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martyrdumb posted:Same here. I'm pulling in almost $30k with my shift differential (could be more but I refuse to do OT, I'm burned-out enough as it is). I applied around to other call centers in the area, and none pay as good. I got this job pre-recession, which sucks a bag of dicks because I can't find any other companies willing to pay that much and match my current benefits. I did a search on glassdoor.com and it looks like I'm one of the top paying call center salaries for my area. Sigh. I filed an anonymous ethics complaint against my job a while back and it has improved my outlook so much. I don't feel like I can be just pushed around anymore. I'm hesitant to go into too much detail, but they broke a labor law and asked the entire department to do it in writing, multiple times. They clearly thought we'd all be too lazy or afraid to do anything about this. It was so fantastic watching the managers freak out and look really upset, and I also liked the really passive aggressive e-mail the entire department got afterwards.
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Mar 22, 2012 15:55
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 Just got this "CSR Rally" pep talk bullshit today, during a team meeting. I got so fed up with it, I started ranting about how disconnected corporate is from the average call taker, and call experience, how they know nothing about what 99% of our calls consist of, how it's impossible to stretch most of them to shill their initiatives without annoying our customers, who just want to take care of their business and get the gently caress off the phone. How am I supposed to offer someone renters insurance and automatic withdrawals for their monthly payments during a call about 'the absolute last day they can pay their insurance without cancel?" that's just loving repugnant. My manager kinda balked and turned a lighter shade of pale and pretty much, like a champ, tried some flimsy justification for all this bullshit "initiative" talk, while pretty much everyone on the team was nodding and "Hear hear!"'ing at me. Then afterward I got an e-mail about "coding" some bullshit discount panel that I haven't coded in 8 months because I stopped and nobody cared because that's how god damned useless it was. Now I have to come up with an "action plan" to start incorporating this worthless tool back into my call flow. Just when you think you got a handle on this poo poo, they decide to start "caring" about dumb bullshit again, argh.
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Mar 24, 2012 03:10
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Loving Life Partner posted:Just when you think you got a handle on this poo poo, they decide to start "caring" about dumb bullshit again, argh. Sounds more like retaliation. Or were you talking about the rally?
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Mar 26, 2012 21:58
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Been trolling careerbuilder, craigslist, and indeed and I have to say call centers disguising their 100% commission based cold calls as a "customer service rep" or hilariously transparent "entry level management" bullshit can kiss my rear end. More often than not I'm trolled into thinking it's something else, show up, and it's that familiar empty office with 1 motivational poster tacked on the wall and Top 40s Rap music on the cheap stereo in the back.
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Mar 26, 2012 22:05
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Finally I have something to rant about! They recently changed the phone system at my call center and holy gently caress is it ever horrible. It used to be first-come-first-serve, so if your call ended after your friend's call, he'd get one first, you'd get one second. Now it's some convoluted piece of poo poo that takes your 'talk time' and uses that to decide if you need another call or not. Meaning if you take short calls, you get tons of them, and your stats go down because you're taking WAY more calls than sales, OR if you talk to MUCH your stats go down because you won't be getting as many calls as anyone else, so you can't make up your time! I've had three calls in the span it's taken a colleague sitting beside me to get one, even though he got off the phone before me. You literally cannot win with this loving system. I can't believe they spent millions of dollars on this piece of poo poo.
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Mar 27, 2012 19:40
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That's what we have! Yay for Avaya! 
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Mar 28, 2012 01:36
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Yeah, Avaya is a total piece of poo poo in how it handles calls. Fun fact: Most of my call center recently got written up for call avoidance. What was happening? Someone found out you can go into an Aux state on the Avaya phones and then hit ACW to access some nebulous 'Other ACW' stat that wasn't being tracked by any report. Anyone who was using Other ACW more than 10% got written up, but even the most egregious offenders (The highest I've heard was 54% of the total month) weren't fired. What really sucks is that they never corrected the stats of the offenders so they got to use fake numbers in our latest shift bid.
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Mar 28, 2012 15:39
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Avaya sucks rear end.
