JANUARY 2025 – To put a spin on a familiar saying, two heads from Credit and Collections are better than one.

Jessica Swafford is a credit and collections manager, and Steve Potts is a credit and collections escalation supervisor. They work with customers to understand the reasons payments have been missed and help come up with a solution. Each approaches customers differently to arrive at a positive outcome. And as they discovered recently, when they work in tandem, the results are especially impressive.

In Watco’s Credit and Collections department, each person is assigned specific accounts, but Potts and Swafford recently decided to work together on some accounts. Their supervisor described the distinct styles they bring to their collaboration.

“Steve is old school and very good on the phone,” said April Rose, director of accounts payable and credit and collections. “Whenever he gets someone on the phone, he doesn’t mind listening to silence. He doesn’t care how long it takes. He is not going anywhere. He will let you overthink it. It has worked so well for him. I’ve seen him upset a customer or two, but by the end, they are laughing and getting along. He makes customers who’ve had a problematic history turn things around.

“Jessica is very good through email. She will hit you with the analytics and the numbers through emails and reports. She explains that ‘you’re holding our money 30 days longer than you should.’ She will come in with data and lean hard on the fact that Watco’s crews have already performed a service but not been compensated for it.”

The two have worked on the same team for years but only recently joined forces to tackle some accounts.

“Jessica and Steve got together and developed a process,” said Rose. “They tag-teamed some of our larger-value accounts. They went at the same accounts together with different approaches, and it has really paid off.” For example, for the quarter ending September 2024, they brought in 11% more compared to the same quarter a year ago, equating to more than $14 million.

Rose said that “the process they developed helped elevate the entire team.” She said they’ve shared their process with the rest of the team and are leading by example with their successes.

With their exceptional communication and problem-solving skills, Rose said, Swafford and Potts are adept at “making sure Watco is made whole from a revenue perspective while making sure our customers feel heard.”

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