I hate my Job :/
- Thread starter Piggymon
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Piggymon said:I shall be emmigrating next year
Haven't the time to read the other 4 pages, but if you only need work for half a year, why not get another job? the 2-3k less you'd get isn't going to be that much different over 8 months.
Piggy,
[DISCLAIMER]I'm sure you've already heard most of this stuff before, but I hate seeing a fellow slave to the wage hating the powers that be.
[/DISCLAIMER]
A couple of things to bear in mind:
If you work for an outsourced call centre, you're guaranteed to offer poor service as quickly as possible. Most of the time, the client (i.e. NThell) will be paying on a per transaction basis, either that or they'll only pay for call durations below the agreed target AHT. This is why it is in their best interests to lower the AHT as much as possible. This is just the way call centre businesses work, there's nothing much you can do about it.
Secondly, you sound like you're reaching burnout. Depending on the person, it can take between 3 months and 3 years of being in the same job for this to set in. Luckily, although I've been with my employer a day shy of 3 years, I'm into my 4th job with them, each time getting better (and better paid) than the last, and moving further up the chain.
If you're close to burning out in a call centre, there are only 4 things you can do - take some holidays and chill out, swap jobs internally, quit, or run yourself into the ground and get signed off with exhaustion or stress. I've seen people crack, and literally one bad customer too many will make them break and they'll end up signed off for 3 months. Whatever you do, don't ignore the fact that your hatred for your current role is working you up. I'm not giving medical advice, just sharing my experiences, and I suggest you take time to chill out.
I do 2nd level support for a computer manufacturer, and I often lose motivation with my working environment. There are too many politics in my place, and some of the things that go on I find despicable and downright dishonest. I try to find one thing to work on, or something to motivate me, and that keeps me going. I spent a month or so completely rewriting our training program and it gave me a lot of motivation and encouragement to see a task through to completion. That's the best thing I can think of to get through the average call centre day, distractions. Try doing Freecell in numerical order, I know someone that got to about game 500 before giving up. Distracted them for a while though
One of the most demotivating things I find about call centres is the people who are best at the job get the least praise. If you can solve something effortlessly, people are less likely to think you've gone out of your way to help them. It's always the less capable agents that get the praise, it's just one of those things that you learn to get used to.
In the place I work, I find that the best performing agents are not rewarded by the management team, they are instead relied upon.
Don't give up yet, clear your head. If you're going to be stuck in this place, try getting either promoted out of the floor, or move to another client instead. The change will do you good.
I'm sorry if any of this sounds condescending, it's just that I'm sharing my experiences of what call centres are really like and how to survive them.
OT: I'm also going to be making a film entitled "The Glamorous Life of the Call Centre", which will be about 15 to 20 seconds long, filmed in a Fantasia/Walt Disney extravaganza style (i.e. loads of dancers and jazz hands) and set to the music of the Pearl and Dean cinema adverts. Think long tracking shots over a warehouse-sized call centre. I need a location (i.e. a call centre with a balcony looking over the main floor) and extras. Anyone interested? I'm not paying people, I just want to do it for the banter.
Al
[DISCLAIMER]I'm sure you've already heard most of this stuff before, but I hate seeing a fellow slave to the wage hating the powers that be.
[/DISCLAIMER]
A couple of things to bear in mind:
If you work for an outsourced call centre, you're guaranteed to offer poor service as quickly as possible. Most of the time, the client (i.e. NThell) will be paying on a per transaction basis, either that or they'll only pay for call durations below the agreed target AHT. This is why it is in their best interests to lower the AHT as much as possible. This is just the way call centre businesses work, there's nothing much you can do about it.
Secondly, you sound like you're reaching burnout. Depending on the person, it can take between 3 months and 3 years of being in the same job for this to set in. Luckily, although I've been with my employer a day shy of 3 years, I'm into my 4th job with them, each time getting better (and better paid) than the last, and moving further up the chain.
If you're close to burning out in a call centre, there are only 4 things you can do - take some holidays and chill out, swap jobs internally, quit, or run yourself into the ground and get signed off with exhaustion or stress. I've seen people crack, and literally one bad customer too many will make them break and they'll end up signed off for 3 months. Whatever you do, don't ignore the fact that your hatred for your current role is working you up. I'm not giving medical advice, just sharing my experiences, and I suggest you take time to chill out.
I do 2nd level support for a computer manufacturer, and I often lose motivation with my working environment. There are too many politics in my place, and some of the things that go on I find despicable and downright dishonest. I try to find one thing to work on, or something to motivate me, and that keeps me going. I spent a month or so completely rewriting our training program and it gave me a lot of motivation and encouragement to see a task through to completion. That's the best thing I can think of to get through the average call centre day, distractions. Try doing Freecell in numerical order, I know someone that got to about game 500 before giving up. Distracted them for a while though
One of the most demotivating things I find about call centres is the people who are best at the job get the least praise. If you can solve something effortlessly, people are less likely to think you've gone out of your way to help them. It's always the less capable agents that get the praise, it's just one of those things that you learn to get used to.