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Mar 29, 2012 02:39
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I actually like avaya. I'm a t2 at work and It let's up know how much avail and who is on in other call centers. Not to mention its voicemail system doesn't suck total rear end like some others I've had to deal with
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Mar 30, 2012 15:55
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Interestingly, I just got a written warning for "call avoidance". I got dragged into my boss' boss' office and reamed by both of them. What did they find? 1) Some outbound calls to my wife in the wrong button 2) Sometimes when a "ghost call" would come in, I'd sit on it for a minute-to-three and not disconnect right away. This would happen literally 2-3 times a week. So for "call avoidance", I got chewed out and put on a probation. The funny part? They said during the reaming that on average I handle 30% more calls than the site average. HOWEVER, that wasn't what we were discussing today, so I couldn't use the fact that I take so many more calls as any type of excuse or contextual information as to why I did what I did on the ghost calls, I may as well have said that loving aliens made me do it.
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Mar 31, 2012 04:28
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I don't know who wants to out-cocksucker who where I work: the company or the client. It's getting old as hell from both of them, though.
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Mar 31, 2012 05:29
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Well I'm finally out of a horrific call centre, now doing back office work for a new company. I can not explain how much happier I feel, I didn't realise how ill that job was making me. Seriously, get out as soon as you can.
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Mar 31, 2012 13:55
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Jacada posted:Well I'm finally out of a horrific call centre, now doing back office work for a new company. I can not explain how much happier I feel, I didn't realise how ill that job was making me. I'm wondering how people do this. It seems like interviewers either wonder why I'm leaving a full-time job or they don't take me seriously because I work in a call center, so I find myself wondering if people have to straight up lie about their work history to get out of this. I'm asking around my friends and co-workers, and leads are few and far between (although I do have one upcoming lead that I'm hopeful about).
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Apr 2, 2012 09:57
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Do the email surveys which get sent out after some calls reflect back on the particular agent involved with the call? I just received one which asked detailed information about what I thought about the way the agent did their job having called my insurer to discuss my renewal price, which I filled out very positively because frankly the guy did a good job, knew his poo poo and got me a lower price without me even having to ask for it. Kinda hoping I've made someone's day a bit better.
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Apr 4, 2012 14:49
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rolleyes posted:Do the email surveys which get sent out after some calls reflect back on the particular agent involved with the call? I just received one which asked detailed information about what I thought about the way the agent did their job having called my insurer to discuss my renewal price, which I filled out very positively because frankly the guy did a good job, knew his poo poo and got me a lower price without me even having to ask for it. For my company, the surveys are sometimes linked to a particular agent and sometimes not, depending on what triggered it--A survey triggered by a phone call will be linked to the agent, a survey triggered by completing a form on our website will not be, even if an agent helped you complete that form. The one you filled out probably is.
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Apr 4, 2012 16:35
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A while ago, I posted, asking about advice for applying to a call centre. They had a hiring debacle, I never got called, and I just shrugged and forgot about it. I got a call on Tuesday from them, for a phone interview and was asked to come in today for an interview. Which turned into two interviews. Then three interviews. I was given a job offer, and well...on the 23rd, I'll be starting my training to be a Customer Service Representative. I have a feeling you're going to see a lot more of me in this thread.
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Apr 5, 2012 20:50
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The number one thing to know: If they tell you during training and advanced training (taking calls) to "oh don't worry about your stats, you're learning!", say "bullshit, what are my stat targets" and try to hit them and make a good habit of it early on. They will let you build as many bad habits as you want during training, especially with time management then try to bring the hammer down later when you're already used to operating a certain way.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:24
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Loving Life Partner posted:The number one thing to know: I've already been told in interviews that I'll be expected to be taking as many as 45 calls a day, ranging between 9 to 15 minutes each. It's all inbound. Should I expect that to be jacked up once I get going?
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Apr 5, 2012 21:26
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Dunno, but I'd love to take 45 calls a day, christ. I average 120-130 in a 10 hour shift. (Site average is ~60). I've taken to calling myself Johnny Double Employee during this probationary period. I wonder when my boss and my boss' boss will yank me aside to ream me out about taking too many calls HA HA HA HA HA.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:27
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I complained in this thread towards the end of last summer (I think) about part time supervisors in my market research call centre. I am now one of those supervisors and had a complaint lodged against me within two weeks by a long-standing employee. The circle will be complete once I'm running jobs of my own.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:42
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It bothers me how many times I've had this conversation. Your website isn't working. I can't get on. Is something broken on your end?(I check, website appears to be working normally)  It's working fine here, what error message are you getting? Error message? What does it say on your computer when you try to use our website? Computer? Do I need to be on the computer for this? .... yes.I've never figured out what these people are doing before calling me, that doesn't involve a computer, than convinces them that our website is down. I like to think that they're trying to log on using the microwave. Any thoughts?
