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I work for a large telecom. The third call of my 12-hour shift yesterday was a widow who was simultaneously sobbing and screaming at me. Her husband died in a hotel room last Monday, on Tuesday we somehow disconnected her service, on Wednesday the tech we sent out for some reason to reconnect instead bullied her and took all her equipment. We then reactivated her with the wrong phone number, so most of her husband's family/friends were unable to call her about the funeral. Since I'm in tech support, I can't do anything to fix it. I have zero access to any system that might come close to helping her. The disconnected account is so catastrophically broken that we can't rescue her phone number without a lengthy process, and my escalation team won't take it because it's 'a billing issue'. She refuses to let me transfer her to billing, so I got to spend almost an hour with this woman until she got tired and hung up the phone. The day went downhill from there. 
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Nov 18, 2011 21:22
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KOMI posted:Received a call from the Government today. I got the position! Congrats KOMI. However you ate my cat posted:sobbing and screaming
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Nov 18, 2011 23:24
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KOMI posted:Received a call from the Government today. I got the position! I wasn't so lucky. I was half an hour late to work today because of an interview I'd scheduled for early morning (there was no other time that they would meet with me). They told me it was between me and one other candidate, and I got an e-mail a couple of hours ago saying I didn't get it. I hate how difficult this job makes it to do interviews. If I had a regular office job, I could probably sneak out early every once in a while. I know it isn't feasible at every office, but it would be easier if I didn't have a computer monitoring my every move. Then again, I also get a day off during the week, so I guess that makes interviewing a little easier. EDIT: Also, I'm aware I have the option of calling in sick, but keep in mind I've had 20 interviews over the past year. Sometimes people will call me in just to tell me I'm overqualified, based on things on my resume that I e-mailed in. I couldn't call in sick for every interview at the rate I'm going without losing my current job.
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Nov 19, 2011 01:13
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Went in for my "interview" today at a Call Center: -Had to report to Human Resources, had no idea where the building was located...Called all 3 numbers for the Human Resources department to determine the location of where I was suppose to report, and where/when to schedule an interview... All 3 gave an answering machine stating the number you called, and to call another number if you would like to verify employment (at 2PM on a Friday, they are open until 6PM). -Arrive after 30 minutes of searching the general area, enter HR, to a woman reading a book. Who has no idea why I would be in this department for an interview. Sends me to someone else who finds my resume in the data system and proceeds to ask me if I've worked there before and promptly sends me to be screened. -The person who began my questionnaire, took 20 minutes figuring out how to activate the questionnaire...He is paid to start questionnaires, that's all he does, everyday. When I approached him, he was playing Go-Fish with 3 other ladies and laughing on a round table, shook my hand, and asked me if I've worked there before. -Completed it, waited in a lobby for the interview...All the while listening to a party 2 rooms away (clearly) and watching the receptionist literally pick up the phone when it rings and immediately hang up. -I was fixing to take a drink of water, walk out, and go home. Unfortunately I was approached by a tiny man who blatantly mispronounced my last name, shook hands, went to a cubicle the size of a porta-potty and got down to business. -Tell me 'oquendog': Are you successful? Who is the most competitive person you know? Give me a brief list of your accomplishments. Are you an aggressive seller? Define punctuality for me in your terms. Have you worked here before? -oquendog, I need you to read this transcript for me...I read it in a Shooter McGavin fake-type voice, it worked. We shook hands. Explained to me I would need a second interview with "the big chiefs" in another building who would accept/deny me for contract work with a major bank and then after I was suppose to report back to him after the 2nd interview to see if I have a job. If someone asked me what I did for a living, I couldn't tell them. It's my secret employment. Because frankly, even I do not know what I do. No one told me. I just assume I'll be on a phone, and someone will yell at me on the other side. If I land this job I am taking out the mirror in my bathroom so I don't have to look at myself before going to work.
