Call centre rant thread: I want to speak to your supervisor

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Call centre rant thread: I want to speak to your supervisor

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

I have a problem. I'm an Overnight TSR at an ISP. With my shift premium, I make about ~40K a year with benefits. My base vacation is 3 weeks, but with bank time, I usually get 5-6 weeks of paid vacation. I start and finish work at the same time. Same deal with my breaks. What else can I do with my life? I work four shifts a week, 10hrs a day.After I flunked out of grad school, I'm here. I don't know what else I can really do with my life. I'm 25 and honestly stumped.

Edit:

I just read the thread. I don't have strict metrics to stick to. There's no call length limits or talk time. My wrap window is ~3:30, but as long as it averages out nobody cares. I get two bonuses a year. The customers I speak to are very nice as they're Canadian. Seriously. The odd time someone is extremely rude to me, turns out they're American.

Second Edit: I have friends that do help desk IT for the local hospital. Pay starts at 46K and they're trying to get me in. I applied to dispatch and the construction department at my company (I've spent a lot of time volunteering in the service tech dept). However, I'll lose money going to dispatch. Sure I'll get off at 8pm, but angry contractors will yell at me over the phone, and I'll be working five days a week on a rotating schedule. No thanks.

Third Edit: It's so slow at nights, sometimes there's 30mins between calls.

Sigh. Life wasn't supposed to work out like this...

GiveUpNed fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Mar 9, 2015

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 18:31

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 02:31

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

DariusLikewise posted:

I'm 99.9% I know what company you work for and if I don't you can ignore all of my advice.

They are really good about moving people around and getting you into a job that you want as long as you keep your stats up. People who complain that they didn't do that for them had lovely attitudes and acted like assholes to everyone(IE all jaded employees). Outside of that have you considered doing something through correspondence? Considering the ready time you get on overnight shifts you could probably get most of your work done overnight. You just need to know what you want to do.

My stats are fantastic and I have a positive attitude -- I actually love my team and am constantly striving for better customer service as people are usually really nice to me over the phone.

Edit: I want to get into the construction/service dept, but I'm concerned my physical stature is an issue as it's been casually mentioned.

GiveUpNed fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Apr 1, 2015

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 19:33

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

DariusLikewise posted:

I know the usual way to get into construction is to put time in at service tech(or installer if you feel like being a contractor) and work your way up. I wouldn't worry about stature, whoever mentioned that is dumb. The max you have to lift is maybe 50 pounds. If the night supervisor is the same from when I left she's really good about getting you oppourtunities, you just have to keep bugging them to show intiative though.

Yup, we're thinking of the same place. And yes, she's been great to me. She actually has been telling to keep pushing for operations as I'm very technically inclined and have an aptitude for it. Construction and service are on the same level. I'm doing a lot of volunteering in construction this month and am studying plant operations (getting the course from them). You need to know both to go to maintenance. Where did you end up going to?

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 22:03

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

DariusLikewise posted:

Operations isn't a bad place to be, its definitely a lot easier working through support tickets and monitoring the network then it is answering calls. Unless they really do something to gently caress you over(which does happen from time to time there admittedly) just keep a positive attitude, maybe do a job shadow and they are willing to move you around.

For me, I went back to the Railway as a supervisor, there was a light at the end of the tunnell!

I've been doing a lot of job shadowing. We'll see if I get the boot, but so far I'm optimistic.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2015 08:46

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

What's workforce/queue/scheduling management and/or analysts and what do they do?

# ¿ Apr 11, 2015 14:39

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Fil5000 posted:

Workforce planning/analysis is all about properly scheduling staff to meet expected demand. It may or may not involve some forecasting elements as well.

Edit: I do forecasting and capacity planning for a fairly big multichannel contact centre, so can go into more detail if you want.

Please do. My new position is just below it. I'm no longer taking calls.

Edit: What's your salary range?

