call center - Cerebral Insights

Call Center Agents: New Target for AIDS/HIV?

In the past, HIV/AIDS has been confined to sex workers, drug addicts and gays. That is no longer true today. Recent hospital reports show that the surge in HIV/AIDS cases in the past 10 months included reports from young professionals, notably call center agents.

It is no secret that in the past years, call center (or BPO) centers have mushroomed in the country, not only in the Metro but also in far-flung provinces. With the recession the US is facing, multinational companies began outsourcing their customer services to Third World Countries where the cost of labor is cheaper. Our government, in its desire to provide more jobs for the unemployed, jumped at the opportunity despite the many health risks posed by this new industry.

If before the health risks associated with the call center industry were merely hypotension (low blood pressure), anemia, unorthodox sleep schedules, ruined bioclocks, lung cancer (if you keep smoking too much) and cirrhosis (if you keep drinking too much), now another risk has been associated to the industry – HIV/AIDS. Well, of course, if you engage in unprotected sex.

But the acceptance of casual sex within the industry is something that is quite alarming. It has been reported that FUBU (or F*cking Buddies) have become a common trend and people engage in unromantic, casual sex especially when in the night shift. Just how casual sex is related to the work involved, I cannot fathom. Could it be that the toxicity or the stress of the work involved had led call center agents to detoxify or de-stress themselves through sex – casual, uncommitted sex? Or could it be the lack of sufficient sex education – on what is sex all about, that has led them to view sex as something as casual as changing clothes? Or maybe, the influences of the West has finally fully manifested itself on our shores that we even share not just their preferences for fast foods, credit cards, and way of clothing but also their casual views on sex? There are too many questions left unanswered.

But what all of this tells us is that, sex has become something common place in our society. It has become prevalent. The need to keep it safe must become a top priority health concern of the government. Unless we want the label of the only Christian nation in SouthEast Asia with the highest AIDS/HIV incidence.

It is time the Church opens its eyes and ears to the reality that sex is as commonplace in the country as drinking and smoking is. This is no longer the time to mince words or operate in subtle meanings. It is time the government takes action – solid and concrete actions; not just plans or empty words. The need for education, on what sex is all about, should be now. People should be informed on all accounts so they could make intelligent decisions.

And the place to begin would no doubt be, not just the schools, but the call center companies as well. Of course, this does not imply that the only recent cases of HIV/AIDS are call center agents. There are other alarming new additions to the traditional list of people at high risk of HIV/AIDS but the most glaring additions are call center agents who are young and educated professionals.

News Source: HIV cases soar among Filipino yuppies, call center workers

Missed and Not Missed

10 Things I won’t miss in the BPO Industry

I won’t miss the controlled atmosphere. I won’t miss the fact that we need to call CCOD to ask for breaks or that after a break, we must go on auto-in at once lest we go on OB. I won’t miss the 10-minute total CR break for the entire shift.
I won’t miss the AHT, CSAT and QA advisories and audits.
I won’t miss the “Blocked by Websense” and the constant screen flashes indicating that the GTI is monitoring our computers.
I won’t miss the robotic opening spiel and the other spiels that although are unique to each agent, already sounds robotic due to constant over-use.
I won’t miss the unchallenging issues that keeps on repeating themselves day in day out.
I won’t miss the VR Sales!
I won’t miss the irate customers who, eventhough, is understandably frustrated, can’t comprehend that the other person on the line is a person himself and also has feelings and limitations.
I won’t miss the Log Bus and the ultra early pick-up.
I won’t miss the heavy queues or the excessive avail time.
I won’t miss talking almost non-stop about the same topic for almost 8 hours straight.

10 Things I’ll Miss about the BPO Industry

I’ll miss the kind and appreciative customers and their ear-flapping praises.
I’ll miss the bloopers incurred by the non-technical customers.
I’ll miss the daily IS chats with my guinea pigs.
I’ll miss the pizza nights and other apparently absurd theme nights.
I’ll miss Outlook, the email blasts and spams and my uber professional looking signature.
I’ll miss the pantry and the cheese cupcake and Big 250 Apple.
I’ll miss the team buildings and inuman days.
I’ll miss the stolen chats with a particular CCOD.
I’ll miss the fast rides with Kuya Adam.
I’ll miss the rec area and the Fuzzball and internet room.

Comparatively, the things I’ll miss are things I could work around with so as to have them back or things I could do without. The really important things – like work satisfaction and fulfillment are the ones provided by the new job that I haven’t been able to achieve with my previous job.

When I am asked why I left the BPO to become an MT (medical transcriptionist), I give the standard answer below, which I realized later on, is really true.

MT is the closest thing I could get to a medical career. I took up BS Bio with the intention of becoming a doctor but I realized that I could not cure patients and make them feel better for I lack the sympathy and care to do so. However, I am fascinated with the study of medicine. Yet for me to pursue medicine purely for education’s sake is a luxury I cannot afford. MT will give me the education I want while also filling my pocket.

new beginnings

Finally I’ve done the inevitable. I made the jump. I crossed the bridge. I did it. I resigned from my call center job and moved on to a new job. Fortunately for me, it was a very swift transition. Right after my last shift as an agent last Sunday night, I had my final interview with the new company Monday morning and tonight I’ll begin training. Somehow I still can’t quite believe how fast everything was or is. The transition wasn’t smooth. Because of the speed of everything I am unable to render the 30 days requirement after passing the resignation letter. As such, my supervisor informed me I will be terminated which according to him would be like a black mark in my employment history.