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Nov 19, 2011 04:10
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My call center lets us hang up on verbally abusive customers. It is great. You have to get authorization first, so people don't hang up for BS reasons, but they are pretty lenient. To all the Progressive Reps out there, is there anyway to get my due date permanently changed? Right now it is on the 5th, and for various reasons it is loving annoying to have it then. I am able to have my due date on all payments except the first and the last moved to the 15th or something, but I have to manually request each time. I asked (politely) if there was a way and the rep said no. I didn't push because I didn't want to be a dick and it isn't that big of a deal.
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Nov 19, 2011 08:22
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two ways: write a new policy on the day you want, cancel the other one, kinda annoying because you gotta tie up extra money and do fulfillment stuff again, but it's the best way to get that permanent date when you get your renewal work, ask if they have "customer selected due date" available. you have to be on automatic withdrawals to use that bill plan, but you can select any date in the month.
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Nov 19, 2011 15:56
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I think the thread jinxed me. One of my first calls today was a guy frantically screaming into his phone about... something, I think it was an appointment? Anyways, I asked him to try to calm down but then he screamed 'HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?' and I answered him (Something like 'Yes, sir, I can.') and then he screamed the same question again. He did this about 35 times in a row. Finally he just started calling me dog fucker, mother fucker, rear end in a top hat, the boss :?: and then started back on asking if I could hear him a couple dozen times. I finally hung up on after 3 warnings because it didn't seem like his insanity would allow him to do anything else and it wasn't funny anymore.
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Nov 19, 2011 16:47
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I just moved out of training for my Call Center Job. You'd think it would be bad since it's with WalMart.com ....but it's actually pretty cool. The most annoying part is having to clock into two different systems and have the majority of your performance determined by a anal time system that gives little room for error. SperglordActual fucked around with this message at 09:08 on Nov 20, 2011 |
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Nov 20, 2011 05:00
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NerdyNautilusGirl posted:I hate the people who start phone calls with "I'm not mad at you, but..." and then proceed to call me a dumb whore and a stupid oval office and tell me that they will find me and hurt me because they can't get their tv on the right input. That's basically the call center version of "I'm not racist, but...". Saying that does not make you exempt from having to be a decent human being. Just tell me what the problem is, answer the questions I ask you to narrow down what the problem is, and let me get it fixed. Telling me that you are going to track me down and rape me (yes, I've got this call more times than I'd like to count) is not going to make me fix your problem faster. In fact, I'm more likely to just schedule a tech. I'm not going to help you get your porno on if you're screaming at me. That sucks. We take that poo poo seriously where I work we have a complete backtracing package and call the police at the hint of a threat....
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Nov 20, 2011 09:36
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oquendog posted:Went in for my "interview" today at a Call Center: Your sure it's a call centre? That's usually how MLMs operate. Basically, the type of candidate they prey on is the one who asks the least amount of questions about what the job actually is because if anyone did ask, they would be found out for being full of poo poo. The way you described it, the haphazard set-up, the disorganisation and most importantly the vagueness of it all, has all the hallmarks of an MLM. The thing that would confirm it is if the "second interview" (which they always have) is to test-drive you for a day selling poo poo, unpaid.
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Nov 20, 2011 13:18
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While I generally only read this thread for funny stories and a reminder of why I'm never, ever going back to a call centre, least of all loving Santander, I should point out to the UK folk that it is absolutely a crime to abuse someone over the phone, and frankly you should just call the police every time it happens if your call centre is doing nothing about it. For bonus points, if you later claim to have suffered temporary mental anxiety at a bare minimum, you can get compensation for the awful mental injury those criminals subjected you to!
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Nov 20, 2011 19:42
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I have another question for all the workers in this thread. Is it worth contacting the company you work for if I have a terrible experience with an incompetant phone worker? What about if I have a great experience with an awesome one? If I was to write a letter or email along the lines of "I called up on blah date and this reference number. Dave was awesome and super helpful and deserves a raise and a big free steak dinner", will anything happen?
