Jerry Ashton
CFO Advisors, Inc.
Jerry Ashton, former CEO and President of CFO Advisors, Inc. and now semi-retired, consults to senior executives in the application of TQRM (Total Quality Relationship Management) to credit, collections and customer service issues. Ashton writes and speaks nationally on TQRM-based strategies wherein which both debtor and creditor can mutually survive and thrive during the Great Recession. In addition to completing his book-in-progress, Written Off – America and Americans, he is also host of the PWRNradio series, “Down, But Not Out – America’s revolt against being ‘written off.’”
Recent Posts
Lying Down with Big Dogs: JPMorgan Chase
The old saying, “When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas” appears to be the guiding maxim today in our industry as it deals with the portfolios of debt it is either sold or assigned by financial institutions. And it is fair to say that JPMorgan Chase is one of the biggest [...]
Five New Year’s Resolutions for the Conscious Collector
Jerry Ashton brings in the New Year with a blog about resolutions and consciousness. “Does this sound like a bad pairing?” Ashton asks.
After laying out his examples of ways in which the collections industry may have missed the mark – everything from that fake courtroom story to payday-loans schemes – Ashton suggests that change is actually within each agencies’ and collector’s power. The fault – and the solution – “is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
The story offers five resolutions that could be valuable to anyone thinking of effective changes to make in the coming year.
How the Working Poor Became Big Business and Tempted the Collection Industry
Once again, the ARM industry is caught up in the age-old quandary: do we follow the Golden Rule, or the Rule of Gold?
Ethics: The Missing Ingredient in the Collection Industry Business Model
What if ethics were promoted as an essential ingredient in the ARM industry cookbook for individual, corporate, and agency success? What if we ensured that its presence in our operations were enshrined in our policies, procedures, and mission statements; and enforced in our daily actions?
JPMorgan Chase Drops Pursuit of Millions (Billions?) in Credit Card Debt – For Now
Update to November 2010 story about Linda Almonte, a banking professional and former employee of JP Morgan Chase, who had been fired by that firm – she claimed – for questioning the intelligence and legitimacy of their decision to sell off a flawed portfolio of credit card write-offs.
Debt Collecting: Morally Neutral, Or Morally Bankrupt?
Recent defenses of the debt collection industry are falling on deaf ears. Maybe it’s time for ARM professionals to consider the morality of certain types of debt that fall on their desks.
A Love Letter from Your Student Loan Bill Collector
There’s a huge backlash on college campuses over the cost of education and the debt students carry upon graduation. Education debt collectors could be the target of this ire soon.
In Defense of Anonymity
As can be learned by watching the WikiLeaks spectacle, society is not all that welcoming to those who tattle, complain, or provide refuge for those who do. And yet, without that opportunity to safely speak one’s mind, this would be a sorry, regimented world indeed.
The Bill Collector as Good Guy
If there were to be an Academy Award ceremony for the debt collection industry for our key supporting role in the economic meltdown, there would also have to be a category for “Best Guy (or Gal) in the Role of Bill Collector.”
A Movement is Growing in the ARM Industry, and its Seeds are Discontent – Part II
The reactions to a particular ARM industry story from across the Internet speak volumes about the thinking of debt collection professionals as the industry heads towards an uncertain future.