Has anyone working in a call center?

Philippines
February 26, 2009 8:57am CST
I am a mother of five kids, I've been staying at home as a full time mother since my second son born... until now that my youngest baby is at the age of three. As time goes by, i feel that i do really need to work.. Since I was getting a little bit older..I don't want to waste much year without earning for my kids and as a help for my husband... Has anyone here working as a call center agent...Would like to give me some ideas how to get qualified on that field of work... Thanks
1 response
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I worked in a call center for a company called Clearwire Communications, and it was by far the WORST job I have ever had. I wouldn't wish that on ANYONE. We had ladies who worked there that told me they would cry every morning while driving to work. It got to the point that I didn't even want to see the sun come up in the morning because I knew that I had to go to work there that day. I would get sick on my stomach and throw up either while driving to work, or while I was at work. It was bad enough that MOST of the customers I talked to were all pissed off when they called in, but the fact that the company had a habit of getting people locked into service contracts and doing things like charging account termination fees to our MILITARY people who were being deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan made it even worse. They were always so willing to do things to help customers who called in, but the catch was that the customer was usually locked into at least one year of contract once they accepted the offer. From what I could gather while talking to other people who work there, most call centers are about the same way. A lot of the people I worked with there had worked in other call centers in the past, and they were always talking about how bad it was at other such places as well. Most of them had worked for SEVERAL other call centers in the past. It seemed to me that they would work at a call center until they grew tired of it, or until the company they worked for would let them go, then they would move on to another call center for another company. The turn-over rate at call centers is usually very high. They are usually very strict on their employees...even strict to the point that they actually make the job even worse. They have very high performance requirements and quotas, and most companies waste NO time firing people who do not meet the quotas. The bad part is that it isn't always the employees fault that they did not meet the quotas. When you are trying to negotiate with people, or to sell them something, you can usually only do so much. If they don't want it, they don't want it...and there is nothing you can do to change their minds. Adding to the problem is that you cannot choose the calls you receive. In a customer service call center, you never know what the next call is going to bring. Of course, the people who are monitoring your performance do not usually listen to the calls. They just see the numbers on paper, and if the quotas are not met, you will likely be fired. I would advise you to really think about this, and to do some serious research before going to work in a call center. The job isn't for everyone. It can either be very rewarding (if you are good at it), or can be the worst thing you have ever tried to do in your life...