The VoicE Q3
WHAT COVID-19 HAS
TAUGHT US ABOUT
COLLECTIONS
2020has brought unprecedented
times. This has required everyone to
adjust. However, these adjustments have
provided us with valuable insights and
lessons for adapting and sustaining
business in the future. Covid-19 has
helped us learn the importance of credit
reporting, consumer sensitivity, client
service communication, administrative
organization, industry partnerships, and
investing in business infrastructure.
Credit Reporting generated revenue streams
during the crisis. Most gyms put collection
files on pause so there was no new
material coming in. Some gyms wanted
to pause all outbound collection activity.
This left inbound collection activity as the
only way to continue to create revenue for
gyms, and files reported on credit over
the past few years have provided a steady
stream of payment activity.
With no monthly draft, our checks were
perhaps the only source of revenue for
our clients. This emphasized the value
of our work to bring in revenue while still
maintaining professionalism and compassion
during this time. From sampling
30 of our Gold’s clients, they received an
average check for $1000 in March, $913
in April, and $1002 in Mayfrom our collection
efforts when most of them were
closed. Because of the National Emergency
our call center built in anational emergency
response. Leadinginto each phone call,
after we verified we were speaking with
the correct consumer, we asked if now
was a good time to talk. Normally we
would go right into the collection script, so
this was an adjustment. There was some
worry this would create lost collections.
What we actually observed happen was
nonoticeable drop off in money collected
March through June of 2020 vs the
sameperiod of 2019.
If a consumer said now was not a good
time to talk, we would apologize for the
inconvenience and let them know we
would delay future calls during this time.
Initially, there were a good number of
consumers who went that route, but after
the initial shut downtook place, far fewer
said now wasn’t a good time. It almost
feels like this practice of asking if now is
a good time to talk made the consumer
more comfortable and the flow of the call
was smoother and we experienced less
escalation.
This crisis also emphasizes the importance
of our client service team and relationships
with key vendors. With clients operating
in many states, we needed to stay in contact
with each one and be aware of fluid
situations in many locations. Even though
it was a time of lower amounts of collections
being placed or sales happening, our
internal support team was more busy than
normal. We reached out to each client to
verify if they wanted outbound efforts to
continue, if they wanted new placement
files loaded in, and if they were ok with
the scripted language we were using.
Each client in each state had different
wants and needs that we facilitated.
Our amazing client service team has
worked tirelessly to serve each gym
according to their unique situation, and
this effort is ongoing as we continue to
emerge from this process.
Our relationships with GGFA and ABC
Financial really helpedgather information
and get on the same page. These partners
were sensitive to our operations and
worked with us to form an operations
perspective. This enabled us to put our
time and resources into serving our
mutual clients. These groups also gave
valuable industry andstate updates to help
us better understand and prepare for the
evolving climate.
There was a worry that consumers would
react in an offended manner to collection
efforts during the initial phases of the
shutdown. Because the consumers we
were contacting wentpast due in advance
of the shutdown, they knew this was an
issue that was unrelated to the crisis. Our
contactrates went up as more consumers
were at home and available to our phone
calls. When the federal government
provided stimulus payments to each
consumer, many of them used that
money in a responsible way and contacted
our office to resolve past due amounts
and repair poor credit.
Another lesson our office learned is that
we need to continue to evolve, adapt, and
upgrade our internal processes. Thankfully,
nine months prior to the crisis,our
office invested in a cloud-based service
to operate our collection office. We still
worked onsite at our call center in Salt
Lake City, Utah. Moving to the cloud gave
management flexibility to work remotely,
it secured our data better and made our
speed and connectivity improve. We had
no idea it would literally save our call
center when everyone was required to
stay at home. In a two-day window, we
were able to get all of our representatives
organized to work from their own home
and continue to service our clients.
Together we will all emerge from this with
powerful lessons learned and be stronger
in our approaches and consumer interactions.
Thank you to all of our clients for
trusting in our efforts. We so appreciate
all your hard work and patience and
resilience during this unprecedented and
uncertain time. We are confident this all
will pass. Also, we are very encouraged
with the consumer response to continue
to use the facilities and recognize the
irreplaceable importance the fitness
industry has with public health. This
industry helps individuals in preventative
medicine against viruses and diseases.
Being healthy and active will be even
more valued by society once the data and
numbers come out.
13