So I’m in this new program at work and it is called product Lab. Product lab deals with the security software that we provide for the internet. You get paid .25 cents more. Any ways I am in training now and I must say that I have no idea what is going on. I mean I try to pay attention but it is so hard because the guy that is training us just talks and talks and talks. It goes through one ear and out the other. I even fell asleep a couple of times before.
I could understand if he gave us worksheets to follow along with him, but he doesn’t. Then he has the nerves to give a quiz over what he says. How am I supposed to know what he is talking about? Not only that but he has a story for everything. Well today we are supposed to take a couple of calls and I know I am going to get some every upset and angry customers, because I don’t know anything about the security software. There are so many things that come with it and to much information to store in my mind.
I am thinking about going back to my basic trouble shooting steps, because it was so much easier, and I was already getting the hang of it. This new product lab thing is killing me. But I guess I will wait and see how the calls go before I change back to my regular position. Wish me luck :)
Friday, June 1, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Interview Questions with Lonelyworker217
Question: Why did You Feel Compelled to write about your job?
Answer: Well I at first I wanted to write about my job because I really didn’t have anything else to write about, when my teacher gave me the assignment. But then I thought about how writing about my job was a good way to get things off my mind. Like when I write about the crazy customers that call in yelling all the time, or when I write about how I almost got fired over something stupid. So, in a way, it lets me express myself and how I feel. And in the end, it really did help and it still does. I even thought about writing about other things in my life as well, hopefully I will.
Question: What would u do if someone at your job happened to read your blogs and told on you?
Answer: If someone read my blogs and then told on me, and tried to get me fired, I would deny everything. I would say that I just wrote what I wrote for the class. I really need this job, so I can’t afford to get fired. Though I doubt that would ever happen, but if it did, I would probably say something like that. As for the person who told on me, I would beat them up, for running their mouths and trying to get me fired. But like I said I don’t think that would ever happen because I get along with everyone, so I don’t think that anyone would actually do that to me.
Answer: Well I at first I wanted to write about my job because I really didn’t have anything else to write about, when my teacher gave me the assignment. But then I thought about how writing about my job was a good way to get things off my mind. Like when I write about the crazy customers that call in yelling all the time, or when I write about how I almost got fired over something stupid. So, in a way, it lets me express myself and how I feel. And in the end, it really did help and it still does. I even thought about writing about other things in my life as well, hopefully I will.
Question: What would u do if someone at your job happened to read your blogs and told on you?
Answer: If someone read my blogs and then told on me, and tried to get me fired, I would deny everything. I would say that I just wrote what I wrote for the class. I really need this job, so I can’t afford to get fired. Though I doubt that would ever happen, but if it did, I would probably say something like that. As for the person who told on me, I would beat them up, for running their mouths and trying to get me fired. But like I said I don’t think that would ever happen because I get along with everyone, so I don’t think that anyone would actually do that to me.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The 45 minute call
The writer of the blog is named Matt. Matt talks about annoying calls with customers who think that they can talk to people any way they want to get their way. Matt says that he is tired of that, and he starts getting an attitude with the customer. Matt doesn’t think that it is right to be blamed for something that he can’t fix.
The “45 minute” blog is about a guy named Matt who is working at a call center and gets a really angry, upset caller. Before he even answers the phone, he talks about how he sat at his station for about 30 minutes doing nothing, just waiting for a call to come in. Matt also mentions that he eats a snack and even gets something to drink before he gets a call. Then he goes into how once he picks up phone, the caller starts yelling at him, saying, “Why have I been on hold for so long?” and asking him “what have you been doing?” The way the Matt describes the caller made it seem as if the caller had had hot smokey steam coming out of his head, and like his eyes were red like someone who has been crying for a long period of time.
