---
title: Can't You Hear Me Knocking?
description: If you like the Rolling Stones song by the same name, you’ll really appreciate this scary fact, Americans are only answering their cell phones 47% of the time...
image: https://www.simonsagency.com/hubfs/Images/Blogs/Owners%20Corner/people-4765733-long-oc.jpg
---
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Turning Red to Black Blog: Discussing Topics Related to Revenue Cycle Management, Debt Collection, Debt Recovery, Debt Management, Billing Operations and Billing Procedures
## Can't You Hear Me Knocking?
By John Viggiano posted at Feb 19, 2020 11:46:23 AM
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If you like the Rolling Stones song by the same name, you’ll really appreciate this scary fact, Americans are only answering their cell phones 47% of the time [according to Hiya](https://assets.hiya.com/public/pdf/HiyaStateOfTheCall2019.pdf), an authority on the subject. Less than half of all attempts to reach consumers on their cell phones are successful and yet statistics show that [Americans check their cell phone every 12 minutes](https://nypost.com/2017/11/08/americans-check-their-phones-80-times-a-day-study/) or 80 times each day!
Additionally, it's a catch-22 for agencies when considering leaving a message for consumers as they are liable if they do not identify themselves, yet they are also liable if on the off-chance someone who is not the consumer overhears your message when they listens to it as this would violate the privacy of the individual. Believe it when we write it - this is only the tip of the iceberg in the minefield of arctic ice that is the current state of collections regulations.
So, what can you do to help appease this? First and foremost, you need to educate your patients and customers that you ***and your third-party partners*** will need to be able to reach them on their cell phones and you need their permission to do so. This can be a [simple step in your intake process](https://www.simonsagency.com/blog/turning-red-to-black/commonsense-prevails-when-consent-is-contractual) that can be logged into their patient and customer records during this process.
Secondly, it’s time to start asking them ***how*** they would like to be contacted. Gen-Xers, and in particular, Millennials would rather be contacted via email and text message, while Traditionalists and Boomers will mostly still prefer a phone call. Let them choose what works best for them, and don’t forget to obtain their permission for your organization as well as ***your third-party partners.***
To learn more about including your third-party partners while protecting your own interests in these consumer records, check out our blog post, [Common Sense Prevails](https://www.simonsagency.com/blog/turning-red-to-black/commonsense-prevails-when-consent-is-contractual).
To read more about American cell phone statistics on AccountsRecovery.net, [click here](https://www.accountsrecovery.net/2019/12/16/americans-answering-phone-less-especially-if-they-dont-recognize-whos-calling/).
To learn more about “From the Owner’s Corner,” [click here](https://www.simonsagency.com/news/introducing-from-the-owners-corner).
---
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