I Quit... Really

[MamaMootz]

I haven't been on here in awhile, but I had to post about my most recent stint as a call center person for a 3rd party pharmacy benefits company that dealt with presciptions.

This place was so strictly run that they timed my bathroom breaks (if I took more than one a day, reprimand time) and also told me when I could take lunch and breaks. They scheduled every millisecond of my day, and if I was in "after call work" taking care of an issue for someone after they hung up, I was pulled aside and reprimanded. They expected us to take care of all the computer system work with the customer on the line - which isn't always possible, especially when the bulk of our customers were from the east coast and they'd hang up before we had a chance to say "is there anything else I can help you with?" They listened in on our calls, recorded them, and then played them back with a manager sitting with us, so that they could stop the call throughout and give us feedback on what we could do better.

The bad part - somtimes, the customers - some of whom would call and rant and rave - one guy in particular was ranting at me for over 52 minutes...cursing, prattling on about the system being out to get him, etc... . But the worst thing about it was that most of the employees didn't give a crap because the call center rep pay was just so bad that nobody cared if they helped customers or not, which ended up in the same customers calling us back all the time on the same issue, getting madder and madder each time.

I had to quit - because I just couldn't take it anymore. As much as I bitched about my old call center job, at least there they didn't monitor my every movement and treat me like I was a toddler. And yes, the old call center job paid much better than this one. Yikes.

[Gurndigarn]

I haven't been on here in awhile, but I had to post about my most recent stint as a call center person for a 3rd party pharmacy benefits company that dealt with presciptions.

This place was so strictly run that they timed my bathroom breaks (if I took more than one a day, reprimand time) and also told me when I could take lunch and breaks. They scheduled every millisecond of my day, and if...

Yup. I have to agree with one prominent US politician*, who said "federally run health care would combine the efficiency of the post office with the compassion of the CIA." (Not exact quote, but close).

Damn, that's so much better than what we have... why haven't we done it?



* Name withheld to avoid political debates.

[friendofjimmyk]

Before I was in the department I am currently in - I was in a department that was ran like you have described. Oh, the sweet freedom I have now.

Alas, it may be short lived - there's rumour abound that we are getting assimilated into a department that the monitoring is that tough again!

[MamaMootz]

And here's the thing: training was 5 weeks long. For the amount of knowledge they expected their CSR's to have, along with the 5 weeks of cram a lama ding dong on their systems/software/support/procedures, they definetly did not pay enough. Plus every person who called (of course) had an issue and most people were too concerned with their AHT to actually help people calling.

The constant monitoring and nitpicking from management, combined with people calling up screaming at me most of the time, and let's not forget - those timed bathroom breaks (what am I, 5?) were enough for me to quit.

Friend, I hope they don't monitor you that much - it's enough to drive a sane person insane.

[bean]

Ugh, if I'm sitting at a desk, at home or work, I HAVE to be drinking something. At work, water, soda, hot chocolate, etc. At home? Water or beer *looks at open can of Budweiser on desk*

As such, I'm very hydrated, and need to run to the bathroom multiple times a day.

My last call center gig would complain if your "MISC1" time (used for bathroom breaks and to get a drink) was more than 2-3% of your total time on the clock in the month, but they never really did much about it. I also monitored plenty of calls, and tried to give constructive criticism when it was needed (and plenty of praise on what was done right). I handed out plenty of "Perfect call!" reviews (but also a handful that basically said "that sucked, but your customer was a jerk" or ".. what were you thinking? The proper protocol is so and so, you can bend it a bit, but please try to stick close to it").

Ironically, I normally had some of the highest MISC1 usage in the whole place - they would just say something like "Try and cut down on it a bit if you can" and that was that. Usually was going to the restroom every hour or so *shrug*

Mama, at least you got some training, my last gig was basically 2 weeks of "here's how to use the software", except when training was over for the day, you were on the phones for basic calls (even after the 1st day).

edit: Anytime I heard or saw someone snickering or trying not to laugh, I just had to go and listen to the call while it was live. Except I could actually LOL, since my headset mic was muted when monitoring. The rep would see/hear me snickering and act like they were mad at me for listening (then come over to my desk after the call and ask me "can you believe they were so stupid?" or the like). A couple of the stupidest ones got put on speakerphone from my desk so multiple people could listen

[ArenaBoy]

Mootz, you're workplace was truly Orwell's 1984.

[TNT]

I'll never figure out call centers... it isn't bad enough that call centers are inherently difficult places to work. Instead of looking for ways to make the job more bearable, managers sit around dreaming up new ways to increase the suckage level...

... and then they whine about the high turnover rate, absenteeism, and the number of people on short term disability for stress disorders.

If we let a customer call go unanswered, we get fired. Meanwhile, the clue phone rings 24 hours a day in the executive suite but no one ever picks it up.