After the caller stops yelling and calms down a bit, the Matt starts to get a little attitude with the customer and says “what, do u think we are sitting around here doing nothing.” After the tech says that the caller doesn’t really have anything to say. I’m guessing the caller feels stupid. The tech says then starts saying that some people think that they can say whatever they want just to get their way. He also says that he think the reason for that is because their moms must have told them that when they were younger and now they actually think it is okay. He goes on saying that some people are naturally born with ignorance, arrogance, and are impatient. He says that because he also thinks that some people believe that we are here to serve their every wants and needs. And those customers expect us to say “sorry you were on hold for so long, next time I’ll make sure we get to you before 30 seconds.” Overall he isn’t a mean person; he just wants people to understand that we cannot fix something we have no control over. You could read this blog to see what I'm talking http://callcenterpurgatory.blogspot.com/2004/07/45-minutes.html
The blog that Matt wrote was very good. I liked that he started off the blog with the angry customer calling in. though I think Matt could have put a little more detail in about what the blog was going to be about (Like saying “the worst thing I hate about my job is when the customers get mad for being on hold for so long.”) And that’s when he should have gone into the blog.
I also think that he could have been more descriptive and actually described how he felt at that moment. I felt like he was telling, not showing. Like Matt was just saying what happened, and not giving details. He should have said what else the customer said, and how it came to him fixing the caller’s problem and ending the conversation.
I fully understand where he is coming from. Like I mentioned before, there are simply certain things we can do and certain things we can’t do. But some customers don’t care, they think about their selves only.
I know that there are times when customers call in mad, because they have been on hold for a very long time. But my customers say things like “I have been on hold for an hour-and-a-half; you should do something about that.” And even after I tell them that there wasn’t anything that I could do and that I was sorry, they still get mad, and threaten to cancel the account because they get poor service. I couldn’t really care less if they cancel the account or not. I would have been really mad if that was me taking the call that Matt took in his blog.
I thought it was funny that the caller called back and complained on him. Customers always call in and try to tell on someone, but we can’t do anything about that because they could have called anyone of our call centers in the 20 states that we have them in. overall I really liked his blog, that’s why I chosed it. I relate to it in so many different ways. I also know how annoying it is too. I wonder though, if Matt is like me, I wonder if he hates his job as much as I hate mines.
The “45 minute” blog is about a guy named Matt who is working at a call center and gets a really angry, upset caller. Before he even answers the phone, he talks about how he sat at his station for about 30 minutes doing nothing, just waiting for a call to come in. Matt also mentions that he eats a snack and even gets something to drink before he gets a call. Then he goes into how once he picks up phone, the caller starts yelling at him, saying, “Why have I been on hold for so long?” and asking him “what have you been doing?” The way the Matt describes the caller made it seem as if the caller had had hot smokey steam coming out of his head, and like his eyes were red like someone who has been crying for a long period of time.
After the caller stops yelling and calms down a bit, the Matt starts to get a little attitude with the customer and says “what, do u think we are sitting around here doing nothing.” After the tech says that the caller doesn’t really have anything to say. I’m guessing the caller feels stupid. The tech says then starts saying that some people think that they can say whatever they want just to get their way. He also says that he think the reason for that is because their moms must have told them that when they were younger and now they actually think it is okay. He goes on saying that some people are naturally born with ignorance, arrogance, and are impatient. He says that because he also thinks that some people believe that we are here to serve their every wants and needs. And those customers expect us to say “sorry you were on hold for so long, next time I’ll make sure we get to you before 30 seconds.” Overall he isn’t a mean person; he just wants people to understand that we cannot fix something we have no control over. You could read this blog to see what I'm talking http://callcenterpurgatory.blogspot.com/2004/07/45-minutes.html
The blog that Matt wrote was very good. I liked that he started off the blog with the angry customer calling in. though I think Matt could have put a little more detail in about what the blog was going to be about (Like saying “the worst thing I hate about my job is when the customers get mad for being on hold for so long.”) And that’s when he should have gone into the blog.
