Have you ever heard the saying “you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip?” Well in this new job I hear it a lot. It is a saying that means you can't get something (mainly money) from someone who does not have any. In the new job I just started I call people who are behind on their mortgage. Scratch that, I call A LOT of people who are behind in their mortgage. I am not calling to strong arm them into paying; I am calling to see what occurred to cause the hardship and what we can do to help. We can adjust the rate or the term to name I few things but I am not here to bore you with that. I talk to all kinds of people… ones that just don’t care, ones that panic, ones that are intentional, ones that blow me off, but my favorite are the jerks (male and female) who want to get sassy with me. Today I am sick and I am losing my voice so I am not really in the mood to chitchat…but this guy just set me off. I have to be professional, lucky for him but when he started cursing and telling me I was harassing him, when I had not even said who I was yet it kind of got me on the defensive. When he came out with the “you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip, I said well lets see what we can do to work out a deed in lieu, but I was thinking…I did not know I was dealing with a vegetable, and looky here I have a jar of fresh squeezed turnip blood right here on my desk!
i used to do the firm's collection work, so i feel your pain. you're not working in a very popular industry these days. (so does the rest of my family) but you do get to hear some really funny stories about why people think they should be excused from making their payments.
ReplyDeleteno kidding i was on the phone with an older lay today for 51 minutes. I now know her whole medical history. I even put down the phone, went to get some water and came back and she was still talking. must be lonely...
ReplyDeleteI commend you on doing a difficult job. hen I struggle with parts of my own I try to walk in the other person's shoes. It is not always easy. I am sure you do the same.
ReplyDeleteIt's never fun to have to be the "bad guy" calling someone to be accountable for their debt.
ReplyDeleteSadly, most folks can come up with TONS of reasons for not paying, but only one reason to get rude.
I don't envy you your job, but I do have a question..
Can you talk to my mortgage broker and see about lowering my rate??
You should have let him know that a turnip like him has plenty of blood and then sent me over....He would have been squealing!
ReplyDeleteOh God. I hate talking on the phone. I would probably slit my wrists by the end of the day if I had to do that.
ReplyDeleteI commend you for doing it. I'm sure you get to hear all sorts of interesting excuses.
That doesn't sound like a fun job. People get very defensive about the idea that they can't pay for their homes.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tough job. I hate talking on the phone anyway, but under those circumstances? Ow.
ReplyDelete