From the little Devils with their pitchforks to the 50’s Chicks & the Pink Ladies, CMI was ready for Halloween! On Friday the 31st, CMI held our annual Halloween gathering, to celebrate the spookiest time of the year with our fellow co-workers!
First and Second place winners of the costume contest were Nelson Wilson dressed as our VP of Human Resources, Linda Wright, and Melissa Strange dressed as a Japanese Geisha. Way to go folks!!
A hauntingly good time was had by all indeed, and we learned that while most of us may be too old to go out trick-or-treating, it doesn’t mean that we're ready to let go of the fun!
Congratulations to the contest winners and thanks again to everyone who participated, confirming that here at CMI, we are keeping the FIVES alive!
On Monday, September 8th 2008, The CMI Group was excited to celebrate our 23rd anniversary! Since opening in 1985, CMI has continued to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction, and grow our business by responding to the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.
We thank our clients for their valued business and continued loyalty, helping CMI to become a leading provider of credit management and call center services in the consumer debt collection business. We also thank our employees for their hard work and dedication, whose contributions have helped to make CMI a successful and great place to work, and convey our congratulations to the President and Owner, Tom Stockton, on CMI’s success!
CMI - committed to Performance, Service and Integrity
The CMI Group hosted the annual celebration of Cinco de Mayo on Monday, May 5th. Employees enjoyed the yummy Mexican cuisine that was catered by CMI, and each department participated in the fun. Some creative employees even designed shirts especially for this event!
Our President and Owner of the company, Mr. Tom Stockton shared a few words with employees and handed out prizes. Special thanks to everyone who participated, another job well done!
As the state of the economy dominates headlines, consumers are increasingly looking across the divide of bills and bad credit that separates them from financial success, and worrying. Do you have the knowledge and tools you need to use your credit wisely? Are you aware of the opportunity and responsibility that comes with credit? Are you empowered to meet your personal financial goals?
National Credit Education Week (NCEW) is an annual public service campaign by the ACA International Education Foundation held the third week of April to inform consumers that, when used wisely, credit can be a positive tool for achieving financial goals. During NCEW, collectors take responsibility for educating consumers about credit, empowering them with knowledge to achieve personal financial success.
During NCEW on April 20-26,2008, the ACA International Education Foundation will help consumers build a bridge to financial success by informing and educating them on the basics of personal finance, including credit, budgeting and consumer rights. By providing consumers with financial literacy information, the ACA International Education Foundation hopes to help consumers better understand the function and power of credit in our economy.
Simple tips can help consumers achieve and maintain good credit. Tracking your spending and planning ahead for expenses is a simple way to live within your means. Keeping long-standing lines of credit open, even if they are not being used, benefits your credit score. And, putting a little something away every pay period, no matter how small the amount, will encourage the good habit of saving.
Collectors are often the first people to engage consumers in a problem-solving dialogue about their unpaid bills and help them find solutions. Consumers may not know that there is no such thing as an unpaid bill. If individuals who are extended credit for goods and services don’t pay, everyone else picks up the tab through higher prices. On average collectors save American families $351 a year in money they otherwise would have spent in increased costs for goods and services.
During NCEW, The CMI Group will leverage basic tips and information to educate consumers on ways to achieve and maintain financial health. In addition to presenting information on consumer rights, CMI has distributed a personal finance quiz to test and improve knowledge about credit, and is promoting the online web course in credit education.
To take the free web course on Credit Basics, Click Here, or you may also Click Here to take advantage of the Personal Financial Management Tips that are offered.
The CMI Group, an active business member of the The American Collectors Association (ACA) of Texas, was happy to once again extend the availability of two $1,000 College Scholarship opportunities from the ACA of Texas Education Foundation to employees that are High School Seniors and to CMI employees that have children/grandchildren that are High School Seniors, who are all eligible to apply by the deadline of April 30, 2008.