I also think that he could have been more descriptive and actually described how he felt at that moment. I felt like he was telling, not showing. Like Matt was just saying what happened, and not giving details. He should have said what else the customer said, and how it came to him fixing the caller’s problem and ending the conversation.
I fully understand where he is coming from. Like I mentioned before, there are simply certain things we can do and certain things we can’t do. But some customers don’t care, they think about their selves only.
I know that there are times when customers call in mad, because they have been on hold for a very long time. But my customers say things like “I have been on hold for an hour-and-a-half; you should do something about that.” And even after I tell them that there wasn’t anything that I could do and that I was sorry, they still get mad, and threaten to cancel the account because they get poor service. I couldn’t really care less if they cancel the account or not. I would have been really mad if that was me taking the call that Matt took in his blog.
I thought it was funny that the caller called back and complained on him. Customers always call in and try to tell on someone, but we can’t do anything about that because they could have called anyone of our call centers in the 20 states that we have them in. overall I really liked his blog, that’s why I chosed it. I relate to it in so many different ways. I also know how annoying it is too. I wonder though, if Matt is like me, I wonder if he hates his job as much as I hate mines.
Ten Ways to Avoid an Angry Customer
Ten Ways to Avoid an Angry Customer
1. Stay positive, don’t say anything mean, even if they’re yelling and cursing at you
2. Always say yes mam/sir and sorry
3. Try to always keep a smile on your face
4. Tell the customer everything that they want to hear
5. Never tell them that their account is suspended, let them find out by their selves.
6. Laugh at their jokes even if it’s not funny
7. Ask them how they’re day was
8. Always thank them for being a customer
9. Remind them that they could always call back if they need more help, cause we’re always glad to assist them
10. Let the customer say by first, so it doesn’t seem like your rushing them off the call.
Doing all these step will really avoid angry customers. I know it seems hard to do, without yelling back, you can always try smiling, it works for me. And if you like, once you are done with the call and you fell like yelling and cursing, go right ahead. But just know you just had one satisfied customer. to see other ways people avoid angry customers visit:http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5055258.html
1. Stay positive, don’t say anything mean, even if they’re yelling and cursing at you
2. Always say yes mam/sir and sorry
3. Try to always keep a smile on your face
4. Tell the customer everything that they want to hear
5. Never tell them that their account is suspended, let them find out by their selves.
6. Laugh at their jokes even if it’s not funny
7. Ask them how they’re day was
8. Always thank them for being a customer
9. Remind them that they could always call back if they need more help, cause we’re always glad to assist them
10. Let the customer say by first, so it doesn’t seem like your rushing them off the call.
Doing all these step will really avoid angry customers. I know it seems hard to do, without yelling back, you can always try smiling, it works for me. And if you like, once you are done with the call and you fell like yelling and cursing, go right ahead. But just know you just had one satisfied customer. to see other ways people avoid angry customers visit:http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5055258.html
Friday, May 11, 2007
Terminated
Ok. So I was at work today taking calls after calls when my supervisor said that he wanted to talk to me when I was done with my call. I didn’t really care much because I didn’t think I was going to get in trouble. I was wrong. He started talking to me about how I have been online while I was on a call and how that was not accepted.
Then he said that I was going to get one point and if I do it again, it would be two points next time. I can only get up to six points, and then I’m terminated from the job. I already have 1.75 points so now that brought me to 2.75 points, which sucks. For some reason I tried to make it seem as if I didn’t care, I had a smile on my face. He started acting all serious saying that he thinks that I do so much better on a call when on not on the internet and that he would hate to fire me because of that.
Once I heard the word fired, that smile that I had flew all the way out the window. Even thought I do hate the job, I do still need it because I need money. But for now on I guess I will not get on the internet. Well at least I’ll try not to, but It’s hard not to because I get bored so fast. But on the other hand I really don’t want to get terminated.