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Apr 10, 2012 00:57
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miryei posted:I've never figured out what these people are doing before calling me, that doesn't involve a computer, than convinces them that our website is down. I like to think that they're trying to log on using the microwave. Any thoughts? Smartphones, Ipods, tablets, anything that can access the internet really. Many don't consider these "computers".
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Apr 10, 2012 02:46
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Gothmog1065 posted:Smartphones, Ipods, tablets, anything that can access the internet really. Many don't consider these "computers". I doubt they're using anything like smartphones. The conversation that follows is invariably explaining how to turn their desktop on, how to open the internet--which usually gets down to, "click the blue E"--and explaining where the address bar is and that they should type our web address there. At which point they call over their son/niece/grandkid/husband to type for them. Then they will rant about how everyone these days uses cards, but THEY always pay with checks because you can't trust computers and when society collapses and cards stop working, the kids growing up these days won't even know how to use a check! Besides, Obama/Bush/foreigners are ruining this country and I should know that. If I try to find out what they've done so far, it's just a stubborn, "it doesn't work, your website must be broken".
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Apr 10, 2012 02:56
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miryei posted:Then they will rant about how everyone these days uses cards, but THEY always pay with checks because you can't trust computers and when society collapses and cards stop working, the kids growing up these days won't even know how to use a check! One of my relatives is like this and I don't get how that train of thought works. The days of banks having a huge vault containing bags with "$" on the side and a stack of gold bars in the corner are long gone. The only reason they keep 'real' money on site is to dispense notes and make change; all fund transfers (cheque or otherwise) are electronic. 'When' society collapses you're SOL whether you use cheques or not; after all, if you give someone a cheque what exactly are they going to draw it on? The only people who might have an advantage are those who have a huge stack of notes under their bed, and that'll last a few weeks at best until people realise fiat currency has no intrinsic value, revert to trade and barter and burn the paper money for warmth because there's no power. I tried explaining this to said relative and it just made her angry. As you may have guessed from my spelling of the word 'cheque' I'm in the UK, so if it's any consolation the stupid exists on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Apr 10, 2012 11:14
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rolleyes posted:The only people who might have an advantage are those who have a huge stack of notes under their bed, and that'll last a few weeks at best until people realise fiat currency has no intrinsic value, revert to trade and barter and burn the paper money for warmth because there's no power. Going by recent events (petrol 'crisis')have shown anything, it is that British society is only a few weeks from 'tickety-boo' to 'eating people'. I'm going to keep a big pile of fivers under my bed and when it does collapse, I shall live like a king for those few weeks.
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Apr 10, 2012 12:04
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spog posted:Going by recent events (petrol 'crisis')have shown anything, it is that British society is only a few weeks from 'tickety-boo' to 'eating people'. Well to be fair the government basically engineered that one by saying "Go fill your tanks now! Oh and keep (more petrol than you're meant to store on residential property) in a can in your garage!  ".It's a hard one to get right though. It makes sense to advise people to slowly build up what effectively amounts to a small 'stockpile' in their fuel tank, but the minute you suggest that might be necessary there's always a minority who panic buy regardless.
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Apr 10, 2012 12:19
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3. More. Days. 3. That's it. I just need to make it 3 more days. I have no idea how I can do it.
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Apr 11, 2012 04:27
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I guess one of my coworkers killed themselves over the weekend. We received an email from our director stating he 'passed unexpectedly' and I heard he hung himself from the rumormonger smokers. That'd be the third suicide in this center since I started working here. I can't say I blame him. 
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Apr 11, 2012 19:10
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Pretty sure this sort of thing has come up in the thread before, but if there's a better place to ask then please point me towards it. I've been getting constant phone calls, two or three a day, from a loft insulation company. I answer the phone to an automated message saying I haven't taken them up on some offer I got on a postcard through my door one day. Not surprising since I don't have a loft. I tried to actually get through to someone to ask them to take me off their list, the conversation went like this: Me: Hi, can I- Her: When was your loft last insulated? Me: Can I talk to someone about getting removed from your- Her: When was your loft last insulated? Me: Yeah, no, I'd like to be- Her: When was your loft last insulated? Me: I don't have one! How can I be removed from your- Her: I'm asking the questions here! Me: ... *click* They don't even mention the name of the company in the automated message, and I've long since chucked out their postcard. Any suggestions? I'm in the UK, by the way.
