Call Center Life

I have worked at several Call centers and worked from Customer Service to Technical Support and Transfers per account.

Fetch, fetch, fetch!

Look for leads, tap your keyboard.

Stop talking and work, as you should.

Non stop chatter, customer service

and sales...

Fetch, fetch, fetch is the motto of the day.

Never a minute or second to breathe.

Or so it seems.

We must look for leads, all day long

and dial as much as we can.

At least in my account, all we need

are transfers, but others do technical support

but the worst is customer service.

Since Customers are always right!

We really have no say, in how things

are handled, be it a bank account,

credit card, sales, loans and so much more.

People call in, screaming, cussing and yelling,

and we can only allow them to vent,

hoping they calm down.

Yet that seldom happens, Where is my money? some

demand to know.  Why am I being charged extra?

I want free shipping! Whats taking so long with my order?

Why are you so stupid? You should not be working at all.

You suck! I want my money back!

Let me talk to your Supervisor!

And so forth, the day goes on.  At times we have cheerful conversations

at other times we are insulted and yet the customer does not know

that we are simply following script and or rules given by client, on what to say on each situation.

Call center life is not easy nor stress free. Some say

all we do is sit around all day, doing nothing.

But that is not the actual case. We sit or stand, and walk around, here and there, looking to make sure everyone is up to date, 

with latest news from their account.

And the environment is not stress free, and more when customers are 

already angry at the company, they find it easy to vent through us

agents. That really have no choice but let it be so.

Those in sales have the most pressure. They must sale 10 to 20

times a day to get extra bonus plus commission. If they do not meet daily goals they are moved to another account or fired.

Fetch, fetch, fetch, is all you hear throughout any call center

you can find.

We must dial all day long, or as long as the shift lasts.

And if leads are slow, in some places we are allowed to read and or play simple games, in order to not get too bored.

So, life at a call center is not just doing nothing, you learn new software programs that are used for each account, and gain new skills

in regards to communication channels as well.

And at times I wish the customers could be a bit more lenient on us

agents, as its not our fault if company changes shipping policies or raises interest on you.

I even had a guy threaten to gut me out in front of my family and hunt me down if I did not give him a couple bucks to continue using his phone.  

So call center life aint easy at all.

Plus we are not able to spend as much time as we would like with 

our kids and family. 

We miss out on trips and get a 15 day vacation once per year....

Author's Note

pardon punctuation marks keyboard is blocked to change to English and set in Spanish

Reviews

[barleygirl]

You've described this more completely than I've ever known about! Altho I haven't done this job, I've worked in places with a call center, & I never realized all the things you've shared here! Good use of details & vivid straightforward descriptions. You really convey the stress & frantic nature of doing this work. It has to be the worst job, I think, becuz of the way people will be mean & rude as if it's YOUR fault that things aren't going well. Hopefully someone can read this & remember to be a little more kind the next time they make a complaint call! (((HUGS)))

[duff]

I've been here before and you captured it. It's nonstop stress and tension. Monitored behind the glass window. Your shoulder tapped if you didn't rebuttal the last call and if you don't the threat to be replaced looms large. It's not easy because you're just a number. Great writing Maria.

[apennylate]

Calling them sucks... I can not imagine working them... Well put, and informative, haha...

[Hope]

You really portrayed how difficult it is.
The free flow only gave more effect.
Great work Maria:)

[George Coombs]

Having worked in call centers myself, as a student, for extra money, I can relate to the high pressure and stressful situation you describe so well-excellent writing

[wordman]

well,it`s a good thing customer service is not my trade ..customer always right,,yeah right

[Farhan Shaikh]

If this is really a call centre life than I'm never gonna work there..haha! Very well expressed btw..lovely to read and enjoyed

[Priyanshi]

Hah! Life isn't really easy at a call center...you have to face so many troubles...
very well written and I enjoyed it

[Ethan]

I like this a lot, however you use much too many exclamation points at the beginning. It turns the reader off and clutters up the nice things your poem has to say. Overall, nicely done.