A few popular clichés resonate in the business world as well as the personal space: “there are plenty of fish in the sea,” “leave no stone unturned” or “sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.” Those words of wisdom are great if one has a lifetime to spare, but what can be done if the clock is ticking and money is slowly seeping out the door of uncollected debt?
The answer lies in a less known cliché, but one that holds special meaning to car salespeople and beyond: “peel the grapes and shuck the flakes.” In other words, don’t waste time on lost causes or dead ends.
Since its inception, Optio has made it a point to not be “the other guy” of debt collections — organizations that over promise and under deliver or leave clients and their loyal customers behind in the wreckage. With its great reputation firmly in hand, Optio recommends two important parameters of human involvement that should be considered before hiring a debt collector.
Front of the House Debt Collectors
Optio managers are hands-on field captains who reconcile all of the moving parts involved in day-to-day operations: from correctly administering company policy and procedure, to fulfilling established agreements with clients, to being fully compliant with the law (HIPAA, FDCPA and FCRA), to quickly resolving individual consumer issues when they arise. The goal, of course, is to recover debt while retaining long-term consumer patronage for clients. “The other guy” is a maverick who doesn’t have time to care on all fronts, often leaving their employees with the task of mopping up a “spill” or not giving a client their money’s worth of customer service.
Debt collectors should be well-trained professionals who contact consumers on behalf of clients with friendly tenacity. Optio employs compliance-certified collectors who help maintain a consumer-centric approach while negotiating maximum payments. The other guy simply phones it in, using pressure tactics or guessing at inopportune times that precipitate losses of time and revenue.
Back of House Debt Collectors
Reputable debt collections requires considerable planning, compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, and uncompromising standards of ethics. Optio fulfills all of these criteria and more while maintaining active memberships in affiliations such as ACA International, the California Association of Collectors or the Better Business Bureau.
The Optio management team has nearly 150 years of combined experience in the debt collections industry with some individuals weighing in at 25-plus years each. Their expertise includes operations, developing business plans for specific verticals, contingency based collections, strategic planning, first- and third-party portfolios, letter strategies and the latest in call-center methodology.
The Optio legal team is well versed in all aspects of debt collector law including consumer protection and privacy, litigation, contracts, and federal rules and regulations.
The Sum of Both Houses: the Debt Collector Knight
Some debt collectors excel at collecting debt while alienating consumers; others simply have horrible recovery rates.
Optio believes companies should never settle for anything less than a high return on investment (ROI) and a high retention rate among consumers. In an industry that forgives few mistakes, clients should demand full transparency, personalized service, excellent communications, fast reaction times, fewer complaints and speedy debt-recovery rates. Optio provides first- and third-party collections for industries including financial services and mortgages, education, healthcare, retail, energy-utilities, telecommunications and automotive.
Companies looking for a new collections partner or seeking to replace “the other guy” should make it a point to place Optio on their short list of candidates. Contact us today.
