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Dear Valued Customer, Calling us 4 times within 40 minutes doesn't mean we're going to get your problem fixed any faster. We keep notes about things like this, and we specified every single time you called that you need to get your contracted IT tech out. We don't say this just to be mean or to cause an inconvenience, we say it because you have an enterprise setup and nobody in their right mind doing Level 1 support wants to take all the responsibility and liability for your internal network. Kind regards, froglet P.S. I took your call the second and fourth times around, and don't tell me that 'the other girl said [stuff that certainly wasn't said]', because I was the 'other girl' you'd spoken to, and I certainly don't recall saying those things.
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Oct 26, 2010 01:43
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By far it wasn't the worst experience I'd had on the phone when I worked in a call center but it was the most  .A woman complained that her monitor seemed to have some problems. After asking her what the issue was, she said that she can hear her daughter on Skype but her daughter cannot hear her. I'd asked her if the monitor had a built-in microphone and she'd said "I don't think so." I asked her then, well, "What microphone are you using to speak with your daughter?" She replied that she didn't have a microphone, and that she didn't know she required a microphone to speak with her daughter. Judgmental aside: she used English capably and didn't have any speech problems. I could only last eight months in my call center before I gave my two weeks. Between following up with every issue a customer experiences to being yelled at to give them a new computer because their Windows is x64 and not x86... I hit the greatest depression I'd ever experienced and hope to ever experience again.
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Oct 27, 2010 02:15
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Well first day in a call centre, cold calling and I loving lost it. People weren't particually rude and the supervisor wasn't overly cruel. The whole repartition got to me, having to listen to that dial tone over and over again, each ring wearing me down. It drove me to mental breakdown, on the first day. I can't exactly quit on day 1 but if I get like this again tomorrow I will walk out of that building and be glad never to see anyone from there ever again.
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Oct 28, 2010 22:55
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Manic_Misanthrope posted:Well first day in a call centre, cold calling and I loving lost it. People weren't particually rude and the supervisor wasn't overly cruel. The whole repartition got to me, having to listen to that dial tone over and over again, each ring wearing me down. It drove me to mental breakdown, on the first day. The worst thing for me working in a call-centre was not the actual work itself, though it was unpleasant; rather, it was thinking about the work and constantly dreading it, and each day would be sitting miserably, call after call, beginning to hate that beep in my ear, dreading the next call (in the few seconds I had between them) and feeling pretty much trapped and exhausted. Then I'd take my ten minute break and dread going back on the phones. It's become clear to me that certain personalities handle the environment well, and certain don't. I just thought "gently caress this" and walked out halfway through my day and left it to those who can handle it. I wouldn't recommend this, however.
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Oct 29, 2010 00:59
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Manic_Misanthrope posted:Well first day in a call centre, cold calling and I loving lost it. People weren't particually rude and the supervisor wasn't overly cruel. The whole repartition got to me, having to listen to that dial tone over and over again, each ring wearing me down. It drove me to mental breakdown, on the first day. Not only can you quit on day one, you can quit even earlier. When I did my stint as inbound customer-service for ShopNBC (shopping channel), there was a two-week paid training period before we went live; the very first night, at the very first break, the guy next to me walked off.  I ended up bailing because the stress was making my gut hurt all the time - and as soon as I left for the day, the pain did too. So, I got out before the bonus ulcer got installed, I guess.
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Oct 29, 2010 18:19
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WampaLord posted:At this point, I'd take a customer satisfaction award over my current "Get blamed for calls other people take" achievement.
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Nov 1, 2010 23:47
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I'm out! Sweet freedom! There is light at the end of the tunnel! My last day is Saturday. Of course, the customers, in celebration of my leaving, have complained more than usual today, but I refuse to let it get to me. Hold on hope, fellow call center goons. Eventually you too will escape.
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Nov 3, 2010 22:22
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Ygolonac posted:Not only can you quit on day one, you can quit even earlier. When I did my stint as inbound customer-service for ShopNBC (shopping channel), there was a two-week paid training period before we went live; the very first night, at the very first break, the guy next to me walked off. If there's enough call centers by you, people can spend 3-4 months just doing training sessions after unemployment runs out before they start looking for a real job.
