Working in a call-centre: is it that bad?

Cabaal

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i think everyone should work ina call centre at some stage in their life.
it will teach them a thing or two about humility and the joy of customer service

I'd have to agree with this....teach people not to be inpatent f*ckers

FGR

I wonder if every person at age 18 should be conscripted to Call Centre work for one year.

That'd show them how the world works.

/recalls experience with Tech Support with World's Largest ISP..

iguana

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Wow :eek:
I don't like the sound of that "fill in a report" part... would you get an ear-bashing over it or was it just procedure and everyone remained happy?/

The team leader would get a daily print out of everybody's phone logs. If anything was outside the allowed rules she would come for a "chat." If you couldn't give a decent reason, and you repeated the "offence" you would get a warning. One girl I worked with was fired after 2 months because she had 3 days off sick, with a doctors note, and was too often a minute late back from lunch.

I had a severe back problem while I worked there and needed to get up and move around for a few minutes every hour or 2. While my team leader understood this (it was on the insistance of the company doctor), she had to set up a whole ridiculous procedure where I had to write a short report for the floor manager detailing why I was getting up and how long I'd be. Everytime I had to get up I had to tell the floor manager, then come back and fill in the report sheet. It was really tedious.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Mih, I'd say there are air traffic control towers with less anal-retentive policies :rolleyes:

Cabaal

ForegoneReality wrote:

I wonder if every person at age 18 should be conscripted to Call Centre work for one year.

That'd show them how the world works.

/recalls experience with Tech Support with World's Largest ISP..

*cough* I wounder who that could be?
btw to give it its correct term its a OSP (On-line Service Provider)
:rolleyes:

Benster

I'd definitely go along with the "everyone should work in one for a while" sentiment. It's what you could call a "character-rounding" experience.

I worked in one in Oz for a short while cold-call selling insurance. The Oz public is less savvy of the whole call-centre selling thing (at least that's awhat we were told) so it would be less stressful then selling back here or in the UK. Anyway, as well as the usual pricks you get, there were some absolute gems of stories...

A Chinese woman answered the phone. After a minute of her trying to understand english she put me onto her grown-up daughter. Same thing, couldn't get the message across, then put me onto a gruff old man who grunted once and immediately handed me to someone else. "Hello, name is (insert Chinese name). I'm six and in school today we made cakes..."
First and only english voice I heard. I put that down as a "Do Not Call Again"...

On another call a woman answered and I was looking for her husband. "Sorry mate, he's out shootin' roo's. Back about 8, ok?"

Those are the sort of things that get you through the day

B.

bluto

I remember once when i was selling credit cards i rang thru to one house hold asking mr Joe Blogs and was told to call back in 18 years. he had just been sent down for armed robbery that day. Calling people who had died recently was always a hoot.

Our man in Havana

I spent a year in tech support, I am now in a non phone role in the same call centre. I would never go back to the phones. I would say that after a year listening to people that can't find the on button on a tower I was about 1 week from quitting. Average burnout is about 8 months or so.

I am enjoying my nice little admin gig now. It's more fun on the other side of the fence.

gline

answer to this thread is YES - Working in a call-centre: is it that bad? .

I am working in two at the moment and the saying is true , they are the 21st century sweat shops. U have to be able to switch off your mind for your entire working day and forget you know anything. You are only a number when working in a call centre, you are easily replaced and as was said before only expect to stay 12months MAX and thats if it is a good call centre, it is only a stepping stone to a better job usually, unless u are into licking hole to get a team lead job or higher up position, as that is the only way to get those positions

So if u can avoid working in a call centre do, unless you think u mite enjoy that kind of torture, hehehe

jjbrien

I currently work in a call centre I have been there for nearly 15 months. I plan to leave I the next two months. I can agree with allot of the people here. Try to ask them for a pay increase is like asking the Catholic Church to make women priests. Also the call centre I work in the team lead has a stupid attitude that if all the team hits their targets then we can go at 5pm if not we have to stay until 5:30 like kids in detention. It is been in primary school again. The company used to be great when I started but it just went downhill I would agree burnout it like 6 to 7 months then you go for a while and get a second wind and burnout again. My advice do it for a few months and then get out.

SprostonGreen

Think of the largest selling software monopoly, they have their customer service outsourced to a company in Dublin 12.

