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I work right next to the microwave by the door. There's two in the breakroom, but people will still use the one right next to where my team is to microwave their curry/fish/broccoli/asparugus. It's loving awful, lunchtime always smells like Satan's rear end in a top hat.
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Jul 24, 2011 23:03
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Hrm, we have microwaves in the break room and only the breakroom, which is at the far backside of the desks and down a couple hallways. They were cleaning out the grease traps in the cafeteria the other day, and the whole building smelled like sewage for like 4 hours, UGH.
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Jul 24, 2011 23:41
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Devyl posted:Just a little note: If you have just purchased an iPad, try syncing it to iTunes before calling me complaining how it "doesn't work because the screen is black with this little plug thingy on the screen". I received no less than 15 calls about this today, and you will not believe how many people informed me that they didn't know they needed iTunes and will be taking it back for a refund Little OT: Good news.. In iOS5 you won't need iTunes to activate :P
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Jul 25, 2011 17:15
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I hate it when customers aren't specific about what they're typing into the computer (I work Tier 1 ISP support). Okay so type into the username field your email address, so that will be downsguy@isp.net.au, and your password into the password field... Okay, done. Do I click "ok?" Yes It said authentication failed. So what did you type in the username field? Oh I typed in downsguy@isp.net Did you add ".au" onto the end? THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!!I don't get how I'm so specific about what I say and how I say it and yet people still won't bother listening, or only listen to half of it. It's not as if I'm making this up for my own entertainment. The one day I had a customer who seemed incapable of typing in his full email address into a specific field. We went around in circles for ages until he decided to get his 9 year old neice to put it all in for him. I could hear her telling him off for not listening to me. 
froglet fucked around with this message at 05:30 on Jul 27, 2011 |
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Jul 27, 2011 05:27
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froglet posted:I hate it when customers aren't specific about what they're typing into the computer (I work Tier 1 ISP support). I get this all the time. I find it is honestly faster to get them to open a go to assist session, download the file, start it, authorize screen viewing, and type their email address for them than it is to get them to correct a typo. One of my favorites is a cultural dyslexia when it comes to the letters SMTP. Without fail the first time they type it they put SMPT. Even when I spell it phonetically, and give them a mnemonic, Send Mail To People. "OK I GOT SMPT."
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Jul 28, 2011 17:42
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I guess I should be more thankful for what I've got because I interviewed for another call center that was closer to my house today and my reaction was pretty much to run screaming after taking the interview and hearing about their draconian conditions (oh, by the way, we expect you to be here and preparing your desk 15 minutes before your shift, for which we won't be paying you, we will fire you at the drop of a hat, your only break is a 30-minute lunch, etc). Then when I tried to the politely decline the job offer over the phone the recruiter through whom I was introduced kept badgering me about what I didn't like about the job and was really condescending when I said that I thought it was a little extreme for them to say they would fire you on the spot merely for carrying a cell phone into the building. I don't think the call center I work at right now is a very satisfying "career" but it is not as bad as this place would be. Also it was all delinquent billing all the time, which could get tiresome, I think.
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Jul 29, 2011 06:35
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Wait, isn't requiring you to be at work but not paying you for... you know... being at work hilariously illegal?
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Jul 29, 2011 11:24
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rolleyes posted:Wait, isn't requiring you to be at work but not paying you for... you know... being at work hilariously illegal? Yes, but someone has to file a complaint for anything to be done about it and people don't want to lose their jobs over it.
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Jul 29, 2011 13:07
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Yes, but someone has to file a complaint for anything to be done about it and people don't want to lose their jobs over it. Yeah. Thats how it is at my job, we need to have our computers up and running, and all programs going at the start of our shift. Speaking of programs, how many do you guys normally have up? I have 10 essential programs I run all the time, and about 6 others that only take about 10 seconds to load that I will use through out the day. That on top of the desktop calculator and NotePad, makes for a very busy task bar.
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Jul 29, 2011 15:10
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Yeah. Thats how it is at my job, we need to have our computers up and running, and all programs going at the start of our shift. customer service app, 2 browser windows, our phone management software, notepad, our internal chat software, external chat software for customer email/chats, email client, putty, go to assist as needed, excel, powerpoint, word as needed to access reference documents, and sometimes a few additional browser windows.
