Sunday, March 20, 2011

Company Settles "Class Action Lawsuit" for $4.3 million

The company failed to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by first obtaining written consent to conduct background checks and second they failed to offer the applicants a copy of their report or the Credit Reporting Agency's (CRA) contact information to obtain a copy.

The proposed settlement would pay the worker that was terminated because of a background check between $2,000 and $4,000 each.

This company was a subcontractor to a large metropolitan school district and provided transportation for children. 

Maybe it is time for you to reevaluate how you perform your employment screening, your consent, and how you notify your applicants of the outcome.  In addition, you should understand what your current CRA is providing and how it is impacted by the FCRA and State Laws.

Recently, we were preparing a consent for a new client.  After reviewing several Fortune 500 companies existing consents, we found NONE of them were in compliance with both the FCRA and the state regulations.  

Companies need to understand that these types of lawsuits and actions by the Federal Trade Commission over violations of the FCRA and state regulations will continue.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Meaning of Service

I often wonder why we as individuals tolerate companies that lack the basic skills of customer service. Why do we continue to use a company even after having a bad experience?   Maybe it's because we are simply to forgiving.   Maybe it's because we just don't want the hassle of moving our business.

Recently we have been growing and have had to look at alternative internet providers. Our current provider has the fastest speed, but the problem is that it is down 40% of the time.   So we had a T1 installed, and my partner, who has been dealing with the mess, was on the phone for over an hour.  He sent an email and the new provider and the response was "Thank you we will get back with you in 72 hours." What in the world are these people thinking?

However, we have had a great experience with Clear. This is not an advertisement for their product, but a confirmation of their service. Now their product is really good. But let me tell you about our experience.  

One day when our service was down, I went by the mall to get an additional router from "Clear."  The sales person went above and beyond the call of duty. I needed  a another router that day, so he gave me a loner until our new router arrived. Also, when we were installing the router, we had some issues. So what did the salesperson do?  He came to our office and installed the router.  It would be a great story if it stopped there, but it does not.  He came back when we got the new router and installed it as well.

The meaning of "Service"  to me is meeting or exceeding the customers expectations.   This is something that we strive to achieve at S2Verify. Not only for our clients, but for the applicants and consumers as well.   Clearly we can take a lesson from our friend at "Clear."  

Absolutely an outstanding customer service experience.