Both The ACA Education Foundation and CMI understand that high school seniors are likely to receive numerous credit card applications and other opportunities for consumer loans. Having a credit card can certainly be a convenience, but many college students now have multiple credit cards with balances that are difficult to manage. Being a debt collection business, we believe that it is important that young citizens understand their personal responsibility for managing financial affairs. Establishing a favorable credit rating during and beyond college will be crucial to your future career and lifestyle. Dealing with credit card debt during college can be a difficult and stressful experience and can interfere with concentration on studies and other responsibilities.
To draw graduating students’ attention to this subject, the ACA Education Foundation sponsors a scholarship and essay contest, awarding two winners with a $1,000 college scholarship each! This years competition is open to 2008 graduating high school seniors who:
- Meet the academic, attendance and citizenship standards of the State of Texas and their school district for graduation in 2008,
- Are a child, legal dependant or grandchild of CMI or an ACA of Texas member,
- Complete and submit the required scholarship application form,
- Submit an official transcript as of 2007 Fall Semester, and
- Submit an essay of 500-750 words using the theme “Building Good Credit for Financial Independence”. Variations of this theme are encouraged, as entries will be judged on originality, style, subject knowledge, grammar and punctuation. Essays may be typed or printed.
Winners will be announced in May 2008 in time for graduation. For more information and applications, please visit www.texascollectors.com or call (512) 458-8666.
One of CMI's very own, our Regional Sales Manager Ryan Eskridge, recently participated in a marathon located in Miami Beach FL. The marathon was hosted by ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon to promote health and fitness, and consisted of 2,713 runners over a total of 26.2 miles...WOW!
They started out at the American Airlines Arena, traveled over the MacArthur Causeway to South Beach, through the Venetian Islands, the Art District, Downtown Miami, Coconut Grove, Brickell Avenue, and finally finished at Bayfront Park. We're very proud to say that Mr. Eskridge completed the course in 4 hours and 27 minutes.
Way To Go Ryan, this was a huge accomplishment and we're all very proud you!
The CMI Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has received official notice of PPMS certification status from the American Collectors Association, International as of October 17, 2007.
This makes CMI the fortieth collection agency out of over three thousand ACA member agencies to achieve PPMS certification status. PPMS (Professional Practices Management System) certification requires agencies to undergo extensive analysis of all processes involved in running a collection agency business. The certification procedure utilizes a seventeen element check list that insures an agency’s compliance with ethical, accounting, client services, collection practices and data security processes recommended by ACA International and in accordance with state and federal regulations. After an agency has completed all seventeen elements under PPMS, there must be an outside audit performed and submitted to ACA International before an agency receives its certification. The entire process can take anywhere from eight months to two years depending on the agency and the complexity of their business. CMI started its PPMS process just over seventeen months ago and achieved certified status on October 17, 2007. CMI will be audited on a periodic basis in order to maintain PPMS certification.
When asked why CMI had chosen to go through the PPMS certification process, Tom Stockton, CEO of The CMI Group, Inc., said, “CMI has been in the consumer collection business for over twenty-two years. While we have always done business in an ethical way, we know that technology and business processes have changed dramatically over that time period. We felt that PPMS was a good way for us to check ourselves and make certain that our procedures and business rules were still consistent with our commitment to performance, service and integrity. PPMS certification provides the clients we serve with the peace of mind that our excellent results are achieved while maintaining our commitment to doing our work consistent with both the letter and spirit of applicable state and federal law.
I also believe that the continued advancement of technology makes it more important than ever for collection agencies to have ways of proving to their clients that they can guarantee the security of the vast amounts of consumer data exchanged on a regular basis. With PPMS certification I can assure my clients that the consumer data they entrust to CMI is both safe and secure. Additionally, our documentation proves that we have policies and procedures that are ethical, lawful and effective”, Stockton said.
In honor of meeting our revenue goal set forth for July, and in effort to continuously show that we care, CMI held an End of Summer Bash!
On Friday August 17th, we asked associates to say
Good-Bye to Summer and Hello to CMI FUN by wearing their funky shirts, shorts and flip-flops. We kicked off the day with a mini health fair, providing free blood pressure, glucose level, and cholesterol screenings for all of our employees.
A continental breakfast was also served at the health fair, and a picnic lunch was provided for associates throughout the day.