Never, ever, ever work for these people !!!!

gline

though i would say it probably depends on the companies you work for. But the main one i work is managed very badly, and insulting - 3-4% pay increase in a year which was due 6 months ago and already on low wage. Management are not qualified at all. But im sure there are some good call centres. Just here i am on the phones for ALL day, always calls to be taken and it is a tech support role, told to just email customers documents on the companies website which i think is not proper tech support. And as was mentioned before, 10% good customers cant make up for the 90% bad customers, they wear you down too much, constant moaning and complaing and abuse just suks after 12 months,

the_syco

tom dunne wrote:

Couldn't agree more.

I worked in a call center for three years, on shift. Best three years of my career.

There were two call centers in the company, both supporting internal customers. One call center was the traditional type, supporting Microsoft Office/Windows/Printers/Passwords that kind of stuff, working 8:00am-6:00pm. Our call center was shift based and was staffed 24 hours a day seven days a week. The experince I gained there was incredible - we got to play with a massive amounts of different types of systems. When it was quiet, it was really quiet. When the proverbial hit the fan, it was mayhem.

Couldn't agree more. Was in an internal support centre, where the "customers" were nice, got about 90 calls on the busy days, 20 on the not so busy days; I was given extra work to do, "so I wouldn't be bored". Worked there for 6 months (it was a 6 month contract). Once I get a qualification, I'm going back there. Lovely place, + the staff I wored with were sound.

6 months; rare, unless your on placement (me)
couple of years; usual

=-=

Saying that, I also worked in a support centre, where you'd get about 30 calls a day, but they'd all be nasty, with one or two a day I just couldn't fix. All the settings would be correct, but still nothing. Also, they thought I could make dial-up go faster :rolleyes: Lasted 1,5 weeks.

6 months; normal
1 year; rare
4 years; "He's being here the longest. Back then..."

=-=

In the former, I learnt a good bit about different programs, and can be used in all types of jobs. In the latter, I learnt how to deal with customers. Invaluable knowlegde, which college couldn't have taught me.

gline

the_syco wrote:

Saying that, I also worked in a support centre, where you'd get about 30 calls a day, but they'd all be nasty, with one or two a day I just couldn't fix. All the settings would be correct, but still nothing. Also, they thought I could make dial-up go faster :rolleyes: Lasted 1,5 weeks.
.

That nearly describes my situation, most nasty because im supporting a bad product and the support model for the company is terrible

CathyMoran

Worked in an American call centre when I left college - wanted something that was non-accademic as I needed a break - I lasted a year but it was horrible - you had to ask people to cover you if you went to the bathroom, there were unrealistic targets so that we never made any money.

The second time I worked in a call centre it was a lovely experience - met some good friends, you were not tied to the phone every second and they actually gave you your bonus - hated leaving it but the commute time was too long.

I do think that everyone should be drafted into a call centre for a year - it builds character. Because of my second experience with a call centre I would say that they can be a nice work environment if they are managed correctly - wherever you work the people that you work with and how you react to things can affect your enjoyment of the job (remind me of that now!)

nesf

My experience with call centers,

1 call center.
-Very poorly managed.
-Outbound sales and cold calling selling insurance (most definitely not a good combo)
-100+ call a day, my average was 120 with me doing no overtime, ever.
-near impossible sales targets (this coming from a professional salesman)
-a staff turnover of nearly 85% every 2-3 months.
-Decent facilities and restrooms
-No sick days, holidays or benifits accrued for your first 6 months of work (combine that with the turnover above and you can see why people didn't last long)
-The constant feeling of being pushed out the door, they didn't want you to stay and made absolutely no effort to keep you.
-From an average training group of 20, 4 were left after 2 months on average, less than 1 on average after 6

Not a pleasant experience, but then again cold call sales never is, especially when it involves targets.

It could have been alot worse though. It could have been commission only, and they did give us crosswords to do while we were on the phones, and some of the people there, while jaded, were interesing.

From what I've heard, inbound work is alot nicer, less calls and such and less targets. Also inbound means no cold calling so much friendlier people.

Call centers are a way into sales management, albeit a painful one, but very viable for someone who can't drive or who can't actually pitch without there being a script in front of their face (although that will hurt you if you move to an individualised pitch orientated sales job, you can't teach what you don't know and all that). Still decent money for what is easy, but abusive work.