Call Center Support : RSS 0.91http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/low.mtmen-usCall Center Support : RSS 0.91http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/low.mtm<![CDATA[davbob @ 4/6/2008 6:15:02 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q35« imnotyoo : One thing I like about my job is that I know insider secrets.


2. When you die, your loans aren't passed on to your children, instead, they are forgiven.Credit card debts are passed to everyone when you die and all cards have a shadow limit, just bover the actual limit which you can go up to without being penalised.]]><![CDATA[imnotyoo @ 4/6/2008 11:12:40 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q34
I work at a call center for Federal Direct Student Loans.

Here's two facts, do as you wish with this info:

1. A forbearance is a suspension of payments which can be applied over the phone for up to 12 months at a time with no maximum.

2. When you die, your loans aren't passed on to your children, instead, they are forgiven.]]><![CDATA[davbob @ 4/6/2008 10:52:55 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q33
The jobs themselves were horrible. The travel agent TV channel told people to "call up and get a quote" whereas we were targeted on how many holidays we sold, when all most of the people wanted was a quote.

I don't have many stories to tell apart from one time when I got the giggles really bad when I was trying to sell this woman a holiday which was based on a train. It was some sort of cross europe/asia holiday where she travelled through the night onboard the train and had a new stop every day. The woman in question was all set to go for it but had a question that she needed answering before she would book.

She asked me if the train had a pool onboard. This struck me as possibly the most stupid thing that anyone has ever said to me and I started sn****ring, then chuckling, then I started to giggle uncontrollably and copuldn't talk or breathe. My manager took over the call and I got a severe bollocking for it. I left not long after it.


The credit card company was worse no-one with any sense would ever buy insurance to cover credit cards as nearly all of them come with some kind of cover anyway. As for payment protection insurance the terms and conditions are so harsh that it is almost impossible to claim. I have been in sales for about 15 years and I have never found selling something so difficult in my life.

Put bluntly I hate call centers but they can be useful I managed to get AOL free for 3 years by calling up the call center and telling them I was cancelling due to poor service and getting given another free month.

Having been on both sides of the fence I don't abuse the staff but also having been in sales for so long I know when I'm being sold to and all the tricks and bulls**t they try. Needless to say I never buy anything from anyone over the Phone.]]><![CDATA[imnotyoo @ 4/6/2008 10:11:52 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q32
I also get a lot of calls from guys who try to hit on me and say that I sound pretty. I respond to that with "Well, I am pretty, but I can't talk about that at work. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"]]><![CDATA[imnotyoo @ 4/6/2008 10:08:51 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q31« suebe : I had some fun with one young man who called trying to get me to switch my phone service. I determined early on that this was his first call ever, so I decided to coach him (I used to do sales training). We were on the phone for about 20 minutes and I had him doing role plays and I would critique him. He thanked me profusely at the end.

And no, I didn't switch.I wish you had been my first call. My first caller made fun of me and laughed at me. My second caller could definitely tell that I was new so he asked some random questions and you could tell he didn't really need to know, but he was just trying to give me some more experience. Of course, now I'm really good at what I do and am very relaxed.]]><![CDATA[suebe @ 4/6/2008 9:40:15 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q30first call ever, so I decided to coach him (I used to do sales training). We were on the phone for about 20 minutes and I had him doing role plays and I would critique him. He thanked me profusely at the end.

And no, I didn't switch.]]><![CDATA[doggylives @ 4/1/2008 8:38:13 AM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q29
I had one guy who called during dinner and I asked him if he'd mind me "putting him on hold" he said he could wait a minute and I put the phone on the side and went and ate dinner, three-quarters of an hour later I went back to the phone and the guy was still there!

Another rang and started telling me he could reduce my debts, by which time I'd made my way outside, it was a windy day, and told him I was just about to do a Bungee jump so if he could wait until I'd done it I'd talk to him. Then followed some pretty decent acting on my part, a lot of screaming, whooping ect. When my "Bungee jump" finished and I was safety back on the ground I told him I was too excited to discuss it and he asked how the jump went, said it sounded like I'd enjoyed it, apologized and said he'd ring back another time.

Something else I do a fair bit is, when I've established that it's just another sales call, I tell them I'm very busy and ask if I could have their home telephone number so I can ring them back to chat about it at another time. One guy actually gave me his home number and then realized what he'd done and asked me if I could not call him at home :D

I've only been rude to one guy who rang from Australia and asked me if I dabbled in stocks and shares. I told him politely I wasn't interested and didn't want to discuss my personal business on the phone and he said, and I can quote as it only happen a few weeks ago "Well you're obviously too much of a thick c**t to realize a good opportunity when you hear one so why don't you just f**k off and die!!"
He then hung up. I found the companies telephone number and details on the internet and found out he was basically a one man operation.