GiveUpNed fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Apr 11, 2015

# ¿ Apr 11, 2015 15:43

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Fil5000 posted:

Well I'm in the UK for starters so I'm not sure that my salary range would do much for you.

So the way the process works where I am is that forecasting produce a long term and a short term forecast based on whatever metric we know have an influence on call volume. That can be sales forecasts, expected customer base numbers, etc - anything that has a demonstrable statistical relationship to the number of contacts we expect to get. They also come up with an AHT forecast that is based on trends and recent data, but the operation itself decides what they want AHT they want to use for planning purposes (just because you're running at 800 seconds AHT for the last two months doesn't mean that's what you budgeted for or what you WANT to be running at).

The short term forecast takes that long term one and breaks it all the way down to half hourly or 15 minute slots, comes up with a call volume and an AHT for each, then uses an Erlang calculation to turn that into a number of required people on the phones for each interval. Sometimes this is done in Excel, more commonly through a workforce planning tool.

At this point your workforce planning guys take over and schedule staff to best meet the demand that forecasting have come up with, and also to meet any off phone demands that need to happen (team meetings, training, etc). They then pass that plan on to the next stage in the chain which is ideally a real time management function that's part of the wider workforce planning team but is frequently just part of the operation itself. At that point it's down to dealing with things as they happen on the day, pulling people off the phones if it's quiet to do other tasks, coordinating support to other departments if need be, watching for people not being on the phones when they're supposed to be and for people on the phones when they're NOT supposed to be, etc etc etc.

Does that help at all?

Thanks for the info. How did you get into your position, what should I be doing to get into the position, and what's the career growth/job outlook like?

# ¿ Apr 12, 2015 08:17

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Fil5000 posted:

In my case, fell into it. I was on phones, then I was a team leader, then someone noticed I had an aptitude for excel and they needed a forecaster. Getting into workforce planning at entry level is pretty much just having technical aptitude and understanding how the overall process works. Look out for "resource analyst", "forecast analyst" and "realtime analyst" positions and look at what they're after. If you're in a call centre already (which I guess you are) maybe talk to the person that runs the workforce planning function and find out what they'd look for when recruiting. Try and get your head around how Erlang works too, that's pretty key to forecasting and planning for telephony.

Career prospects... Where I am now an entry level position is a step up from being on phones, there's senior positions that are a step up from that and then there's supervisory and management positions that are further up than that. If you're good at it then there tends to be a lot of visibility with the higher ups (forecasts go towards budget planning, recruitment, etc, workforce planning directly impacts daily service level) so it's good if you want to get your face seen. One guy I used to work with went from being on phones to a scheduling analyst to running all of workforce planning in another company, so it's doable.

I work for a large company that happens to have a call center. My promotion means I do some forecasting and auditing, but I'm auditing accounts, not doing forecasting. I figure my new role progresses to Workforce Management.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2015 09:54

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Fil5000 posted:

Possibly - depends what the forecasting side of the role is. Like, there's people at my place that do sales forecasts that have nothing to do with workforce planning. Forecasting and auditing seems an odd combo to be honest.

I guess I'll find out. I have a meeting sometime this week (or so I'm told) regarding my new responsibilities.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2015 23:04

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Well it's official. I signed the paperwork a few days ago -- I'm no longer in the call centre. My new role is business admin role for the company I was hired into the call centre for. I'll be auditing accounts and doing accounting admin tasks. I'll be working 9 to 5 Mon to Fri.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2015 16:33

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

legsarerequired posted:

Congratulations! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

Are you noticing that you're getting sassier on the phone? I definitely overheard some people who were moving into business roles being more assertive with customers.

I always am assertive with customers, but I work for a large company that has an in-house call centre. But yes, I'm very happy.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2015 17:34

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

legsarerequired posted:

Congratulations! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

Are you noticing that you're getting sassier on the phone? I definitely overheard some people who were moving into business roles being more assertive with customers.

I just got my schedule. My breaks are at the same time, I never talk to customers, I have no metrics, and I get paid stat days off.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2015 07:11

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

EXAKT Science posted:

Godspeed, you fucker.

