Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You don't pay her fee.
You think her demands are outrageous. You decide that all is not lost and
you just need to wait a little longer for a clue that will tell you the whereabouts
of Kenny Hong.
You are surveying his house when you see Hong pull into his driveway with
his truck covered with mud. You radio in to tell your boss the good news,
but he tells you to forget it and head back to the office.
As it turns out, the informant you refused to pay told Hong that you were
looking for him. As a result, Hong paid the account directly, and the dealership
must allow him another month with the truck.
Also, your boss lost the fee that the dealership would have paid him if
you were able to track down Hong before he could make another payment. Nobody
wins in this situation except Hong.
This situation is very similar to what Jim Voice, president of a credit
service, had to go through once.
"The source offered to provide us with the whereabouts of a highway tractor
we were attempting to locate and seize. The fee he demanded for the information
was, in my opinion, excessive, as it would be charged back to the owner of
the vehicle," explains Voice.
"I made him an offer of a finder's fee that I considered more reasonable,
but he refused. The source, I believe, then told the debtor that we were after
him, with the result that he paid the account directly and we lost the fees
that we would have earned for that seizure."