I hate my Job :/

[Piggymon]

Please excuse the rant but I'm going potty here today

I work in Nthell's Tech Support Dept .. Sept last year we were all outsourced to IBM who further outsourced all tech support staff to Manpower ( yay )

Before the Outsource our AHT ( Average Handle Time ) was targetted at 15 mins and we were told just fix the call no matter how long it takes

It has gradually been brought down and is now sitting at 10 mins 44

2 weeks ago I was put on an Action Plan because my AHT was too high .. it was sitting at about 13 minutes .. Why ? because I actually do my damn job and fix the customer's issue rather than getting close to 10 mins and then blagging the customer to hit targets

I managed then to get it down by not really being helpfull and I was taken off the action plan but was told if , within the next 6 weeks , my AHT rises again I would be taken to the next stage with is a PIP ( Performance Improvement Plan )

I take 2 types of calls .. SACM ( Stand Alone Cable Modem ) and STB ( Set Top Box )

The STB generally take a lot longer than the SACM calls as if I need to re-hit the STB we have to do at LEAST 2 re-boots of the equiptment possibly 3 so that's at least 5 mins before I've done anything at all ..

Last Thurs and Fri all I had were bloody STB calls so my AHT shot back up to about 12 mins

I was taken into a meeting this morning and put onto a PIP because of it..

If my AHT rises ONE SECOND over 10:44 within the next SIX MONTHS Disciplinary action will be invoked

My stress levels are going through the roof .. I'm losing my patience with Customers because either they are taking too long to do stuff or their PC's are taking too long to boot up .. I'm constantly looking at the call timer and as soon as it's getting close to 10 mins I'm thinking up ways to get rid of the customer

I pride myself on giving good customer service but I am being prevented on doing do by these bloody stupid targets

I am sooo close to throwing my headset halfway accros the callcentre and walking out the door and not coming back

*cries*

 

[Phantom]

Please excuse the rant but I'm going potty here today
...
I am sooo close to throwing my headset halfway accros the callcentre and walking out the door and not coming back

*cries*

your time has come, you've finally reached the stage i did many many many moons ago..

*looks into crystal ball* ..career change perhaps?

 

[lukechad]

Thats harsh, have you explained that you'd rather take longer and help them fully than hit targets???

I got confused reading that with all the abbreviations but I got the jist of the thread.

 

[Piggymon]

I am trying to get out of here but the pay is good for Swansea ... I would have to take at least a £2/3K paycut to get another job ...

I need to sit down and go through my finances and see what I can afford to do ..

I need to jump ship before I'm pushed out :/

 

[Piggymon]

Thats harsh, have you explained that you'd rather take longer and help them fully than hit targets???

I got confused reading that with all the abbreviations but I got the jist of the thread.

yep .. I have no option as to how I do my job .. I HAVE to hit those targets and tell the customer to try things and call back then so be it

 

[Hearny]

Maybe you could look for another job. Sounds like you really know your stuff!!!! Shouldn't be too difficult.
(Although you may as well be talking swahili for all i understand!)

 

[SCM]

I fully sympathise as ended up at BT Directory Enquiries in the past through Manpower and the time call targets there were 30 seconds. If you couldn't find the number in that time you were to tell the caller i'm sorry i can't find that number. I was like you and did find a few numbers as i knew the company some people were looking for didn't do regional and only national.

I lasted 3 days of the training week as got an interview for a decent engineering job and BT went if you go we don't want you back. Left that day and blasted BT through Manpower.

Piggy i have also worked for Sky when i was at Uni over the weekends and i say now get out as this stress will not do you any good. As the companies and call centres now don't care about the staff or providing a decent service. The decent staff like yourself and myself when i was there who do care about the customers suffer the most.

No job is worth your health Piggy so look for a new one and fast.

