Music Trade Review
Issue: 1926 Vol. 82 N. 16 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
A Series of Collection Letters That
Holds Down the Past Due
Goosman Piano Co., of Toledo, Ohio, Has Effective Series of Twenty Letters, a Majority of Which Are
Reprinted With This Article, That Has Been Found Highly Effective by That Firm in Hold-
ing Down the Past Due on Instalment Accounts to a Minimum Figure on Its Books
HE Goosman Piano Co., Toledo, O., has
an interesting series of collection letters,
designed by its credit department and
numbering twenty in all, which has proven
highly successful in bringing returns on delin-
quent accounts. Not all of these, of course, arc
sent to any one past-due account, but a series
of five or six are chosen to meet the require-
ments of each individual case, it being a matter
of making the letters chosen fit the station or
temperament or disposition of the customer in
question. A selection from the series is given
herewith, through the courtesy of the com-
pany, for it will no doubt help many retail music
merchants who are struggling with the question
of past due and who depend entirely upon
letters to hold this percentage within a rea-
sonable figure.
A very successful letter is No. 6, which is
sent registered. By doing that the dealer is
certain he has reached his dodging debtor. This
letter also leaves the coast clear for almost any
action the merchant may then think necessary
or advisable. Sometimes by sending this regis-
tered letter late at night the effect is hightened
because the debtor is compelled to get out of
bed and when he finds it is a collection letter
will most likely respond in the morning. The
response is, however, very likely to be dramatic.
Further, in collecting by letter/ the last in
the series is followed by an attorneys letter. If
no response to that is received a truck is sent
to bring back the piano. Not infrequently this
act will bring about payment, for persons dislike
to be deprived of their instrument and will make
unusual efforts to retain it.
Form Letter No. 1
We have not as yet received your July and
September payments on your account and as
both these payments are past' due, we trust that
promptly on receipt of this letter you will
favor us with remittance for $
covering
same.
Yours very truly,
T
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 2
We have not as yet received remittance for
$31.80 as requested in our letter of September
15, and as these payments are all past due on
your account, we trust that promptly on receipt
of this letter you will favor us with remittance
for this amount.
Trusting you will not disappoint us, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 3
It is now over a month since we have received
a payment on your piano account, and as same
is $31 past due, we ask that promptly on receipt
of this letter you will favor us with remittance
for this amount to bring your account up to date.
Thanking you in advance for giving this your
prompt attention, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 4
It is now over three months since we have
received payment on your account, and as same
is now three months past due with another pay-
ment falling due October 1, making a total of
$50 due and past due on this account.
We dislike very much to have an account get
behind in this manner, and we, therefore, trust
that promptly on receipt of this letter you will
favor us with remittance for $50 so we can
bring your account up to date on our books.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 5
We have not as yet received September pay-
ment on your account and as these payments
are supposed to be met promptly when they fall
due, we trust that you will favor us with remit-
tance for $
promptly on receipt of this
letter.
Thanking you in advance for complying with
the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 6
"Register."
We have not as yet received your remittance
for $
as requested in our numerous
letters, and we are certain that these letters
have miscarried in the mails, and to make sure
that this letter reaches you we are registering
same.
You still owe us $. . . . on your account, and
as same is very much past due, we trust that
promptly on receipt of this letter you will favor
u# with remittance for this amount by return
mail so we can close the account on our books.
Trusting that you will not disappoint us, we
are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 7
We have not as yet received October pay-
ment on your account amounting to $
,
and as there is another payment for like amount
due November 25, making a total of $
due and past, we trust that you will favor us
with remittance for this amount to bring your
account up to date.
Trusting that you will not fail to comply with
the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 8
"Register."
We have not as yet received remittance from
you as requested in our numerous letters and
we are certain that these letters must have mis-
carried in the mails and to make sure that this
letter reaches you we arc registering same.
We have received no payment from you on
your account since last
and the
account is now
months past, or
$
past due.
We dislike very much to see an account get
behind in this manner and if you wish to keep
the instrument you will have to take better care
of your account in the future than you have in
the past. We think that you will agree with
us that we have been more than lenient with
you in this matter, and in justice to ourselves
we must now insist that you favor with remit-
tance for the above amount by return mail to
bring your account up to date on our books.