Since then he's had a few hundred telemarketing calls and emails from me and a bunch of my friends trying to "sell" him everything from blow-up dolls to Elephant dung fertilizer that should have kept him busy and from abusing anyone else for a while.]]><![CDATA[maven @ 3/31/2008 9:39:18 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q28<![CDATA[gnikgnok @ 3/31/2008 9:32:56 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q27« maven : Having a phone that makes mystery call is a dream job? LMAO!Ok, maybe not the possessed demon phone part, but I do like the part where no one can call you. I started my first IT job a couple of months ago and it would be really great if I didn't get so many calls for stupid things.]]><![CDATA[maven @ 3/31/2008 9:25:57 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q26<![CDATA[imnotyoo @ 3/31/2008 9:25:45 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q25
I don't like my job and I do appreciate people who make it better. I am who you call when you can't pay your student loan, or when you have a question about your loan, etc..

I hate it when people call and start yelling at me. I can fix all your loan-related problems; don't be a d**k.

I also get lots of calls from moms who kids just died and they need to get the loans discharged, I talk to people with terminal diseases who want to know what happens to their loans when they die...

Be nice to me. I have your social security number, full name, birthdate, address and phone numbers. I can put you in default, I can flood your mailbox with confusingly conflicting notices, I can make your $1,563.72 of accrued interest capitalize and increase your monthly bill and I can change all your demographic information and take you off automatic debiting and make it so that you don't get notices when your bills start going late and you get your credit screwed up. Keep not in contact with us long enough without paying and we'll start garnishing your wages and taking your taxes.

On the other hand, I do get to help people. We have four branches of people who do the same job as me in four states and the two largest branches are paid per call and my branch is paid by the hour. I'm often told that no one else has taken the time to go through all their options and actually help make their debt more manageable.

I'd still like to not be chained with a phone and placed under a fluorescent light and being forced to stare at a computer screen all day.]]><![CDATA[gnikgnok @ 3/31/2008 9:24:40 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q24« maven :
Now I'm IT, and very few people call me and I don't call anyone. Part of that is because up until 2 weeks ago, my phone didn't work. We're on an electronic computer phone system. First number I was assigned was also assigned to someone else. The second number was all mine, but it had this nasty habit of switching to speaker phone and dialing a number that was never answered. They got that fixed, and it ceased delivering all the calls. Called that in and it started with the speaker phone calls again...But this time it had a live number. They finally gave up and assigned me a VOIP number. I think my phone has rang twice since then, both times my husband calling me about something. :)You have my dream job!]]><![CDATA[maven @ 3/31/2008 8:59:26 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q23
Now I'm IT, and very few people call me and I don't call anyone. Part of that is because up until 2 weeks ago, my phone didn't work. We're on an electronic computer phone system. First number I was assigned was also assigned to someone else. The second number was all mine, but it had this nasty habit of switching to speaker phone and dialing a number that was never answered. They got that fixed, and it ceased delivering all the calls. Called that in and it started with the speaker phone calls again...But this time it had a live number. They finally gave up and assigned me a VOIP number. I think my phone has rang twice since then, both times my husband calling me about something. :)]]><![CDATA[Bornbad @ 3/31/2008 8:33:55 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q22« dOntEAtpOOp : I worked in an aluminum plant for 2 months. It was mind numbing. It paid way less than I made using the phone, hurted my footzers, and because of the noise I became socially isolated. I just couldn't do it. Plus they had me on swing shift despite telling me that I wouldn't be on swing shift.

So I quit and went back to the call centers.Good for you. I've spent my working life half lifting/pushing, half phone and driving. Inquiring minds want to know.]]><![CDATA[dOntEAtpOOp @ 3/31/2008 8:29:42 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q21« Bornbad : Doesn't anyone here have a job where you have to lift something other than a phone?I worked in an aluminum plant for 2 months. It was mind numbing. It paid way less than I made using the phone, hurted my footzers, and because of the noise I became socially isolated. I just couldn't do it. Plus they had me on swing shift despite telling me that I wouldn't be on swing shift.

