Recovery Tips The Balancing Act Lenders who have made a name offering value with a commitment to customer satisfaction are going to find consumers tempted by technology.

By Kristopher Barros

generation or two ago just about every- outlets in urban areas more accessible to con- one owned a Craftsman tool purchased sumers in the suburbs and rural communities. Aexclusively at retail behemoth, Sears, Sears tried to exploit this opportunity that Roebuck and Company. The tools were rock technology was presenting, opening the first solid and “guaranteed forever.” And if your Sears retail store in Chicago in 1925. It was far first day of school was sometime in the 1970s, more fun to drive to the store and get almost odds are you hit the playground during recess immediate satisfaction, than to flip through the wearing some, at the time, very fashionable hundreds of pages of a catalog, fill out a form, Toughskins. The pants were a conscious effort send a payment by mail and wait for the post- on the part of Sears to develop a garment that a man to deliver your goods what could be two kid couldn’t wreck. The pants were so “tough” or three weeks later. Sear’s retail store sales that they were sold with a guarantee that kids topped mail-order sales by the early 1930s. would grow out of their Toughskins before the Over the next few decades the number of stores pants wore out. Tools “guaranteed forever” and increased rapidly and Sears became America’s clothes your kids outgrow before they wear retailer. out seem like a recipe for retail success. With that kind of value and commitment to customer The obvious value an satisfaction, why would consumers ever shop experienced loan originator anywhere else? Recently, Sears, that anchor store for just brings to the transaction about every American Mall built in the last few may not be enough to decades, sold the Craftsman brand in a desper- ate attempt to survive declining sales. Amazon overcome conveniences is likely finishing them off after Walmart and technology has to offer. Home Depot beat them up pretty good. It is also pretty damn near impossible to find a pair of Any kid that had a pair of Toughskins likely Toughskins on any playground, but if you look watched Dad scour the pages of the Sears cata- you can find them in remarkably good condi- log for that Craftsman tool before jumping in tion on eBay. the station wagon and heading to the store. So what happened to Sears and what does it They, like their parents, their parent’s parents have to do with anything relating to mortgages? and maybe a generation before them didn’t real- If you think about it, Sears was the Amazon ize they were living in a nexus, just waiting for of the 20th century. In the 1890s,Richard Sears technology to bring it all together. The paper and Alvah Roebuck founded Sears, Roebuck catalog at the time was the best way to identify and Company, publishing the first of its soon- what was available at the Sears store. It weighed to-be-famous catalogs. The company grew phe- about seven pounds even with its micro-print, nomenally by selling a range of merchandise but its color images and the 800 phone number at low prices to rural communities that had no were the best technology had to offer. Sure, you other convenient access to retail outlets. Sound could still mail order, but jumping in the car and like Amazon in this century? driving to the local Sears store was the quickest But in the mid-1920s, new technology made means to an end. It met the consumers’ wants, Sears change course. Cars were making retail needs and desires even if occasionally you did Recovery Tips at your fingertips. It is so much easier to search and browse thousands of online catalogpages. easier somuch is It fingertips. your at of amouse,allthematerial worldhastooffer is a swipeacrosssmartphonescreenortheclick the car. Catalogshoppingwasresurrected. With and convenienttoshoponlinethanjumpin and seconddayfreeshippingmadeitmorefun same. The Internet,electronicpaymentsystems some thingsandleftotherprettymuchthe things aroundandputitalltogether, changed need toorderandpickupinstoreafewdayslater. Mae andFreddie Mac,approved by FHAandVA, andanissuer for GinnieMae. Kristopher Barros istheRegulatory Audit Manager for Embrace HomeLoans, adirect lenderfor Fannie Amazon exploitedAmazon without and technology the overhead of u te, n hs etr, ehooy flipped technology century, this in then, But a brick retail mortar and store brought every convenience technology had to offer and lowerand toprices offer had technology to the market. to offer.v enough to overcome conveniences technology has loan originator brings tothetransaction may notbe cal tosuccess. The obviousvalueanexperienced bytechnology. Finding thatbalance,Searsdidn’t, willbecriti tempted consumers find to going with a commitment to customer satisfaction are lower pricestothemarket. every conveniencetechnologyhadtooffer and overhead of a brick and mortar retail store brought Amazon exploitedthattechnologyandwithoutthe Lenders who have made a name offering value -