I am working a debit route. I love the customers and most pay before the 15 of the month. However, the managers are a problem and completely stress you out...I do have 401k, health insurances and a retirement plan. So I take the bad with the good and try to ignore negative managers. My debit is a good size.
Anyone Working for a Debit Company?
- Thread starter seniormarketguy
- Start date
I worked at a debit company in Kansas City for a few years back in the 90's.
While i wasn't very good at it I did come to recognize a few things because the job has a host of issues you need to keep in mind before making a commitment other than the possibility of being robbed which has already been mentioned.
Your vehicle is your livelihood. You want something dependable but not too nice since the roads in some of your assigned area will be in bad repair and may be damaged by the idiots that live in your area that might not have licenses or insurance.
Also since you will be forever driving around there is a chance you'll end up in serious accident like one of my co-workers did so always wear you safety belt even if you're just going a few blocks. The cost of gas and other vehicle expenses can eat into your earnings. Gas is cheap now but could rocket back up to $4.00/gal.
Back then the local debit agent wasn't messed with and in some ways was part of the community. I was told it was because the insurance money the agents paid out after a death took care of the families. Back then I think we didn't worry about being robbed but people are saying that might not be the case now.
In the types of areas you'll work in the police aren't exactly willing or able to deal with locals that have mental issues so that can lead to some interesting situations. A co-worker was bashed in the head with a brick and missed work for a month or so. He made the mistake of letting someone he knew had issues and a brick in their hand get close enough to him to hurt him. I'm assuming not everyone is that careless.
You need to be very organized and detail oriented. A debit book has a lot of entries if you don't keep meticulous records you'll screw the whole thing up. that means much more work for you and bosses watching you like your a thief and not just disorganized.
You will end up in houses and businesses that are so gross and dirty you'll consider burning your clothes. Be careful where you sit and if you can't avoid sitting always try to gravitate to wooden chairs where there is less chance of coming in contact with lice, bed bugs, fleas and roaches. One time I was working with a big black guy named Lincoln and we were in a house and he all of a sudden skipped out the door while making a strange noise. i finished up and when i got outside he told me about a huge rat he had seen on the other side of the room that had freaked him out. Great guy, he didn't care for rats and neither do I. Do not accept any drink out of a glass or any food. You don't know the cleanliness of the kitchen so don't risk getting sick to just appear to be polite. Always take your own water, beverage and snacks to work if you'll need them.
Dogs, many debit areas are more likely to have dogs running loose than you might be used to. Learn about how to spot and deal with aggressive dogs since dog bites can be very serious or even fatal. I was told by animal control that more dogs in bad areas can be infected with rabies becuase if they do have owners the owners can't afford good vet care including shots/ he also said that if you are bit the chance of finding the dog that bit you aren't real good. That might mean rabies shots which aren't very fun. Ask about the company policy on pepper spray and see what the boss says.
Get your work done early in the day. Always make sure that you're daily work load is reasonable and that you're not out chasing money too late into the afternoon. We all wrapped up work at least one hour before dusk and were back to decent areas by then. This little tip insures that you avoid a vast majority of the truly troublesome locals.
Always remember that its their home, you're just passing through. You meet some very interesting people on a debit route and that's great but always do what you need to do to insure your safety.
A military guy coined as phrase that with a little re-working applies. He said "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet." I'd change that to "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to get back to your vehicle and get out of the area as fast as possible if needed".
While i wasn't very good at it I did come to recognize a few things because the job has a host of issues you need to keep in mind before making a commitment other than the possibility of being robbed which has already been mentioned.
Your vehicle is your livelihood. You want something dependable but not too nice since the roads in some of your assigned area will be in bad repair and may be damaged by the idiots that live in your area that might not have licenses or insurance.
Also since you will be forever driving around there is a chance you'll end up in serious accident like one of my co-workers did so always wear you safety belt even if you're just going a few blocks. The cost of gas and other vehicle expenses can eat into your earnings. Gas is cheap now but could rocket back up to $4.00/gal.
Back then the local debit agent wasn't messed with and in some ways was part of the community. I was told it was because the insurance money the agents paid out after a death took care of the families. Back then I think we didn't worry about being robbed but people are saying that might not be the case now.