Thanks! Everything is in-house, so I still have my pension, stock options, benefits, and 4-5 weeks of vacation.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2015 08:03

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Loving Life Partner posted:

I dunno if I've just worked at easy call centers or if my brain is uniquely compartmentalized to handle the stress, but I really have no problem with the work at all, as soon as I exit or log out for the day, the poo poo just melts off my back. It's been 5 years now. I'm actually putting in effort at this current gig because they're pretty employee friendly, i've gotten a couple raises and second tier management is piss easy to rise into.

Good for you. Let us know what happens.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2015 08:09

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

EXAKT Science posted:

Ugh the last 5-10 minutes before the end of shift are the worst, because when a call comes in, you're basically guaranteed to not be clocking out on time.

I got one today at 10:56 (I work 2:30-11:00) and I would have been furious if she weren't one of the sweetest clients I've gotten so far. She went out of her way to be nice, thank me, and tell me how helpful I'd been, as well as crack a couple jokes with me

Can't you do a shift transfer?

# ¿ Apr 29, 2015 10:34

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

blackmet posted:

Bad news: Didn't get the QA position.
Good news: Another opens up in 2-3 months.
Good news: My manager thinks I should go for that one.
Good news: He also told me to apply for a pay bump in my current position, which would be 10-15%.
Bad news: If I get that pay bump, but DON'T get the QA position that next becomes available, I'm stuck doing my current job for another 18 months before I can change departments. Which sucks.
Good news: That would give me time, provided I can take the psychic damage, to get both the brokerage and supervisory level licenses. Which after 18 months I can use to negotiate another 10-15% bump.

I have no clue how to feel. I don't mind the job itself. But the politics and ambiguity and management make me almost want to go back to being a bank rep. Ugh.

I'd grind it out. I find if you go above and beyond and have a bubbly, positive attitude, you tend to be promoted.

# ¿ May 14, 2015 09:42

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

blackmet posted:

Good news.

The other QA rep came back from her sabbatical and promptly got moved to another department.

I take over her position at a 12% pay increase starting June 1st. I am locked in for 18 months in the department. And the new manager I'm under supports me continuing on getting licenses.

Best part: NO MORE PHONES!

And while bubbly and positive are not words to describe me, my honesty, knowledge, and sense of humor work generally allow me to skate by.

Funny thing, I'm not longer on the phones as well. I got promoted to admin and I'm auditing accounts and making sure the money is where it's supposed to be (business admin/bookkeeping work). Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, public holidays off. I'm half-way through my last phone shift and it's bittersweet.

GiveUpNed fucked around with this message at 08:06 on May 15, 2015

# ¿ May 15, 2015 07:58

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

ladyweapon posted:

I've worked fast food, retail, one "call center"*, and in offices. Even the worst office job I've had didn't come close to anything I dealt with in retail and such. Of course there are some crap office environments, micromanagers, etc, but that manager is full of it. I've never had someone try to regulate when I used the restroom. The only situation I can think of where that may have happened is if I temped in for a receptionist. Even then it would be to let someone know to watch the lines for a couple minutes. If I call out sick the only thing my boss asks me for is to put up my out of office message.

*deaf&hard of hearing relay, so not quite traditional call center work.

Listen to this guy. Apply to stuff you don't consider yourself qualified for and sign up with some temporary agencies. If you have the faintest experience with MS Office, you can probably get an office job.

Swing by the interviewing thread in BFC too. The advice in there helped me get my current job.

Eh, I got promoted out of the call centre into an admin position. Now I just do accounts payable/receivable all day, go over invoices, and audit the sales call centre reps do. To be fair, my call centre is considered the "holy grail" of companies to work for in the city, so even the phone monkeys are treated well.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2015 08:31

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

Should I take a job back on the phones? I'm currently an office/finance admin at an ISP. I was promoted here from Tech Support. However, Business Tech Support is hiring. I was told to consider it. I'll keep my same Mon - Fri schedule with holidays off, but I'll be taking calls again.

