Changing the perception one person at a time

By Brit:

One mind at a time.

It sounds almost trite to say that changing the public perception of the collection industry must be accomplished one mind at a time, but yet it’s absolutely true.  A lot of people still have a negative perception of what we as debt collectors do, whether that derives from media reports, second-hand knowledge from a friend or family member, or even their own past negative experience.

To begin to change that perception, American Profit Recovery has engaged in philanthropic endeavors to shed light on positive aspects of our company and industry.  In fact, I am very proud of the charity work we do as a company and as individuals.  We support breast cancer awareness, Special Olympics and our veterans, as well as helping those in need in our community by adopting families around the holidays.  All of these are very satisfying for us, they are the right thing to do as a company, and probably good public relations too, but activities such as these won’t actually change the mind of a single person that has a negative perception of debt collectors as a whole.

What will give me an opportunity to change the hearts and minds of the average joe out there?  Every single conversation that I, or my fellow collectors, have with a consumer or even with a third party.  Each time we engage with someone is a chance to let them see that we are really just calling to help, that we understand, and most importantly, and we can be KIND, regardless of the outcome.

I have become acutely aware that each day I have an opportunity to change the mind of several people with whom I have an interaction.  Simply by listening, being kind and trying to help, it amazes me every day how many people are blown away with how different we are than their expectation of a collector prior to the call, and how genuinely thankful they are for our approach and our help.