In the types of areas you'll work in the police aren't exactly willing or able to deal with locals that have mental issues so that can lead to some interesting situations. A co-worker was bashed in the head with a brick and missed work for a month or so. He made the mistake of letting someone he knew had issues and a brick in their hand get close enough to him to hurt him. I'm assuming not everyone is that careless.
You need to be very organized and detail oriented. A debit book has a lot of entries if you don't keep meticulous records you'll screw the whole thing up. that means much more work for you and bosses watching you like your a thief and not just disorganized.
You will end up in houses and businesses that are so gross and dirty you'll consider burning your clothes. Be careful where you sit and if you can't avoid sitting always try to gravitate to wooden chairs where there is less chance of coming in contact with lice, bed bugs, fleas and roaches. One time I was working with a big black guy named Lincoln and we were in a house and he all of a sudden skipped out the door while making a strange noise. i finished up and when i got outside he told me about a huge rat he had seen on the other side of the room that had freaked him out. Great guy, he didn't care for rats and neither do I. Do not accept any drink out of a glass or any food. You don't know the cleanliness of the kitchen so don't risk getting sick to just appear to be polite. Always take your own water, beverage and snacks to work if you'll need them.
Dogs, many debit areas are more likely to have dogs running loose than you might be used to. Learn about how to spot and deal with aggressive dogs since dog bites can be very serious or even fatal. I was told by animal control that more dogs in bad areas can be infected with rabies becuase if they do have owners the owners can't afford good vet care including shots/ he also said that if you are bit the chance of finding the dog that bit you aren't real good. That might mean rabies shots which aren't very fun. Ask about the company policy on pepper spray and see what the boss says.
Get your work done early in the day. Always make sure that you're daily work load is reasonable and that you're not out chasing money too late into the afternoon. We all wrapped up work at least one hour before dusk and were back to decent areas by then. This little tip insures that you avoid a vast majority of the truly troublesome locals.
Always remember that its their home, you're just passing through. You meet some very interesting people on a debit route and that's great but always do what you need to do to insure your safety.
A military guy coined as phrase that with a little re-working applies. He said "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet." I'd change that to "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to get back to your vehicle and get out of the area as fast as possible if needed".
- 29,487
Didn't even try to read that LONG paragraph...hard on the eyes.
Welcome to the Forum.
My debit experience was nothing like that.
It's an agent who works for a "home service" company. They are given a book of business to service. Such as going to their homes to collect monthly premiums.
It is going the way of the dodo bird, but I think there are still a few companies with this business model.
- 120
I was wondering who the random guy was who collected money from mom once a month
I remember our debit guy coming down the block when I was younger. His jacket pockets were stretched out with rate books and he always had a bulging briefcase. I came across some of those $1000 policies recently. Sadly they have all been cashed in by now.
They used to refer to those types as "industrial" policies.
They used to refer to those types as "industrial" policies.
Alangator has a very good analysis of the Debit situation.
Get all the collecting done before 1:00 p.m. If you do that then your collecting will be done before the thugs get out of bed. But still be careful and pay attention to things in the neighborhood that"just don't look right." Avoid those situations.
Avoid young guys handing around in bunches of two or three in hallways and stairways. Only go back to houses after early afternoon. . . never go to dark apartments or projects after dark.
Get all the collecting done before 1:00 p.m. If you do that then your collecting will be done before the thugs get out of bed. But still be careful and pay attention to things in the neighborhood that"just don't look right." Avoid those situations.
Avoid young guys handing around in bunches of two or three in hallways and stairways. Only go back to houses after early afternoon. . . never go to dark apartments or projects after dark.
- 2,090
Yes, I'm still here! Don't post much around here any more. I do still have a debit contract {non captive} but I do not sell that much. Need to step it up. I also own a courier company in one of the worst cities for traffic in TX, sometimes I question the wisdom of that one for sure! Basically I get about three or four deliveries in the morning, 3 or 4 in the afternoon. that's all I can handle. been thinking about taking off two days a week for insurance work. Insurance: It never works out part time. I don't think so anyway. Maybe some people can do it part time.
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