By Mike Hiller

 Title: Look Under

Unwittingly So

Many Are the Stones Unturned

Within Comfort Zones

It’s Plunge day. For adrenaline junkies, endorphin aficionados, and anyone looking to ‘think local,’ step outside of their comfort zone, and support their neighborhood charity the Polar Bear Plunge is where it’s at. Every year right around MLK (Martin Luther King Jr.) day Halloween comes early for us plungers. At our event at the Brighton High School there are costumes aplenty, endless snacks and treats, and it’s always a hot coco (now) and Netflix (later) kind of day. 2020 marks American Profit Recovery’s eight (8^th) year running, or rather jumping as it were.

When I was a kid Halloween was my favorite holiday. I loved the costumes, the ghoulishness, and fall weather. That, and I was in control of how fast I ran, how many houses I could hit, and therefore how much reward/candy I received. It was a game and everyone was on an even playing field. It didn’t matter if you were a kid from an affluent family or if your parents didn’t know where your next meal was going to come from. Everyone played by the same rules and everyone was rewarded according to the effort they put forth. These are the American values we believe in and we place them above all else. A Holiday, in a land, and personification of endless opportunity for the self-motivated.

Well, ‘This (really) is 2020’ and these days anyone with a mobile/cell phone/smart device, anyone, can start their own business or back a cause they believe in. Think about these two factoids for a moment: 1.) There is more computing power in your phone than what all of NASA had when they put a man on the moon! 2.) It takes 10,000 hours of doing before you become a proficient expert. Before you can become unconsciously competent at something.

The average person will hit the 10,000 hour mark on their phone in just over 5yrs from the date of their first purchase. Baby boomers will take 5.5yrs. Millennials just 4.8yrs. The only relevant question you need ask yourself is do you want to have your PhD in Facebook stalking or championing a cause. Do you want to be an expert at consuming YouTube videos or creating valuable context yourself? Would you rather be unconsciously competent at Amazon purchases or perfecting your greatest hobby?

As you’ve no doubt noticed the above are all false choices. In other words, they are not mutually exclusive ideas. You can have all of the time you like watching Disney+ or Pinning on Pinterest or tweeting on twitter AND you can evolve a hobby, start a start-up, and dedicate time to something you believe in. You can do all of these things with more clarity, variety, and efficiency than any other single human being who has ever lived.

You can have a fulltime job and a family and a passion. You can work your tail off by day and have dinner with your spouse and kids and tinker on projects into the night. It’s oh so cliché’ but cliché’ for good reason: you can eat your cake and have it too. To you I say bite off as much as you can possibly chew and swallow hard because if you’re not stepping outside of your comfort zone then there’s stones left unturned.

Article written by Mike Hiller

End note: Most Haiku poems are without a title. A titled Haiku is the exception. Be the exception, be exceptional.

By Sarah:

Our Year End Call is one of my favorite events here at American Profit Recovery. Every year we have a company meeting to sum up how we did the year prior. This meeting is not only filled with detailed information on how well we have performed for our clients but also celebrates individual successes as well as slideshows of pictures, memories and funny moments we have shared.

I feel like this meeting is so important for morale in the office. When you’re focusing on the goals of your own department day in and day out the big picture can get lost and being able to take some time aside and really see how big of an impact we have made in the lives of our clients, consumers and our community helps brings that picture back in focus.

This meeting is just another way that this collection agency shows how they value their employees. I know that the review of 2019 will be filled with exciting information and I can’t wait to see which of my coworkers will be highlighted for exceptional jobs well done! This year we’re partaking in some company favorites of a pizza lunch and Whirlyball after as well, and that is just the cherry of top of an awesome re-cap!

By Sarah:

This year was my first year attending the Real Green User’s Conference. Also called Solutions 2017. I have been working in the customer service department at American Profit Recovery since March 2013. I have really gotten to know quite a bit about Real Green and their software Service Assistance over these past few years. I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of the accounting portion of the software and also gotten the ability to train new clients that utilize the software. It gives me great pride in being able to show clients the integration that American Profit Recovery has with Service Assistance and how user friendly it really is. It makes our clients’ jobs easier on a day to day basis.

When attending Solutions 2017 down in Orlando, FL it was a brand new experience for me and really made me appreciate the relationship our two companies have created. I got the chance to meet some clients that I talk to on a regular basis which was awesome putting a face to name. It really does make our relationship more personal. Also, it was really great to hear, how much our clients really appreciate the work we do for them. This all would not be possible if it wasn’t for what Real Green and American Profit Recovery has created. It truly is a one of kind experience.

By Kaylee:

In my three years here with American Profit Recovery, I have talked to many different clients and heard many different voices. It’s been a joy to talk to clients and to learn more about them and their company, but you don’t really feel like you know someone until you meet them in person. I had the pleasure of being able to go down to Orlando, Florida and spend time at this year’s Real Green Conference. Real Green is a software service that many of our lawn care clients use to manage their accounts and seamlessly turn them over to us for collections. With this being my first time there this was a brand new experience, and I loved it. We were able to meet a bunch of our clients face to face and to get to know them a little better. What was great was being able to put a face to that voice, and to create a better connection.

It was also great seeing our connection with Real Green along with all their clients. You can tell when you’re there it feels like a family vibe, most everyone seemed to know each other. We work with many of our lawn care clients daily that use the Real Green system to send accounts to us, and it was awesome to see how Real Green also trains and works with them.  By being there you can tell that Real Green really tries to cater to their client’s needs by making sure they understand the ins and outs of the newest software systems. As a customer service representative at American Profit Recovery, I also service our clients by helping them fully understand our services and how they will best benefit them.  Hopefully someday I will have the opportunity to have an experience like this with other industries we service.

I recently had the privilege of leaving the office for part of the day to join a few of my coworkers at the New England Grows Trade Show.  Working in the Customer Service department, we are able to build relationships with clients over the phone, but it isn’t that often that we are able to get out and meet clients and potential clients face to face, so when I was offered the opportunity I jumped at it.  After the day ended I was really happy that I was able to go and wanted to share a few things about that day. Continue reading “Customer Service … In Person!” →