I hate call centers!

Quote: AZDuffman

Heck, after a few months of call work you start to think how relaxing prison is once you get over the firsts 100 days of it and aren't worrying about being stabbed.

So, the Romans offered Jesus a call center job as an alternative. After an hour he picked up the cross again and headed up the hill.

Quote: boymimbo

The turnover rate for callcenters is about 20%, so more like 400 / week.

We are updating their financial software; I have nothing to do with the operational side of their business.

They must be doing well because that sounds a bit low. Where I was at it was closer to 40-50%. Most were either fairly fast after hire or right after the annual bonus was paid. One girl got fired days before the smaller, holiday bonus. Came from lunch she was gone. Heard stories from her cubemate about what a disaster her personal life was and she was so happy the girl was gone.

Quote: AZDuffman

They must be doing well because that sounds a bit low. Where I was at it was closer to 40-50%. Most were either fairly fast after hire or right after the annual bonus was paid. One girl got fired days before the smaller, holiday bonus. Came from lunch she was gone. Heard stories from her cubemate about what a disaster her personal life was and she was so happy the girl was gone.

The upsell is the part that gets my goat. If I want to inquire about new products, I'll make that call. If I'm calling to order something specific, or to discuss returns or a problem, that's the call I want fast, direct, no-nonsense. I don't want to be their friend. I don't want excuses or to get into an argument. Get in, get it done, get out. Or give me your supervisor.

Delta, during the years I was flying every couple of weeks, was just awful about this. They had put in a call center in India, and empowered exactly NONE of their employees to actually DO anything, just to make excuses, deny options, and try to sell me something else. It got so I just asked for a supervisor on initial contact and got switched to their call center in Tampa without even an argument. Which was a nice change.

I think it all stems from a lack of impact on the bottom line. Call centers can have all these metrics but their performance usually just annoys people who just re-dial and hope they get a different jerk.

Its the way restaurants used to "push sides"... having a waitress constantly ask "how about some 'X' with that" is annoying but it adds to the "per check" amount and the company remains immune to any backlash. Its no use telling the waitress, she is just following a script so she can keep her job.

I hate having to listen to ads for a company while waiting for that next available clerk and I sure hate the lengthy sign off about other products.

I hate being in a store and being asked
if I'm finding everything, or can they
find something for me. I don't answer them
anymore, I pretend I don't hear them.

I think it's rude to ask me, if I need you I'll
seek you out. Or at the register they ask,
did you find everything today? They don't
care, and when you say no, they can do nothing
about it.

It's the new faux friendly, people who know nothing
and can't help you with anything, pretending
they can. I do like hardware stores, like Ace or
True Value. Those people can find things, they
can answer real questions, and even make helpful
suggestions. Like it used to be, 40 years ago.

I had fun yesterday. I asked a woman I had a run in
with a couple years ago for a raincheck on some
canned goods. She wanted we to wait while she
checked in the back. Like I'm an idiot. She really
wants to keep me standing there for 15min and
she comes back and says nope.

I said give me the RC right now, or tomorrow I'm
calling the store manager, and the regional manager,
and you know I'll do it.

Being in retail really sucks. lol

Actually things have changed and evolved.
Call centers are really becoming a thing of the past.
I actually work in a call center.
Its not a sweatshop type but decent paying requiring a bit of expertise with good benefits.
A lot of employees over 10 years.
Regardless, its a call center, or actually a slowly disappearing call center.
I could work from home right now If I want..
They are pushing us out the door.
Work is only 5 miles away, I enjoy the bike ride and its nice to work with people and easier to get help if something complex comes up.
10 years ago, a few worked from home, we are up to over 50% now. Management is getting real comfortable with the arrangement as it has been phased in.
Huge savings for the company on rent.
Place I work at is 1/2 empty and we are growing and hiring.
I will eventually work from home, the writing is on the wall.
Call centers are being phased out but the call is still going to someone, probably sitting at their desk in their underwear :-)

Quote: terapined

Actually things have changed and evolved.
Call centers are really becoming a thing of the past.

Call centers are being phased out but the call is still going to someone, probably sitting at their desk in their underwear :-)

I have heard this is a good deal for people who are home bound for physical, legal, or geographic reasons. It would be great for people who are in small, dead towns. Say you are stuck in Lemont Furnace, PA and the factory and mining jobs are long gone so now c-store is one of the "better" jobs. Answer phones for someone and make a decent living.

My concern from a management point of view is that training gets harder and you lose something when people are isolated. You don't get that water-cooler talk where you tell me about the issue you had and I learn from it. But given the crap-level service of the call that made me start this thread it probably matters not.

It depends on the company and your level of expertise. Many companies allow call center workers to work from home but they have to be trusted, meaning that they are good at what they do.

Quote: boymimbo

It depends on the company and your level of expertise. Many companies allow call center workers to work from home but they have to be trusted, meaning that they are good at what they do.

Exactly at that. Here in title there are very by anyone's standards liberal policies on working from home. In a nutshell if you get your work done timely and accurately they basically do not care where you do it. Yet somehow people still abuse the policy. Scary.

Just had another group of coworkers transfer from the office to working home.
As a call center, we are way past the 50% mark of working from home.
Now up to about 70% now work from home.
Getting lonely in the office. A lot of empty cubicles.
I still enjoy the morning bike ride to work.
Still enjoy the office buzz and conversations. Still have about 70 people in the office
I ride so much, I recently got a flat, closely inspected my tires, wearing out, need new tires.
Spent 70 bucks on 2 new high end bike tires and innertubes. Hmm, I thought I was saving money riding my bike to work :-)