Call centre jobs

[Rhyfelwyr]

Just wondering if orgahs had any experience with these. I've just passed an online and a phone interview for such a job, and the final stage is a face to face interview and some activities.

I'm fairly confident I would get it given I have experience both in sales and making calls from an office environment.

The thing is, it would require me moving, and so I want to know what exactly I would be going in for before I make that commitment. From what I've read online, people say very different things about call centres, but a lot of people do say they are dreadful. The firm this one is with is a respectable one and the position isn't mainly sales, so I'm hoping it might be OK.

Another concern is about renting somewhere. I know that these places have a notoriously high staff turnover rate, so I'm worried that I might not be accepted to rent anywhere, which would obviously be a necessity since I must move for this position. With my current savings, I could put down a deposit and maybe 2 months rent at the sort of price ranges I would be looking at.

So, are call centres that bad, and will I be allowed to rent working in one?

[Papewaio]

I have worked in IT help desks in call centers. First job was for a call center manufacturer for two years. So it was a call center for call center admins.

Worked as a MS call center agent.

Then became a call center administrator (call routing) then telephony lead/SME, then project lead now a project manager.

Two things about call centers. If outsourced it is all about cost savings and agent KPIs. Most operate under the idea that they aren't pushing their agents hard enough unless there is at least 20% turnover per annum. Internal call centres are often a stepping stone into the wider company.

Also look at the industry, is it somewhere you want to work or is it a paycheck. Entr level call centre is hard work but you clock off at the end of the day. It can be very easy to rinse and repeat.

If it is an outbound dialler campaign you can be run down pretty quick. Debt collection is the worst.

[Fragony]

Had one, great fun. We found out how to hack the system, we send our manager an e-mail that made a her computer say she wanted to be really hard, including sirene so everyone would see it. We made it look like it came from another department and we laughed our asses of when she came up screaming there, we followed her and saw her episode.

[Sigurd]

Yeah as Pape says, what type of call center is it? If it is some type of support, then it can be a great job if you are any good with the system/product. If it is sales... I would imagine a tough day (no experience, but I do not act kindly to being called about buying something)
I worked as 3rd line support in my second job, and it was rewarding as you felt you really helped people. You helped 2nd line and you helped customers all around the world, though it was difficult to explain to an Iranian why she couldn't call you Sunday evening, getting my phone number from a previous exchange of support.

[Beskar]

@Secura works in a similar sort of centre which has a lot of calls, as the middle person between Car Insurances, Car Rental, Garages, relating to a Road accident. Maybe will be able to give you some advice.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Thanks for those replies guys, those were interesting points.

This position is with a bank, it's titled as customer advice/sales.

I guess I have been looking at is as a paycheck, I never knew that it might be a route for advancing in a company. Certainly that opportunity would be a plus.

[naut]

Forum/internet connection/NSA ate my reply. So in short:

Never worked a call center, have worked 1st level support for a software firm. Ostensibly same thing, I had a phone, made/received calls regarding customer issues. As @Papewaio says it's all rinse and repeat. Most of your issues and calls should be straight forward, and the more straight forward the better, makes your job easier and your hours less stressful. Problems start when you add in the assorted arseholes/cretins who call or you have to call into the mix. Additionally if your workload spikes exponentially expect stress; having more tickets than you can be reasonably expected to handle is draining (same in all jobs I suppose though.)

And for me personally, I found dealing with other people's (usually petty and self-inflicted) issues vastly unrewarding. I'd much rather be actively involved in my own or my team's project and issues that directly relate to me and my work. But, this may not be the case for you

Anecdotally, outbound is harder. Several friends have worked them and their experiences do not sound fun. You have to be quick on your feet to diffuse the abusive and aggressive customers you will deal with. They love to take their stress out on the invisible man on the other end of the line. Lines like, "your number was randomly generated by a computer, I'm sorry we disturbed you", will be your saving grace.

Good luck, and may it lead to better and greater things.

[Tellos Athenaios]

And for me personally, I found dealing with other people's (usually petty and self-inflicted) issues vastly unrewarding. I'd much rather be actively involved in my own or my team's project and issues that directly relate to me and my work. But, this may not be the case for you

Ahh helpdesks... http://www.terminally-incoherent.com...s-and-answers/

[naut]

Ahh helpdesks... http://www.terminally-incoherent.com...s-and-answers/

Wow, thankfully I've not worked general help-desk; those look a special hell! Supporting a specific set of products was comparatively easy. That said, I'd take a number of those over trying to explain rounding errors in floating-point arithmetic to a non-IT person!

[Major Robert Dump]

Get the job, move up the ladder, and then transfer to the Philippines which is the center of worldwide call center activity. You will not have any troubles picking up wimmenz in church here. See you shortly

[Tellos Athenaios]

Get the job, move up the ladder, and then transfer to the Philippines which is the center of worldwide call center activity. You will not have any troubles picking up wimmenz in church here. See you shortly

I expect that way he'll wind up in a particularly dismal part of Ireland instead. Still, it does have the Catholic women in churches part of the dream.