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Nov 3, 2010 23:12
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pimpedlightsaber posted:If there's enough call centers by you, people can spend 3-4 months just doing training sessions after unemployment runs out before they start looking for a real job. This is the exact reason that most call centers around here that don't hire through temp agencies make you sign a lovely contract when you enter training that states that if you quit before the training period is over, you will receive no wages. Companies aren't paying you to live off of jumping from training session to training session, after all.
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Nov 4, 2010 07:00
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Most call centers are barely paying enough to live on. At least, here anyway.
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Nov 4, 2010 07:21
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When Sprint gets purchased by the Spanish or Mexican telcom giants, I am so going to enjoy answer the phone starting with "ATT, The American owned phone company"
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Nov 6, 2010 23:11
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Aerofallosov posted:Most call centers are barely paying enough to live on. At least, here anyway. Depends on the company. If you're first party, you're more likely to make a decent living. I was making minimum wage in a kitchen and almost doubled my salary went I went to a call centre. Double your salary, double your misery.
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Nov 6, 2010 23:15
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viewtyjoe posted:This is the exact reason that most call centers around here that don't hire through temp agencies make you sign a lovely contract when you enter training that states that if you quit before the training period is over, you will receive no wages. Companies aren't paying you to live off of jumping from training session to training session, after all. How in the gently caress is that legal? You're there as an employee, you should get paid for your time. If people are leaving halfway through in this sort of economic environment, maybe it isn't the employees that are causing the problems.
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Nov 6, 2010 23:35
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Solkanar512 posted:How in the gently caress is that legal? You're there as an employee, you should get paid for your time. If people are leaving halfway through in this sort of economic environment, maybe it isn't the employees that are causing the problems. I don't think it's exactly unprecedented for companies to hire people with a simple contract stating that you agree to work for x amount of time as a condition of your employment. You leave early, you've breached the contract, and suffer the consequences. The most likely consequence would be forfeiture of your earned wages or some portion thereof. I suppose the only sticking point here is that they're withholding until your contractual obligations have been fulfilled, rather than providing you with said wages and attempting to recollect them if you breach the contract.
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Nov 7, 2010 03:36
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Such an arrangement is illegal in the US under the FLSA. What the more legitimate companies do is pay you minimum wage until the completion of training, optionally offering a 'floor bonus' of the difference between your 'real salary' and minimum wage once you complete training.
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Nov 7, 2010 05:38
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Isn't that the reason the original SITEL when bankrupt and basically got taken over. I know that's why a bunch of call centre's left Canada, because they got bitchslapped by labour boards.
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Nov 8, 2010 07:14
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sbaldrick posted:Isn't that the reason the original SITEL when bankrupt and basically got taken over. I know that's why a bunch of call centre's left Canada, because they got bitchslapped by labour boards. Funny story, when I got hired I was the only person not from Sitel or ClientLogic in my class. It was pretty much the training grounds for us. People who worked there usually saw a job as tier one tech support at my company as "making it". Granted, it is a step up in wages and benefits, but holy poo poo was that a depressing thought a year into that job.  As to the labour laws discussion, I'll have to say I'm clearly out of my element on that one. Thanks for filling me in.
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Nov 8, 2010 13:04
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I've been working in a call center for about 5 months answering billing and general questions for a satellite company. I find it so frustrating and stressful to enforce company policies that don't always make sense, and constantly breaking bad news to customers (since they always call about lost payments, cut off services, or wanting instant refunds) Plus all my stats are mediocre this week. Even when I feel like I fail most customers as far as actually "helping" them and they make me want to cry, the metrics are what decide whether I'm good or not. And everything is blah. I don't want to play any more.
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Nov 10, 2010 04:06
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dustbin posted:I've been working in a call center for about 5 months answering billing and general questions for a satellite company. I find it so frustrating and stressful to enforce company policies that don't always make sense, and constantly breaking bad news to customers (since they always call about lost payments, cut off services, or wanting instant refunds) Plus all my stats are mediocre this week. Even when I feel like I fail most customers as far as actually "helping" them and they make me want to cry, the metrics are what decide whether I'm good or not. And everything is blah. I don't want to play any more.
