If you know her you know... the nickname is more than ironic in nature. 

Soft-spoken, pleasant, and polite in nature, Tyler-based collections specialist Lori Larson knows a few things about her job, given that she’s been doing it for 40 years now. What has she learned about calling on people to essentially collect their money?

• You’ve got to be persistent.
• You’ve got to be gentle.
• You’ve got to be strong-willed.
• When the time calls for it, you’ve got to be a Pit Bull.

Whether it’s digging deep into an account issue, or the prowess behind collecting on overdue accounts, our admin people are top dogs on making sure it gets done, it gets done quickly, and it gets done right.

The Pit Bull.

By no means does the playful nickname she’s earned reflect her personality, or her demeanor with customers and coworkers. But, as Lori admits, “Sometimes you have to be a little pushy. You have to just keep going with it.”

The “Pit Bull” nickname was earned after calling on a past-due account recently. The person on the other end of the line didn’t think he owed what Lori was claiming he did. The back and forth continued until the gentleman asked to speak to her supervisor.

“I didn’t let it go – we knew he owed the money. I first asked him if he could pay a little towards it and he wasn’t going to budge. Then, he said he thought he’d already paid, so I asked him for the check number and asked if I could please call the secretary to confirm the payment,” Lori recalls. “That made him angry. He eventually asked to speak to my supervisor, to which he told her  ‘your pit bull of a collector just wouldn’t let this go.’’

The name amuses Tyler Admin Supervisor Jordan Conley, who says that Lori is one of her favorite people to work with. She says that Lori’s ability to remain neutral with a customer, while never being afraid to keep trying even when it looks hopeless, is her biggest strength.

“Collections is a tricky job,” Jordan says. “You have to be patient and respectful to people who are not exactly thrilled you are reaching out to them… because they already know why. It’s a hard line to walk, and she does it so well. So it always makes me laugh when someone perceives her as a ‘pit bull.’”

The ‘Pit’ Digger.

What’s the best (and least expensive) way for farmers to learn tons of information about their cropping system on the farm for the coming year? They dig a pit…and observe. Admin pros do their own share of digging.

Administrative employees don’t just show ‘pit bull’ prowess to produce results – they dig deep. That’s exactly what Administration Manager Summar Sinclair did when a local sales rep ran into a puzzling situation out in the field.

As Business Process Consultant Kaylee Lynn puts it, she was out cold calling in an area business center that she’d set her eyes on days prior. When she walked into one particular business, she was just getting into her pitch when she saw a copier with a Datamax sticker on it behind a desk.

“As it turns out, they were already a customer, but not mine of course, and their machine was down. When she called in to report the issue, they were unable to get her pulled into the system,” Kaylee recalls. “I was very confused, it was like ‘wait a minute. This doesn’t make sense.’”

When Kaylee called Into the office, she explained the situation to Summar.  Summar pulled it up and immediately figured it was an ITT. Also, the customer was somehow on hold. So Summar continued to dig into it and found out it was a DFW account, and that it was under contract. She called DFW and confirmed that the account had already been cleared.

“Somewhere along the lines, something got mixed up, but we figured it all out and I called Kaylee back to tell her ‘we’re in the clear,’” Summar said.

The Problem Solver. 

Summar's immediate response and subsequent digging were greatly appreciated by her sales colleague.

“If Summar hadn’t stopped what she was doing, who knows if it would have gotten resolved?” Kaylee said. “That’s the big thing I love about Summar and our admin team. If something’s out of their job duty roles, they don’t say ‘This is not what I do.’ They go above and beyond to help with any situation.”

For Summar, the motives behind actions were pretty simple. Problem Seek, Problem Solve, if you will.

“To me, it’s all about customer service. Let’s get the issue resolved. If I keep passing it on, it could get passed on to someone else and we never get it solved. In my eyes, it’s providing good customer service.”

As for the affectionally dubbed ‘Pit Bull’ in East Texas collections, appreciate the calm demeanor. Enjoy the friendly exchanges in the office. But Never, EVER underestimate the prowess.

“No, it doesn’t get to me. Angry or upset people don’t bother me in the least. It’s my job. And I love my job,” Larson said.