Confessions of a Credit Manager

My name is Rose Silcox, and I was a credit manager for Qwest Communications for two years, based out of Seattle, Wash. The title of credit manager is a nice way of saying I was the person who shut off the customer's home phone, cell phone, Internet and dish service if they didn't give me money for their past-due bills. I was literally the last line between the customer and their ability to communicate with the outside world.

That said, I still had to be friendly, upbeat and provide excellent customer service, despite the fact that I felt like I was constantly in some sort of odd hostage situation, where I was being held hostage by the customer -- who (according to our company guidelines) had to initiate the hang up -- while at the same time being considered the criminal for threatening to shut off their service. It was a constant stream of angry customers yelling profanities, people giving the most ridiculous excuses and stories to keep service going, flat-out crazies, and a host of other random, extremely odd situations.