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Apr 12, 2012 19:34
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Robzor McFabulous posted:Pretty sure this sort of thing has come up in the thread before, but if there's a better place to ask then please point me towards it. Tell them straight up the next time they ask "When was your loft last insulated?" that you don't have a loft, have never had a loft, and certainly don't have anything that needs insulating. Is your house misleading to someone driving by doing canvassing with a false third story/loft window or something? Might explain why you got the postcard to begin with.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:17
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Robzor McFabulous posted:Pretty sure this sort of thing has come up in the thread before, but if there's a better place to ask then please point me towards it. While I understand the frustration, why didn't you just answer the damned question? Her: When was your loft last insulated? You: It hasn't been because I don't have a loft, which is why I'd like to be removed from your list. Probably would have gotten further that way. The person you were speaking to has probably been there for so long and is just blindly going through the motions at that point. It's not a good thing for them to do, but you could have handled the situation better. They may have even been more receptive to what you had to say, that way.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:29
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Robzor McFabulous posted:They don't even mention the name of the company in the automated message, and I've long since chucked out their postcard. Any suggestions? I'm in the UK, by the way. Are you signed up to the TPS? If you are then what they're doing is illegal and you should talk to your phone provider. If you're not then I'd suggest getting signed up!
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Apr 12, 2012 20:41
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cuntvalet posted:While I understand the frustration, why didn't you just answer the damned question? I'm actually extremely patient and pleasant when called by sales people, not least of all from reading this thread and sympathising a great deal with what people have to put up with in those jobs. Understand, however, that she cut me off mid-sentence with her question, bluntly and without even a hello, and then continued to do so when I very calmly just tried to get some information. What do you think would've happened if I'd just said "I don't actually have a loft"? My guess is, she would've hung up on me. I don't think I would've gotten any further had I "handled the situation better". Rolleyes - Thanks for the advice, I'll get signed up to the TPS and if they keep calling I'll report it to my phone provider. (Oh and AA - My flat VERY obviously doesn't have any kind of loft space, so I have no idea why they wasted their time giving any of us their adverts.) (Edit - I just tried to register on the TPS site but they seem to think I already am. I don't remember doing so, although my girlfriend may have done it in the past. Straight to my phone provider then!) Robzor McFabulous fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:51
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Robzor McFabulous posted:I'm actually extremely patient and pleasant when called by sales people, not least of all from reading this thread and sympathising a great deal with what people have to put up with in those jobs. My response was perhaps a little aggressive (sorry!), and yeah, being cut off would certainly annoy the heck out of anybody. I definitely agree with trying to block their number if you can. I hope all of their customer service reps don't suck as much as the girl you got stuck talking to.
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Apr 12, 2012 21:15
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cuntvalet posted:My response was perhaps a little aggressive (sorry!), and yeah, being cut off would certainly annoy the heck out of anybody. No apology necessary, I know how tough it is being in the line of fire in that kind of job which is why I try to be as chill as possible, then I get someone like her and it throws me!
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Apr 12, 2012 21:21
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Tomorrow is my last day. Hell yes. Gonna punch in, put up with a few more hours of BS, then punch out and hit the bar. So happy to be getting out. So. loving. Happy.
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Apr 13, 2012 04:05
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No sweatshirts, shorts or hats allowed anymore? We're in a loving call center, not loving Saks 5th Avenue. I swear our company is like "Despicable Me,' where Gru tells the kids they can't breathe, laugh, cry, eat, drink, make noise, have fun, etc.
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Apr 14, 2012 04:38
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Most of the support techs here get a description of the problem, put it in a ticket, hang up, fix it, and send an email to report everything is fixed. There is this sweet girl who is about to be fired because she fixes the problem on the phone, and that's half as much work as taking a call and sending an email. loving metrics.
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Apr 14, 2012 04:52
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Boomer The Cannon posted:No sweatshirts, shorts or hats allowed anymore? We're in a loving call center, not loving Saks 5th Avenue. I don't understand call centres like this. Who cares what the people who work in them wear?
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Apr 14, 2012 21:04
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sbaldrick posted:I don't understand call centres like this. Who cares what the people who work in them wear? Ours does because we work for a bank and they want to keep a lot of it the same kind of feel. But because we're on the west coast, we get to wear jeans EVERY day, unlike the poor bastards out east. 
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Apr 14, 2012 21:13
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