So I quit and went back to the call centers.]]><![CDATA[Bornbad @ 3/31/2008 8:26:03 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q20<![CDATA[dollyllama @ 3/31/2008 8:12:50 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q19« dOntEAtpOOp : You double posted 30 minutes apart? How the hell does that even happen?It's pun magic.]]><![CDATA[dOntEAtpOOp @ 3/31/2008 8:08:22 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q18« dollyllama : I'm in both camps.

You can bet, I kept that phone number.You double posted 30 minutes apart? How the hell does that even happen?]]><![CDATA[theclansman @ 3/31/2008 8:05:27 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q17« dOntEAtpOOpMy 7-year job was surveys. I would have fired you in a second, and if you violated the client confidentiality, I would have sued you.Uhh I fully expected to lose my job everyday, and was constantly surprised by how badly they needed people. They finally busted me on my break thing when I tried to go for the record and have 7 hours and 50 minutes of break on an 8 hour shift. They phoned me at home and I stupidly answered, they told me not to bother coming in again...then a week later they are phoning me and asking me to come back! hilarious how bad they needed people.

As for the suing part..We both know that wouldn't happen

« dOntEAtpOOp
If you only understood the loopholes.
Yeah I really hated the company I worked at for that, people would ask to be put on a do not call list and we had all these different methods of making them agree to have their name removed from THAT surveys list, or other such bulls**t techniques.

In all honesty the best way to not get calls is to threaten them (violently)]]><![CDATA[dollyllama @ 3/31/2008 8:02:09 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q16<![CDATA[dOntEAtpOOp @ 3/31/2008 8:02:02 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q15« cheeselog1234 : Yeah...I signed up on the donotcall.gov - so ppl don't really call me anyways.If you only understood the loopholes.

If you have done business within the company calling youin the last 6 months, they are still allowed to contact you.

If you have gone to a companies website, or called them, they have 3 months that they can call you in.

If the company calling you is doing anything other than attempting to sell you something, they are allowed to call you as often as they like because they are completely exempt.]]><![CDATA[dollyllama @ 3/31/2008 7:32:00 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q14
I worked for an electronics company, a really swarmy one that mis-advertised and sold crap to people and then didn't live up to their promises. All calls came through us first and we couldn't put the calls through to the stores (we could try but no one there was stupid enough to answer a call). So the customers would rant on us. They'd threaten to bring their fridge back and throw it through a window, etc. We also weren't allowed to put the calls through to customer service until they spoke to someone at the store, catch 22. We did eventually find a number we could transfer them to. It was a dead line but they would get hold music and it wouldn't ring back to us. Since it never rang anywhere that let them cool their heels for a few and generally they were either calmer or more explosive, but not so much with us but with the idiots that "never answered".

We had to be respectful to a point, that point was "no swearing". I used to the customer rant and when he was all calmed down I'd take his information and promise to get it to someone. That usually worked. Except for one guy. He cursed me out from the moment I picked up the call, after about 5 minutes I just lost it on him. I cursed him out so bad. He went completely quiet during my tirade. After that I said, "now, can I help you or do you want to come at me again with more foul language?" after a moment he said, very quietly, "would you go out with me?"

On the other hand

I try not to be abusive to the call people, but the moment I start getting the non-responses, the can't help you's, the whatever standard bs story I escalate to a manager. If they pull the same crap, then I get a bit more abusive. But, I tend now to get their name and a call back number and then I get the phone number for the corporate headquarters. And once I get corporate on the phone, I will be getting what I want. The only glitch I've found in this, so far, is Dell. I found about 8 numbers for their corporate headquarters, all of which were "no longer in service". I'm still searching.

And one more story if you can stand it, somewhat related.

I found an injured bunny or squirrel or something when living in NJ. I used to know a wildlife rehabilitater but she moved away. I started calling all the SPCA, Humane and Wildlife people I could find in the phone book, no one would help. They kept brushing me off or giving me another number to call. I was calling my "last hope" number and a nice woman answered. I blurted out my tragic story of this injured creature and how no one would help and they were my last hope. She says "would you like to speak to the Governor?" (this was McGreevey at that time). I said "well gee, I hope it doesn't come to that but and I'm sure he wouldn't care" She said "I don't know, he's a nice guy, I bet he'd care" I said "Oh, you know him?" and she says "Yes, I'm his assistant, you called his office"

"..."

"Oh, I meant to dial [whatever phone number], says me, flabbergasted. She says "well you were close, let me transfer you" well, you can imagine that whoever she transferred me to saw that it was McGreevey's office and the call not only got picked up before the first ring finished but I got the names of 3 wildlife rehabilitaters from them and a promise to continue to help if that wasn't sufficient.