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Nov 10, 2010 08:20
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Back in February, I worked for a smallish ISP doing tier 1 tech support. It sucked (got promoted into the company's LNP department for their VoIP division - any other LNP goons around?). Once I had a woman call me, wondering why her service had been shut off. Checked her account, she hadn't paid. She insisted she had - "after all," she told me "I'm a pastor's wife. I wouldn't lie about something like this!" Asked the billing accountant - nope, no payments received. Ask her what bank she sent her payment from. "I'm not telling you, you'll just lie and say you don't have it anyway. SOMEONE is going to hell for this, and it won't be me! You won't do such good business in THIS town anymore, etc." Click. She owed us $10.00. 
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Nov 15, 2010 05:18
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You know there is either an issue with the service you're offering, or with the person you're dealing with when the case notes you have to write up after speaking to a customer start off like this: "<customer> called; has had several issues with hackers over the past few weeks." and goes on to elaborate about how the customers computer has apparently invented http scripting that steals peoples passwords and how there is a syndicate out there dedicated to stealing her personal information. Yes, it's the same person I mentioned earlier in the thread. She now refuses to speak to me because I told her the support team couldn't assist further unless she produces hard evidence that she is being hacked or that there is a problem with the connection we've provided her.
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Nov 25, 2010 13:13
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Spooky Chris posted:you and me both, brother. 18 months here with the cellphones. Everyday before I leave I look at the resignation letter I have in my locker and just try to work up the will. Then I fail and go home. I got a ton of money in the bank, but with the job market what it is in Ohio I just can't convince myself. You should move to a slightly cooler state. There are 49 of them.
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Nov 26, 2010 08:24
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I'm glad I found this thread. I was a semi regular poster in the old one. I have 3 years in at a banks call center. I hate my job, and currently have about a month left untill I step down from full time tier 2 to a part tiem tier one. I am ecstatic. I keep the same hourly pay but only have to be here 4 hours a day. They recently changed a lot of our policies. We used to be able to listen to mp3 players, and what not, and then it changed to not during the hours of 8-5, but after mid management left at 5, it was okay, now its 8:30pm, and my floor manager jsut told me to take my mp3 player and put it in my car. Oh well, extra smoke break today. But now I get to listen to the mouthbreather next to me that spends all day looking at womens lingerie websites and the valley girl on the other side of me that wont shut the hell up. And if I can hear over them, I get wonderful elevator music. I know its a petty thing to bitch about, but over the last three years, my music has been whats kept me sane at my job. I have different playlists based upon what mood I am in that helps me stay calm and cheerful. loving fantastic. One month then I get to go to school full time and only have to work part time. Might be worth looking into a different place of employment since I only need 20 to 25 hours a week.
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Dec 7, 2010 03:34
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There's this one guy at my work. If I so much as make a tiny error within my case notes or when I ask him a casual question, he will get on my case about how to do it right the next time. However, there are multiple ways to speak to a person when they have made an error. Method 1:  Hey froglet, this issue seems to be on their side of the equation - [this] and [that] indicate this. If you're unclear on something, let me know, we can go over it for next time. Okay, , yeah I'm a little unclear on [stuff], I'll read up on it in the wiki and ask you or one of the other techs if I have any problems understanding. Thank you for offering.Method 2: froglet, this issue is on their end.(then goes off on a deluge of  about how I'm wrong and why he's right, with an emphasis on 'you are wrong and you should feel bad for wasting my time'). . o O ( what do you expect me to say to that? )Method 1 is a good way of pointing out an error somebody has made while also encouraging them to learn more/correct their error at the same time. Method 2 discourages you from wanting to talk to That Guy if you're having a problem, even if you know they're very good at their job. It's just easier to speak to somebody else and get a politer answer than it is to get belittled for not knowing as much. I think you can surmise which method the guy at my work takes when speaking to others.
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Dec 8, 2010 16:32
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At the end of the day it's about people skills, or in his case lack of them. Although I don't work in this sector (I'm in software development) I've recently been training new starters at my office. When I find mistakes if possible I'll send them an email explaining what they are, why they're a problem (i.e. what the repercussions are and/or what might break as a result of them) and what to watch for in future to avoid making them. So far it seems to be working reasonably well.
