A Word from Our Clients ...
Staffing issues kept us from moving forward.
Carol Hunt
Collections Administrator
FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.
Before we partnered with ABC‐Amega, our receivables weren't performing to their potential.
The reason is a familiar one. We didn't have enough staff to focus on getting money in the door and then managing those accounts before they became past due. Many of them turned into bad debt. We were working hard with what we had, but it just wasn't enough. ABC-Amega's SoftCall® service has definitely changed all that!
ABC‐Amega's skilled SoftCall® professionals now handle FirstEnergy's first party collections, freeing our staff to do what they do best – growing our business.
Now that we're on board with SoftCall®, we know that every account is receiving consistent customer service and follow‐up. Working with a dedicated SoftCall® representative and the ability to easily view our account data online allows us to monitor handling while freeing our staff to work on creating new business. And, should an account require more intensive followup,we simply hand it off to ABC-Amega's third party commercial collections for additional handling.
ABC‐Amega's collection services have proved to be so much more than an answer to a staffing problem. They provide us with the results we need, experience we can trust, and a level of service and customer care we can rely on.
*****
Partnering with ABC-Amega Helped Hawaiian Telcom Solve a Challenging Cash Flow and Customer Service Problem
Michelle Soon
Credit and Collections Manager
Hawaiian Telcom
Mahalo [Thank You] to ABC-Amega for being there when we needed them!
ABC-Amega’s SoftCall® re-sourcing (partial outsourcing) solution not only assisted Hawaiian Telcom with a difficult cash flow problem, it boosted our ability to handle a large influx in accounts – making it possible for us to continue to provide quality customer service.
The ABC-Amega team brought in steady cash flow for Hawaiian Telcom for the last 2 years and provided reporting tools that we just didn't have. Best of all, they treated our customers with respect during a very sensitive and difficult period. Here’s the story.
In 2005, a venture capital firm purchased a large, regional telephone company, forming Hawaiian Telcom (HT). When the final cut-over to the new corporation’s billing systems took place, a glitch resulted in thousands of incorrect invoices being mailed to HT customers. As a result, the customer service department was overwhelmed. Calls were dropped or on hold for long periods.
We faced two immediate challenges:
- Urgent need to double customer service staff.
- Collections software to manage calls and document and categorize issues for efficient resolution.
To help manage the situation, HT outsourced 25 new client service positions to ABC-Amega. We also contracted use of their collection management software for our internal collection associates. Within a few months, the root causes of a large number of issues were identified, allowing us to begin programming fixes, and cash began flowing in.
Hawaiian Telcom found that, in addition to helping us manage a difficult situation, outsourcing some receivables collection responsibilities to ABC-Amega:
- Saved money. The cost to outsource FTEs (full-time equivalents) was less than maintaining additional internal collection staff.
- Improved productivity. ABC-Amega’s sourcing solution allowed Hawaiian Telcom to focus on their top tier, high revenue customers while ABC-Amega handled the medium and smaller business accounts. In addition, ABC-Amega consistently met and exceeded outbound calling objectives.
- Increased customer satisfaction. Incoming calls were picked up immediately. Delinquent accounts were proactively called to resolve issues.
How did they do it? In addition to a staff of well-trained, knowledgeable receivable management professionals, ABC-Amega’s SoftCall® re-sourcing solution provided Hawaiian Telcom with:
- Access to specialized collection management software, allowing increased control and centralized data.
- Automated file management, scheduling and recording capabilities, which improved quality, increased customer satisfaction, and accelerated collections.
- Robust reporting accurately assessing collection performance and helping identify weaknesses in the revenue cycle.
- Scalable, cost effective staffing model, transforming the fixed costs of additional employees into variable costs based on actual need.
- Quick turn-around time in familiarizing themselves with Hawaiian Telcom’s internal systems, procedures and policies.
Of all the vendors I've worked with over the years, ABC-Amega’s team is by far the best. A truly talented group. They are professional, easy to work with, and exceptionally flexible. Results were beyond our expectation, and they’ve put our accounts receivable function in a good position going forward.
