So I'm about to write that place off now...

[ZedOmega]

Short version of a very long story: ship's sinking and I could almost swear that rat tail wasn't there a few months ago.

Now, the long version. Ever since we transitioned to advanced support, we've noticed a rather disturbing pattern. We got a lot less calls afterward than when we were first-contact tech support. I've noticed points in my shift that used to be busy as hell transforming into time to catch up on books and email. (No CS, though; blocked by a really anal firewall at work.) Eventually those long lulls in work equated to 'okay, we know you don't get out for another eight hours or so, but who wants to go home early?!'

Yeah. It's gotten to a point where they're encouraging people to take up an offer for early release. I've had days where I show up and work for 30 minutes before the offer is made, and if it's a day that I know would've lead to another thread here, I take the offer. Blatant self-defense, though: it's not laziness, it's a need to do something, and if it's dead at work, I could put myself to work at the house. If all I'm doing is sitting in a chair for eleven hours (ten hour shift, 45 minute lunch, rounding up to the nearest hour) and taking a call if I'm lucky, then I'm not working, I'm leeching off the company and I hate that feeling. I've even tried to convince myself 'Hey, they're paying you to sit on your ass! It's a dream job!' and that failed.

So naturally, in the hopes of finding something a lot more mentally fulfilling, I've been putting in applications at other places. Yeah, I'm staying in the customer service sector and trying for another tech support job because strengths and whatnot, but anything is better than just watching a clock for an hour or so between calls. Granted, I'm gonna stay on board until I do find something that looks like it'll keep me busy, but I'm sorry. I wanna get paid to fix things, not sit and gossip.

[/rant]

[Hanzoku]

I'd refuse to cut my hours, but I've generally always been in the situation where I need the money. I would be bugging the manager/supervisor for anything work-related to do, however.

[PepperElf]

Remember, though... paid to sit on your ass and do nothing, is better than not being paid at all, and wanting to work.

in the meantime, for downtime at work, i'd recommend bringing in tech support study books. on one hand, you can justify it by the fact that it DOES relate to your job. and on the other hand, it may also relate to any other job you're trying to get. so it's a win-win situation. if the boss allows it of course

[Pixilated]

I sympathize, ZedOmega, although PepperElf does have a point (as well as good suggestions). The occasional dead shift is fine, and slow periods during an otherwise brisk shift are welcome, but when it becomes a chronic condition that lasts through the entire shift, it really can cause your brain cells to melt and your BP to hit the roof. At least when I was back at the newspaper, I could get online when things were slow! (Including CS, LOL)

[ZedOmega]

And it looks like my job hunting's paid off. I did a phone interview with a local company and got scheduled for a face-to-face interview on Wednesday. Promises to be interesting: barely under $15/hr to start, and the place only requires one bus and a very short walk to get to. Plus, I've been weighing the two:

Where I'm at now has long periods of just sitting there, and god help us if we get completely caught up on everything. The place that gave me the interview spot has both certification training available. Current job has such a strict time limit that we've had people fired for going 15 seconds over the daily average allowed. This place? No time limit on support calls. Hell, the place that called me even has a more lax dress code than where I'm at now. Good thing, too, because most of the 'business casual' clothes I have fit more for political campaign work. :|

Granted, I'm gonna be swimming in lava skill-wise for a bit because it's a job troubleshooting strictly email and we're told where I'm at now to hand it off if clearing browsing history doesn't work, but training's gonna cure that.

[Teysa]

Congratulations and good luck with the new job.