screening calls, they are doing that with all phone calls, not just yours,” said Kevin Stinner, CCE, CCRA, credit manager at J.R. Simplot Company (Loveland, CO). “It’s a red flag that they have multiple creditors contacting them and you’re not the only one they’re avoiding.”

Customer ghosting can happen at any moment, and it is key to identify the exact reason a customer vanished to solve the problem. For example, did a natural disaster impact your customer’s ability to contact you? Or are they about to file for bankruptcy? You would want to approach both situations differently, said Joseph Lange, CCE, ICCE, CCRA, senior credit manager at Brenntag North America, Inc. (Wauwatosa, WI). “You can look for those negative trends and differences in resources such as credit reports, where you can see what the customer’s patterns are like month-over-month,” Lange explained. “We’ll be able to see that pattern not just for us, but for others. There’s a difference between the customer not answering you exclusively and the customer not answering everyone else.”

Some credit professionals may conduct in-person visits, while others may go straight to collections. However, it is best to try multiple tactics before giving in to any losses. Getting your sales team involved is one strategy to get a customer to return your calls. In some cases, your sales team may have a better relationship with the customer, making the customer more open and receptive. “Someone from the company needs to do a touchpoint if you are not physically able to be out there,” said Stinner. “But it’s a lot harder to ignore somebody when they’re knocking on your door versus when they’re calling or emailing you.”

Open and effective communication with your customer is key and can give your customer more comfortability to open up about any financial concerns. Approaching the situation in a non-confrontational manner and working closely with a customer about any possible concerns can make a customer feel less scared to tell you what is going on. Some credit departments offer grace periods, payment negotiations and even automated reminders. It is important to exhaust all possible options before escalating to collections.

Another common strategy credit professionals can use is calling from a different phone number that is not within the normal area code the customer is used to seeing. You can also try calling their customer service number for the person you are trying to reach and get connected with them. If all strategies are exhausted and a customer is still unresponsive, a more assertive approach should be taken.

“I always think of the old saying, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease,’ and it is 100% true,” said Stinner. “If you are persistent with a customer, eventually they’ll do something about your debt just to make you go away. Whereas, if you follow up every other week on the same day at the same time, they’ll know when the call is coming and get used to ignoring you. Don’t limit your communication to phone calls only. You can contact them through emails, text messages or even change it up and send letters.”

Most credit applications will have your customer’s direct contact information to their company office. If not, using Google to find their office number can also help you contact a secretary who can transfer your direct call to the customer. “Beyond tracking down customers to communicate, if they are still radio silent, I like to reach out to industry credit groups,” said Misik. “You can reach out to your industry credit group to see if they are ghosting others out there or you can get a contact with someone who’s in contact with the customer in order to get in touch.”

To learn more about strategies for dealing with a customer who ghosts you, listen to the latest episode of NACM’s Extra Credit podcast.