This rating indicates that five different merchants have found by experience that John Doe is a prompt paying credit customer, and two other merchants have found him somewhat slow, but regard him reliable and trustworthy.
Next example:
"John A. Doe, lawyer, 210 North Second St., 4D 3B."
This rating indicates that four different merchants have found him too slow in paying to be a desirable credit customer, and three other merchants have found him bad pay and unworthy of credit confidence.
Other sources of information, which come under the head of exchanges of ledger experiences, are the credit men's associations. These associations, through clearing houses, exchange information about their customers, thus supplying the wholesaler with the same class of information as described above for retailers.
One credit man relates the following incident, illustrating the value of the association clearing house. On one of the reports furnished by the clearing house, he noticed that another merchant had refused credit to one of his own customers. Investigation developed the fact that this particular customer's locality had suffered severely from the destruction of crops by a cyclone. Now it happened that this credit man's house was about to fill a large order from this very customer. The shipment was held up, and the credit man promptly wrote to the merchant expressing regret that his community had suffered so severely, and asking if his house could be of any assistance to him. In closing the letter, the suggestion was made that since collections were likely to be slow with the merchant, they would allow him to cut down his order.
The letter had the desired effect. Instead of turning him down the merchant was made to feel that he had friends in that house, and it is probable that he continued to be one of their valued customers.
RECORDING CREDIT INFORMATION
Scattered information is of little value. A credit man may avail himself of all sources of credit information, but unless he has it filed and recorded where he can put his hand on it, he will find it of little assistance in determining credit risks. He cannot "keep it in his head" and get the best results.
There are credit men who profess to rely largely on intuition, but the hard-headed man—the one who makes the fewest mistakes—relies on his facts and figures. He uses judgment, but first wants the facts marshaled in logical order.