That is the title of the article written by John N. Frank for the June 2006 issue of Collections & Credit Risk, the Commercial & Consumer Credit Authority.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed by John last month for this article and it turned out very well. He is a wonderful interviewer, reminds you of someone who has done this for years, and is very comfortable and good at what they do. It was a pleasure to work with him. I guess he felt the same about me since he interviewed me for another story to be in the July 2006 issue!
His article covers complaints, something everyone who collects money from people, knows ALL about. Complaints about collectors continue to increase. He writes about what can be done to stem the complaints while improving performance, image and customer service.
Did you know debt collection ranks as the most complained-about industy in the country? In house collectors (this is you as a business owner, credit manager, A/P person etc) had 23,605 complaints filed against them in 2005.
There are things you can do to curb the amount of complaints made against you.
Some important steps you can take with your employees who collect for you are:
- Traning - make sure you and your collectors know the law, and what they can and cannot say or do.
- Monitoring - You can record calls, but just listening in can be enough. It is up to you to ensure compliance with your employees.
- Incentives - When you don't pay your collectors enough, or encourage them, they may slack. Being a bill collector is a hard job! Make it worth their while!
More resources for you are:
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