[thewhatnow]

The call center where I work is EXACTLY the same. I thought at first you were one of my coworkers. You can't go to the bathroom for more than 6 minutes during the day. If you're feeling sick or (girls) are on your period, too bad! No more than 6 minutes. Our lunch break is 18 minutes long. If you get back 10 seconds late.. you are reprimanded. The call monitoring is ridiculous. The scripts they write for us are wrong, and they expect us to read them verbatim. If we do not, (the reason we don't is that they are WRONG!) they penalize us for that.

Just like you said, it's such a crappy job no one cares what they do, so customers are irate all the time, not to mention extremely THICK and uncooperative because of their stupidity. There's no time whatsoever between calls. IT's just one after the other, after the other, after the other until you're so sick of it you just can't take it anymore and you need to step outside to have a drink, or just.. be in silence. For just ONE MINUTE.

But nope! You've already used up your restroom time, now you have to keep going. Otherwise you will be made to sign a warning. At 3 warning, you get a suspension, and after two of those, you get fired.

I've been here for 18 months. I'm quitting as well after I get my paid vacation time. I'm afraid I may seriously hurt someone otherwise.

[Kiwi]

I worked for a call centre, for 3 weeks 1 hour and 15 minutes (not exact but you get the picture)

I have never felt such crushing oppression in my life, I felt like I was in a vice. As my instructor said to me (in the quitting/firing room) "this job will suck the life from your soul" as I sobbed and sobbed. 8 panic attacks in 3 days, a new record for me!

good on you for leaving, there is no point earning minimum wage if you hate the job. there a dime a dozen!

[ditchdj]

This kinda sounds like my last fast food stint at Wendy's. The micromanagement is so obnoxiously bad that literally EVERYTHING is put under a microscope (including how to cut the cans of tomatoes open). If THAT is how it's run at a call center I dont see how anyone could work like that for such low pay. I've heard that they actually like the high turnover rates because you dont stick around long enough to pay any benefits. That's probably why managers are like that there.

[TNT]

If THAT is how it's run at a call center I dont see how anyone could work like that for such low pay. I've heard that they actually like the high turnover rates because you dont stick around long enough to pay any benefits. That's probably why managers are like that there.

I don't think call center is ever going to be a great job, but call centers vary a lot.

The worst place to work, from my experience, is a center that does outsourced work. The center only gets paid when they're people are actually talking, so management wants the employees to never have a minute of downtime. Plus, the pay is low, the benefits -- if there are any -- look better than they really are, and the training sucks. And just to make it even more fun, they try to pack as many people into as small a place as possible... I worked at a place where my co-workers sat closer to me than my girlfriend did.

The good news about those jobs is that once a person has call center experience, it's usually pretty easy to get a better job. And there are better ones out there. Not great, but better.

[Mr. Crow]

One of the things I learned when getting my Management Degree ("Boo! Hiss!" I know, but cut me some slack. Walls only bleed occasionally when I am near. Baying of hounds is still a problem) is that the fastest way to get your employees to act like adults is to treat them like adults. Also if there is a high turn over, there is something deeply wrong with what you are doing.

There have been numorous expiriments and analysis of management styles ove the past century. The better employees are treated, the better they perform and behave. Too bad many places have their managers stuck in the 19th century. If you flip through the managment books they list the good stuff (well parts, they never give the reasoning behind the theories). However, too many managers pay only lip service.

This is why everyone should look for career paths in places that are uncrowded. In hindsight I should have trained to be an electrician, or even a plumber. If I was better at math, then I'd hop on accounting or better yet engineering.

[ditchdj]

Mr. Crow you sound like Jeep's Toledo plant could use you. I'm sure if they had more managers like you there the shooting that happened there last year wouldn't have happened and two people would still be alive today.

[Mr. Crow]

I don't know anything abou tthe Jeep plant shooting, but the post office shootings during the 90s were covered. Basically there was wide spread problems in the postal service, and employes were basically treated as slaves. Fortunatly the USPS did a through self examination and fixed many of the problems in the industry. WHich is why it has been a long time since there has been a shooting.

THis all means in the end, your employees will mostly act the way you treat them. Norwich, where I got my degree had alot of professors who were big fans of assuming students were adults. If you have to go, don't interupt, just go and get back as quick as you can.

I'd love to have access to the thinking behind the preschool management style at that call center. Then have the people who came up with it flogged.

[ditchdj]

I don't know anything abou tthe Jeep plant shooting, but the post office shootings during the 90s were covered. Basically there was wide spread problems in the postal service, and employes were basically treated as slaves.

That's exactly what's happening at that Jeep plant. They targeted one outspoken older worker and decided to harass him until he finally got fed up and took matters into his own hands. Read about it below called "Productivity at any cost?":

http://www.toledocitypaper.com/cover021705.html

----BTW My best friend's dad just retired there and he confirmed what this article printed. The only thing he couldnt vouch for was the alleged "dumbed-down signs" hung up in his work station but said he could believe it. I asked him if they ever targeted him like that he said, "No, because they KNOW how crazy I can get!"