Then he said that I was going to get one point and if I do it again, it would be two points next time. I can only get up to six points, and then I’m terminated from the job. I already have 1.75 points so now that brought me to 2.75 points, which sucks. For some reason I tried to make it seem as if I didn’t care, I had a smile on my face. He started acting all serious saying that he thinks that I do so much better on a call when on not on the internet and that he would hate to fire me because of that.
Once I heard the word fired, that smile that I had flew all the way out the window. Even thought I do hate the job, I do still need it because I need money. But for now on I guess I will not get on the internet. Well at least I’ll try not to, but It’s hard not to because I get bored so fast. But on the other hand I really don’t want to get terminated.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Short Shift
Today I didn’t mind going to work, I ate good before I left home and even got in a good nap. On my way to work was thinking about what assignments that I had due, for all of my classes the next day. I happened to realize that there were a couple of things that I didn’t do.
So I parked my car, and walked inside the building and said hi to the security guard. I walked to my little station and sat down. I only had about 5 minute to clock in before I was late. I took a couple of calls that weren’t so bad, and some that was really good. But for some reason today I didn’t care if the calls were good or if they were bad. So about an hour and a half later, I get a call and I answer it. It one of the supervisors, He asked me if I wanted to go home early today. I thought about it for a minute, and realized that I need the money, so I said no. he says ok and hangs up. About 30 seconds later he calls back saying that I have to go home because there are way to many people here and that were not getting a lot of calls. What I want to know is why he asked me if I wanted to leave early if I was going to have to leave anyway. That made me mad, but on the other hand I got to chill with my friends.
So I parked my car, and walked inside the building and said hi to the security guard. I walked to my little station and sat down. I only had about 5 minute to clock in before I was late. I took a couple of calls that weren’t so bad, and some that was really good. But for some reason today I didn’t care if the calls were good or if they were bad. So about an hour and a half later, I get a call and I answer it. It one of the supervisors, He asked me if I wanted to go home early today. I thought about it for a minute, and realized that I need the money, so I said no. he says ok and hangs up. About 30 seconds later he calls back saying that I have to go home because there are way to many people here and that were not getting a lot of calls. What I want to know is why he asked me if I wanted to leave early if I was going to have to leave anyway. That made me mad, but on the other hand I got to chill with my friends.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The pissed off caller
So I was at work taking calls and talking to some of my co-workers around me, when I get this call. It was a guy who sounded like he was in his mid forty’s. He was so polite and so nice. He told me that he lived in Rhode Island and how the weather was down there. Then he finally told me what his problem was, he said that he wasn’t able not get online, and that the automated system couldn’t help and he ended up waiting about 45 minutes to speak to me.
Well okay. So I told that I was sorry for the long hold and that we were currently having an outage in Rhode Island. He started getting a little upset saying things like “well why didn’t the automated system say that, then I wouldn’t have to be on hold for so long.” I’m not sure why it didn’t say that but I decided to say “well sir, it just didn’t.” then he kept arguing with me saying that that was poor service and that we should fix the automated system, so that when there is outage people don’t have to wait so long just to get told something stupid like that.
He was really starting to piss me off, but I tried to say calm. All of a sudden he said “I bet u if I go to another internet provider, I won’t get his kind of poor service. Right, Huh?” he asked that about 3 times, and I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said “yea sir, you probably won’t.” Oh my God, he flipped out. He started cursing and yelling saying “what did you just say, what did u just say?” so I repeated it. He got even madder and said “do u think that’s right, telling me I will get better service some where else?” I started to hear him tell his wife to take the phone because he felt like killing somebody. So when his wife got on the phone, she asked to speak to a supervisor. I just transferred her over and didn’t say a thing, just thinking to myself WOW. In my defense, he kept asking so I said yea.
Well okay. So I told that I was sorry for the long hold and that we were currently having an outage in Rhode Island. He started getting a little upset saying things like “well why didn’t the automated system say that, then I wouldn’t have to be on hold for so long.” I’m not sure why it didn’t say that but I decided to say “well sir, it just didn’t.” then he kept arguing with me saying that that was poor service and that we should fix the automated system, so that when there is outage people don’t have to wait so long just to get told something stupid like that.