SCM

 

[Rotty]

That is an absolutely unacceptable way to treat staff


I would get out as soon as you can , in the meantime just give the standard NTL crap servic and get folks of the phone asap , if you do a rubbish job then you won't stand out at ntl

 

[iJedi]

I hate my Job :/

Join the club

 

[GTA]

I have a solution to your problem.

Stop having any moral sense of wanting to help people, any loyalty to the company which might make you want to keep the customer happy, and any pride in your job.

Just put in less effort, hit your targets, and take the money.

 

[chimaera]

Do the customers get satisfaction questionnaires after each call, then you could say that even though your calls were longer, you gave the customer a good experience of the comapny and solved their problem without calling back, therefore allowing other customers with problems to get through the lines faster and easier.

Edit* or try sending a letter to the head honcho of the company, explaining the situation.

 

[Flibster]

*hands Piggy a Cornetto from the freezer and continues Munching his in the sun..*

Sounds what my job used to be like. But I quit.

95% of calls answered in 10 seconds
We had to fix the problem or refer it to another team within 5 mins.
70% of all calls closed within those 5 mins
Minor calls - like software rebuilds needed to be done by close of next business day..

Crap enviroment as well. So far this year 5 people have quit - all long standing people as well.

Best bet - don't care about your job. Spend as much time looking for other jobs. Also - as far as I'm aware, if you inform them that you have an interview then they pretty much have to give you the time off if it's at all possible.

I'm happier now than I have been for a long time. Start my new job on May 23rd.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Hellomoto]

Can't you have a quiet word with your supervisor or manager?

How much do you get out of interest?

 

[scorza]

Thats harsh, have you explained that you'd rather take longer and help them fully than hit targets???

Bean counters don't work like that mate

 

[Jaraxle]

I worked for IBM through Manpower and they were the biggest idiots I haev EVER worked for, I got offered a team leader job while I was there, how much more money I asked, none they replied.

They then started to treat me like an idiot and saying that I am money motivated and not customer movitated.

Real, real idiots, and if you have any dealing with Alison Arnold I feel deeply sorry for you.

 

[Ĵ@®√«!$¤»]

It doesnt seem like a good way to run a company or treat their staff who are actually trying to help customers TBH, start looking for a new job just incase you do decide to throw your headset across the office!

 

[beaNN]

*hands Piggy a Cornetto from the freezer and continues Munching his in the sun..*

Sounds what my job used to be like. But I quit.

95% of calls answered in 10 seconds
We had to fix the problem or refer it to another team within 5 mins.
70% of all calls closed within those 5 mins
Minor calls - like software rebuilds needed to be done by close of next business day..

Crap enviroment as well. So far this year 5 people have quit - all long standing people as well.

Best bet - don't care about your job. Spend as much time looking for other jobs. Also - as far as I'm aware, if you inform them that you have an interview then they pretty much have to give you the time off if it's at all possible.

I'm happier now than I have been for a long time. Start my new job on May 23rd.

Simon/~Flibster

Those sort of jobs sound really harsh, hope I never get involved in one.

 

[Kaed]

Im really sorry to hear that, but it obviously happens to everyone in tech support.

I work as a companies own internal tech support - and had a call from a sales rep who was having problems with a misbehaving VPN. Took me quite a while to get it solved, not long after that, I had another call which took sometime, then just as I was solving that one, another one comes on. Three long phone calls from hell straight after each other. For which I got ranted at.

Surely, with all the 'Special High Intensity Training' that companies put their employees through you would have thought that they were quite understanding that some calls do take time, and that the idea of tech support is to fix the customers problem. Though its annoying when they don't realise this.

Suggesting such a thing as well seems to go on deaf ears - interestingly, it's never the people on the front line you have to explain yourself to.

 

[Flibster]

Those sort of jobs sound really harsh, hope I never get involved in one.

Good way to avoid them.

Do not join Fujitsu Services.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Whitewater]

Manpower are the most unprofessional, wooly-headed people I've ever had the misfortune of working for (from a former BT Broadband Repair Advisor, Newcastle).

Unfortunately a career change is your only option as I see it.