Working in a Call Center: What You Should Know Before Applying

- My Former Supervisor

Call centers are always looking for new employees. Why? The extremely high turn-over rate. Not many people stay in this position for the long haul. Many drop out in the first couple weeks. And others, who end up doing merciless hours, stay long enough to pay off bills, loans, and the mob. Take for example, the forty or so new employees who joined my training course. By the end of the last class, thirty employees remained. By the end of OJT (on-the-job training), twenty employees remained. By the next day, ten employees showed up for work. I am proud to say that I was part of the twenty, and slightly ashamed to say that I was not part of the remaining ten.

So why work at a call center?One, the paychecks are extremely good. The average pay rate is $10.00 to $20.00 an hour, plus commission and/or bonuses. Two, the benefits are excellent and varied. Besides the usual stuff (health, dental, retirement, investments), most call centers will also have a wide range of other offers and discounts: car rental, carpool, babysitting, daycare, theater tickets, sports tickets, movie tickets, plane tickets, food coupons, gift cards, even lawyers. Add to that the monthly competitions for best sales/customer service, as well as company swag (anything with the company name on it - pens, mugs, bags, shirts, sweatshirts, Frisbees, mouse pads, etc.), and you'll end up having to bring a bag to put all of your incentives in. Three, they want you to stay. The company knows that the work can be hard and frustrating. But they also know that it is cheaper to keep a single employee long-term, then to continually train employees that never make it to the production room floor. And that is why the paychecks, the benefits, the incentives are so extravagant. They want you to know that they care about you, even if their customers call you a moron. They want you to overlook the daily abuse because working there is "worth it".

Why NOT work at a call center? One, the customers come from such a wide range of backgrounds, moods, and moments. One phone call might be from a stressed out mother trying to get all of her errands done before the kids come home. Another call might be from a pissed off father whose had to deal with deadbeats all day. Another one might be from a lonely old man who just wants to talk to someone, or an old woman who doesn't speak English. And another might be from some young adult in the drive-through lane of Starbucks. Every call is a new experience. Two, technology is never that great. They show you how to use the equipment in training, but on the floor, you face different problems. While their security measures may be high tech, the actual computers that you will use on a daily basis tend not to be such a high priority. Meaning, your computer may freeze up more than once while you are on the phone with someone. And when that happens and you have to transfer the call, one or both things may happen: you piss off the customer, and/or you lose the sale/commission you would have earned. Three, personnel support on the production floor tends to be lacking. At my previous place of employment, we had the Red Cup system. Everyone was given a red plastic cup. If you had any issues with either the computer or the customer, you would take the cup, place it on the top edge of your cubicle, and wait for a supervisor to notice you and come over to help. Of course, in a room full of mini cubicles, it is difficult to receive any proper attention, which, of course, tends to piss off the customer even more. Also, due to the constant changing of services, you might not be given a product sheet to help your sales. Your manager, as mine did, might simply point you to an outdated webpage and tell you to learn how to navigate it.

Parting shots (I mean, conclusions)? It takes a lot to get under my skin. That being said, working at a call center is not the ideal place to begin your employment history. DO NOT let this be your first job. I made that mistake. Do I regret that I applied? Honestly, yes and no. When I applied, they were advertising themselves as a temp agency, a place where they seek candidates to work for their various clients. I did not understand that I was applying to a call center; even after researching their website, I did not know. It was not until my interview that I understood. And despite being completely oblivious to what they actually did, I passed that interview because my interviewer gave me laminated flash cards with all the proper answers to the questions he was asking me. Yes, the interviewers know how desperate the company is to fulfill their contractual obligations to their various clients. And yes, they make sure that the company is able to meet its numbers quota.

So should one apply to a call center, or at least, accept employment? Yes. Their desperation is enticing. And even if you decide not to stay, at least remain for the duration of the training. It, after all, will be a very good paycheck just for sitting in class for two weeks. And if you happen to decide that you like working there, then the company will reward you for your commitment. And if you find that you despise it with every ounce of your being, then at least you have a good paycheck and some really funny/frustrating stories to tell about the horrors of working in a call center.