Customer Service Call Center Jobs are awesome!

[Kylewhataru]

When I worked at AT&T the trainer said that out of new hires, 1/3 would quit within 30 days, and another 1/3 within 6 months. So if they need 6 permanent positions they have to hire ~20 people to start. They said that is why the companies rather outsource, it's not only because they pay people in India less, it's also because the people they hire in those countries actually stick around for much longer. But the problem then is that customers demand native english speakers, some people don't care but for most people when you call a company and hear an Indian accent it's like "/sigh".

[Acturus]

When I worked at AT&T the trainer said that out of new hires, 1/3 would quit within 30 days, and another 1/3 within 6 months. So if they need 6 permanent positions they have to hire ~20 people to start. They said that is why the companies rather outsource, it's not only because they pay people in India less, it's also because the people they hire in those countries actually stick around for much longer. But the problem then is that customers demand native english speakers, some people don't care but for most people when you call a company and hear an Indian accent it's like "/sigh".

For a change of pace, half of my calls to HP go to India, half go to Taiwan.

The irony of course is that if I escalate the call, I get a call from their customer service level 2... in Colorado.

[Kylewhataru]

Yeah that's how it was at AT&T, we were level 2 and level 1 was in philipines, India, or Mexico. When level 1's xfered to us most of the customers were like "oh my god, someone who actually speaks english!!" and they start asking you what city you're in and shit, like they're still is disbelief.

[Shibo]

I'd rather do a call center than dealing with people in person, especially in fast food or retail. (Fuck Walmart, speaking from personal experience while in school)

It depends on who your clients are really. I was on the only multi-client team (our company supported about 40-50 companies in total, my team supported about 35 or so of them) and some are nice, and some are the worst people you will ever talk to. (One of the companies I supported was the IMF, and about 95% of them hardly spoke any english, and were some of the most impatient and rude fucks I ever had to deal with)

I worked at walmart when I was in highschool, and quit not because of shitty customers, but because like most places, my co-workers were worthless pieces of shit. And of course the top notch management walmart is known for.

[Holly Short]

It depends on who your clients are really. I was on the only multi-client team (our company supported about 40-50 companies in total, my team supported about 35 or so of them) and some are nice, and some are the worst people you will ever talk to. (One of the companies I supported was the IMF, and about 95% of them hardly spoke any english, and were some of the most impatient and rude fucks I ever had to deal with)

I worked at walmart when I was in highschool, and quit not because of shitty customers, but because like most places, my co-workers were worthless pieces of shit. And of course the top notch management walmart is known for.

walmart is the slave plantations of our time, I still am shocked such a ruthless company isn't despised more than it already is

[Melena]

walmart is the slave plantations of our time, I still am shocked such a ruthless company isn't despised more than it already is

Never underestimate the power of ever so slightly cheaper goods. Part of the reason 99% of the shopping me and the fiance do is at Costco.

[richardd]

Never underestimate the power of ever so slightly cheaper goods. Part of the reason 99% of the shopping me and the fiance do is at Costco.

i think he meant it more as a company to "work for" more so than a company to "shop in"

and isnt the union constantly trying to shut walmart down? lol

[Holly Short]

i think he meant it more as a company to "work for" more so than a company to "shop in"

and isnt the union constantly trying to shut walmart down? lol

Correct on both accounts.

I 100% understand why someone would shop there, money isn't free. Hell, I shopped there when I worked there.

I more was getting at the horrible treatment of employees, never offering more than 39 hours so they dont have to offer benefits(except for salaried management), and the fact they don't allow their employees to join unions and just do it within their own company.

[Melena]

Must be a weird state, I know in california 32+ hrs is considered full time. I know the unions did get inside the canadian walmarts though. Is kind of humorous. They don't even sell censored cd's the one time I was in Ontario. The wages are piss poor though. Minimum wage for back breaking work = not for me.

[Guyverarmor]

Hate to say it but it isn't that much different than any other customer service industry; the workers who do a half-assed job make it difficult for everyone else, and the customers who are intentionally monstrous make it tough to take the genuinely upset ones seriously.

