My second home!

 (Life of a call center agent)

          Some people who work in our company say that they only stay for money. According to them, other companies they know offer less than what they are getting right now. Others say, if they only have a choice, they will not apply in a call center industry. My take before: just the same!

          Most of the people who had experienced working in a call center and had resigned didn’t want to work in the same field afterwards; and if they are to work in the same line of business they try to look for a different position, not as an inbound agent. I think they just got sick and tired of the usual routine. I got a friend who gets annoyed when searching job openings online only to find out that most of the results are call center post.

          Life in a call center is not as easy as other people may think. It will greatly affect your physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual function. Some people think that people who applied and worked in a call center are brainless to which I strongly disagree. You will not get hired in any call center post if you don’t have any knowledge or background of what you are applying for. You should at least know how to speak good English and do research while talking over the phone which I believe are the talents of most of us. Additionally, our lives are at greater risk especially when we are assigned to work on a graveyard shift (a year ago, an officemate of mine got killed during his way to work).

         
          When I first joined call center in 2007, I went through a very tough process. I knew a lot of people who were afraid to join the company where I work now, because they knew it’s hard to get in… but it didn’t discourage me… instead, I became persistent which made me feel so proud of myself when I got hired. It was my first call center job so I was so excited… processes amazed me. But life is really full of surprises. Everything was going on smoothly when my manager resigned shortly after I got regularized; our team was dissolved and we got distributed to other teams. Me, who was new to this kind of situation, felt that I didn’t want to come to work anymore. Thanks to my new teammates who were so nice to me and helped me to move on easily. I then realized that what happened was just a normal scenario in a call center. Now, I lost my counting on how many teams I had joined, how many LOBS I had been with, how many stations I had occupied, and how many calls I had answered.

          People come, people go. Sad to say, within the past year, we lost a lot of very good people in our company. A lot chose to resign, others got terminated. It’s painful for me to see them as they leave because they were like a family to me already. But what can I do? I guess I can only thank them, by making me a better person, for giving me chance to show them my worth, for listening to me and for letting me become what I am now.

          This company became my second home for the past years and I will always be thankful that I was blessed with this kind of opportunity to enhance my skills. It also taught me a lot of values. Some people I know hate the company or maybe the people who manage the company; but me, I don’t. They have their reasons to feel that way and I respect them. In some circumstances, I also feel bad and unhappy but I manage to set aside my frustrations. I know that my outlook in life affects my action and behavior. For without this company, I may not be able to achieve what we have now. To name a few, by working in our company, we were able to acquire our own house, I was able to send my sister to school (she will be graduating this October); and on top of it all, we were able to live a decent life.

          Yes, maybe some colleagues didn’t like what they are doing… they don’t even know why they are in a call center… but come ‘on, you are a call center agent now and you have to face the reality that you were the one who chose to work there. You can’t complain and say that you were not given option because you were… it was you who made that decision.

          I worked for money before and I am still working for money now, but that is just one of the reasons. I used to tell myself that I will not work in the call center if I only had a choice, but now I tell myself that working with call center is one of the best choices I had ever had. It’s been 3 years now since I stepped my feet inside our office… I believe I wouldn’t be able to stay there that long if I was not treated well. Just love your work and you will soon realize that your world will transform. Be the best that you can be every time, even without your supervisor watching around. If you do the right thing, it will have a positive impact to your work and will greatly affect your colleagues and the company in where you will also benefit in the end. I’ve been in the call center for three years and two months… and still counting… will I be able to reach my 4th year in the company? I don’t know. If it’s God’s will, I will!

Always remember, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” Zig ZigLar