Why do we get so stressed when our payment is late?

[KasinoKing]

I'm asking myself this, as much as anyone else.

I used to be pretty laid back & relaxed about most things, but these days I find I start stressing about payments as soon as they go 1 day later than was promised by the program.
I can't understand why I feel like this, particularly when a) It's an operator I trust and I know they WILL pay up, and b) It's not like I desperately need the money for anything.
(Maybe getting burned for $7K last year by Lucky Spins has ingrained unnatural distrust into my brain...)

Anyone else feel like this?
And anyone got any tips on how to try to not worry about it?
(Apart from booze and strong drugs!)

Happy Easter!
KK

 

[Frank]

Booze can make you write crazy emails you may regret lol, I get real stressed, because it's the same programs every month.. right now I have 3 programs that should of paid 10 days ago.. constant chasing, they always pay but it's extra work that should not be needed, and a few times i find myself reducing their exposure until payment comes through. there is a lot of contempt of affiliates sometimes and I suppose that's what annoys me the most

 

[celena]

Hello,
I have a horror run after payments.
We had affiliations who farm without paying us. And we must also eat.
This month, I had a project. I could not do it, why? 15 days late on 2 payments. The date of my project was going on. And sorry for my english

 

[Shay]

I get stressed out by payments because I've been around when markets "close" and programs go from paying timely to "we're having some delays" to "we just cannot legally pay you", so I am naturally sensitive on the issue.

That aside, the affiliate program terms and conditions are all we have to fall back on. We as affiliates are expected to live up to all the terms. The terms are written in a mostly program friendly language and give affiliates very few specific rights. When they say "we will make payments by the 10th of the month" for example, to me that is a big deal. It is something they are supposed to live up to. A timely payment (when something such as that is written into the terms) is my right.

Continuing on, I first got really annoyed with payments a few years ago when over half the programs I worked with were late on their payments in the same month. The majority of them made it seem like it was not a big deal and had the response "Sorry mate, was busy with LAC". Seriously? This told me that the average program (that I worked with) was possibly incapable of growing their business and maintaining it simultaneously. It also told me that the affiliate programs I worked with had their priorities at work a bit screwed up. Something on the calendar scheduled months in advance and you can't make the payment run on time?

And of course, there's no financial penalty for making a late payment, so it was beginning to feel like a few of the programs were sitting on the cash rather than shipping it to where it belonged. If there was say a 5% late fee associated with missing the due date, then I'd be less worried about "late" payments (I suspect programs would in turn be more worried about them though).

Finally, we've all worked with programs who have a nice, helpful affiliate manager - but the brand they work for had issues and went belly up. Payments (to players and to affiliates) are one of the many indicators I pay attention to to try to identify an issue with the brands as early as possible. Thus, the ability and willingness to pay me on time is important in monitoring the "health" and "responsibility" of a program.

 

[slotplayer]

Apply the lessons learned in life to business and you will prevail.

 

[TheGooner]

I don't get stressed out about payments. I trust the partners I work with - but that's easier to do when you are just listing the best 20 or so - and ignoring the rest.

IF you've got 40, 50 or more programs then you've probably got some programs that are struggling - so you are probably right to be stressed.

 

[NDG]

I actually have a file with all of the affiliate programs, the payment minimums, and the dates that
they've paid us in the past and the dates that they post up on their web sites for paying affiliates.
I also have the contact details for the affiliate programs as well, so its easy to contact them if
their is a problem with the payment or if the payment is late. This makes it a lot less stressful.

 

[CaseyM]

It doesn't stress me out, as long as I have a responsive contact there. Which is why responsiveness is one of the most important factors in choosing who to work with

 

[AussieDave]

If you haven't figured me out yet, I'm old school (with a modern twist). If I make a promise to do something or am bound to a commitment, then I follow through. If I can't meet my obigation(s), I let people know. I expect the same common courtesy. One of my pet peeves is being feed BS. Just have the balls to tell me the truth. Anyone who does that, I hold in high regard.

Take Lloyd Apter... Known the guy probably 14 years. From the time I started as an aff to now, he has never BS'ed me... nuff said!

(Maybe getting burned for $7K last year by Lucky Spins has ingrained unnatural distrust into my brain...)

I'm still the enternal optimist BUT this industry (over the years), has certain cultivated a cynical/distrusting side in me too.
That's solely due to being f#cked over numerous times for some serious dollars or literally being led up the garden path with fabricated lies!

We as affiliates are expected to live up to all the terms. The terms are written in a mostly program friendly language and give affiliates very few specific rights. When they say "we will make payments by the 10th of the month" for example, to me that is a big deal. It is something they are supposed to live up to. A timely payment (when something such as that is written into the terms) is my right.

Some affiliates maybe ok but for others, it may mean their struggling to put food on the table or meet finacial commitments. The fact remains; as Shay points out, "affiliates are expect to live up to all the terms", then so too must programs. These are contractual agreements between an affiliate and the aff program. If it states xyz, then that's exactly what it should be, not abc.

Granted it's the internet and sh#t happens sometimes. Though, more often than not, affiliates are left in the dark.

Botton line, some programs act like their doing us a HUGE favour by paying us on time
Program News Flash... It's not a privilege to be paid-on-time, it's our contractual T&C right!

Edit:
Like TheGooner, I only work with a small circle of programs these days. I know they will pay me and if they can't meet their obligation, then they send me a courtesy email. I'd go mental with stress, if I worked with upteen dozen programs, having to chase payments all the time.

 

[Mikew]

Once you get paid late once or don't get paid at all because a program just disappear in the dark, these ingredients are a good recipe to get stressed around the date you re supposed to get paid by a program.
Indeed it is much easier when you work with few and know them really good.
We work with quite a lot of programs, and although we push a few strongly on specific markets, it happens that some players prefer the casino at the bottom of the list a deposit there. I kind of always get stressed when it is the first ever payment to be received by a new program or a well known we recently sign up to.
Once the first two payments are done normally I usually stop getting worried about it and trust more the program, especially if I am able to quickly reach an AM.

Its a nice thing @NDG to have a file and save all these information in it. I might just do the same on excel. Thanks for the tip

 

[slotplayer]

I can't live what I call "close to the edge". Not these days, way too much uncertainty.

 

[Kadabra]

I do not worry about payments as long as the program/my contact there is responsive. I even have no idea when the pay date of each program according to their terms.
Not sure it helps, but it's worth remembering that there are plenty minor things that can delay payments: some downtime, issue funding skrill account, local holidays where the casino is, holidays where their bank is.

Maybe you can try for 2-3 months not to check the account where you get your payments until 20-25th of the month. It will probably save you some of the concerns.

 

[RyanWeb]

Once we enter into the following month, I start to get a bit concerned.. I really hate sending out emails before that as it never seems to fail, once I send a 'strongly worded' email the payment seems to show up just as I hit send lol

 

[mattsgame]

Some affiliates maybe ok but for others, it may mean their struggling to put food on the table or meet finacial commitments. The fact remains; as Shay points out, "affiliates are expect to live up to all the terms", then so too must programs. These are contractual agreements between an affiliate and the aff program. If it states xyz, then that's exactly what it should be, not abc.

Granted it's the internet and sh#t happens sometimes. Though, more often than not, affiliates are left in the dark.

This.... A lot of affiliates do this full time (its not for me, I am way to busy) and need to keep up with everyday bills and food. Most people run a schedule going by when they get paid, this is no different to anyone in the general work force. Stuff happens obviously but there is no excuse for it to keep happening.