Personally, I love my call center job, listening to a team of about 30 reps and auditing their calls for both accuracy (making sure they are adhering to federal regulations, providing factual info) and customer service (making sure they aren't trolling callers).

Oh, I know it's like that in any call center. I tried to get a position on the Call Quality team and do what you are doing but nothing open yet D:

[Yuri-G]

I worked at a call center for bank of america. It was really easy, never had anyone yelling at me (it`s all in the attitude you carry over the phone). But there was mandatory overtime, 60-70 hours a week, 12 hour shifts only. Working 12-12 six days a week really didn`t sit well with me, so I quit.

Some things were cool though. Like it was pretty neat going through training though, they used real customers` account info, granted what we trained on was very out of date. Kind of neat seeing what Oprah and Brett Favre spend their money on. Also it was humorous having old men and sometimes women calling demanding to know what this "EZEXTENDZ" is on their credit card bill and telling them someone used their card to purchase male enhancement products.

But like someone else said, we were also timed and monitored. You could get away with some use of the internet, to look up companies or things you didn`t recognize on bill statements.

Also since bank of america is also wachovia, suntrust, and wells fargo, but don`t want their customers to know that, we had to answer the phone with "Thank you for calling billing inquiries". We were actually told that if a customer asks what company/bank they`re speaking to, to say the name of their banking facility. If we didn`t know, we were supposed to ask them where they bank.

I did have to do this once, and it was really funny. "Billing Inquiries"
"Yes what bank am I speaking to?"
"Ah.. who do you bank with?"
"Suntrust"
"You`re speaking to a Suntrust representative"
Sounds sooo shady

wha? they're not the same company... not sure if you worked for a common processor but BOA and Wells are completely separate entities (for the most part).

now I'm curious as to how you could have been working for all those banks at once. not calling you a liar, just saying that's... weird.

[Koyangi]

I make over $26 an hour at Verizon Fios Tech Support, very stressful job, I only stay because of the pay.

[Skyylya]

17.31? damn man, were you working for google? lol

Online college admissions, i got to say it pays very well. And i don't even work for one of the more well known schools out there, we're one of the lower paying for your normal reps.

People always bitch about online schools but i'll tell you, if you want a job and they are in your area....it's a great place to make some money.

There's a school here in tampa, UMA, it's a medical certification type thing and they start people at like 45-50k and you don't even need a degree.

I think the everest online call center in our area pays around 40-45 starting or so and if you're good and get a lot of people enrolled you can get raises fast.

Also can get a ton of overtime, i think i've made an extra 5k so far this year from overtime and haven't even taken advantage of it that much (I like my free time too). get 200 a month towards benefits on the companies cafeteria plan to go towards health/dental flex and other stuff.

And if you're real good (like me) and get promoted to a team lead position you get an extra 500$ a month just for showing up and doing basically the same job but a few assistant manager duties.

[Swarley]

I make over $26 an hour at Verizon Fios Tech Support, very stressful job, I only stay because of the pay.

Are you that ONE guy who actually knows what he's doing? I feel like I'm talking to a chimp when I call them up.

[Koyangi]

I am the ONE!

[Swarley]

God bless you, son. God bless you.

[Akucaen]

i don't get it, you got a job in a terrible economy, what are you complaining about?

You know what? Fuck you. Soul sucking jobs are still soul sucking jobs no matter the economy.

[Yuri-G]

You know what? Fuck you. Soul sucking jobs are still soul sucking jobs no matter the economy.

seriously. I hate when people say this shit. you can know how fortunate you are and still hate what you're doing - which is exactly why I'm still in a call center job (a high-paying one with great benefits, even) even though the work sucks complete ass.

[Holly Short]

I left walmart when I needed a job because it made me hate my life, if the pay was decent I wouldn't have left because my tolerance is most definitely affected by money. But 8.20 an hour is just not enough for life hating oblivion.

[Guyverarmor]

Same. If it wasn't getting paid 17.06/hr an free cable and free Internets, then I would have left 6 months after I started