What are pros and cons of using expansionary and contractionary fiscal and monetary policy tools?

What are the pros & cons becoming independent contractor on debt collections?

• I never been an independent contractor but what I don't know I research. But, have limitations on resources. I've been offered a job in my line of work as debt collector. And, I've been in this business to know someone is blowing smoke with regards to the terms of this position. I don't know what questions I should be asking aside from liability, risk, compensation, should a business contract be formulated with an attorney to review and if I will be considered an independent contractor shouldn't I be the one to set up my rates instead of them telling me what the compensation will be, at the very least shouldn't we negotiate. As a collector, I'm amongst a few in this industry that doesn't use unscrupulous ways to achieve success. I use a customer-centric philosophy that applies speaking to customers in an empathetic approach without deviating from the truth. There is no room to belittle nor point fingers to this time sensitive issues on credit obligations. As a customer service collector my job is to encourage customers to abide by their obligations or seek answers on what they plan to do. It's the employers that we work for that are not able to tolerate giving more time as they allow Supervisors that were once collectors that couldn't cut it by performing the right way had to resort doing it unscrupulously are allowed by the employer to crack that imaginary whip. I've been fortunate having a background from the customer service industry and taught from experience how to resolve escalations using conflict resolutions. In order to understand the customer I went above and beyond what normal persons would ever likely do in their situations, I put myself in their shoes. I basically fell financially and worked my way up and wrote a journal on every avenue and resource I used to pick myself up. I did it to become efficient as I am effective as a whole. As I approach my customer and allow them to vent I really listen to what they say and it allows me to reflect in my past situation on what I did to resolve. As I empathize and speak to my customers I'm able to suggest the best options that fit their situations that they can choose using tools from the very employers I work for. Like most collectors their #1 goal is to become a spotlight and create that 5 minute of fame to amuse management in choosing them as being their #1. I choose not to dawdle as I help one customer I move on to the next without having to exploit myself as-if we're racing or dangling a piece of meat to screen out the alpha males from the pack. I go on a pace by priority which I'm able to meet deadlines and hit goals. This allows me to concentrate on customer focus and reach out to as many as I can before I'm canned. You see, although I am effective I have a customer-centric philosophy that places the customer first in initiative and interaction which does the client, my employer, no good if I continue to hit maximum bonus each month, especially when it's consistent. As a customer service representative the aim is to assist customers on the "services" that a company provides and set a foundation that saves the customer as well as the client on "cost." If I consistently allow myself to hit bonus at commissions that max $3K each month I'm not actually saving the company money, it's actually a loss to the company. That is the understanding that I've put together to explain why I was let go of my last employer as I've followed the rules & policies of the company to the letter. I was a robot with a heavy heart to customers who basically found themselves crippled under the weight of the economic downturn due to the 2008 recession. I thrived through their pressures as I was able to understand what they were going through with benevolence using resources from the many programs the department had in their archaic library.Sometimes I just use initiative to get off my desk and go directly into the manager's office as a liaison between the customer and client if the volume was high enough to get him to raise a brow. This made me synonymous in their department as being a go getter and in a way like "Robin Hood." I take these matters seriously as I strongly believe in Karma in that the way we treat people we'll eventually receive our just return.

• Answer:

  Most companies that do independent work have a set fee such as $10 per account they bring into good standing or back into a working relationship with the lender. If they are sub-contracting then it would make sense that they would offer a commission or rate based on work done/accomplished. You should ask questions pertaining to how they log your work and what resources they provide to find and collect on the customer. Would skip tracing tools and resources be your responsibility? If you work from home, would they provide certain web accounts that could help you locate them? Questions of compensation, liability, etc are necessary. One I didn't see is if you would be working for them in office or not. The question of liability is easier if you are under direct supervision or have some sort of recording to protect you from those clients that will try to lie about your collection activity. Some of these questions could probably be answered in a follow up interview with a review of their hiring agreement/contract. If you need a lawyer or not would depend on how much the paperwork makes sense to you. Your collection ethic will take you a long way. This is how I was taught when I was first in the business, and now 8 years later I run a successful collections branch AND sleep well at night because I know I deal with people fairly. If you have to be rude or resort to threats then I believe that is simply a weakness of the collector's mind to get around the situation or customer attitude. We should be the ones with the level heads and remember that most people don't go into debt intending to out right steal.