For the Bankers, Manufacturers, and Insurance Companies
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For the Bankers, Manufacturers, and Insurance Companies
You are quite familiar with the Field Servicing that provides your employees
with the information required to proceed with their jobs. The collections
department needs face-to-face interviews to establish contact. Your foreclosure
department needs occupancy checks to know where they stand in proceedings. The
REO department must maintain properties to avoid city citations and prepare
properties for conveyance or sale. Your accounts payable departments need
additional information on inventory held or verification that coupons have been
legitimately redeemed. The underwriter needs detail information to proceed in
processing a new policy, or just to update an existing policy. All of this
information and service provision is ultimately provided by a representative in
the field who is local to the subject of inquiry.
Traditionally, you secure these services through a single vendor, who in turn
locates a local field service representative who will gather the information for
you. We are those field service representatives. We have formed this
organization because there are issues arising in the field that we are
uncomfortable with and which you may or may not be aware of. Issues such as the
forging of information. Issues such as substandard provision of services. Issues
such as field representatives not being paid for services rendered. Our goal is
to bring this issues to your attention so that you can make a more informed
decision when selecting a vendor for the field services you need.
The members of S.I.R.s have gathered because we are proud of the quality
services that we provide to you. We are highly concerned that you are paying for
information that is not up-to-date, substandard services, and misinformation. We
understand that you wish to receive the best possible price for information and
services. We also understand that every vendor involved in processing your
requests must not only profit but also desires to receive information and
services for the best possible price. However, with the current trends of
allowing price only to be the determining factor in who provides services, many
disturbing events are taking place.
What is disturbing is that many field service representatives that have made it
their business to provide accurate information and quality service are being
replaced with field service representatives who have no idea what they are
doing. These new field service representatives cannot locate properties. Once
they do locate a property, they do not return to the property for updates and
you are not receiving current information. Vacant properties are being neglected
because they are not reported as vacant in a timely fashion. Once they are
reported as such, the preservation services are assigned to field service
representatives that do not know how to complete the work appropriately.
All too often, field service representatives are not being paid their fees
because your vendors attempt to increase their profits by random deductions and
or complete failure to pay for services rendered. As a result, you are being
shortchanged. Field service representatives find ways to recuperate their fees
by completing work, not in the field, but in their office. They place liens on
your properties. And you suddenly are very upset at the results of your
endeavors.
Typically, many of your vendors determine set fees which they charge you based
on your needs and requests. Often, your vendor not only has a set fee which they
will charge you but they also have a set fee which they will pay to a field
service representative. While most industries operate on a level of the vendor
determining the fee for services, in this industry your vendor not only sets the
fee they will charge, but also the fee they will pay. Of those fees,
approximately 20 to 30% covers the vendor's expense of locating a field service
provider. Some of your vendors retain as much as 50 to 75% of those fees. When
you pay $30 for a service, it is quite possible that the field service
representative is paid only $5 for that service. This leaves both you and the
field service representative no longer in control of their independent business.
To help you determine if you are receiving the quality of services you deserve,
S.I.R.s recommends that you randomly audit your vendor. Ask for the detailed
billing that was submitted by the actual person that performed the service. Then
call the company listed to verify they actually performed the work, or if they
in turn hired the work out. Keep making calls until you come to the person who
actually performed the fieldwork. This way you can compare what you paid for the
service to what the field representative was paid. If you have to make more than
one or two phone calls, then too many companies were involved in paperwork and
the field representative was probably paid very little, if paid at all. By
random auditing, you may avoid possible liens and lawsuits and you will learn
the actual quality of services you are receiving for the fees you are paying.
S.I.R.s believes that it is of the utmost importance that your interests and
needs be protected. We take pride in the work we do and want to provide you with
the very best of services possible. Feel free to browse the websites of our
members to see the quality services that you should be expecting and which
S.I.R.s members strive to deliver. We believe this information will help you to
see the industry from our perspective. If there is anyway that we can be of
service, helping you select a vendor, helping you determine if your vendor is
being fair with not only you but with the representatives they select to
complete your requests, please feel free to contact us.
Not sure what to look for in completed work?
View Samples of Quality Field Service Work at the Web Sites of some of our
members.
http://sirs4quality.org/reps.htm