What's Da Buzz?

Working in a call center is not fun at all. They are some good days and (mostly) bad days. Why? About 80% of the phone calls I receive are from people who did not read, stop and think, or just wanted to yell at or whine to someone. Well, I am just the person on the other end of the phone dealing with just a small aspect of your life – the reason of your call.

No matter what is going on in your life, I do not need to know. Life happens and sometimes it sucks. You might be losing your house; your spouse is in a hospital or any number of things. I have 8 other callers in line waiting for me to get to them. Do you like waiting on hold? That is just the cold hard truth.

Also, I’m under the regulations of the federal government, regulations of the state government and the policies and procedures of the company I work for. If I do not follow them, I can be fired. So please do not expect some random person on a phone to be willing to lose their job for you whatever your situation is.

These same policies and procedures prohibit me from telling you my opinion. If they weren’t in place, I would answer you when you whine about how ‘hard’ your life is. We all have issues in our lives. To think your life is ‘hard’ and complain about it is ignoring what call center employees might have going on in our lives.

For me, my sister lives in a different country. I’ve worked here to help my family pay for her medication to keep the Grand Mal epileptic seizures from damaging her brain any more. The medicine is no longer working and my sister could be dying.

Also, our attendance policy is so strict I had to stay at work listening to people whine while going through a miscarriage. My spouse is disable (ankles breaking down) and he doesn’t complain. So don’t whine to me.

On top of being bombarded with hundreds of calls from people who whine about petty things, a large number are calling the wrong company then yelling at me! Please try reading your fricken card!

I also get ‘professionals’ calling and complaining about having to input their username because they didn’t know I was going to ask them some information. These same ‘professionals’ just have to call us so we can read to them what is on their screen in front of their nose.

I am absolutely certain that “common sense” is not common these days. Please do not start talking to me right away about your issue. We have thousands upon thousands of records in our database. I have no idea who you are or where you are from. Have your ID ready. Other people are waiting on hold while you go fish for your ID card.

If you do not like how something works, take control of the issues in your life and do something about it. No one will care about you and your family more than you and your family. If the laws of the land are too complex or messed up, get involved as a good citizen should.

If you work for a company calling another for assistance, we have many clients so don’t think we are here to change every one of our procedures just for you. This isn’t a drive thru fast food joint.

Now if you are one of the few calling the right company for a legitimate concern, with ID ready and are polite, I apologize if I am a bit short or slightly rude. I just got off the phone with 20 other whiners who can’t read.

Sincerely,

Frustrated Call Center Employee

Related posts: