Credit Management July and August 2020

COMMERCIAL COLLECTIONS
PERSONAL ACCOUNT
How one commercial DCA has weathered the
storm and the lessons learned.
AUTHOR – Steve Lewis
Steve Lewis
WHEN the editor
called and asked me
to write an article
on The Life of a
Commercial DCA
during and after
COVID-19, I thanked him profusely. It has
been a welcome change from a. Netflix
or b. On-Line Quizzing, not that it has
affected my thought processes in any way!
In some ways it has been difficult
because the new reality is ‘Life but not
as we know it Jim’. But it’s not helpful to
simply say that ‘We can’t handle the truth’;
we now have to accept what is a reality
and as an industry, commercial debt
collection agencies are determined to
adapt and operate as such. We must now
deal with our clients and their customers
in a different way.
We had not planned for a ‘lockdown’. Of
course, we had all the usual ‘disaster plans’
in place, but when it really happened,
nothing in our experience seemed to help.
For the first week of closing the office we
were in a state of suspended animation,
along with literally millions of others,
including governments. None of us had
any previous experience of such a crisis
and we, as a business, were not sure
how we should go forward. Then reality
clicked in.
My team started to get its act together.
Our remote access was tested and those
who could, started to get us up and
running. Those whose personal and/
or health obligations did not allow, or
where it was totally impracticable to work
from home, were placed on furlough.
Telephone diverts were quickly put in
place and ‘WhatsApp’ Groups and Zoom
meetings quickly established.
HOUSEKEEPING
With the housekeeping taken care of, we
were now facing a new reality. As debt
collectors, there is always the assumption
that our services may seem a little
inappropriate for the current climate. But
never assume!
Our clients’ cashflow was now the
major consideration. There are still
industries out there selling and innovating
and by default must also be buying
products and services. Industries such as
transportation, food, medical and many
others that I am sure suddenly come to
mind means that credit control always
remains an important aspect of business.
Of course, in the immediate present
the building industry, retail and many
others are taking a big hit, so as a
commercial DCA it means that we need
Some businesses say
that they cannot pay
because of the current
crisis, and it is left
to our training and
experience to establish
the veracity of any
statement, as we have
always done.
to understand exactly what has happened
and is happening currently. We have had
to be far more empathetic in the way we
approach those we are chasing. It is often
far more prudent to give time to discuss
repayment schedules rather than a
tougher approach to immediate payment.
Agencies have had to move with the times
we are operating in.
Agencies like ours are establishing a
relationship now between all parties that
can be built upon when things return to
a certain level of normality. It will never
again be that easy to dismiss one supplier
for another when payments are delayed
or contract arguments cannot be settled.
There is a sea change on the way that we
all deal with each other, because at the
moment, and I hope it lasts, everyone in
a business or personal capacity will need
each other for support as we go forward.
There will be no mileage in aggressive
payment or collection attitudes. But
let us not be too naive, in the world of
commerce and industry there will always
be businesses that use credit just to
survive, and delay payments as a natural
way to protect cash flow. ‘Payment lagging’
will never disappear and arguments and
problems over payment will always be
part of business, but what a shock we
have all had.
BOLD STATEMENTS
Some businesses say that they cannot
pay because of the current crisis, and it
is left to our training and experience to
establish the veracity of any statement,
as we have always done. None of us
have had any experience of what is now
happening. I, for one, never want to go
through this again, but it has meant that
every business I speak to, large or small,
is not as dismissive of our intervention as
we first thought. In some ways, because
of reduced staff levels everywhere and
many working from home, personal
contact has become easier and in some
ways friendlier. We are ‘all in the same
boat’ is perhaps the best way to describe
the business attitude out there at the
moment.
At the time of writing we are making
plans for a return to the office. Our
emphasis will continue to be more
personal contact with our clients. We
do not doubt that there will be a surge
in instruction from clients as we all
endeavour to get back to ‘normal’ and our
personal approach will mean that we can
give them a better understanding of some
of the expectations regarding collection
and in some instances the slightly longer
time considerations. That is not to say we
will lose any of our fervour in achieving
results, but we have to recognise the
very different trading conditions we are
returning to.
Steve Lewis is Managing Director LPL
Commercial Investigations
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 17