He was really starting to piss me off, but I tried to say calm. All of a sudden he said “I bet u if I go to another internet provider, I won’t get his kind of poor service. Right, Huh?” he asked that about 3 times, and I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said “yea sir, you probably won’t.” Oh my God, he flipped out. He started cursing and yelling saying “what did you just say, what did u just say?” so I repeated it. He got even madder and said “do u think that’s right, telling me I will get better service some where else?” I started to hear him tell his wife to take the phone because he felt like killing somebody. So when his wife got on the phone, she asked to speak to a supervisor. I just transferred her over and didn’t say a thing, just thinking to myself WOW. In my defense, he kept asking so I said yea.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Upgrade
While I was at work today and wondering why the hell I’m still here, my supervisor came and told me to login into training and come and see him. So after I was done talking to the old lady who was 90% deaf, I put my phone ID into training and went to go sit down by my manager, to see what he wanted…(this time).
When I got to his office, he said that he wanted to talk to me about my QA scores (quality assurance). He basically wanted to go over some of my calls and see if I was doing everything that I was supposed to do. Like use good phone etiquette, proper greeting and closing formats, acknowledge the customers request and doing proper trouble shooting steps. He made me listen to some of my calls and see the mistakes that I made.
I didn’t have a lot of mistakes I think I only had one. My overall score was a 88%. So anyways he started saying things like he wants me to be a supervisor, and he wants me to join his team. I was happy like a little baby who just got there hands on a piece of candy. The job that I hated so much is the job that wants me to be a supervisor. But the only thing is that the job required a full time position; Which I don’t have time for. So I told my supervisor that I would probably start training in the summer because right now im in school and I didn’t have time for both. He said okay, and told me to tell him when I was ready to start training. I went back to my station thinking yea me!!!
When I got to his office, he said that he wanted to talk to me about my QA scores (quality assurance). He basically wanted to go over some of my calls and see if I was doing everything that I was supposed to do. Like use good phone etiquette, proper greeting and closing formats, acknowledge the customers request and doing proper trouble shooting steps. He made me listen to some of my calls and see the mistakes that I made.
I didn’t have a lot of mistakes I think I only had one. My overall score was a 88%. So anyways he started saying things like he wants me to be a supervisor, and he wants me to join his team. I was happy like a little baby who just got there hands on a piece of candy. The job that I hated so much is the job that wants me to be a supervisor. But the only thing is that the job required a full time position; Which I don’t have time for. So I told my supervisor that I would probably start training in the summer because right now im in school and I didn’t have time for both. He said okay, and told me to tell him when I was ready to start training. I went back to my station thinking yea me!!!
Sleeping on the job
Usually when I’m at work I get non-stop calls. Once I would be done with one call, five seconds later im in another call, and it is really annoying. But today it wasn’t like that. It was so slow that, once I got done one call, I would get another call about 10-15 min later. I don’t know what was going on that day but I happy. I got to relax for awhile after every call and go on Myspace to check my messages.
Later on that day I was so upset, not only was I really tired and bored, there were times when I almost fell asleep. I guess not taking calls wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. My head started to hurt, so I put it down for a little while. I felt like my eyes were about to close but, I didn’t care. I started to feel like I was going into nice peaceful deep sleep when someone taped me on the back with their fingers, and told me to wake up. It was one of my supervisors. For a minute there, I thought I was in trouble, but he looked as if he didn’t care, like he didn’t want to be at work either. But he did say that I should bring a book for me to read, or find something for me to do. I felt like saying kiss my ***, but I didn’t. A couple of minutes later I swear I kept getting calls back to back, and I started thinking to myself…man I hate this job!
