Would you still want to work in a Call Center?
By pinks17
@pinks17 (2192)
Philippines
October 3, 2008 9:06pm CST
[i]I love my job.I love it when customers give praises for a job well done.But there are times that you get a lot of irate customers and all you hear are their complaints about your accounts service.Listening to their complaints can actually drain you to death.
If you can't handle stress and your temper this is not the right job for you.An office mate of mine put the customer on mute and approached me cursing his customer on the other line.My office mate told me that if he could just get the customer from his monitor,he would punch his customers mouth so that he will stop talking.I don't know if sales rep from a call center also experience this but for a tech.support rep. you'll get a lot of this irate callers.
You get a good salary,a lot of benefits but you will get stressed out,you'll have anemia,bronchitis,experience migraine(I get that a lot) and worst you will develop schizophrenia ..just kidding.But what normally happen is that you can't get mad to the customer and all you have to do is put the customer on mute and started cursing the customer and then talk to the customer again nicely.lol..
I still don't regret being a tech.rep...It's such a stressful job but I have my ways of avoiding the stress..I mute the customer and say "you cannot destroy/ruin/mess my day" ("hindi mo masisira araw ko")and "I will make sure that before we end this call you will be thanking me for fixing your problem"..phew...
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You get a good salary,a lot of benefits but you will get stressed out,you'll have anemia,bronchitis,experience migraine(I get that a lot) and worst you will develop schizophrenia ..just kidding.But what normally happen is that you can't get mad to the customer and all you have to do is put the customer on mute and started cursing the customer and then talk to the customer again nicely.lol..
I still don't regret being a tech.rep...It's such a stressful job but I have my ways of avoiding the stress..I mute the customer and say "you cannot destroy/ruin/mess my day" ("hindi mo masisira araw ko")and "I will make sure that before we end this call you will be thanking me for fixing your problem"..phew...[/i]2 people like this
12 responses
@zeroflashx2 (2491)
• Philippines
7 Oct 08
I've been in the call center industry for 4 years now and I've had my ups and downs. Yeah, I definitely agree. It's very stressful work and the schedule contributes a lot and the queue, as expected in almost all call centers, are really hectic. Sometimes, a breath is all you can take before the next call comes in. I've tried emails, tech support and customer service. So far, I've really appreciated the chance I had with emails. Talking for 7 1/2 hours a day is stressful work. I just try to motivate myself as much as I can and get enough rest.
Yeah, it's all about business especially when you step in to management. Sometimes, agents get overworked and it does not justify the salary at times. People get really sick as well. You know me bee. 
I got sick ever since I started in the industry. I just had one last week. So in my case, I like call centers but if I'd get a chance at another career, a normal day job with good pay, I'd really take it. For now, I'd still stay and work for my family. Take care.
I got sick ever since I started in the industry. I just had one last week. So in my case, I like call centers but if I'd get a chance at another career, a normal day job with good pay, I'd really take it. For now, I'd still stay and work for my family. Take care. 
@zeroflashx2 (2491)
• Philippines
14 Oct 08
Thanks Pinks. 
I still take advantage of the acw per call. We average 50-60 calls a day and we have 1 minute acw per call. That's an hour of rest as well. It's really tiring if you take calls continuously with just a breath to take in between calls. I need to relax a bit as well. I'm doing better now. Thanks and take care.
I still take advantage of the acw per call. We average 50-60 calls a day and we have 1 minute acw per call. That's an hour of rest as well. It's really tiring if you take calls continuously with just a breath to take in between calls. I need to relax a bit as well. I'm doing better now. Thanks and take care.@pinks17 (2192)
• Philippines
13 Oct 08
[i]Neil once told me that his colleagues want to reach the quota of 40-45 calls a day..they are allowed to have 2minutes aux time every each call..He did some math again..He told me ..."If I have 30 calls a day and I use that 2 minutes aux time each call..in total I have an hour of rest".He told his colleagues that he doesn't want to go home exhausted for taking calls..he is taking advantage of the 2 minutes aux per call."daya" noh?lol.But on the 2nd thought I would do the same.I'll take advantage of that aux time and I am not too crazy for the bonuses for reaching the quota.
