I want to tell you a story about my friend Jan. Jan is a
teacher at one of our local schools and she is one of the friendliest
persons I know. She loves teaching and wouldn't trade her job for
anything. What's more, she is a single mom herself so she knows the
value of a dollar and how to make it stretch. Yet, like so many
others, she had a problem not too long ago. That's where our story
begins.
It was late one cold January night when Jan called me, "Steve, I
don't know what is wrong! My heater isn't working and the
temperature inside the house is falling fast. Can you come over and
look at it?" I bundled up and headed over the Jan's to take a
look. Unfortunately, the news I had for her wasn't good. It
looked as if the electrical box on the side of her furnace went out.
I told her that she and her daughter could come and stay with me for the
night because it was going to get mighty cold!
The next day, the repairman gave her the bad news -- $800 worth of
bad news. Now Jan doesn't make a lot of money - what teacher does? -
but she always pays her bills on time and keeps a modest house.
However, she just wasn't prepared for this unexpected expense and payday
was weeks away. She was beside herself trying to figure out
what she was going to do. I felt bad, and wanted to offer to lend
her the money, but truth be told I didn't have it myself!
Much to my surprise, later that day Jan called me up and said she
wouldn't need to stay at my place that night - her furnace was working
again! I asked her where she got the money and she told me she got a
loan from a cash advance lender that a friend referred her to. She
said it was easy - all she had to do was verify her income, tell them
where to deposit the money and the money was hers. She was even
allowed to pick a repayment plan that suited her best.
I asked her if she had to fill out a lengthy application or go
through a credit check and she said no. She told me that it was the
easiest thing she ever did. She said she checked at the bank that
morning but they told her she would need to put up collateral for a
personal loan and that it would take at least a week to process.
Typical of a bank! They only lend money to people who already have
money! And who can wait a week to get their furnace fixed in the
dead of winter?
Jan told me that at first she was a little worried about getting a
cash advance loan, but she soon found out her worries were
unfounded. It was so easy and the process to customer friendly that
she felt like they really were concerned about her well being and not just
the money. She said it was one of the best customer service
experiences she has had in a long time.
So Jan got her furnace fixed and repaid her cash advance in a
little over a month on terms that didn't make her have to stretch her
paycheck even further. Every time I talk with her she always tells
me the story about how the cash advance loan place made it possible for
her to keep her dignity and pride. Most of all, she tells
everyone she knows about how she finally found a business that cared about
the little person - her!