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Nov 21, 2011 07:16
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ZeroDays posted:That's usually how MLMs operate. I am very sure it is a call center, they are apparently internationally reknown and based out of Omaha, Nebraska. They have had a Call Center here for almost a decade now, I used to pass by it on my way to class often. I did my research, the problem is I had no idea they did contract work on an individual basis, I thought this call center picks up a 'project' from another company, they pay hoodlums to work with barely any training/advising, and then foward the bill for the hours accumulated. I look at it as a scam, just as you do. They pay almost anyone just a bit over minimum wage to be yelled at over a phone, very basic training to not have to expend too much money, no benefits, it's in Texas so you can fire anyone without cause, bill said company...Profit margin ahoy. Honestly, I'm still considering whether to go in or not...And I'm unemployed. edit: sorry, point of my post - you are absolutely right to call it an MLM, because it probably is. oquendog fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Nov 21, 2011 |
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Nov 21, 2011 07:58
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AlphaDog posted:If I was to write a letter or email along the lines of "I called up on blah date and this reference number. Dave was awesome and super helpful and deserves a raise and a big free steak dinner", will anything happen? This happens a couple of times a month at my place. Someone emails to say that they were really pleased with the help they had from one of us, it's mentioned in the morning team meeting by the boss, person gets a pat on the back and the email goes on the noticeboard with the "Dave is super awesome" part highlighted. Doing good work tends to be recognised at my place, it's pretty cool.
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Nov 21, 2011 08:05
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 we don't get any recognition at my job. All we get is a "work harder".
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Nov 21, 2011 08:25
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NerdyNautilusGirl posted:
For what basically comes down to call centre work it's a really decent job, it's a shame I'm only part of a group of temps called in to help them clear through a huge backlog of work. Probably only got another week or two left.
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Nov 21, 2011 19:10
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ZeroDays posted:The thing that would confirm it is if the "second interview" (which they always have) is to test-drive you for a day selling poo poo, unpaid. Okay, just finished with the second interview, I am shocked at how wrong I was in my approach, I'm very glad I went in. Basically, everyone there seems to do their job - but they understand it's not to be taken seriously. So, we're all on the same page, including the person that interviewed me. I'm basically customer service for status updates on foreclosures (inbound calls). Sounds horrible, but they will give me all the hours I want (up to 75 hours) with a lot of chill people. I really hope it stays this way, I know I can't work here forever but I was really impressed. It's like these people gave up on their dreams and don't care anymore. It's awesome.
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Nov 21, 2011 22:38
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Just had my 6 hour class on "behavioral analytics". What a big loving joke, holy hell
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Nov 22, 2011 00:06
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As for all the customer threat poo poo, thank god my company isn't completely stuck up their own asses with that. If they're cursing, I have to warn them three times then tell them I'm hanging up then do so (And document the poo poo out of it). If they straight up threaten me, it's an immediate hang up and contact supervisors. I get calls all over the place. Some customers are happy as poo poo to give you any information you need, while some loving hate talking to people. Then you get the dipshit that runs 19 loving devices on his network, complains about slow internet, come to find out he's also using a load balancing router to pull from us and ANOTHER ISP, then refuses to hook a single computer up to our router to test the connection. This is on a residential line where we support only a few computers, and our Acceptable Use Policy clearly states that you cannot use this connection to make money. Then people bitch because their connection is down and they can't work from home or run their home office. No I don't give a flying gently caress, you're using a connection designed for entertainment. Yes, it's up most of the time. No, flipping out on me and threatening to run to DSLReports.com is not going to get me to send a loving technician to support your loving multi tiered network. Either follow our support guidelines or don't get support, or go to Business Class like you're supposed to.
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Nov 24, 2011 07:11
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Well, I got the unwelcome news I've been trying to dodge all year: I'm being moved to the hi-risk team. This is apparently a step up, but as I'll be calling customers who are close to litigation on their mortgages or haven't paid unsecured loans for gently caress knows how long, I can't see it being a bundle of fun. This will be dealing with the hardcore customers day in, day out and as my bonus is based on the cash I collect, I can kiss that goodbye. This is my 'reward' for doing well.