Trusting that you will not disappoint us, we
are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO
Form Letter No. 9
Owing to the present financial conditions out-
business has been a little bit slow and it is
almost impossible to borrow any money from
the bank.
Your account with us extends over a period
of
months and if you are in a
position to cash this up we will be glad to give
you a reasonable discount; in other words, we
are willing to allow you what we would have to
pay the bank for the use of the money.
If you are interested in this proposition, the
writer would be glad to see you at any time.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 10
We trust that you have been able to obtain
employment and can favor us with remittance
on your account, as we have received no pay-
ment from you since
and your
account is now
months past due, or
$
We are carrying so many people on
our books that are out of work that any remit-
tance you could make would be greatly appre-
ciated.
Trusting that you will be able to favor us
with the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 11
"Register."
We have hot as yet received remittance from
you as requested in our numerous letters and
we are certain that these letters have been mis-
carried in the mails, and to make sure that this
letter reaches you we are registering same.
We have received but $
from you this
entire year, and the entire past due amount on
your account amounting to $
and
interest is past due.
Matters have reached a point where we must
have some money on your account, and if you
cannot pay for it we will have to get the instru-
ment and resell it. to someone who can.
Could you not borrow the money from the
Morris Plan Bank and pay your account with
us in full? We await your reply by return mail
as to just what you intend doing.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
P. S.—If you cannot borrow the money from
the Morris Plan Bank, if you will see Mr. Burk-
hart, of the Peoples Loan Co., 209 Wayne Build-
ing, 611 Madison avenue, we are sure he will
lend you same.
Form Letter No. 12
We have received no payment on your ac-
count since
and there is now
$
past due on same. We have been very
reasonable with you in this matter for the last
months and must now ask that
you start making your payments if you wish
us to continue carrying your account.
We depend upon our customers meeting their
payments promptly as they fall due in order to
meet our own obligations and we have tried to
accommodate all of them as much as possible
as we believe our actions have demonstrated
this to you for the last
months.
If you cannot send the entire past due amount
please send what you can this week-and try and
(Continued on page 7)
A Series of Collection Letters That
Holds Down the Past Due
Goosman Piano Co., of Toledo, Ohio, Has Effective Series of Twenty Letters, a Majority of Which Are
Reprinted With This Article, That Has Been Found Highly Effective by That Firm in Hold-
ing Down the Past Due on Instalment Accounts to a Minimum Figure on Its Books
HE Goosman Piano Co., Toledo, O., has
an interesting series of collection letters,
designed by its credit department and
numbering twenty in all, which has proven
highly successful in bringing returns on delin-
quent accounts. Not all of these, of course, arc
sent to any one past-due account, but a series
of five or six are chosen to meet the require-
ments of each individual case, it being a matter
of making the letters chosen fit the station or
temperament or disposition of the customer in
question. A selection from the series is given
herewith, through the courtesy of the com-
pany, for it will no doubt help many retail music
merchants who are struggling with the question
of past due and who depend entirely upon
letters to hold this percentage within a rea-
sonable figure.
A very successful letter is No. 6, which is
sent registered. By doing that the dealer is
certain he has reached his dodging debtor. This
letter also leaves the coast clear for almost any
action the merchant may then think necessary
or advisable. Sometimes by sending this regis-
tered letter late at night the effect is hightened
because the debtor is compelled to get out of
bed and when he finds it is a collection letter
will most likely respond in the morning. The
response is, however, very likely to be dramatic.
Further, in collecting by letter/ the last in
the series is followed by an attorneys letter. If
no response to that is received a truck is sent
to bring back the piano. Not infrequently this
act will bring about payment, for persons dislike
to be deprived of their instrument and will make
unusual efforts to retain it.
Form Letter No. 1
We have not as yet received your July and
September payments on your account and as
both these payments are past' due, we trust that
promptly on receipt of this letter you will
favor us with remittance for $
covering
same.
Yours very truly,
T
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 2
We have not as yet received remittance for
$31.80 as requested in our letter of September
15, and as these payments are all past due on
your account, we trust that promptly on receipt
of this letter you will favor us with remittance
for this amount.
