The American Repossessor

November passes us by with yet another fatality of a fellow Field Agent  Brandon Thomas and his partner Willie Thackston, who is recovering from the attack.

What is wrong with this world? Field Agents are out there only to do their jobs.

It’s a piece of metal for goodness sake, something that is definitely not worth getting hurt over, let alone losing a life over.  They have apprehended the attacker and one would hope that justice will prevail, but it needs to prevail the legal way and not ‘an eye for an eye etc.,’ as I read recently the comment made by an industry colleague.

Needless to say, we are all saddened by such vicious actions and one hopes that the ‘blindfolded lady with the balancing scales’, will provide their attacker with what he deserves.

As a reminder, (see the RSIG advert on the Home Page) there is The RECOVERY AGENT’S BENEFIT FUND that was  established a fund to assist BOTH families of the victims.  Please mail any contributions payable to Recovery Agent’s Benefit Fund – P.O. Box 4102, Manassas Virginia 20108 or check by fax to 703-365-0636.

The Recovery Agent’s Benefit Fund is an IRS 501(c)(3)recognized charitable organization and all contributions are tax deductible on your federal tax returns. 100% of all donations go to the family with a letter listing all contributors.

Nothing in this world warrants the taking of another’s life, no matter what.  Very sad. Our thoughts and prayers are with both Field Agents and their families.

For the last few weeks I have been working with a client that has expanded into a new State and part of that expansion was a new office base, with Account Executives and Field Agents, of course.  Our intense training program for both means that they work as a team and both received extensive training and understanding of each other’s roles too.

In the case of the Field Agents, they are trained to ‘retreat’ at the first sign of any confrontation by the debtor and are told that there is always another time to get that vehicle plus a piece of metal is not worth anyone’s well-being or life!

I hear so many stories about confrontation with debtors by Field Agents, some are provoked and some are not.  And then, there are the ‘TV’ version of repossessions and of course, that portrayal incites debtors into taking defensive actions that they probably would not have taken, had they not seen those ‘misfits’ that are in our industry, carrying on as they do.

We need to take care of our employees and ensure their safety as much as possible and good, professional training goes a long way towards that.

Professionalism goes hand-in-hand with QUALITY.  Unfortunately the repossession/recovery industry is not known by that word and is often unfairly described as unprofessional, and lacking in quality services. That is not the case as so many repossession companies do offer quality professional repossession services, contrary to what ‘outsiders’ may see or believe.

www.theamericanrepossession.com is part of a company that works within the repossession/recovery industry, I am proud to announce that  ConnecTGo, Inc.  is now an independently accredited ISO 9001:2008 certified company  and all the services it provides, which includes training at all levels within repossession companies, ranging from Field Agents, to office staff to senior management, consulting and advisory services that help companies to develop and grow profitably plus others, and as part of the company they have the ISO 9001 tag attached to it and that includes www.theamericanrepossessor.com. (ISO9001:2008 is an International Quality Standard and is recognized all over the world.  For more information about this, read my column).

2010 is fast approaching and you need to mark in your calendars an important event within the Repossession/Recovery Industry.  In March 2010, the 2nd Annual North American Repossessors Summit takes place in Texas, which is hosted by the American Recovery Association (ARA).  This event is about ‘the coming together’ of repossession company  owners from around the United States.  This is in relation to OUR future, SO YOU NEED TO BE THERE!  For more information go to www.reposummit.com.

Before we get to 2010 we need to be sure to enjoy the festive season that will be here in the ‘blink of an eye’.

From all of us at www.theamericanrepossessor.com we wish one and all, a very Happy  Christmas.

BE SAFE!

Susan