On the Job

What is a day on the job like for you?

Long hours, that’s for sure. I work 60 to 70 hours a week, easy. I like to take one day off a week, Sunday, to spend with my [wife and daughters]. You pretty much write your own paycheck: The harder you work, the more time you spend doing it, the more money you make. Not to mention the job’s a hell of an adrenaline rush.

What does it take to be a repossession agent?

I took a 40-hour course at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. We were taught how to operate within the law and how to conduct [ourselves] in a [safe] manner. You have to be physically fit, [because] you never know when you’ll have to run from a dog, gun or baseball bat. You have to know basic [auto] mechanics so you can recover vehicles safely.

How do you get a vehicle someone won’t just hand over?

Sometimes you sit down the street in an unmarked vehicle and watch [the debtor’s] day-to-day habits. You follow them. They go to gas stations, parks—people are creatures of habit. They go to work thinking their car is safe in the parking lot; next thing they know, you’ve taken it.

What is the scariest thing you’ve experienced as a repo man?

I had a shotgun pulled on me last year. I was talking with the debtor, and he was telling me he sent the check. The son got tired of hearing me go back-and-forth with his father, so he pulled a shotgun on me and asked me to leave. So I left.

How has your job changed with the current economic downturn?

That’s the sad part; I’m busier now than I was this time last year. What’s added to our work hours is that so many people have lost jobs or can’t find jobs. This time last year, each agent averaged 10 to 12 cars per week; now it’s 15 to 22 cars per week. Our office would collect 50 cars a week last year; now we collect 100 cars a week.