Anyone ever worked in a call center?

[emzie]

My wife does and I'm trying to get a job there. She takes calls for Cingular here in Ottawa. It's decent money. Yeah, if you have Cingular, they outsourced to Canada. Evil.

 

[downtown]

I worked in a call center as a Mormon missionary. When you call that number on our commericals for a *free Book of Mormon*...somebody like me would pick up, It was terrifying. I never want to do that again. I'd rather knock doors.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Huh. Since I was learning a foreign language, I got to skip that part. But I heard horror stories.

 

[JonnyB]

I love the Crazies, I think they make the job interesting. It's funny when I have to take over a call, the more deranged the person is the better. (to a limit, I have listened to pure evil working here)

 

[ybbor]

I worked in a call center as a Mormon missionary. When you call that number on our commericals for a *free Book of Mormon*...somebody like me would pick up, It was terrifying. I never want to do that again. I'd rather knock doors.

that sounds interesting. tell me more please what made it so terrifying? I imagine not being face to face provides an unimaginable level of security.


Although at my congressional campaign I found door-to-door people were overall much friendlier, those who were not as much were far harder to escape from.

 

[downtown]

that sounds interesting. tell me more please what made it so terrifying? I imagine not being face to face provides an unimaginable level of security.


Although at my congressional campaign I found door-to-door people were overall much friendlier, those who were not as much were far harder to escape from.

Sure.

I did both inbound and outbound calling. For inbound...I'd basically just sit around and wait for somebody to call and order something. We'd send the material, and I'd tell them a little bit about it first. I didn't mind doing this so much, because i knew they actually *wanted* the material.

For outbound, we'd call somebody who requested material/more infomation a few months before, to make sure they got it, and if they'd like to meet with missionaries/had other questions/would like more stuff. I was a really new missionary, so *everything* scared me...plus there was the chance that my call might be unwelcome...and I much prefer speaking to people face to face. Its harder to read people over the phone.

 

[ybbor]

Sure.

I did both inbound and outbound calling. For inbound...I'd basically just sit around and wait for somebody to call and order something. We'd send the material, and I'd tell them a little bit about it first. I didn't mind doing this so much, because i knew they actually *wanted* the material.

For outbound, we'd call somebody who requested material/more infomation a few months before, to make sure they got it, and if they'd like to meet with missionaries/had other questions/would like more stuff. I was a really new missionary, so *everything* scared me...plus there was the chance that my call might be unwelcome...and I much prefer speaking to people face to face. Its harder to read people over the phone.

but if you read someone wrong, it's no big deal, you just apologize, hang up, and move on to the next guy.

 

[GinandTonic]

but if you read someone wrong, it's no big deal, you just apologize, hang up, and move on to the next guy.

The truth. The only time phone work is scary is a really high value call. If you know a call is worth hundreds to you and ten grand to the company it can make you nervy. Any couple of mins that are worth half a weeks wages is edgy. The rest of the time you can just disconnect the phone if they get too out of line.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Which in downtown's situation wasn't really the case anyways, as it was all nonprofit (but for prophet . . .). On the other hand, few things are capable of inspiring anger in certain people like religion.

 

[scipian]

My step-mom just started a job as an American Airlines call person (20 hours a week at home). It seems like a decent job. Sure, it's not very good pay but she seems to enjoy the convenience of it.

 

[storealex]

I did for two days, but I quit due to moral reasons. I find it wrong convincing people to buy crap, which they would be better off without.

 

[BirraImperial]

I worked once at a sports book call center. It was actually funny to work the nightshift, getting calls from drunken people placing bets. Monday Night Football was pretty busy.

Then I worked at a tech support call center till recently. I took like a 100 calls a day, we were very understaffed. it was very stressing, it was hell, most people where nice, but some where very stupid, rude and sometimes made racists comments, specially about the techs in India.
At the end I was moved to another position within the same company. I'm very happy now, and I will never ever work at a call center again.

 

[Abaddon]

Yea and i enjoyed it, £7.50 a hour isnt to be sneezed at! presume i will go back after i finish uni for a short while

 

[ybbor]

I did for two days, but I quit due to moral reasons. I find it wrong convincing people to buy crap, which they would be better off without.

eh, you wouldn't be taking money from anyone who
a)didn't really want it
b)is stupid enough to fall for the pitch that they don't deserve to keep the money

 

[privatehudson]

I work in a call center that takes calls from people looking for work, looking to get a national insurance number and employers who want to advertise jobs. Let me see if I can remember some tales...

The most common moron we deal with is the jobseeker who starts the call saying "Hi, I just want the number for this job". I say "Sure, its XXXX" at which point they interupt and say "Oh wait, I'll just get a pen".

Then there's the employers who don't know the postcode or building number of their own company.

Or when the employers ring to put a driver job on and refuse to give a job description saying "Oh they'll know what they have to do". Then they wonder why they get people applying who don't have taxi experience. Here's a tip, if you're looking for a taxi driver, state it in the first place!

The national insurance numbers are real fun because you're dealing with in the main foreign people who have recently arrived in the country. The language barrier is an issue (dates are a big bugbear, I've lost count of the number of people who've told me they were born in 1889) sometimes but mostly its not too bad. I love it though when a British guy rings up about his twenty somthing year old Tai wife and when you ask him simple questions like her date of birth and he goes and gets the passport.

One guy that this happened to came back on the phone and said that he had to go because he'd just realised it was her birthday tomorrow and he hadn't bought her anything yet!

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Heck, I still don't know what I did "wrong". But at any rate I have another job now, if it doesn't make me go completely insane it will look much better on my resume.

You called the ghost phone.