I got worried when you made a discussion about your attack..hey friend take care of yourself.we don't want you out of the circulation here in mylot.just kidding.Honestly I am glad you are back.tc. [/i]
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@thanujad (405)
• Sri Lanka
13 Oct 08
Once I was a manager at a call center and that was the most stressfull job I've done in my life. Thank God I had to do this only for about 6 months as my former boss pleaded with me to come and work there until they find someone. So I got permission from my husband and went. It wasn't an easy job to do as a manager I was responsible of staff coming to work on time, mostly I had to make sure the call center staff shouldn't make mistakes while answering calls. My Mobile was ringing almost all the time for some issue and even in dreams I started to hear my phone ringing.
After much persuation I managed to tell my boss to find someone as soon as he can and finally when I was leaving, most of my staff cried and that time I really felt bad but was happy to quit that job.
@pinks17 (2192)
• Philippines
14 Oct 08
My boyfriend was a former supervisor and we have the same office,sadly he resigned bec. he felt that he will have a heart attack if he will continue to work as a supervisor/team leader.Oftentimes I can see him holding his chest,probably due to stress and plus I got worried as well the might have heart attack due to the work load at the office.So I allowed and gave him the permission or the go signal to resign as a Team Leader bec. I don't want to see him suffer everyday.
@iskayz (5420)
• Philippines
4 Oct 08
Hi there!
Before I was hoping to get a job as a call center agent. Call center agents are always needed and has a good salary. I can handle the customer's complaints cause I'm a patient person and I don't easily get irritated. But I'm afraid I can't handle the working time. What I don't like is the shifting schedules, making my day night and night my day. The working schedule is very stressful for me. It's hard I know cause my sister-in-law used to be a call center agent.
Before I was hoping to get a job as a call center agent. Call center agents are always needed and has a good salary. I can handle the customer's complaints cause I'm a patient person and I don't easily get irritated. But I'm afraid I can't handle the working time. What I don't like is the shifting schedules, making my day night and night my day. The working schedule is very stressful for me. It's hard I know cause my sister-in-law used to be a call center agent. 
@sarazeng (220)
• China
11 Oct 08
Hi pinks17! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I totally understand and agree what you are talking about! Actually, I worked as customer service and tech rep before. Well, CS is absolutely not so easy as it looks especially when you want to make it better, make customer satisfied or very satisfied! Now, I have transferred to another dept but I still benefited from it. pinks17, you have a good attitude! I believe you will find your way one day! Good luck!
@pinks17 (2192)
• Philippines
13 Oct 08
I hope so sarazeng.I really want to be a Team Leader but I guess I have to work on some of my metrics and to keep up with the new policies which the client change from time to time.If not a Team Leader at least any position that will not requires me to take in calls.
@reese_sakura (106)
• Philippines
7 Oct 08
Yes I would but given a chance to try another career instead of call center, I would grab that opportunity.
@mapi26 (549)
• Philippines
5 Oct 08
i was a technical support rep for almost 2 years and boy i miss that job! o have tried to take few call for a customer service account & boy i miss the days of troubleshooting & from there i knew that i can never be a csr. although i'm already in the workforce department, i still miss being an agent. it's promising & fulfilling to hear your customer be super nice to you after being irate at 1st. coz you know that you have resolved their issue & you kicked their *ss. also there are actually more privileges like incentives, bonus, gift certs, etc..
@pinks17 (2192)
• Philippines
7 Oct 08
[i]I've heard that it's a lot of fun if you are a tsr instead of csr.I am glad that you enjoyed it.I find csr boring..sorry for csr's but for tech you tend to be spontaneous and you don't have any scripts to follow or read for explaining to the customers unlike csr they have this step by step guidelines and they have scripts just in case the customer doesn't want what you are offering.