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Jul 29, 2011 17:21
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When I have to cover a phones shift I do feel sorry for our guys. Policy Information system, email client 1, email client 2 (not joking here), policy notepad 1, policy notepad 2, policy notepad 3 (yeah, copy and paste notes 3 times so all parts of the business can see them), quotes engine, 2 or three browser windows showing various information, policy owner checker, Utility spreadsheet, word & pdf viewer for documents, call management system. Thats all I can remember off the top of my head, could so easily be cut down as well which makes it more frustrating when it causes ancient pcs to die.
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Jul 29, 2011 17:28
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I have two programs for looking up clients, a program for the phone, a claim reporting program, a claim directory software, e-mail, internal messaging program, two spreadsheets with phone numbers, an employee phone number directory and two billing directory softwares. I also sometimes have another browser window running for playing around on the internet between calls. My office used to have a policy that all of these programs had to be up and running by the beginning of the shift each day, but they got really paranoid about lawsuits recently and started insisting that we can't even stand near our desks until the beginning of shift. EDIT: In other news, my potential manager seems to like me, and I might not have much competition for this position because the hours are pretty varied. I'm not looking forward to working overnights, but I honestly just want experience in anything off of the phones. legsarerequired fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Jul 29, 2011 |
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Jul 29, 2011 18:36
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My set up is a ton of different work websites and cheat sheets all in a tab on internet explorer, work email, a calculator, all three of our servicers, a notepad, my schedule and, the website I clock in and out on. Not to mention the flurry of papers with addresses, scripts, codes and vocab that line the 'walls' of my cubicle and cover my desk, always in a flurry from one mad scramble to another. And people say call center work is easy. Okay. So I'm basically working for a government contractor, servicing loans for the Department of Education. It's great because it means I get all of the perks of a government employee without having to actually work for the government, and the person can't just talk to my supervisor and have things magically change for them because terms of loans aren't up to us, they're up to the federal government. But you would not believe how many things people believe we lowly call center workers can change. No, I can't lower your interest rate, the government doesn't negotiate. No, I can't just let you not pay interest, that would be illegal. No, I can't release private information to you if you can't verify basic information because I could go to jail or cost my company it's contract, which would means hundreds losing their jobs. And I can't hang up on these people. Even if I wanted to, I still have that shred of 'I need to provide the best drat customer service possible/my metrics need to rule' that simply won't allow me to accept failure or slack off. But I want to. Oh, how I want to. I had a woman scream at me for 45 minutes and fight me every drat step of the way as I struggled to bring her account current, and the whole time Michael Bolton was shrieking in the background. You have not experienced an escalated call till you have one with Michael Bolton. And yet, by the next call, I somehow got my voice to be cheery, because damnit, that's my job. I'm going to be so burned out and jaded in a year.
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Jul 30, 2011 07:54
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Speaking of programs, how many do you guys normally have up? I'll usually have our handy-dandy all-in-one program that lets me manage our on-site tech calls, scheduling tech appointments, account info of our clients, and more boring stuff. And if individual windows in IE count, then I'll have an average of fifteen-twenty going at any one given time. Oh yeah, also Notepad, our schedule tracking program, and our ordering program for ordering services and products.
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Jul 30, 2011 07:56
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Just wanted to chime in as a customer, I'm always polite and straight forward with call center reps. It's not exactly a fun job, but the least I can do as a customer is to not make it more unpleasant.
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Jul 30, 2011 09:58
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As far as programs open, we really don't have all that many. I teach my new hires to just keep it simple. At an absolute max you should have our profile/time clock, account verification/transfer tool, ticketing program, notepad, and our internal portal page which has links to whatever you would need from there.
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Jul 30, 2011 12:08
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I can't wait to be out of here. I'm shocked at how many people have no idea what ID they are putting where. They just happily enter their information into places, give it out to nearly anyone who asks and - agh. It sounds like a story of getting an STD. "I don't know what I put my junk into, I just kinda did and something happened." Or they run the opposite extreme and demand we reset their accounts sight unseen. Why do you want me to do it FOR YOU when you could do it yourself a thousand times more securely and any time you want? Are people this lazy and/or averse to reading instructions? Don't they CARE about their information? Or even things like class registration, financial aid - big things are at stake! Pay attention! I want to smack them senseless through the monitor. The moment I think I'm jaded, something new comes along to crush that last little spark of hope.
