Stalking on the telephone (Jan 16th)

hen I first arrived in Las Vegas and searched the want ads, I noticed there were tons of jobs in telephone debt collections (not surprising in a town like this).  Some ads were pretty upfront about the job description (see image below).  Others would hide it by calling it "Call Center" or "Customer Service".  Whatever the title, the positions pretty much involve the same thing: chasing deadbeats on the phone.

I thought about phone collections recently because of my training class.  Although I'm not doing anything of the sort, HSBC provides training on debtor rights and the law (something they take very seriously) since I work in the credit card division.  During this portion of the training, several colleagues shared interesting stories on being a collector and given free reign (and encouraged) by ex-employers to curse, harass, threaten and scream at debtors.  Some of the methods they shared were as funny as they were illegal.  Although it can be ugly and stressful work, most spoke of their experiences with a sense of nostalgia and enthusiasm.

Personally, I wouldn't do it as a career, but can see how, like working in a casino, it can be an interesting Vegas experience.  I'm not impugning this line of work since it serves a vital function in our credit driven economy.  But as a career, it's something for aggressive people who enjoys a good brawl and may lack (or can suspend) a humanly sense of empathy or ethics.  I heard gifted collectors can earn six-figures (no college degree needed!) doing nothing but dialing a phone and unleashing a flood of threats and profanity.