You can bet, I kept that phone number.]]><![CDATA[cheeselog1234 @ 3/31/2008 7:30:19 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q13« dOntEAtpOOp : commentaryYeah...I signed up on the donotcall.gov - so ppl don't really call me anyways.]]><![CDATA[86Apex @ 3/31/2008 7:27:46 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q12« maven : I'm polite with call centers I've contacted, since I WANT them to help me and being rude is seldom the best way to gain cooperation.

I'm short with telemarketers that call me. I listen politely, say no thank you, and hang up. I will NOT argue, I will NOT be baited, I just hang up. I don't blame them for having a thankless job but nor will I support the industry by buying anything from them.

It's a karma thing. Be rude to strangers, but don't be surprised when that comes back to you.I couldn't agree more with you. I try to be as courteous as possible with people that work at these call centers because you're shooting yourself in the foot if you're rude to them. If that was you on their side of the call, do think you would be willing to help someone that's rude to you? You're not going to get the proper help that you need.]]><![CDATA[maven @ 3/31/2008 7:14:23 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q11
I'm short with telemarketers that call me. I listen politely, say no thank you, and hang up. I will NOT argue, I will NOT be baited, I just hang up. I don't blame them for having a thankless job but nor will I support the industry by buying anything from them.

It's a karma thing. Be rude to strangers, but don't be surprised when that comes back to you.]]><![CDATA[dOntEAtpOOp @ 3/31/2008 7:06:59 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q10« cheeselog1234: So I don't feel bad messing with them. If anything, they should use the abuse they receive as motivation to get a degree or a better paying/more respectable job.

And a question for DEP: Do the callers really get reprimanded for forwarding a call to the manager? Do you managers really hate taking calls? Is there REALLY 'nothing' you can do?Not where I work. That's a bulls**t excuse if you ask me. I get the impression that the person just didn't want to get their supervisor on the line because I can't imagine the company having that policy.

Where I work, if the customer wants to talk to a supervisor, we get on the phones and talk to them. Always. And you will never talk to the person in the cubicle next to the person, as icepigs mentioned, at my company.

And it's not a suckass job, actually; I've worked at three of them over the course of the last 10 years, (Almost 7 years at one before it was outsourced, 2 months at another while I waited for a better paying job to come along, and a little over 3 years at the place I'm at now.)

They're not low paying jobs, at least for the most part. And in the area I live, the entry level position at a telemarketing firm pays more than anything else around here. I'm just a supervisor in a call center and I make more than my wifes former snooty boss who is all uppity-as-f**k and thinks his s**t don't stink because he's an executive in some "major" advertising firm.

And treating telemarketers like crap just because you think it will motivate them to get a better job is a really s**tty excuse. A lot of people don't have a choice in the matter. If that's what you feel you need to do to outlet your frustration, fine; be a d**k, but don't go acting like you have some noble underlying cause behind it.

Is that how you treat the people who make your food? I mean, they have a suckass job. What about the waiters and dishwashers and pretty much anyone else who you feel is somehow below you? f**k em, right? Maybe if you act like an a*****e towards them they'll somehow be motivated to do something with their lives that you will deem worthwhile.

Way to go, champ.

By the way, if it's telemarketers calling you that is pissing you off, consider where they got the number. Perhaps you should not be so free with your information.

Now if you're just "humorously" f**king with them, go for it; we like that. But being outright rude for no reason except that you feel like it is wrong, and it gives you an unfair advantage because the telemarketer can't say anything back to you without risking their job.

« theclansman : I would have to say that I am an abuser, I worked at a call center for a summer and I totally abused them...

We had this system where you would type in "break out" on your computer, and then you could go have lunch or a smoke or whatever and when you came back you typed "break in" and the computer recorded how long you were gone, you were allowed to have an hour of break time on an 8 hour shift. I figured out if you typed break out, left for 5 or 6 hours and came back and instead of typing break in you restart your computer it never logged the time, so I was taking 5 hour breaks every day.

I worked for Synovate and we did surveys, when you were in a survey sometimes they would "watch" your computer and make sure your doing it all right. I figured out how to find out when they are watching me, and when they weren't I would fill out surveys with garbage data (this was good because otherwise I would have got fired for not meeting quota since I was gone for over half the day).