However, it's considered to be a stepping stone to network operations, which is where I want to be. I'm just not sure if I can deal with talking to customers again. My current role has no upwards mobility.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 02:14

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

Why don't you look at another company? No need to wait for your current place to throw you scraps.

Because there isn't anything better atm. I get 3-4 weeks of paid vacation, full medical/benefits, a pension, and other goodies. To be looking for something else, I need to have more work experience and certs.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 02:47

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

To be getting something else maybe you do but to be looking you don't need anything.

Business might be less miserable than consumer but if I were you I wouldn't want to go back to the phones.

Should I go to dispatch? You only call customers if the tech missed the appointment, or if we have to rebook. The downside is you're on a 8 week schedule rotation including public holidays and weekends.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 03:55

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

jassi007 posted:

So you'd be in a position where every customer you call is going to be pissed off, and you'd work weekends and holidays. Sounds like poo poo.

My decision is honestly financial. I'll get a 5K raise by taking either Dispatch or Business Tech Support. Right now I just audit sales processes/equipment financing/contracts. It sounds fancy, but I feel I'm not properly compensated for my responsibility level. At least with Business Tech Support I'll keep my current schedule.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 04:30

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

jassi007 posted:

I get it, but I guess if you are gung ho about getting back on the phones to get a raise inbound commercial support sounds better.

I'm not gung ho about going back on the phones - I hate talking to customers. However, money talks. A 5K raise is significant enough for me to seriously consider it.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 16:18

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

cumshitter posted:

$5K is ~$2.40 extra per hour before taxes so consider whether that's worth hating your job.

You can always apply elsewhere on the clock at your current position.

The issue is my upwards mobility in my current position is nil. Commerical tech support is respected in my company. The next step from Biz TSR is commercial tech or Network Operations/Analyst.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 16:44

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

jassi007 posted:

How long do you anticipate being stuck in a position you don't like until you can get promoted? Is $2.40 an hour going to be worth X years of working in a position you do not like?

Probably 1-2 years before the position I want becomes available.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 18:50

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

I know you're convinced you're underqualified for the jobs you want and everything but I honestly think getting out there and trying to apply for some jobs at other places is a better plan than two years of call center work when you have a non-call center job that pays only a little less. I couldn't make it one year working at a call center, personally.

The job market is really bad in my Canadian city. My admin department has an opening and we received 150+ applicants for one position.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 19:05

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

DariusLikewise posted:

I'm going to hazard a guess that you work in the Call Centre I used to and unless things have changed Business Support was pretty much a dead end due to the fact that it's still an emerging part of that company and nothing you do there will get noticed. Everyone I've known that has made it to Network Ops has gone to the RAC first(if I'm right you'll know what this is).

The exact same one. I'm an Admin in TechOps, not the Call Center, even though we audit some sales processes. RAC/business installer is where I want to go. My buddy told me RAC has hired from Business TSR.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2015 19:26

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 02:31

GiveUpNed: Dec 25, 2012

DariusLikewise posted:

I'm going to hazard a guess that you work in the Call Centre I used to and unless things have changed Business Support was pretty much a dead end due to the fact that it's still an emerging part of that company and nothing you do there will get noticed. Everyone I've known that has made it to Network Ops has gone to the RAC first(if I'm right you'll know what this is)..

EDIT: Actually I talked to you earlier in this thread so all of this applicable.

I ended up going to Business TSR from my administration position. I'm expected to know about the Hybrid-Fibre Coax system, managed voice systems, PBXs, GPON/EPON, routers, domains, firewalls, etc. 90% of the people I speak to are professionals who know what they're talking about, are respectful, and know how to troubleshoot. I was afraid I'd hate taking calls again, but honestly it's been great so far. Everyone I work with has IT degrees/diplomas and know what they're talking about.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2015 20:54

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