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Dec 8, 2010 17:11
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JackRabbitStorm posted:
I don't know what bank you work in, or even what country, but in my (UK) experience, you would definitely NOT be able to listen to music at any time, i-Pod, radio or anything, or be allowed to visit websites outside the bank's intranet. I guess what I'm saying is that wherever you work, you don't actually have it that bad. Out of curiousity, how does listening to an i-Pod work when taking calls?
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Dec 8, 2010 17:27
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ZeroDays posted:I don't know what bank you work in, or even what country, but in my (UK) experience, you would definitely NOT be able to listen to music at any time, i-Pod, radio or anything, or be allowed to visit websites outside the bank's intranet. I guess what I'm saying is that wherever you work, you don't actually have it that bad. Yeah, we got chewed out if it looked like you had a headset. Though, we could browse whatever the filter would allow (Limited news sites, etc) and bring homework/handhelds. One guy even brought a laptop. I think they stopped that after some of them started stalking people on facebook.
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Dec 8, 2010 18:04
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ZeroDays posted:I don't know what bank you work in, or even what country, but in my (UK) experience, you would definitely NOT be able to listen to music at any time, i-Pod, radio or anything, or be allowed to visit websites outside the bank's intranet. I guess what I'm saying is that wherever you work, you don't actually have it that bad. Most people that I've seen do that have an earbud in the left and the headset on the right, or vice versa. They keep the volume low enough that it doesn't drown out the customer, I guess. I tried it some when I used to work from home, but I couldn't concentrate. Some people also have fancy headset boxes with an 1/8" input that they can plug a cable into. I'm really not sure what that's actually intended for.
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Dec 9, 2010 02:50
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ZeroDays posted:I don't know what bank you work in, or even what country, but in my (UK) experience, you would definitely NOT be able to listen to music at any time, i-Pod, radio or anything, or be allowed to visit websites outside the bank's intranet. I guess what I'm saying is that wherever you work, you don't actually have it that bad. Yeah, we are only blocked by firewall from going to social sites or game sites. I even browse sa while at work. As for the music, ear bud in left ear on really quiet to drown out the asshats around me and the annoying elevator music from the overhead speakers. I like to think of it as a way to stay destressed as I can listen to my music and have to be bothered by my surroundings allowing me to better focus on my callers. I just have been spoiled with how it was the the first three years I worked there.
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Dec 9, 2010 16:47
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Yeah, we are only blocked by firewall from going to social sites or game sites. I even browse sa while at work. As for the music, ear bud in left ear on really quiet to drown out the asshats around me and the annoying elevator music from the overhead speakers. I like to think of it as a way to stay destressed as I can listen to my music and have to be bothered by my surroundings allowing me to better focus on my callers. I just have been spoiled with how it was the the first three years I worked there. I cannot imagine what sort of twisted exec thinks it's a good idea to have music piped into a call centre.
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Dec 10, 2010 14:11
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God I'm starting to crack up. Supporting our agents is turning out to be such a holy pain in the rear end. It wouldn't be so bad if management didn't expect us to treat them like "customers" for some loving reason. They're EMPLOYEES. If they gently caress up a call and I tell them why, why is it I get in poo poo for being a big meanie but nothing happens to them for being unable to do their loving jobs? It was easier with customers because I had no expectations. Don't know how to fix some random JVM error on a blackberry? Don't expect you to, it's not your job. But when it IS your job to fix loving phones, and you've been doing it twice as long as I have, I expect you to be able to do the loving basics before you call. And when you repeatedly call for the exact same poo poo all the time, I'm eventually going to run out of loving patience. So many loving sensitive babies in this place. My manager received four complaint about me on Saturday. Friday I was given a certificate for getting 100% on every single QA I've had since I took this job in February. loving Christ...
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Dec 10, 2010 17:37
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Hey phone sales goons, how should I respond to your calls when I'm not interested? I feel bad for the person on the line, and I know its a lovely job, so I usually just say I'm busy, apologize and hang up. Is there anything you poor fucks would rather hear?