Trusting you will not disappoint us, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 3
It is now over a month since we have received
a payment on your piano account, and as same
is $31 past due, we ask that promptly on receipt
of this letter you will favor us with remittance
for this amount to bring your account up to date.
Thanking you in advance for giving this your
prompt attention, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 4
It is now over three months since we have
received payment on your account, and as same
is now three months past due with another pay-
ment falling due October 1, making a total of
$50 due and past due on this account.
We dislike very much to have an account get
behind in this manner, and we, therefore, trust
that promptly on receipt of this letter you will
favor us with remittance for $50 so we can
bring your account up to date on our books.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 5
We have not as yet received September pay-
ment on your account and as these payments
are supposed to be met promptly when they fall
due, we trust that you will favor us with remit-
tance for $
promptly on receipt of this
letter.
Thanking you in advance for complying with
the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 6
"Register."
We have not as yet received your remittance
for $
as requested in our numerous
letters, and we are certain that these letters
have miscarried in the mails, and to make sure
that this letter reaches you we are registering
same.
You still owe us $. . . . on your account, and
as same is very much past due, we trust that
promptly on receipt of this letter you will favor
u# with remittance for this amount by return
mail so we can close the account on our books.
Trusting that you will not disappoint us, we
are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 7
We have not as yet received October pay-
ment on your account amounting to $
,
and as there is another payment for like amount
due November 25, making a total of $
due and past, we trust that you will favor us
with remittance for this amount to bring your
account up to date.
Trusting that you will not fail to comply with
the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 8
"Register."
We have not as yet received remittance from
you as requested in our numerous letters and
we are certain that these letters must have mis-
carried in the mails and to make sure that this
letter reaches you we arc registering same.
We have received no payment from you on
your account since last
and the
account is now
months past, or
$
past due.
We dislike very much to see an account get
behind in this manner and if you wish to keep
the instrument you will have to take better care
of your account in the future than you have in
the past. We think that you will agree with
us that we have been more than lenient with
you in this matter, and in justice to ourselves
we must now insist that you favor with remit-
tance for the above amount by return mail to
bring your account up to date on our books.
Trusting that you will not disappoint us, we
are,
Yours very truly,
THE GOOSMAN PIANO CO
Form Letter No. 9
Owing to the present financial conditions out-
business has been a little bit slow and it is
almost impossible to borrow any money from
the bank.
Your account with us extends over a period
of
months and if you are in a
position to cash this up we will be glad to give
you a reasonable discount; in other words, we
are willing to allow you what we would have to
pay the bank for the use of the money.
If you are interested in this proposition, the
writer would be glad to see you at any time.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 10
We trust that you have been able to obtain
employment and can favor us with remittance
on your account, as we have received no pay-
ment from you since
and your
account is now
months past due, or
$
We are carrying so many people on
our books that are out of work that any remit-
tance you could make would be greatly appre-
ciated.
Trusting that you will be able to favor us
with the above request, we are,
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
Form Letter No. 11
"Register."
We have hot as yet received remittance from
you as requested in our numerous letters and
we are certain that these letters have been mis-
carried in the mails, and to make sure that this
letter reaches you we are registering same.
We have received but $
from you this
entire year, and the entire past due amount on
your account amounting to $
and
interest is past due.
Matters have reached a point where we must
have some money on your account, and if you
cannot pay for it we will have to get the instru-
ment and resell it. to someone who can.
Could you not borrow the money from the
Morris Plan Bank and pay your account with
us in full? We await your reply by return mail
as to just what you intend doing.
Yours very truly,
T H E GOOSMAN PIANO CO.
P. S.—If you cannot borrow the money from
the Morris Plan Bank, if you will see Mr. Burk-
hart, of the Peoples Loan Co., 209 Wayne Build-
ing, 611 Madison avenue, we are sure he will
lend you same.
Form Letter No. 12
We have received no payment on your ac-
count since
and there is now
$
past due on same. We have been very
reasonable with you in this matter for the last
months and must now ask that
you start making your payments if you wish
us to continue carrying your account.
We depend upon our customers meeting their
payments promptly as they fall due in order to
meet our own obligations and we have tried to
accommodate all of them as much as possible
as we believe our actions have demonstrated
this to you for the last
months.
If you cannot send the entire past due amount
please send what you can this week-and try and
(Continued on page 7)
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