Real-Life Decision Making
The tasks you perform as a collection clerk may seem similar to those of
many other office jobs. You will make calls, write letters, calculate numbers
and respond to client and consumer questions.
But in most offices, it would probably be unusual (though not unheard of)
to be yelled at by a customer. As a collection clerk, expect it to be a regular
part of the job.
Collection clerk Michelle Dunn freely admits to being screamed at. At the
same time, she says she loves her work. The satisfaction comes from knowing
that you've had the skill to deal with the angry debtor. You got him
or her to agree to a payment arrangement, and put the money back into the
hands of your client or employer.
You're working on an account in which the debtor, Mr. Jones, has been
unresponsive. You've sent letters and left messages, to no avail. You
have a bad check of his in the file, which you have not yet reported to the
police.
You decide to try calling him again. This time he answers. You're
polite, but as soon as he hears that you're calling about an overdue
bill, he launches into screaming and swearing and threatening.
What do you do?