In the place I work, I find that the best performing agents are not rewarded by the management team, they are instead relied upon.
Don't give up yet, clear your head. If you're going to be stuck in this place, try getting either promoted out of the floor, or move to another client instead. The change will do you good.
I'm sorry if any of this sounds condescending, it's just that I'm sharing my experiences of what call centres are really like and how to survive them.
OT: I'm also going to be making a film entitled "The Glamorous Life of the Call Centre", which will be about 15 to 20 seconds long, filmed in a Fantasia/Walt Disney extravaganza style (i.e. loads of dancers and jazz hands) and set to the music of the Pearl and Dean cinema adverts. Think long tracking shots over a warehouse-sized call centre. I need a location (i.e. a call centre with a balcony looking over the main floor) and extras. Anyone interested? I'm not paying people, I just want to do it for the banter.
Al
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Associate
i used to work for wanadoo and for some reason i too actually thought i was there to help the customers. After 6 months i walked out and never went back. The garlands call centre in middlesbrough (who also do NTL, virgin phones and sky sales) was just such a depressing place, that and the managers always favored the people that would sit quietly and get on with their jobs (ok that would be nice). but i was not prepared to lie to customers so i was always asking questions and getting things followed up.
i am not pretendeding to be unique there i was not the only one, but the people with morals soon get too annoyed to work properly and leave.
good luck with the new career and life in essex.
i am not pretendeding to be unique there i was not the only one, but the people with morals soon get too annoyed to work properly and leave.
good luck with the new career and life in essex.
Associate
homerio said:Everyone knows the best people live in Su££ey
100%
Associate
Have been reading all the pages for this topic and I 100% agree that call centres are one of the most stressing jobs i've ever done in my IT career.
Never again.
Good luck piggymon on the success of looking for a new job.
Never again.
Good luck piggymon on the success of looking for a new job.
Freak_boy said:aaww. this is the first i have heard of it! well atleast it beats only seeing you at the meets(unless ofcourse u meet up "outside" of these meets)
Yeah we see eachother every other weekend
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to post , I need to find a new job in the next few weeks or I will be going off sick with stress .. Only been in 20 mins this morning and I'm stressed already :/
Alasdair said:Try doing Freecell in numerical order, I know someone that got to about game 500 before giving up. Distracted them for a while though
One guy here made it up to around 1500 before he came up with an alternative....
Su Doku
Soldato
Aaaarrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhh, this is getting me so mad now. Had another mail from Piggy about work. I feel like going down there and giving them a bloody ear full 
Desmo said:Aaaarrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhh, this is getting me so mad now. Had another mail from Piggy about work. I feel like going down there and giving them a bloody ear full
Sucks being too far away doesn't it? :/Know the feeling at the moment too.
You'll see her soon don't worry
Soldato
Yeah, I know. But I kind of feel a bit useless just sitting here 
Soldato
Piggymon said:Yeah we see eachother every other weekend
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to post , I need to find a new job in the next few weeks or I will be going off sick with stress .. Only been in 20 mins this morning and I'm stressed already :/
"hugz" I know your pain. I don't suppose you would want to transfer to Cleppa Park where its apparently a bit quieter?
I have lost the plot .. it's official
This morning I took a call and was coming up to about 20 mins .. I couldn't do it any quicker and I was getting stressed so I burst into tears and chucked my headset
I've been listening to a team member's calls this morning to see how they can do it quicker than me .. Not really helping :/
As soon as I see the call time getting to 10 mins I'm getting all stressed and worked up
I've just been on Tesco's website as apparantly they pay quite well but there is nothing there
This morning I took a call and was coming up to about 20 mins .. I couldn't do it any quicker and I was getting stressed so I burst into tears and chucked my headset
I've been listening to a team member's calls this morning to see how they can do it quicker than me .. Not really helping :/
As soon as I see the call time getting to 10 mins I'm getting all stressed and worked up
I've just been on Tesco's website as apparantly they pay quite well but there is nothing there
Nope because then I will get Disciplined ( sp ) for call avoidance 
Man of Honour
Piggymon said:I have lost the plot .. it's official
This morning I took a call and was coming up to about 20 mins .. I couldn't do it any quicker and I was getting stressed so I burst into tears and chucked my headset
As soon as I see the call time getting to 10 mins I'm getting all stressed and worked up
Bloody Hell Piggy, you will make yourself ill with worry. Find something else as quick as you can. It is just not worth being so worked up about. I bet the press would be interested in the way customers are treated.
Soldato
Is there a method you could use. say when you hit the 5 minute mark where you tell the customer to try restarting everything and then call back if that doesn't fix it?
Man of Honour
Desmo said:Yeah, I know. But I kind of feel a bit useless just sitting here
Not much you can do Desmo, apart from nag her silly until she gets something else, avoiding slaps of course, which I am sure you have down to a Matrix type art now.
To break down in tears because of so much pressure from extremely poor management is unacceptable. It is shocking.
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