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Nov 24, 2011 23:52
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I was kind of bummed about working Thanksgiving but this afternoon we had like 5 and 6 minutes between calls and it was incredible, I could do this job forever if it were always like that. Incidentally my boss before mentioned something about the first six months being the worst at the job and I think he was on to something. I've reached a plateau where, while I don't like the job, I don't have the overwhelming sense of dread every morning that I used to get. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Nov 25, 2011 |
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Nov 25, 2011 06:29
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I was kind of bummed about working Thanksgiving but this afternoon we had like 5 and 6 minutes between calls and it was incredible, I could do this job forever if it were always like that. We had exactly 15 phone calls all day, and two were people that pocket-dialed us by mistake. I got to learn how to do all the paperwork we have. ALL of it. Seriously, we caught up the entire week's worth of paperwork today, between 3 of us. It was completely voluntary, and I got time and a half for it...which since I don't qualify for having today be a paid holiday (i have one more loving week of being in my "probationary period" before I can start using personal time/get paid holidays), wound up adding over a hundred bucks to my paycheck.  It was nice, if boring.
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Nov 25, 2011 09:16
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I just ended my shift at midnight, when a lot of the Black Friday calls started coming in. Sorry guys, enjoy your longer wait time, I'm going to bed. To shop online, maybe.  (Actually I thought it'd be busier. Since I'm Canadian there were a few people calling in earlier, then a few calling in later for blocked cards. CALL YOUR CARD COMPANIES, PEOPLE, SAVE YOU AND ME SOME HASSLE.)
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Nov 25, 2011 09:53
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Man I'm so glad I never have to touch paper ever at my job. Previous job, I was ALL paper. Like, every aspect of my job, writing invoices, stuffing envelopes, filing, drove me nuts. Now, if I even have to handle a piece of paper for a customer, I do so, but then put it somewhere else for another person to handle, w/r/t scanning it into the system and having it filed. I drop it into a quarantine box like the disease it is.
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Nov 25, 2011 14:09
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I was getting 10 minutes between calls on black Friday. Its still really slow right now, so I'm hoping they let me go home early. I totally agree about the job getting better after six months. I still desperately want out of here but I'm at a point where I don't completely dread this place.
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Nov 26, 2011 15:58
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I wish I was where you guys are. My call centre has gone from having like 3~4 minutes between calls to 10 minute waits for customers.
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Nov 28, 2011 20:40
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But if you aren't taking calls non-stop, you can't witness the Dunning-Kruger Effect in full force.
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Nov 29, 2011 17:13
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The day after thanksgiving was awesome, I had 225 minutes available time clocked (sitting in queue waiting for a call), and we started a massive paper airplane war within the team. My team is fun because there are no tenured people, it's all fresh newbies, so we do a lot of things that get dirty glares from the "rar harumph this is my serious adult job  " people.
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Nov 29, 2011 17:45
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I did overnight on Thanksgiving to 7am Black Friday...easiest shift I ever did. Took 10 phone calls. Total. Granted, that weekend was pure hell(70 calls in queue!), but 10 phone calls for a entire shift...I'm still basking in the awesomeness of it.
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Nov 29, 2011 19:21
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Lord Windy posted:I wish I was where you guys are. My call centre has gone from having like 3~4 minutes between calls to 10 minute waits for customers. Oh no, that sounds awful, now that you mention that I am very glad I work in a place where most of the time there is literally no pause between calls, it must be awful taking a breather between calls. Sarcastic? No, of course not. Or maybe you're saying that now the call center is overloaded and there's no pause? In which case, same.