Later on that day I was so upset, not only was I really tired and bored, there were times when I almost fell asleep. I guess not taking calls wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. My head started to hurt, so I put it down for a little while. I felt like my eyes were about to close but, I didn’t care. I started to feel like I was going into nice peaceful deep sleep when someone taped me on the back with their fingers, and told me to wake up. It was one of my supervisors. For a minute there, I thought I was in trouble, but he looked as if he didn’t care, like he didn’t want to be at work either. But he did say that I should bring a book for me to read, or find something for me to do. I felt like saying kiss my ***, but I didn’t. A couple of minutes later I swear I kept getting calls back to back, and I started thinking to myself…man I hate this job!
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Longest Restroom Break
Before I went to work, I ate a plate of Chinese and drank a lot of juice. So much that I had to pee so badly. I didn’t have time to pee before I left the house because I was already running really late for work.
While I was driving to work, I kept thinking to myself that I was going to clock in and go to the restroom. When I finally got to work, come to find out that both up stairs and down stairs restrooms were flooded. Yea I know BOTH are flooded! What are the odds of that happening? Also I found out that if we have to use the restroom, we have to leave the building and go to the nearest gas station. Are you kidding me? I was so mad. Not only did I regret not going to use the restroom before I came to work, but now I would have to wait at least an hour to be able to leave the building, and go to the nearest gas station (that I just past).
The reason I have to wait at least an hour is because I have to wait until they approve me to go. A lot of people have to go at the same time so they let you go whenever the time is right. So I sit down and try to take my mind off having to go to the restroom, by taking a couple of calls. Man, I hate hearing people complain. Anyways when it was time for me to go, I ran to my car and drove to the gas station. My break was supposed to 15 minutes but I took a 35 minute break. I had to wait too long to go, so I took a longer break and went to the nearest store and bought a couple of things, then i went back to work. No one ever found out, so I didn’t get in trouble either. Next time I know to use the restroom before I come to work.
Friday, April 6, 2007
A good work day
Work today was boring as usual. I went to work feeling how I always feel, tired and wanting to quit. I have to say though, my job is pretty easy, I mean I sit down all day and answer phone calls. I guess Im just lazy.
So anyways, I got a phone call today. It was a good call. The call was about a man who was not able to get online. He said that his modem was not working for a couple of days now. I said okay, and that I would be able to help him with that. So I pulled up his account and verified the account. Then I said I was going to take the signal away from his modem and send him fresh signal, and if he could hold while I do that. So while he was on hold I went ahead and reprovisioned the modem and checked his account to see if it was disconnected for any reason, it wasn’t. So I got back on the phone with him and asked him to unplug the modem and shut down his computer. While he was doing that I asked him a couple of questions like how was his day. And how was he doing?
We ended talking about a couple of different things, and forgetting about the problem at hand. I told him to go ahead and plug the modem back in, and then wait about 30 seconds to start the computer back up. After he did that he tried to get back online and was successful doing so. He then thanked me and said I was a wonderful person, and then ended the call. He overall call was good, I helped him get back online and he was happy. I was happy because I didn’t have to deal with any angry customers.
So anyways, I got a phone call today. It was a good call. The call was about a man who was not able to get online. He said that his modem was not working for a couple of days now. I said okay, and that I would be able to help him with that. So I pulled up his account and verified the account. Then I said I was going to take the signal away from his modem and send him fresh signal, and if he could hold while I do that. So while he was on hold I went ahead and reprovisioned the modem and checked his account to see if it was disconnected for any reason, it wasn’t. So I got back on the phone with him and asked him to unplug the modem and shut down his computer. While he was doing that I asked him a couple of questions like how was his day. And how was he doing?
We ended talking about a couple of different things, and forgetting about the problem at hand. I told him to go ahead and plug the modem back in, and then wait about 30 seconds to start the computer back up. After he did that he tried to get back online and was successful doing so. He then thanked me and said I was a wonderful person, and then ended the call. He overall call was good, I helped him get back online and he was happy. I was happy because I didn’t have to deal with any angry customers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)