RFC Account Management

RFC files are your Return For Collection consumers.  Every gym has RFC accounts to some degree.  These accounts fall between 60 – 90 days past day.  Day 1 to RFC (somewhere between 60-90 days) of delinquency you and ABC Financial work together through billing and communication to get members current and keep them satisfied.  Once an account goes to RFC status, or 60 – 90 days past due, the billing is turned off by ABC Financial and it is up to you now to engage with the consumer to get them to pay and try to save their membership.  The good news is there are highly qualified preferred vendors who can provide an RFC solution.

You still own these accounts.  You have ability to control the RFC process and work with vendor to mitigate negative experiences and shut down a collection if it is escalating.  You should not worry about fees from vendor for shutting down a collection.  Some worry if it is worth it to collect and retain RFC accounts with risk of making someone mad vs Forgive-and-Forget RFC balances and then hope that person will come back and rejoin.

With a third party you will collect and make more money on RFC accounts while reminding past members about the gym. However, there is a balanced risk that you will make someone upset. Generally the upset consumer was not going to come back anyway as something else negatively contributed to their gym experience.  The approach to not collect on RFC account means you don’t collect or retain anyone now and you are simply waiting and hoping to have them come back in the future.

Opportunity for retention.  We have seen 20-50% of the people that pay in RFC status do so by going back to gym and paying at the front desk.  These are membership saving opportunities.  There is now chance to have conversation and member engagement. You can even workout a settlement arrangement at gym.

Collect money now and sign new agreement.  Let’s say you have 20 customers that pay in RFC status each month and each one is owing $100.  Let’s also say that half of that group go to front desk to make arrangements.  That’s 10 opportunities to collect & resign.   That’s $1000 and 10 new agreements.

Your staff should focus on fitness and facility management.  Only you can truly appreciate all that is going on at the gym – need to sign new agreements, helpful and opportunistic staff to enhance member experience, clean workout and locker room area, and the list goes on.  A high quality, profession third party can partner with you to work on your RFC accounts.  The right partner will handle this responsibility on your behalf, not charge out of pocket fees, and be very transparent and upfront with all fees and services.

ABC has a great preferred partner program API integrated partners.  These partners are vetted by the ABC Financial executive team and have demonstrated success and service with current ABC clients.  The API integration will report collect payments to DataTrack daily and if someone pays at the club report that from DataTrack to collection group daily.  It will also place your RFC accounts each month.

If done right, RFC collections will help you save time and money while making more money and signing lost agreements.

Tyler Rice – COO – Aldous & Associates