By Darayus Sethna
This past Wednesday, May 20th, the Cleveland Cavaliers offered another conference call for the local public to attend. In this past week’s call, Cavaliers broadcaster John Michael took some time to talk with the CEO of Quicken Loans, Jay Farner. Farner acquired the role of CEO on February 10th, 2017, and had some critical ideas to share with John Michael concerning the focal points of how the company is dealing with business during these unprecedented times.
First off, Farner emphasized the massive changes in terms of his workforce, yet also how he was somewhat prepared for these drastic events:
“We had to move 98% of our workforce… All but about 200 had to work from home almost immediately. We were fortunate that we had gotten a jumpstart on this in early February… Time spent working went up by about 25%.”
There are four major cities in the United States where Quicken Loans has its offices. The headquarters of the company is based in Detroit, Michigan. The other locations in which the company is based include Cleveland, Phoenix, and Charlotte. But unemployment has taken its toll for the company; however when Michael brought up the topic, Farner’s response seemed optimistic:
“The big question here is unemployment… It’s not necessarily top of mind for the team member to want to return; and so we are doing a lot of outreach. We are encouraging people ❲business owners❳ to outreach to see where their team members are at, and talking about the meaningful impact they have on the economy and the business to try to encourage them to head back to work.”
Given that Quicken Loans is a mortgage based company, Farner also discussed how these economic factors are being handled by his team as this global pandemic continues:
“As it relates to mortgages, we will see an increase in defaults as we get into the next months… We can do loan modifications, but I don’t think you can go through a situation like this without having some level of increase in mortgage defaults.”
Are you thinking of buying a house at this time? Well, Jay Farner has an explanation for you:
“Coming out of January and February, what we used to call ‘Spring Homebuying Season’ is starting earlier and earlier each year. So in late January we were seeing people who were ready to go get a full approval to buy a home. That all got put on hold in March and April, and into May; and so now there is pent up demand… Where’s the value in the item or the service that you’re bringing to the table? Because that seems to really be connecting with people more than ever before.”
In all, the principles and morals of Quicken Loans is based on one factor: the customer. This past November, the company ranked highest amongst its competitors in customer satisfaction for a mortgage organization for the tenth consecutive year (according to J.D. Power’s ratings). When Michael asked Farner about just leaving people alone during these times, Farner knew exactly how to respond:
“I would say absolutely not. I think about a month ago that might have been the case as people were addressing things… People just want to hear from you. It doesn’t have to be a sales call. It doesn’t have to be because they need to make a move. They just want to know that you’re there and that everything is okay… I don’t think there is anything more valuable you could do than be reaching out to your clients right now.”
Although there wasn’t a great deal of basketball talk in this particular conference call, it is still essential to listen in on the significance of how business between these major corporations is being conducted in these times of commotion and uncertainty. It is clear that according to Farner, the customers, people like you and I, are vital in the contributions of the economic spectrum. And who better to hear from than one of the most recognized, well respected individuals from a company known for its consistency and excellence.
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