True Tales of a Talker #8: The Repeat Offender

Sometimes it’s fate. Sometimes it’s pure luck. But for whatever reason I get to speak to a certain representative at an insurance company that sure is a pleasure to talk to.

I started working at Maine Veterans’ Homes in January of 2015. I got off to a slow start; even thought I wanted to quit after the first three days until my husband told me to suck it up. No, really, he did. I came home crying thinking I couldn’t do this job and he asked me “Do you like what you do?” I told him yes. He said “Then don’t cry about it. Ask for help. Figure it out.” So, I pulled up my big girl undies and went to work with a new attitude the next day and have never looked back.

Over the first few months I got the hang of it and, you can ask my supervisor, I started cleaning up accounts like wildfire! I was doing my job and enjoying myself. I was calling insurance companies, demanding my claims process and the payments were coming in. I was even cleaning up the accounts of our other homes besides the one I was assigned to. The part of the job that took the most work and most of my time was Mainecare. There were plenty of accounts that had balances because of not having cost of care letters in the system. I would have to lug these giant binders out of a cupboard and go through them one by one to find them. If we didn’t have the correct ones, I would call or email the DHHS workers and ask for them. The claims that needed to be reprocessed or the questions I had on them would have to be called on.

That’s when I met HER.

When Theetra answers a call, she is happy and always willing to help. The first few phone calls I made to Mainecare she would answer. She was always so helpful and she knew who to ask or was able to decipher what either we or the system was doing wrong.  As we worked on the claims together we got to know each other too. In fact, I would go home from work and my stepdaughter, Jayden, would ask “Did you talk to Theetra today?” And I would say yes. When I told Theetra this it really made her day. Even now, she asks about Jayden and I ask about her daughter, Ella. Having little girls in our lives in another thing we get to share.

With the communication system they now have at Mainecare, they are able to see which workers are online and email them directly to find a quick answer. Often times if she can’t find the problem her coworker Bruce can. (I call him Mr. Bruce. He just sounds like a Mr. Bruce.) She gets the answer right away and I fix the claims and get them paid.

At the end of every phone call she expresses that it was wonderful to talk to me and I tell her the same. When you have a rapport with a person it shows and things get done.

So now, when I call Mainecare, and I hear the standard greeting ‘This is Theetra. How may I help you?” I respond “THEETRA!!!” And she says “Sharon! I was HOPING it was you! How are you, girl?”

And the call begins.

True Tales of a Talker #7: The Car Payment Collector

I never did have much luck with cars.

My husband and I leased a vehicle knowing I would most likely be over the mileage by the time the lease was up. We were going to buy it outright so I tried not to go very far over the limit. Unfortunately, family life had its way for helping me rack up the miles. We didn't want to but sometimes it would be me making the trips back and forth to Auburn more than once a week. Those miles can really add up quickly but there was no other choice at the time. It was such a great vehicle and I enjoyed driving it. I was hoping to have it for a long time.

Until the engine blew up over just over 2,000 past the warranty and two days shy of the lease being up.

Fast forward through the arguing with the dealership, finding proof of the engine known for being faulty, negotiating with the dealership and then calling the head office of the maker of the vehicle and I was fortunate to be put in a used vehicle that I had to buy outright with the $7,000 for the new engine of my old car factored in. 

In other words, I got screwed.

While paying for the "new" used car, I got a phone call six months later on a Thursday asking me for the money to pay for the overage of miles. I had forgotten that was even a thing. Since it went back to the dealership (and they auctioned it off for the bargain price of $4,000), it was completely out of my mind. You can imagine the shock of thinking there is another bill to pay on my already stretched income. They wanted $18,000!

At four o'clock in the afternoon the repayment center shuffled me around from representative to representative until a woman came on the line by the name of Audrey M. She listened to my story, the sniffling and the down right ugly crying. Do you know what the first thing she said to me was?

"Miss Sharon, I am going to make something happen for you."

And I believed her.

After forty-five minutes of sitting in my car talking to her and relaying the story of what had happened with the vehicle and the true situation of our finances, we connected with her supervisor, Carol. 

Little did I know how incredible that "something" would be. 

Miss Audrey had me retell the story to Carol. Then they said they were going to place me on hold. After being on hold for another twenty minutes (but being updated every five minutes that they were still working on things), Miss Audrey came back on the line. She said in a hushed voice "Now, I know I shouldn't tell you this, Miss Sharon, but your story touched me. I know what it's like to be in tough situations but I can tell you have an honest heart. I can tell you're not one of those people who would lie into getting a better deal. I can feel that from you. So I talked with Carol. Carol's last day at her position before taking the next step in the company is tomorrow. I asked her to do the impossible for you. And she did."

What did she do?

I was informed that she would cut the bill by eighty-five percent IF I could pay twenty payments of a negotiated amount of just over one hundred dollars a month.

That was it? 

What about the rest of it?

The rest would be forgiven. 

While still on the phone, Miss Audrey sent me the paperwork to sign. I signed it and sent it back by email right away. She then sent it to Carol who signed off on it as well. They sent me a copy.

Carol then came back on the line with us and said "This was my final act as supervisor. I think I made the good choice by making this deal. Everyone needs a break sometimes and, after talking with you, I can tell this was the right thing to do." She wished us well and hung up.

It was like a miracle!

Every month for the next twenty months I called Miss Audrey directly. She gave me her extension and I made the monthly payment with her. With each phone call, she would ask how my family was, how my band was doing and if my work was going well. In the thousands of phone call she received each month, she never forgot me.

And I'll never forget her.