In effort to help assist those in dire need and show our spirit of the FIVES, CMI partnered with CarterBlood Care to sponsor another blood drive at our office on Tuesday March 13th, 2007
CMI committed to a goal of 30 units, and drew a total of 27 units, attaining 90% of our target goal - Way To Go CMI! We are once again showing the “Service” spirit of our fellow CMI employees, and how amazing it can be when we work together.
Whether used to replace red cells lost during an accident or surgery, or to supply plasma for burn victims or platelets for cancer patients, the donations that CMI has provided play a critical role in the lives of others, and all those who participated should be very proud.
Members of CMI gathered on Friday, December 15th to celebrate the holiday season and to recognize our fellow co-workers with service awards in honor of their anniversaries. In addition, we had the pleasure of inducting our newest member, Melissa Smith of our Client Service Department, into the CMI Hall of Excellence.
Lunch and dinner were provided, and employees mixed and mingled spreading cheer as they enjoyed a little break from the holiday work rush.
Congratulations to the service award recipients, thank you for your hard work and dedication to CMI, and to Melissa Smith as our newest member of the CMI Hall of Excellence, way to go folks!
Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season from your friends at CMI!
In December, CMI employees took the opportunity to share our blessings with the less fortunate by sponsoring a gift drive for those in need over the holiday season. Contributions ranged from CD’s and DVD’s to TV’s and much more.
We would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to all employees who participated in this drive, because of you it was a success. With your help, we made a difference in the lives of others!
Congratulations to The CMI Group for becoming a “PPMS Subscribed Agency”, one of only three agencies nationwide that are PPMS Subscribed. What is PPMS you ask?
In the first quarter of this year, we started implementing elements of ACA’s Professional Practices Management System (PPMS), which is a management system based on developing, implementing and adhering to professional practices and policies. PPMS is the standard of excellent quality assurance in our industry that less than 1% of our competition offers. PPMS includes 17 basic elements that broadly fall into four categories, which relate to: overall management, business activities, support of the business activities and providing client confidence. Our procedures for client issues and nonconformities are two of the elements of this system.
The PPMS benefit to our clients is the level of excellence CMI provides with our efficient and quality service through standardization and continuous improvement. Less than 1% of agencies subscribe to the PPMS program.
The CMI Group has commitment to PPMS as our way of doing business. PPMS is a quality management system to promote continuous improvement so that CMI goes from being Good to Great. We want to meet or exceed client expectations in a cost-effective manner. PPMS supports our core values of Performance, Service & Integrity and all 5 elements of the CMI FIVES.
Finally, we’ve asked our associates to continue looking forward to CMI becoming a “PPMS Certified Agency”, meaning CMI has implemented all elements of PPMS, has met all the requirements of ACA, and has been audited and certified. Only 35 agencies nationwide have obtained ACA’s PPMS Certification. With the help and dedication of our associates, CMI will become certified in 2007!
The CMI Group, an active business member of the The American Collectors Association (ACA) of Texas, was happy to recently extend a $1,000 College scholarship opportunity from the ACA of Texas Education Foundation to employees that are High School Seniors and to CMI employees that have children/grandchildren that are High School Seniors.
The ACA Education Foundation promotes high school seniors' awareness of the importance of managing personal finances and establishing a good credit reference. Their objective is to help educate young adults on avoiding the pitfalls of credit card debt while in school and begin building a sound credit rating. The Essay Scholarship contest encourages students to research this subject and in their own words express an understanding of the value of personal financial management.
The ACA Foundation will award two $1,000 scholarships to assist with the contest winner's college tuition and fees. Scholarship applicants must meet state and local school district academic, attendance and citizenship standards for graduation. Applicants are judged on their subject matter knowledge, self-expression, writing skills and originality in an essay of 500 - 750 words using the theme "Building Good Credit for Financial Independence".
Other factors considered include financial need, personal achievements and extracurricular activities.
The CMI Group joining with The ACA of Texas Education Foundation to help our High School Seniors start College on solid financial footing.
The CMI Group hosted a Health Fair for employees on November 8th. What better
time then now, before the holiday season to think about good health, weight
loss strategies, stress management, smoking cessation and other healthful tips.
