THE MAGAZINE FOR GROWING COMPANIES

CUSTOMERS: CANT LIVE WITH EM cant live without EM. You needs them to survive, but they can cause headaches. Customers dont always pay their bills promptly. They cheat retail return policies. They pirate software and music. They even help themselves to soda refills. But while entrepreneurs have long accepted such petty outrages as simply the cost of doing business, a few innovations are discovering that technology can induce consumers-without alienating them-to play by the rules.

Consider Payment Protection Systems. The company, based in Temecula, Calif., sells a dashboard device called On Time to used-car dealers. It starts blinking in the days leading up to a payment, and if the driver fails to cut a check, it disables the car.