We did lots of surveys for banking and insurance companies, all of whom were very clear that they did not want anyone to know they were responsible for the surveys. I told everyone that information, along with the fact that we had ALL their personal information..many people were quite angry that their bank had given their information to a call center without their permission. It was kind of funny, one guy was a lawyer and he was especially pissed off
My 7-year job was surveys. I would have fired you in a second, and if you violated the client confidentiality, I would have sued you.]]><![CDATA[theclansman @ 3/31/2008 6:45:06 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q9
We had this system where you would type in "break out" on your computer, and then you could go have lunch or a smoke or whatever and when you came back you typed "break in" and the computer recorded how long you were gone, you were allowed to have an hour of break time on an 8 hour shift. I figured out if you typed break out, left for 5 or 6 hours and came back and instead of typing break in you restart your computer it never logged the time, so I was taking 5 hour breaks every day.

I worked for Synovate and we did surveys, when you were in a survey sometimes they would "watch" your computer and make sure your doing it all right. I figured out how to find out when they are watching me, and when they weren't I would fill out surveys with garbage data (this was good because otherwise I would have got fired for not meeting quota since I was gone for over half the day).

We did lots of surveys for banking and insurance companies, all of whom were very clear that they did not want anyone to know they were responsible for the surveys. I told everyone that information, along with the fact that we had ALL their personal information..many people were quite angry that their bank had given their information to a call center without their permission. It was kind of funny, one guy was a lawyer and he was especially pissed off]]><![CDATA[IcePigs @ 3/31/2008 6:38:03 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q8« cheeselog1234 :

And a question for DEP: Do the callers really get reprimanded for forwarding a call to the manager? Do you managers really hate taking calls? Is there REALLY 'nothing' you can do?I'll answer this...
90% of the time you're not talking to a manager. You're talking to the person in the next cubical over.

Most people just want to think they're talking to someone in charge. It usually doesn't change the outcome.]]><![CDATA[moe @ 3/31/2008 6:31:39 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q7
Let me tell you what. There is no worse curse anyone can give than to have the phone company on your ass.

That having been said I am a supporter until:

1) It is apparent that there is no competence on the other end of the phone

2) They try to BS me by using words bigger than my vocabulary to shut me up.

3) They call me trying to sell something

Response

1) Insist on talking to someone with a functional brain

2) Use bigger words than they do. This is usually easy because I am at times a computer support person.

3) Make screwy sh*t up. People trying to sell me a "warranty" for my car end up looking up book values on 1957 Edsels or 1997 Lear Jets.]]><![CDATA[Jerry520 @ 3/31/2008 6:13:12 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q6« dOntEAtpOOp : Supporter.

Cause I work at a call center.Hear hear! Don't abuse us, we mean no harm. It is (quite literally) our job to try and assist you to the best of our abilities.]]><![CDATA[cheeselog1234 @ 3/31/2008 5:14:36 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q5
I imagine it's a suxass job anyway and probably has a high turnover rate. So I don't feel bad messing with them. If anything, they should use the abuse they receive as motivation to get a degree or a better paying/more respectable job.

And a question for DEP: Do the callers really get reprimanded for forwarding a call to the manager? Do you managers really hate taking calls? Is there REALLY 'nothing' you can do?]]><![CDATA[gnikgnok @ 3/31/2008 5:06:51 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q4
I am usually an abuser... but I always start out stressing that I understand it's not the fault of the person taking my call; and that they are just doing the best job they can with the jacked-up training they've obviously received. I hate when the employee can't help me so he is frustrated, I'm not getting what I need so I'm frustrated, and we are at an impasse because it is against policy to transfer me up the chain of command.

That's when I usually go b***hcakes.

By the end of the conversation, however, I always thank them for their time.

Any employees want to share rant stories?]]><![CDATA[2manyusernames @ 3/31/2008 5:04:19 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q3
I will just act as if they called to find out about buying a home and some land and will start in asking their name and current housing situation, how many bedrooms they need, etc, etc.

It is amazing how long some of them stay on the phone.

I do that because I only receive such calls at work where I am suppose to be selling homes. I figure if they call and take up my valuable time than I can try and do my job by selling them a house.]]><![CDATA[dOntEAtpOOp @ 3/31/2008 5:00:51 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/business/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q2
Cause I work at a call center.]]>
Call Center Support
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<![CDATA[gnikgnok @ 3/31/2008 4:36:17 PM]]>http://www.plime.com/f/3782/1/rss0_91.rss#q1
You can be a member of one of two camps: Call Center Employee Supporter or Call Center Employee Abuser.

Which do you belong to and why?]]>