Employees who attended the Health Fair were offered free health screenings, raffle prizes, samples, and other neat freebies to boot! Participating vendors included Concentra, 24 Hour Fitness, Blue Cross Blue Shield and more.
Many employees attended, eager to see what the vendors had to offer and to learn more about living a healthier lifestyle!
Raffle prizes included nutritional guidebooks and fitness books; hand weights; a speed jump rope and other such work out material; yearly magazine subscriptions; and even a
$100 Gift Certificate to Silver Fox/III Forks!!!
Congratulations to the Health Fair raffle prize winners, and remember…the key to good health is prevention! Being informed and making good choices 'before' there is a problem.
The CMI Group recently held a Halloween party with a costume and chili cook-off contest, inviting our employees to join in the Fun activities and show their festive side! There were a wide variety of costumes ranging from butterflies and kitty cats, to medical team staff members, witches and much more.
First a Second place winners of the costume contest were Nelson Wilson dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Carrie Finney dressed as our very own VP of Human Resources, Linda Wright!
First and Second place winners for the chili cook-off were Randy Phelps and Linda Wright.
Way to go folks!!
Congratulations to the contest winners and thanks again to everyone who participated, confirming again that here at CMI, we are keeping the FIVES alive!
CMI’s ACH Remittance Program is ready for your immediate implementation. ACH is a fast and efficient way to transmit debtor payments electronically, directly into your bank account. A convenient online NetVision report will be available for you to use to update payment information into your billing system.
The advantages of ACH include:
Improved cash flow because CMI will ACH your customer payments the day after the payments are processed at CMI. No more waiting for checks to be mailed to you from our office.
Eliminate the time delay of receiving credit card payments taken at CMI. Just like checks, credit card payments that CMI takes on your behalf will be sent via ACH to your bank account the day after processed at CMI.
Receive daily detailed payment notification via our convenient NetVision report for you to use to update payment information into your billing system.
Put an end to time consuming duties such as the preparation of daily deposits and bank runs. Your money is sent via ACH directly into your bank account without you having to do a thing.
Quicker updates to CMI’s system and to your billing system, which will reduce the number of customer issues for you to handle.
To implement CMI’s ACH process, or if you have any questions, please contact your CMI Customer Service Professional at 800-377-7725.
CMI conducts a client survey every 6 months to get feedback from our clients about their suggestions for improvements or enhancements to meet their needs. The survey is delivered through NetVision, CMI’s on-line program. In addition to open-ended questions, we ask our clients to rate various aspects of our service on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, so that we know where we are doing well and where we can make further progress. The overall satisfaction score is one of our client measurements that are tracked for our quality management system.
In our May 2006 survey, CMI clients rated us at a 4.52 out of 5, demonstrating once again that CMI is meeting or exceeding expectations and delivering excellent results. Here are some direct quotes from clients on the May survey:
“Prompt and friendly service, knowledgeable people working on the phones. Every time I call I have a good experience. Ease of searching accounts.”
“I only have good things to say about customer service, friendly and prompt CSRs. I notice the strong sense of ownership CMI has of our written off accounts, I feel confident that our customers are in competent hands.”
“Whenever we have need to contact our rep we are always treated as if we are their most important client. We understand that we are not but it very nice to be treated like you are. Our rep is always there to help and often has answers and solutions while on the first call.”
“..excellent customer service and personal attention to all my questions and concerns.”
“Representatives are very courteous and professional, meet our expectations and we get quick response on issues.”
The CMI Group held another blood drive on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 sponsored by Carter BloodCare. We received a total of 15 whole blood units and 6 RBC units (double red). CMI would like to thank everyone who participated, your donations were greatly needed and appreciated!
Your blood donation may be even more special than you realize…
Did you know that a single donation can save up to three patients? This is possible because whole blood is made up of several useful components. These components perform special functions in your body and in the body of patients who receive your blood. The various blood components are Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma and selected Plasma Proteins. Each of these components can be separated from your donated volume of blood and transfused into a specific patient requiring that particular component. Thus, many can benefit from one unit of blood.
