Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You hang up and immediately call the police about the bad check.
A lot of people would be so angry after having been screamed at that the impulse would be to hang up and then stir up some trouble for this deadbeat. But if that's your impulse, you might not find yourself very effective at this career.
These kinds of decisions "are difficult things to deal with," says collector Michelle Dunn. As hard as it is to stay focused when someone is screaming and swearing at you, your job is to help your parties come to an agreement and get the bill paid.
You could give up and send it to court, which would be more expensive and time-consuming, but a good collector would seize on the opportunity for dialog.
"If I have a swearing customer on the phone, I listen and let them finish, then try to calm them down or call them back later," says Dunn. "I try to wait a while and do some other work, then go back and look at the account and make sure that such drastic action must taken. Once I am confident that there is no other way, then I feel better about doing it."