Sunday is a good time for me to write this latest episode. It's on Sunday that I wake up with a sense of urgency. I usually get up between 7 and 8 am. Why would anyone get up on a Sunday morning that early unless they had to ... right? I always wake up hoping that I will have the time to get "my projects" completed. Will I have time to write, paint, look for a new job or complete a much ignored chore? By Sunday afternoon the dread has arrived. It's only a few short hours until Monday and Monday means back to a job I dislike.
Most people suffering from depression will tell you that it's their job that is to blame for their situation. For the last two and a half years that has been partially true for me. Now don't get me wrong. I work for a good company. The people I work with are fine people and they treat me well but its little consolation when by Wednesday your stress level has risen to Code Red. I’m at my second call center right now. The first was like being in hell. A constant barrage of screaming and obscenities and that was just the employees in the washroom during breaks.
Currently I work for an offices supply company. When I applied for the job, almost two years ago, I thought ... I can do this. I love office supplies. There are so many things to organise your day and to make your life easier. Selling them is another thing all together. Every day I say the same things over and over again, making call after call in the hopes that someone will talk to me for more than two minutes. Talking is a big component of the job. At the end of each day I have to have spoken for 3.5 hours to clients. Now this seems easy since the work day is 8 hours long but I suggest you try to time how long you are on the phone each day. Most people may speak on the phone for an hour total. And if you do talk for long periods of time it is likely not about office supplies.
Most calls are the same. “Hello, its Mike your Account Manager.” Their response is usually a sigh, a hang up or an “I don’t have time for you today.” I’m told not to take it personally but how can you not some days. If I am lucky, each day I will talk to one or two clients with whom I have a good relationship. They usually ask for help and I am more than happy to dig in and give them the assistance they need. Customer service is the best part of the job but that is the problem. That’s not my job. I’m there to recommend products and sell them. I get it but I fight it tooth and nail.
By 6pm when I leave I am so mentally drained I do not have anything else to give. My wife and son are lucky if I grunt at them. The weekends are used to re-energise but by Sunday I know I have to start the ride all over.
So that is where I am right now. I am starting to look out there again and I hope that I can find my way back to a vocation that I loved and was meant for. Wish me luck.
I understand the feeling of being a Call Agent. I currently work at NolinBPO you can check their site at NolinBPO.com, and I sometimes see how agents specially the outbound get rejected by customers but they still have to manage their temper. There are also times that they need to reach quotas and I see how they work hard just to get it for the day. I remember one of their client that request 10 calls per day and that 10 calls is very hard to get but still they manage to get it and at the end of the they the account manager congratulates everyone for the job well done. It kinda make me feel happy to see them like that. Call agents are fun if you learn to appreciate the task given. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea that sometimes it could be so difficult working in a call center. I have been doing research on call center services for our new business. I guess I will put this into my employee's notes, that when we do find a center, when they call, to make time for them. It makes sense to make time for you guys since you are helping us out in the long run. Thanks so much for sharing your story. Hopefully you've had better days since then.
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