At least you got promoted.I don't want to be tsr forever.I want to become a Team Leader soon but I guess I have to make my stats good for now and with the new policies it's really hard to get an excellent metrics.sigh.
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[/i]@mapi26 (549)
• Philippines
8 Oct 08
oh yeah i don't want to be an agent forever. although there are times that i would want to go back being an agent because they get many ways of earning money compared to management level. but of course career wise it's still good to be promoted, also higher position means more responsibility. you bet, getting high stats are not that easy. it's also one job a tsr/csr's got to do to keeo thier job or get promoted. it's a good thing you have plans of being promoted. keep it up & aim for it! if you think you are ready, go for it! there's no harm in applying & trying. no offense to csr's but yes, my heart really goes to tech. :)
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
4 Oct 08
I worked in a call centre for some years and i loved it at the start because we were taught to give service, no matter what the customer had to be looked after, but then everything changed, it was all about the money and we had to do everything in 30 seconds, then 20 seconds and were not allowed to give all that much service and wasn't allowed to be friendly, it became a very stressful job because we started gettin abused because people were not getting the service they were used to...O love the idea of giveing good service and helping people...
@pinks17 (2192)
• Philippines
4 Oct 08
[i]It's actually a relief when you hear praises from the customers.But the job is really stressful.
But I still love my work despite talking to irate customers.
I understand how the customers feel.I know that if the same thing happens to me I'll get mad too but not to the rep but to the service.So I know actually how to pacify irate customers...[/i]
But I still love my work despite talking to irate customers.
I understand how the customers feel.I know that if the same thing happens to me I'll get mad too but not to the rep but to the service.So I know actually how to pacify irate customers...[/i] @kens425 (436)
• Spain
18 Oct 08
as for me being confined on a chair all day long seems too stressful, especially when you can't defend yourself in times you meet arrogant clients on the line because you have to please them, customers always right as they say... i love the out doors so i never have the idea of working in a call center. take care of yourself and don't reach catatonic stage okey. good luck
@SketcherD (1114)
• Canada
18 Oct 08
I have worked in a couple of call centres and really did enjoy it. I loved talking to 'irates' because I was always very good at calming the customer down and the fixing whatever problems they had. I sometimes even was able to sell to them AND have them talk to my Boss to give me a Kudos/good feedback.
I even worked on what was called an 'irate desk'. We spoke to nothing but people who wanted to talk to supervisors or people who were just too irate for the original agent to handle. I was told I was really good at it. These people really got me laughing (on mute of course) at how mad they could get over simple things that were easily fixed!!!! Once you fixed their HUGE problem the were ready to send you flowers, take you to dinner or have you come to their condo in Florida for a holiday. I am not kidding I have had all of these things offered to me.
@eyelinerpen (32)
• United States
17 Oct 08
I remember working in a Call Center as my first job. It was very fun at first, but then I started to notice the little things. Of course, I was only 19 when I first started.
It is a good job for me because well lol- I don't really listen to what people have to say. I just go "yep"... "uhuh" and go along with them then pitch in with my own routine which made them even angrier. Well, turns out I wasn't trying to make them angry- I'm just a very sweet girl and don't let things get to me that much.
I still recall coming home everyday from work though, tired, grumpy, and mute. Well-I obviously didn't want to talk because I have been talking on the phone all day!
@I_am_yours_06 (185)
• Philippines
22 Nov 08
Its nice to work in a call center.. It develops my communication skills..the monetary reward is adequate..Stress is always part of the work but when you know how to cope up then its not an issue..Irate customers do happen and exist anywhere..so just have lots of patience in your system..
@anubhavjha (46)
• India
9 Dec 08
I work as if I am my companie's Presenter.
I work in a call Center. I too work in a call center and have many bad experiences I think that the job is not bad but we are not being provided with the respect that other people doing other work get. People think that its a dumb job of telling what ever is their in front of your computer. But its nice in someway or another. I study in a day college and working in call center has given me monetory freedom. Its only the type of work and the people who work with you distract your mind. For me i had really some bad experiences. I too want to work in call centre but not by taking calls.