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Aug 2, 2011 07:26
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I am so loving sick of Call Center office politics. Why am I being passed up for every position by people I trained? If I was not qualified for the position, why am I stuck training every loving nerfherder that walks through these doors. gently caress this job. I need to win the lottery or some poo poo. Ugh, /rant.
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Aug 3, 2011 03:07
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Okay, so when I ask for your social security number or account number, because you are too loving lazy to type in your social security number into the automated system you were just on, don't just blurt out whatever number you're telling me. But most importantly, don't get snotty with me when I ask what number you're giving me. Just say what number you're saying, and say it a little slower. And don't repeat it super slow, word by word like I'm deaf, that's patronizing.
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Aug 3, 2011 03:53
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JackRabbitStorm posted:I am so loving sick of Call Center office politics. What sort of call centre are you in? Depending on what industry you're in there could be a whole bunch of reasons.
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Aug 3, 2011 23:32
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After a month where things were going pretty well, I just can't do this poo poo anymore. It's loving killing me every time I pick up the phone. Sometimes I get someone who's actually decent, but I'm sick of the shitheads. I'm sick of sitting behind a desk all day. I can't stand living in NY anymore, and I can't stand the fact I went to school for four years and I'm answering phones. They way call center jockeys get treated is insane, it feels like the higher ups don't even think we're human. I almost couldn't get out of bed today, and I've been on the verge of breaking down for the past two days. gently caress. Is there any way to shake this? It feels loving awful.
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Aug 4, 2011 03:07
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Fil5000 posted:What sort of call centre are you in? Depending on what industry you're in there could be a whole bunch of reasons. I work for a bank. I work with checking accounts, savings accounts, HSA's, CD/IRA's, HELOCS, Mortages, Car loans, boat loans, personal loans, escrow, subordinations, and customer tech support for online banking and mobile banking. I do almost everything we offer.
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Aug 4, 2011 03:43
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JackRabbitStorm posted:I am so loving sick of Call Center office politics. I hear you. I got a raise but I'm stuck doing the same lame tasks. My direct boss just got a promotion (but is still over me as well) to a level right underneath the founders, and has been recommending me for a promotion for months and I keep getting passed up. He told me a few days ago to put in some more initiative, even though I am surpassing a significant amount of people and have tier 2 asking me for help on some things. There are only a few more things I can actually put more effort into. Have you tried just straight up asking someone?
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Aug 4, 2011 06:22
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Tennis Ball posted:
Yeah. I have been super proactive about advancing in the department, and each time I am given the run around or lame rear end excuses. Telling my my knowledge base is not on par with the new hire thats been here 2 months? Bull loving poo poo. I have been here for 4 years, and I just got done crash course training them because we didn't have time to properly train them. Telling me no positions are available for that team? Okay, I get that. Don't promote someone 2 weeks later to the position I just asked about. Tell me its because my school availability is only 24 hours a week during school, I get that, its understandable. Hiring someone back after they no called no showed and can only give 15 hours a week. Bullshit.
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Aug 4, 2011 07:05
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Speaking of programs, how many do you guys normally have up? Programs I have up all the time: 3 Different modem pollers, a ticketing program, our account maintenance program, 2 browsers with about 20 tabs each and Go To Assist Then I have various things that I open throughout the day. JackRabbitStorm posted:I am so loving sick of Call Center office politics. If I had to pick one thing that took the wind out of my sails at my job, this would be it. The latest job that I applied for was an instructor position. We did a mock classroom, and I KILLED it.. I went through about 4 different stages of interviews and I was so sure I had the position. Then suddenly, nothing. They gave it to someone else. I asked for interview feedback and the manager had not one negative thing to say. She actually stated "You gave the BEST presentation I have ever seen in my professional career." I'm still baffled about this.. If I had to pick one other thing that really made me hate my job was the lack of accommodation I got from the management when I had to take some time to watch my niece while my nephew was in the hospital receiving chemo. I didn't qualify for FMLA as it wasn't an immediate family member, so I asked if I could take some unpaid leave, I was denied. This resulted in getting a verbal and subsequent written warning for attendance. I'm quite done with the place and sometimes I just wish they'd come over to me tell me to leave. Anyway.. long winded personal rant over.
