Let’s start the new year off with me telling you a secret. After that, the title will make more sense.

A little bit of background first
After raising my children, I went back to school to get a business degree and then, I landed a great job! (Or…I thought it was a great job at the time!)

Can you guess what it was by now?
I used to work for a bill collection agency as an actual bill collector, but I was horrible at it! I had waaaay too much compassion for the people I spoke with. I spent too long on the calls listening to their stories; and I believed their stories.

Many times I wanted to get my checkbook out and pay their bill for them so we would stop calling them and causing them so much stress.

Contaminated ears
There were some days I felt like I needed to wash my ears out with soap. People got very angry when we called them. And they said some horrible things. I felt bad for them, but I really hated hearing the nastiness.

Most of my co-workers were great at that job
They were more tough-skinned than I was; and they could step back from the call and just do the job. They got on and off the calls quickly. They seldom believed the “excuses”. The stories. They didn’t lose one bit of sleep over how the people felt. Or what they said in their nastiness.

I asked for a transfer
I lost a lot of sleep. So, I asked for a transfer to a different department. I became a “transfer agent”. That means I verified if it is the right party we were trying to reach. I then forwarded the call on to the collector. That meant that the person got to talk to TWO of us about their problem.

Working shift work. Ten hour days
I worked four 10-hour days of shift work, so I could use the entire fifth day of the week to go to school to train to become a life coach. Those were four brutal days for me each week, but the joy of taking the classes and practicing with my training buddies. Having my own Christian Life Coach to walk through the transitions with me…more than made up for the horror of the other 4 days each week. I knew I would soon be doing what I had been created to do. It felt so right.

The day finally arrived!
I remember it well…the day I was ready to go full time in my own business as a Christian Life Coach and leave the collections to someone else. YAY!!!! I have never once regretted my career change! (I hope my story inspires you to listen to your heart. To learn what your gifts and strengths are. To train for your dream job. And to follow through and do the hard work of change.)

Now that is behind me, I can actually laugh at some of the crazy things people say to bill collectors. Below are a few things that people actually said to me at the bill collection job. (I changed the names for privacy.) So, here you go…a bit of humor to start your new year off with a smile…

Funny things bill collectors hear on the job:

Me: Is (Sara) there?
Her Employer: “She’s not here. She’s on the street.”

Me: Is (George) there?
Response: He’s (mumble).
Me: Could you wake him up? This is important.
Response: He’s deceased!
Me thinking: (Was that true?)

Me: Is (Joe) there please?
Person on phone: You people are sick! It’s 9:00 o’clock (in the morning)!

Me: Is (the sister) there?
Response: (Anger, rage…mean words!) Then: I just got out of prison (spoken in an intimidating tone)
Me: Welcome Home!
Response: Silence (and then cooperation).

Me: (After trying to reason with a debtor)
Response: “I’m a professional debtor!!!
Me thinking: (YIKES! Someone actually admits that?)

Me: Is (Jane) there?
Response: No
Me: Is her husband there?
Response: Not anymore – her divorce was final yesterday.
Me: I’m sorry to hear that.
Response: I’m not. I’m her boyfriend.

Me: Would you take a message?
Response: I’m in the tub (water sounds).
Me thinking: (I guess that was a “no” for taking a message.)

Me: Is (Joan) there:
Response: (Remember – this is a phone call) … Is she a black girl?
Me: I wouldn’t know about that.
Response: I used to work with her, but I don’t know how to reach her. This is not her number.
Further Response: You know…this is amazing – your furnace man was here this morning.
Me thinking: (hmmm…no, we are not furnace repair people…we are bill collectors.)

It would be great if some of you would share (in the comments section of the blog) some of your or your friends’ experiences on either side of the bill collection journey.

Be watching your inbox and FB feed.
Coming VERY soon…a new group opportunity via telephone conference call…to help you move closer toward your own goals in this new year.

You, too, could walk toward a brighter future!

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