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Nov 29, 2011 23:12
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God. When I started my former call center job I was told "Yeah, it's hardly ever busy around here". I guess by "not busy" they meant "25+ calls waiting in queue at any given situation, any day". And you were only allowed 20 seconds of 'after-call' time before it would start to negatively impact your stats. No breaks between calls plus calls constantly waiting in queue WILL burn you out pretty drat quickly. I remember coming into work one day and a coworker was like "Wow, we're pretty dead today, I'm getting a 30 second wait between calls!". No, we are not 'dead'. We're STILL busy, just not AS busy as usual, but still busy! It was torture
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Nov 30, 2011 00:00
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I have an interview Friday at another call center. On one hand, I'm weary of getting into a rut of call center work. On the other, this one is only an hour away rather than 90 minutes (and no tolls to pay every day) and pays marginally better as a contract employee and then significantly better as a permanent position. Not sure how to feel about it, to be honest.
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Nov 30, 2011 00:56
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Company wide layoffs. I was near the bottom of the totem pole, along with the rest of my hiring class. We almost all got fired. Here's hoping I can find a job in the next two months. On the plus side, people won't threaten to rape me anymore!
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Nov 30, 2011 07:49
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Oh no, that sounds awful, now that you mention that I am very glad I work in a place where most of the time there is literally no pause between calls, it must be awful taking a breather between calls. Sarcastic? No, of course not. Wow, you're bitter.
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Nov 30, 2011 10:31
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Lord Windy posted:Wow, you're bitter. There's another way for phone jockeys to be?
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Nov 30, 2011 10:42
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Drinking I find helps
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Nov 30, 2011 11:24
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Congradulations on getting laid off from the worst job in the world.
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Nov 30, 2011 17:04
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I'm wrestling with whether to send this email to another CSR's supervisor. On one hand, it's ratting out another call center worker, and I'm all about solidarity. On the other hand, I'm sick of assholes dumping calls they should be handling themselves, especially when they purposely dump them into the wrong queue, and especially when they don't tell the caller what they're doing. And since the other CSR works in another state, I've never met him, never will, and there will be no social consequences. Here's the email (the stuff in italics is redacted to protect the "innocent"): Hi, (other csr's boss's name). I'm not sure you know me, as I work in (my office). But I'm on the transactional team, so we've interacted via email a few times in the past. I am concerned because a CSR on your team dumped a (certain kind of auto claim that I don't handle) into the (kind of auto claim I do handle) auto queue today, and it came to me. He started a claim with the caller but failed to pull up the policy, then did a cold transfer. The caller was confused as to why he had been transferred to me, because the CSR had not explained it--as I recall the caller’s words, he had been on the phone with the guy, and then he was just gone. The worst part was, I couldn't even help the caller because we don’t take (those kind of) auto claims in (my office)--I had to transfer him right back to a (that kind of) auto claim rep. The policy# the caller gave me pulled right up on my first try, and it was undoubtedly (that kind of) auto policy. It didn’t even have a (special) policy designator, which might be mildly excusable to confuse for (the kinds of auto claims I do handle). So I'm confused as to why the rep thought it was appropriate to transfer the call. The rep also failed to do a warm transfer and let me know that a claim had already been started, as is procedure. I found out who he was because his alias was logged in (our claim intake system), along with his aborted call ID, which pulled up when I searched for the caller's last name. I did a reverse-alias lookup in Outlook, which indicated the representative was (John Doe). This has been happening increasingly often lately, with (those kind of) calls being dumped into (my) queue, which is why I invested effort into searching for this information. I hope it's appropriate to bring this to your attention. If it's not, I apologize and would like guidance as to how to address similar issues in the future. Thanks for your time! --(my name & office)
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Nov 30, 2011 20:20
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The only thing I would remove is the "even" in "didn't even." I've had to send these kinds of emails lately and I take out every word that could even possibly turn into a case against my credibility (i.e. be read as a personal vendetta). Other than that, it's golden and I think you should send it, so long as you trust this guy to keep things confidential. It would make everybody's lives easier.
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Nov 30, 2011 21:24
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If you like your own supervisor, it might be best to ask them first if there's a procedure for feeding back this sort of lovely behaviour first, just so they don't get offended at you bypassing them and going straight to another supervisor. If you don't like your supervisor or think they'll do gently caress all then go for it straight away.
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Nov 30, 2011 22:45
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