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Aug 4, 2011 07:24
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Yeah. I have been super proactive about advancing in the department, and each time I am given the run around or lame rear end excuses. If you've been there for four years are you in a position to seek a higher tier job somewhere similar?
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Aug 4, 2011 07:59
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Ugly In The Morning posted:gently caress. Is there any way to shake this? It feels loving awful. Aw, dude.  What I do to combat this type of feeling is plan something special, like maybe a small daytrip. I don't know how your financial situation is, but do you think you might be able to take a small daytrip to a part of the city that you haven't seen, or even another city, just to get a break from your everyday surroundings? Maybe even visit a part of town you haven't been to before? Or even just call in sick with food poisoning, eat the verbal warning you get or whatever, and just enjoy a long weekend?I had a phase in February where I was calling in sick, taking lots of personal time, etc and just generally feeling burned out, so I used some money in my savings to plan a trip to Boston. Other times I've just planned roadtrips to farms in the suburbs, found something weird and a little out of the way that I want to visit, etc. I don't know how your financial situation is, but adding things to your weekly schedule that aren't *work* can help too, like volunteering... I usually cheer myself up by thinking of what a breeze a non-call center job will be if I can keep my hopes up while working at a place like this. Also, you are far from alone in being over-qualified from call center work, if it makes you feel better at all. Almost every new hire in my company has at least a bachelors degree. :\ The guy in the cubicle next to me has a master's in public health or something similar, and the guy next to him is working on his second master's in something related to corporate communications.
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Aug 4, 2011 15:47
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Tennis Ball posted:If you've been there for four years are you in a position to seek a higher tier job somewhere similar? Unfortunately nothing else in the area pays what I make or can work around my school schedule as well as this job. And its not like I am making a lot (at 14/hour) Just trying to bide my time until I graduate so I can take what will then be 7 years experience at a leading bank and a fresh business degree and go work in an actual brick and mortar branch. Delusions of grandeuer I am sure in this economy. But I have 3 years left of my degree, so hopefully the economy will make a turn around by then. (Also apologize for bad spelling if there are any errors here, broke my glasses last night and am half blind. Hopefully the optometrist can fix them as work is not going to be happy with me if I say I cannot work cause I am blind as a bat) Edit: Got my glasses fixed, fixed my horrendous spelling job from earlier. KeanuReevesGhost fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 16:06
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Revol posted:I just finished my first week on the phones. (Was off on Monday.) To reiterate, I am doing tech support for one of the largest computer manufacturers in the country. I'm on the workstation queue, which covers the workstation models for business and any kind of desktop/laptop for the government. I know where you work. This is because I work there too.
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Aug 4, 2011 16:48
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JackRabbitStorm posted:Unfortunately nothing else in the area pays what I make nchool schedule w or can work around my school schedule as well as this job. And its not like I am making a lot (at 14/hour) I am actually in the same position (not been there as long though). I have 1 year at this job then 5 at a previous one doing tech related stuff. I've gotten offered a couple of other better paying jobs in the same sector but none of them were accommodating for college.
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Aug 4, 2011 17:06
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Ugh. Our building just had a massive influx of new employees. That's not too bad. What's bad is that they moved them all to the other half of the building that has been empty for two months now. So what happens when you load a server to max capacity for 3 days straight that isn't suited for that kind of traffic? Well, it breaks. I don't know how, but one of the phone servers crashed, and is now limping along with an IT version of a band-aid. This has led to me getting calls from no less than 4 different departments aside from my own. The best part? I normally leave at 11 pm when the calls are supposed to be shut off. However thanks to the server problems, now we get calls back to back after 11 from other departments and they don't even show up in queue. At 11:30, our boss just told us to get off the phones and go home. I hope they get this poo poo fixed today, but they probably wont. I'm tired of TV and Xbox calls coming in.
