http://www.reporternews.com/news/2010/sep/04/repo-man-a-people-person/

Labor Day, repo man: He is a people person'

• By Jaime Adame
• Posted September 4, 2010 at 8:41 p.m.

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Richmond Russell is a partner in Bulldog Recovery, a repossession company. [photocredit]Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News[/photocredit]

With a .30-30 rifle pressed against his forehead, Richmond Russell knew just what to say. “Sir, I must be at the wrong house,” Russell recalled saying. After retreating from the doorway, Russell climbed into his tow truck and drove away.

But both men knew there had been no mistake. Russell was there for good reason, to repossess a vehicle on behalf of a creditor.

And Russell would not give up so easily. The knock had been a courtesy, to give the elderly man — born in the 1920s, as Russell recalled — a chance to retrieve any personal belongings; the vehicle was on the street.

“Seven to 10 seconds. I can be down the road,” said Russell, 32, chuckling at the memory of the confrontation in Brownwood.

After making the block, he returned and left with his prize in tow.

Ten years ago, Russell started working as a repo man in the Lubbock area.

“Just something to make a living,” he said.

He left the business for a couple of years but, for the past five years, he has been a partner in Bulldog Recovery with Lubbock resident Bill Johnson. Based in Abilene, Russell roams across the Big Country, picking up cars and trucks whose owners have been remiss in making payments.

“I’m a people person, for the most part,” said Russell.

He speaks at a rapid pace, and doesn’t seem quite relaxed even while seated in his recliner at home. The Bluetooth earpiece probably doesn’t help.

He has plenty to say about people, both good and bad.

There are the liars and the hiders, the fruit-throwers and the chaser-afterers. One guy in Brownwood ran after him in his boxers in 20-degree weather, Russell said. Twice he brings up the section of the Texas Penal Code that states it’s a felony to hide property on which there is a lien, depending on the property’s value.

On the other hand, people will sometimes offer to help him tow away their vehicles. He understands that people just get caught up in hard times

Ultimately, the truth is that those who cause problems “are few and far between,” he said.

Russell has his own style in dealing with the public.

“Politeness, right off the bat. Kill ’em with kindness,” he said. People sometimes “will swell up,” but usually do nothing more. Although he has called the police for help, “never one time have I gotten into a physical confrontation.”

About 50 percent of the time, things run smoothly. His client — usually a finance company, maybe a bank — offers a name and address. He drives there in his truck and hauls away the vehicle, no keys necessary.

The other 50 percent make life complicated. He said he spent $28,000 last year trying to locate debtors. If he has to drive to three or four locations, he’s wasted gas and lost money on the job, he said.

He covers a wide area, about a 100-mile range around Abilene.

“I have to go just that far to be able to make a living,” he said.

Work can be boom or bust, and Russell said he thinks he has a pretty good feel for at least some economic policy.

“Cash for Clunkers was the absolute worst thing for the economy and the absolute best thing for the repossession business,” he said, referring to a federally funded incentive program that encouraged consumers to buy new, more fuel-efficient cars.

Last summer, he brought in 75 cars a month, a pace that’s slowed this year.

All repo agents work to get pretty much the same clients, and a monthly “report card” listing the success rate for a repo company can be a factor in deciding who gets jobs.

“It’s a ruthless business to be in,” he concedes.

A cigarette dangles from his mouth, and his sunglasses remain propped on his shaved head.

“The American public lives beyond their means. That’s the American way,” Russell concludes. “We all do it. It’ll always be that way.”