The CMI Group recognizes Christopher
Daniel Montes, son of our very own Nancy Montes and husband Ed.
Christopher attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest level of the
Boy Scout rank assigned, and was recently published in the August addition
of Latino Leaders magazine.
Christopher is a member of Troop 753 out of Carrollton TX has recently
received the following awards: Eagle Scout, National Honor Society, National
Hispanic Scholar, National Hispanic Youth Heritage Award, Texas Music
Scholar, All-Region Band, Texas All-State Band Alternate, and even Mr.
Congeniality at a High School Pageant.
Christopher has been accepted to the University of Texas at Austin, where
he plans to purse a degree in film starting this fall.
CMI congratulates David Cawthon in our Information Technology department for 10 years of dedicated service! David began working for CTCA while he was still in high school. He graduated college with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and went on to join the CMI Development Team. He developed the real-time credit card interface, the ACH interface, and was instrumental in developing many of the Netvision features as well. David currently manages the Development Team, and has proven himself a most valuable asset to the company, and an overall great guy. Congratulations David, and keep up the good work!
As a continued part of the FIVES culture, CMI celebrated by recently holding our very own CMI Olympic Challenges for 2006! The challenges included many events such as golf, free throw basketball, darts, and many more exciting challenges. Each hour, one or more persons from each department came out to show their competitive spirits by going head-to-head against other departments, to share in the Fun Festivities and continue to help celebrate the FIVES culture here at CMI.
In May, CMI had another blood drive, continuing our commitment to community service. Thanks to all our employees who donated during the blood drive. They are making a difference. Total # of whole blood donations made was 28 units and total # of double-red blood donations made was 5 units (each double-red donation counts as 2 units). This has been our most successful blood drive yet.
The collection industry is heavily regulated at both legislative levels. It is important for us to stay engaged in the dialogue between our industry and our political representatives. We are facing some tough challenges both in Congress and in the state legislatures. We need to stay vigilant in order to know what is coming down the pike that might affect our industry and therefore our ability to do business.
Recently, CMI associates raised more than $2,500 in personal contributions for the political action committees of the American Collectors Association (ACA) and the Texas ACA. These committees raise funds to hire lobbyists and to keep the collection industry's point of view in front of the legislators who are passing laws which will affect our business.
We would like to thank our employees for their commitment to CMI and our industry.
CMI surveys our customer base twice each year to be certain that we are fulfilling our Performance promise to “meet or exceed your expectations”, our Service promise to “be pro-active and responsive” and our Integrity promise to “make your best interest our top priority”.
In our November 2005 survey, confirming again that we are keeping our promises, CMI clients rated us at a 4.4, still close to our ultimate goal - a 5! Our Customer Service Professionals, as a group, received a 4.63, reflecting the outstanding service they provide to our clients. “We’re always pleased to see so many of our clients give us their feedback, so that we know how we measure up in their eyes,” said Nelson Wilson, Director of Customer Service for the CMI Group. “Each time we conduct our survey, we look forward to candid responses that will give us a true picture of our clients’ perceptions of us, enabling us to improve, where necessary. But, it’s also very encouraging to hear from many of our clients that we are right on target in our efforts to service them. Our management team reviews all of the client comments or recommendations, to evaluate them for possible changes or enhancements,” Wilson said. Following are some direct quotes from the November survey:
“Being a new client to CMI, we have already received calls from customers that they have been contacted about their accounts. This shows how fast they are at working on our accounts.”
”I'm impressed by the high collection percentages that CMI has. I have three of four that I use and CMI is one of the top collectors.”
“They have been very helpful and professional with us. I commend them for a great job.”
“Web services are GREAT. Communicating by phone is good too. No complaints.”
“I actually think CMI is a crucial asset to our company, and it makes our job a lot easier.”
“May you continue on your path of excellence, you're doing great!”
All of us here at CMI will continue to “STRIVE FOR THE FIVES”. At CMI the “FIVES” are: Make it Fun. Do it with Integrity. Add Value. Maintain Excellence. Serve Others.