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Aug 4, 2011 19:15
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So, I recently starting working at a call centre again for a little while until my Visa stuff comes through and I can get out of this shithole they call Great Britain. I'm finding myself getting more and more depressed and despondant as the work goes on though. It's not so bad, telesales, doing some sort of warmed-up lead chasing. I do quite well, better than most of the people on the floor, and that makes me feel good. However, as with most call centres they have this hilariously draconian idea about how much we owe the company. For example, they expect you to work 1 hour of overtime every single day, 2 on Mondays, under the guise that the company requires you to do it as you've not hit whatever arbitrary 'target' they set you for the day. Fair enough, I guess, but when you pay me absolutely poo poo wages, in a terrible working environment, I really don't feel obliged to make the company that extra £3-400 over the 1000 or more i've already made you today, in return for my paltry £50. Thank you. I tend to get into a lot of arguements with the supervisors and stuff because when I get up and start to leave at 6, they pounce on me and start yelling like i've just kicked over a bunch of bins and set their ties on fire. Tell me, am I right for sticking up for my rights like this, or should I just fall in line with the rest of the others? I know that legally i'm not required to work any more than my 40 hours a week, and I do do overtime, especially on Saturdays when they pay more than single time, but during the week I just wat to do my 9-6 and gently caress off home, thankyouverymuch.
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Aug 4, 2011 22:49
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I'd read this if I were you. Unfortunately, so long as your contract says you can be called on to work overtime, then you're contractually obliged to do it. edit: Assuming you're 21 or above then one thing to consider is that the minimum wage is £5.93, i.e. with your £50 a day figure then working more than 8 hours 25 minutes a day would be in violation of minimum wage laws unless they're paying you for the overtime. rolleyes fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 22:57
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rolleyes posted:I'd read this if I were you. Unfortunately, so long as your contract says you can be called on to work overtime, then you're contractually obliged to do it. My contract only says that I am contracted to work 40 hours a week, Monday to Saturday. They do pay for overtime, but only single time rates during the week. Contractually, there's nothing in there saying that overtime in mandatory, but the supervisors there have always made sure it's implied that everyone HAS to work that extra hour per day, and two hours on a Monday.
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Aug 4, 2011 23:06
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I see the writing on the wall for my call center. 1) Our server room was damaged in a flood earlier this year. They routed our lines through a fiber connection to a sister center in another state. They haven't ever replaced our server since. 2) Our VP was fired after getting a little handsy at the holiday party. He hasn't been replaced, and they aren't looking anymore. 3) Our computers are on the verge of 8 years old. They're slow, crash, and basically artificially increase call times. There are presently no plans for upgrades. Tickets which are submitted to EIT are ignored or marked as "resolved" 4) The company recently acquired another smaller company in the MidWest. They've been posting jobs for people to move to the call center they've put over there. The cost of living and average wage of the workers there are approximately 50% less than here. I actually long for the sweet release of being laid off..
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Aug 4, 2011 23:36
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Cthulhuite posted:My contract only says that I am contracted to work 40 hours a week, Monday to Saturday. They do pay for overtime, but only single time rates during the week. Contractually, there's nothing in there saying that overtime in mandatory, but the supervisors there have always made sure it's implied that everyone HAS to work that extra hour per day, and two hours on a Monday. Are you absolutely sure? I know our place doles out contracts that have your contracted hours up at the top where you'll see it but further down is a section that says that you will work "whatever reasonable overtime is required" (which of course opens up the whole thing of what constitutes "reasonable").
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Aug 5, 2011 06:30
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Fil5000 posted:Are you absolutely sure? I know our place doles out contracts that have your contracted hours up at the top where you'll see it but further down is a section that says that you will work "whatever reasonable overtime is required" (which of course opens up the whole thing of what constitutes "reasonable"). I would be amazed if something to that effect wasn't in there given that they're paying for the overtime.
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Aug 5, 2011 21:29
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looks like we will need to schedule an appointment to get this resolved. My first available appointment is next Thursday. you Don't have anything for tomorrow? This happens about 10 times a day.
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Aug 7, 2011 22:18
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Any one have any problems with having bosses/co workers on your facebook? Back when I started here, no one cared what you put on your facebook, and even the managers would bitch about their jobs, while at their job, on facebook. Yesterday I got in trouble for posting quote:Sigh, all out of patience for the day. And I have 7 hours of my shift left, crap.
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Aug 7, 2011 22:22
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The trick is to not post anything work related on your facebook because it's a loving stupid idea
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Aug 7, 2011 22:26
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