Bottom line – ABC-Amega was there for us when we needed them. They brought in a steady cash flow and helped us take care of our customers until we were back on our feet. ABC-Amega has become our “go to” firm for collection needs at any level.
*****
We rate ABC-Amega’s SoftCall™ performance extremely high!
ABC-Amega's collection personnel are very professional, responsive to any concerns, and always show an interest in our business and making it better. Their collection rate on the invoices we give them is 99.88%!!
ABC-Amega does a great job at reporting. They sort, filter, dissect by country, by date and in any date bucket you need, making their reports very flexible. Their internet site is very user-friendly.
Customer Service Rep, Global Business - Active in 30 countries, this Equipment Leasing Company provides loans and leases to corporate customers to buy or rent equipment and machinery manufactured by their parent company.
*****
ABC-Amega does a terrific job!
ABC-Amega has been managing our receivables for 4 years and they do a terrific job with their SoftCall™ first party collections service. It is also convenient to have the same company do the "hard third party debt collections" if needed. It’s one-stop shopping for all your collection outsourcing needs.
ABC-Amega is very flexible. We change requirements all the time, given individual customer situations, and they adapt to our needs without any problems.
They are also very responsive when it comes to the timing of reporting and communicating. Customer issues are communicated to us on the same day.
Manager, Billings & Collection - With operations in the US, Asia and Europe as well as 12 other countries, this firm is a premier global interactive content company. They inform, entertain, and connect large, engaged audiences with content in personal technology, games and entertainment, and business technology categories.
*****
ABC-Amega is everything you want.
ABC-Amega is everything you want in a full service Accounts Receivable Management Service and collection outsourcingt partner. On a scale of 1 to 10, we rate them a 10! The other companies we employed are not even a shadow next to ABC-Amega.
Our policy is never to go with just one vender on anything. We measure our vendors’ performance against their competition (the other venders employed). ABC-Amega has done such a good job that we now have the split at 90% ABC-Amega, and 10% our other vendor, giving all difficult customers to ABC-Amega. They are very professional and very responsive to our needs, with a focus on our business to get good results. No unhappy customers result from dealings with ABC-Amega.
Customer Financial Services Manager - This company designs and sells shoes and clothing for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheerleading, golf, volleyball, and wrestling.
*****
SoftCall® results have been exceptional.
A merger put a large number of small dollar accounts receivable on our books. We found, however, that these accounts were not being handled effectively. Some of them were not even being dunned. Basically, they were falling through the cracks. We had a problem. Familiar with their solid reputation in accounts receivable management and years of successful experience in collection outsourcing, we looked to ABC-Amega for a solution.
ABC-Amega's SoftCall® was the management tool we needed.
The professionals at ABC-Amega designed an A/R solution that was right for us. They worked with us to craft an outstanding tool that included: technology that seamlessly interfaces with our system; a proactive cycle for handling accounts; a dynamic reporting system; and a staff of skilled, well trained customer service representatives.
SoftCall gave us flexibility to effectively manage our receivable portfolio. We're now able to focus our efforts on our top end customers, the strategic 20%, while confident that the remaining accounts are being consistently and profitably handled.
The results have been exceptional.
Our CFO has been very pleased with the ABC-Amega outsourcing solution. In just four months, they were able to collect a substantial amount of the accounts that were outsourced. Total DSO improved by 4 days.
SoftCall™ reporting gave us information that allowed us to identify inherent issues that were delaying payment in some of our district offices.
Have we been satisfied with ABC-Amega's SoftCall? Absolutely!
We've experienced state of the art technology, supported by skilled professionals. Add to that, adaptability that allows us to monitor and evaluate performance and participate in continuous process improvements - and, without a doubt, our partnership with ABC-Amega has been exceptional. And, the people we've worked with are fantastic!
Thanks ABC-Amega for delivering a quality first party collections solution, great results and top class service.
Senior Accounts Receivable Manager - The industry's strongest and most capable single-source provider for fire protection, life safety, integrated security, communications and workforce management.
*****
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