Let
me begin by extending our deepest sympathies
and prayers to those victims most directly
affected by Hurricane KATRINA and the unimaginable
conditions they’ve endured in her aftermath.
I would also like to express my sincere appreciation
for the many voice and email messages we have
received from so many of you extending your
concern and prayers for our business and employees.
They are appreciated and have been very uplifting
to all of us.
We
were very fortunate to have come through
hurricane KATRINA we well as we did. The
western eye-wall passed less than 25 miles
from us yet, miraculously, our building
sustained very little damage. In fact, we
are the only building in the complex that
still has a roof! Upon surveying our building
for the first time after the storm one employee
commented, “bill collectors and roaches…
you know they’ll always survive”.
As
of today’s date, we are now fully
functional and our website and client access
are back on line. However, some challenges
remain.
1.
We are fortunate that all of our employees
and their families are safe and accounted
for. However, approximately 40% of our staff
now find themselves homeless. DRS is making
arrangements to provide these displaced
employees with free corporate housing. Others
that are staying with family out of state
and wish to remain there (children need
to be enrolled in school, etc) will be set
up to work remotely from their current location.
As I type this memo, our IT guru is making
this a reality.
2.
The rest of our employees are either home
or are making their way here currently.
We expect to be fully staffed within one
week, inclusive of our new offsite workers.
3.
We are still under martial law here and
a curfew remains in effect from 6pm to 6am
each day. To some degree this will limit
our ability to work the hours we would normally
which may contribute slightly to our existing
back-log of accounts. However, please know
that we are working diligently to make contact
with all of your debtor files and we expect
to be completely caught up within one week.
4.
We have arranged for additional office space
immediately adjacent to our current offices
and build-out on this space begins next
week in our preparation to add another 6-8
workers to our growing family of employees
(see below)
Lastly,
many of you may not be aware of the fact
that New Orleans has (had) one of the largest
concentrations of collection agencies in
the country. As a result, there may now
be as many as 50-75 agencies locally that
are out of business…whether for a
few months or permanently. Over the past
week I have been contacted by a number of
highly talented, experienced professionals
within the industry looking for work. Less
than two weeks ago these ladies and gentlemen
had homes and lucrative positions. Sadly,
now may of them find themselves homeless
and out of work. We intend to help by hiring
as many of these people as we can find work
for, and by providing company housing for
those in need of a place to stay. For those
candidates we cannot hire we are offering
assistance with resume’ preparation
and networking.
If
you are able, I ask you to help as well.
If you are aware of a collection position
open or coming open anywhere in the country
please put the hiring authority in contact
with me so I can forward any resumes we
have on file. Another way you can assist
is by helping us increase our inventory
of collection accounts. Simply put, the
more claims we have in inventory, the more
collectors we can hire. If your company
has slow-paying customers on your A/R aging
report that have not been assigned I ask
you to do so. Additionally, we ask that
you consider referring our company to any
associates you know that may have a need
for a collection agency. These actions,
as simple as they seem, can literally make
all the difference to a local man or woman
and their families.
With
Kind Regards, I remain,
Sincerely
Yours,
Thomas P. Lynch
Co-Founder and CEO
Diversified Recovery Systems, Inc.
