My Collection Manager Is too Nicey-Nicey

Dear Crabby, I’ve been enjoying your column and now find myself writing to you for help. Our staff collector was trained to be very polite, understanding, and to be reasonably, “accommodating” to our customers, as many of them have been with us for decades. I would...

The CMI Spirit – Cheryl Carliss

As we are delighted to spotlight Cheryl Carliss for our August newsletter, please read through her short interview which conveys her passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: What was the initial opportunity that brought you into the collection profession? How...

Excuse Me, Is this the Argument Room?

From time to time we at CMI receive an inquiry from a potential client with a heads up that their conversation with the customer got a little intense. In a recent inquiry, we were informed that after making several prior requests for payment, suddenly during the last...

The CMI Spirit – Guy Lang

As we are delighted to spotlight Guy Lang for our April newsletter, please read through his short interview which conveys his passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: What was the initial opportunity that brought you into the profession? How long have you...

Need to know the truth!

Dear Crabby, I’m at my wits end. I have a customer who has gone through good and bad times over the years (decades) and our president continues to do business with him no matter how bad the bad times get. My problem is that one of those bad times has produced...

I Completely Messed up on a Collection Call

Dear Crabby, This is embarrassing but I completely messed up on a collection call. Here’s what happened. I had been calling one of our regularly delinquent, but long term, customers for the past three months and dealing with several broken promises. Then last week...