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Dec 10, 2010 22:50
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Mein Eyes! posted:Hey phone sales goons, how should I respond to your calls when I'm not interested? I feel bad for the person on the line, and I know its a lovely job, so I usually just say I'm busy, apologize and hang up. Is there anything you poor fucks would rather hear? "Please put this number on your do-not-call lists." This should be the first thing you say. When I did outbound telemarketing, we were required to take the first response. If someone said "I'm not interested, put me on the do-not-call list." we had to log the call as "not interested". I worked at Convergys, doing outbound for AT&T Long Distance, and there were two DNC lists, one for Convergys and one for AT&T. They may need to verify that your number matches the one they called because call forwarding could cause the number called and the number reached to not match, so they may not be the same. You may need to do this more than once, because companies often pit telemarketing companies against each other, with the one making the most sales getting more of the call volume. Also make sure your phone numbers are on the state and Federal do-not-call lists.
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Dec 10, 2010 23:34
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Hey, thanks. I also just signed up for the do not call lists, they were surprisingly easy.
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Dec 11, 2010 17:31
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These different rules are interesting. Here's a rundown of my center no writing utensils or surfaces at desk no electronic device, phones, mp3 players, computers etc business casual (slacks and dress shirts) except on Fridays and weekends (seems like women can wear anything with a skirt on it) 2 paid 15 minute breaks and an unpaid half hour lunch, but only if you're working more than 7 hours part time only available for students and the disabled no offensive language in the building (this one doesn't seem to mean anything to anyone) software only gives you 20 seconds after call work, and its' not uncommon for your manager to tell you to manually go ready before that's up.
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Dec 17, 2010 02:45
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This was a special case/VIP type customer, so I didn't do normal trouble shooting, but: Them: "Hi, our internet is out." Me: "Alright, how long has it been out?" Them: "Well, since sometime last night. We opened at 10 AM today and it has been out all day." Me: "Okay. I am pretty sure we can have a tech look at it. He should be nearby. One second while I confirm that." Them: "Well we close at 4." Me: "Its 3:30 PM here. Are you CST?" Them: "Yeah." Me: "Well... I'll see what I can do." Got off of the phone at like 3:45 PM. Try to get a hold of the technician (it is his day off anyways). No dice, try getting a manager. Manager asks me to call back and do normal trouble shooting. By this time it is 3:55 PM CST. I get voicemail. Why did you not call at 10 AM? Why?
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Dec 19, 2010 01:48
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Mein Eyes! posted:Hey phone sales goons, how should I respond to your calls when I'm not interested? I feel bad for the person on the line, and I know its a lovely job, so I usually just say I'm busy, apologize and hang up. Is there anything you poor fucks would rather hear? Yeah doing this will guarantee that you get another call tomorrow. Just be kind and ask to be put on the do not call list, listen to them state the info about the do not call list, and then thank them.
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Dec 20, 2010 00:44
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I think I got impetigo from a headset  We run out of anti-germ wipes constantly and they don't restock for days. Can't think of a day I didn't wipe this week, though. Maybe I should just bring my own.
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Dec 20, 2010 02:03
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Harminoff posted:Yeah doing this will guarantee that you get another call tomorrow. I dunno, when I worked telemarketing a few years ago the "not interested" *hangup* calls were a relief from people arguing with me. Same when I worked collections. Every time people argued with me I'd just have a running thought in my head JUST HANG UP, JUST HANG UP, JUST HANG UP, cause I still gotta stay on the phone with you during all this.
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Dec 20, 2010 02:10
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Tennis Ball posted:Why did you not call at 10 AM? Why? I've had customers whose internet has been out for 2 weeks and they didn't call us about it, they just assume we 'were working on it'. Oh, and when I say to customers 'get a tech out to set up [whatever] I think there is something wrong with your computer', I don't mean 'call Apple support, who then bounce you straight back to us'. One guy keeps calling us back to help him set up his Mac Mail, and even the people who own Macs at home have no idea what he is doing to cause all these errors. Look, I don't know what these errors mean in the context of your problem, you can't find the buttons that I really need you to use so I can troubleshoot your issue, you're going to need to get a professional to set it up for you. I'll call Apple tomorrow. You've spoken to 3 representatives who are all pretty sure that [this] is your problem, which isn't something Apple covers through telephone support. We've been through this multiple times, you need to take your computer in to a technician for them to properly diagnose and fix the problem. I'll call Apple tomorrow.
froglet fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Dec 20, 2010 |
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Dec 20, 2010 04:01
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