[Secura]

So, are call centres that bad?

@Rhyfelwyr

I work for an accident management organisation that provides credit hire and repairs services for non-fault road traffic accidents and, as Tiaexz said, my role is the focal point for the company's services, liaising with clients, repairers, engineers, insurance companies and brokers, witnesses and third parties.

I've always tried to see the good in people, but if there's one thing that really opens your eyes to the true side of human nature, it's working in a call centre. Perhaps it's because of the lack of face-to-face interaction you get from other customer service roles, but people (clients or otherwise) really seem to turn for the worst when they call in.

Some highlights include: a woman that latched onto a particular staff member just to cry down the phone to him about things not even related to her accident; a gentleman who stated that he was going to crash the hire vehicle through our offices because we found out his claim was fraudulent; a third party insurer who felt it necessary to snobbishly explain every other word as though she was speaking to a five year old ("umpteen times... do you know what that means? It means alot"). You will begin to feel as though everything you do is disregarded and that people are only interested in finding something else to complain about, though that may just be a British thing.

On the plus side, call centre roles are challenging and very number-driven, so you'll really thrive if that's the sort of thing you like. My particular role measures performance based on productivity, progression, call utility, inbound calls, call quality, claim review quality, hire duration, hire cost leakage... a lot of targets to hit but it's something to aim for during the day and can make for some nice banter between colleagues.

I doubt this line of work is something that you want to make a career out of, but it's a fitting means to a financial end and will make you some good contacts/friends. I hope the interview goes well for you.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Thanks for that Secura, it's good to look at the pros and cons. I've dealt with some nutcases in my previous work, I actually think it's fun dealing with them.

I've got the interview on Friday, plus some roleplaying apparently. I'll suss things out while I'm there.

[Furunculus]

i did it (very) briefly after Uni with BT 192.

i failed the training after six weeks.

the pass criteria was to hit a sub 26 second average call time. to achieve this one has to literally turn ones brain off for eight hours in order to achieve the zen like state that is:

"hi, i'd like the number for national rail en....."

three seconds bang!

I wasn't very good at it.

I didn't like leaving work and wondering what had happened in the previous eight hours of my life, perhaps that is why i failed.

[edit]

i'm reminded by secura's comment of the perils of doing the night shift; it was quiet obviously, but you'd run the gauntlet of getting a suicidal

never happened to me, but company policy frowned on the notion of just hanging up.

[/edit]

[Sigurd]

[edit]
i'm reminded by secura's comment of the perils of doing the night shift; it was quiet obviously, but you'd run the gauntlet of getting a suicidal
never happened to me, but company policy frowned on the notion of just hanging up.
[/edit]

Read in the paper the other day about this elderly man who had a stroke. He could barely move about and struggled to get to his cell phone in the bedroom. When I finally reached it and picked it up, he couldn't remember how to operate it. He said he sat in the bed cradling the phone hoping someone might call him... and someone did. A call center trying to sell him something. This apparently saved him and he claims he will be ever grateful for call centers.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Update - I never got the job. It really was just standard call centre crap as well, how on earth could I not get that?

I'm sick working for nothing, I think I'll just quit this 'internship' to allow me to get Jobseekers, and wait till I'm 25 to claim decent benefits. The future's bright...

[johnhughthom]

Move to Belfast Rhy, a lot of people have told me you can spend nearly 6 months working in call centres without taking a single call. There are so many here they are always recruiting, the training period is usually 2-4 weeks, and if you just disappear after the training you can usually get into another in a couple of weeks. Better than JSA anyway.

Or seeing as you actually seem like a responsible, dedicated chap, you are bound to get a job and keep it. I've also been told if you show even the slightest intelligence and ability to engage positively with customers it is possible to become a team leader in under a year due to the staff turnover.

I know it's just anecdotal, but a huge number of people work, or have worked, in call centres here. I've been told this stuff on numerous occasions.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I'm not sure I could even afford to relocate any more. Still, I know there must be these types of places in Glasgow, they just don't seem to advertise on the standard routes, S1 Jobs and the like.

[Incongruous]

You are lucky you didn't get the job, I foolishly took one after I finished uni (because the job market seemed to offer nothing else) and stayed there two months before quitting because the place was just too damned ruthless (no ethical business model there at all). I do not regret quitting and being without a cent to my name for almost another two months, call centres suck your brain dry.

Come down to Australasia (mainly Melbourne in Aussie) and get a job, there is a lot of money floating around and the life style is amazing, the weather is awesome, the food is good and the music scene is killer.

Then when you have saved some cash, go travelling, South America is so close.