With answers like the ones he gave, where do you start trying to tell you a little bit about Eric Nail? The fact that he just inobnoxiously drops in the fact that he is going to law school while working full-time at the agency that he and his wife own — which is a rom-com waiting to be made in the first place? That he just retired after being a youth pastor for 20 years? Those are just the tips of the iceberg. Read on to learn more about Eric, why his job title doesn’t mean much, and why the office collectively groans when he takes collection calls.
Name: Eric Nail
Current Role/Job Title: “VP” is pretentious when you cut the grass and clean the toilets. Everyone wears a lot of hats in a 15-person company. Today, I hooked up dual monitors to a PC, so today I’m the IT guy. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be the VP.
Company: Credit & Collection Recovery Services, Inc. in Jasper, Ala.
Length of time at current company: 25 years
Length of time in industry: 25 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
My wife Kaye began her collection career at 16 at a small agency in our hometown. She went on to manage a large collection law firm. In 1998 we moved back and bought that little agency. She hired me as the sales guy, aka someone else to make collection calls.
What is your career highlight so far?
My highlight is the culmination of our 25 years: being a part of our community, providing jobs, having friends among clients and vendors, spending these years working with people I love. I’ve served as the Gulf States Collectors Association president and gotten to know lots of great people connected to our industry.
When or how are you most productive?
I am at my best between 7am-8am. When the coffee wears off it’s all downhill. Give me the mundane, tedious stuff of people’s nightmares. Filing poc’s, E Oscar disputes. I can handle it. People groan when I take a collection call, apparently I’m not very good at it.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
Dick Williams of ARS. His knowledge of the process of collections is vast and he freely shares with anyone who is interested in knowing about it. He was mining data when data mining wasn’t even a thing. An amazing gentleman.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
Procrastination is my spiritual gift. (Mike Gibb asked me to do this three weeks ago.) Talking to clients and prospects is my favorite. Everyone has a story and listening to them is a great way to put off doing other stuff.
What do you like most about this industry?
It’s an ever-changing ride! Today we win, tomorrow we struggle, Friday we party. We were directly affected by Hunstein being in the 11th Circuit. The number of ways people dealt with that challenge was awesome to watch and the overall industry response was huge in bringing about a resolution. The collection world is filled with smart, scrappy people who work to help each other in a hostile environment. Call it a tribe or family or whatever, it’s comforting!
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
Consolidation (the disappearance of small agencies like ours) is not serving clients or consumers well. We text/email/chat but at the end of the day those are our tools, not our business model. The client is served by getting the debts resolved and, in my experience, it takes engaged people to do it. A person answers our phone whether you are a client, vendor or a consumer calling.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Backpacking across Scotland. Keeping bees. Social media influencer. Generally goofing off.
Describe a typical work day
Currently I’m finishing my first year of law school, so it consists of 80% reading, 50% talking to clients/prospects, and 0% math.
What is your guilty pleasure?
To quote John Adams, “Vanity is my cardinal vice.” Oh and TikTok.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
What are you currently reading?
“A Magnificent Catastrophe” about the first Presidential election of 1800, by Edward Larson.
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
My faith is the most important thing in my life. I recently retired from my side hustle as a youth pastor after 20 years. If anything will make you appreciate working in collections it’s working with teenagers. Being in collections gives me an opportunity to help someone in a practical way every day. Most of us are just a few paychecks away from being on the receiving end of a collection call so I remind myself, but for God’s grace, there go I.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Dick Williams of ARS or Samantha Oberhausen of Smith Rouchon & Associates.