But I don’t care. Talking to other agents who’ve also been terminated from the BPO companies, it doesn’t really matter to the next company whether you resigned or you were terminated. The thing they’ll look at eventually are your skills.

And so I am excited to enter my new world tonight. I will begin training as a medical transcriptionist – MT in short – the closest thing I could get to a medical career. I graduated (or technically graduated) with a degree in Biology. The reason why I chose Bio was because I’m fascinated with life and its processes. I do not want to be a doctor – my constant forays to hospitals told me as much. Patients would die in my hands rather than be healed. Yet I am fascinated by the study of medicine – of how diseases affects the body and how procedures are performed to mitigate or cure them. Then again, to study medicine without really pursuing a career as a doctor is a luxury I cannot afford right now.

But with this medical transcriptionist job, I am able to meet the best of both worlds. I get to learn about medical procedures – diagnoses for certain illnesses, drug treatments, even surgical procedures – and at the same time I am paid for it. What’s even better about this job is we have quotas. I know for some people that would spell doom but for me it does not. Because we are paid by the quality and quantity of job we do. If we exceed our quota, we are paid extra. If the quality of our work is superb, we are additionaly compensated. Unlike in my previous job wherein you’re all paid the same rate even if you took more calls than the person sitting right next to you.

Another grand thing with the MT job is if I happen to finish all my work ahead of time, I get to do whatever I want. And since we have unlimited net access which is not blocked by some blocking program like —- , I can write blogs, play in Facebook, even watch YouTube videos right at work and they won’t mind. The freedom is overwhelming. I came from a job wherein every second is timed and controlled. CR break is 10 minutes for the entire shift; breaks are only 30 minutes and a second longer constitutes a reprimand; calls have AHT’s; etc. Now I am in a job wherein so long as you get the work done, they don’t care how you handle your time.

And the promise of a promotion is more tangible than the previous one and if I don’t want to get promoted, I can always opt to be a home-based MT which would entail more freedom.

I haven’t started in this job yet I am already loving it. I can already see how it will benefit me. Yes, it will be more toxic than the previous job in terms of workload. But that is the point exactly! It will involve more brain cells and my mind won’t be in danger of rotting away.

I can’t wait for tonight to begin. 😀

mistakes and chances

Do you correct one mistake by creating another even if the other mistake is a lesser evil?

I know, somewhere within me, that the resignation I have dreamed of a few weeks ago wouldn’t come quite as easily. Somehow I now know that I will not be resigning this early and I will be stuck in this stupidity for a much longer period than I wanted. Yet I wonder if I could somehow mitigate the circumstances by transferring to another company. There is a neighboring BPO company who is, as always, hiring. It’s a small company, judging by their building and facility but maybe I just deem that because there is a much larger and better facilitated company, the one I work for, beside it. The accounts involve medical transcription and teaching English to Korean kids. I must say they sound more appealing than the one I now have.

There should really be nothing preventing me from transferring to the other company. It’s not like I have much of a prospect in the company that I now work for nor does a promotion in this company promise a higher salary (internal promotion does not allow for a higher increase as compared to external promotion). For all I know the reputedly smaller competitor may even give me a higher position and a higher salary as evidenced by my current experience. There is the possibility that it may not be as stable as the company I work for now, but in the dynamic BPO industry, who really cares about stability?

Yet this is not really the job I want. I have no doubts that once the novelty wears off, I will be constrained to boredom once more – subject to dissatisfaction, disillusionment, and depression. Changing BPO companies is not the solution I am looking for. It is not the satisfaction that I am craving for. Yet now, for the meantime, while I am still debating what I should really do or if I even have the guts and ability to do it; while I am still determining who I am or the path I should really take in life, maybe another mistake wouldn’t hurt so much. Maybe another mistake wouldn’t do much harm. Maybe this mistake will actually do me more good pointing me to the direction I would really need to take.

chugging in the log bus

Horrifying. Appalling.

Harsh and excessive words yet I can think of no other words to describe the experience I’ve had en route to work today. I cannot fathom how heartless, merciless or plain stupid the administration can get for doing what they did to their “prized” agents. They say that agents are the backbone of the business. That agents are the ones who bring in the money. That without the agents, there would be no support whatsoever.

But why do they treat us like this? I have no qualms if they sent the “see-through” bus to pick us up, even at night when the wind is bitingly bitter and cold. But to have that bus pick us up when the weather is rainy, how stupid and merciless can they get? Don’t they know that the speed of the bus creates a wind force that could send even the tiniest droplets of rain pelting in our faces? I had to endure an approximately 20 minute ride to the work site and for that duration my face was wet with rain splashes. Not only that, I was bitterly cold even with a jacket and my hair was unceremoniously swept away in a most unfashionable way. To think I was sitting in the middle of the bus. I wonder how those sitting at the edges felt. I was boiling with rage inside.

Was it too much to ask for them to simply send over the mini-bus, a bus with decent roof and wall cover on such weather as this, especially since the bus was readily available and the number of people aboard that “see-through” bus, which is officially called LOG bus, is enough to fit in the mini bus.

Furthermore, was it too much to send the two vans to make the pick-up for the relatively small number of agents coming in at 10pm? I would moot the point that they were trying to save on gas because when I was the sole agent coming to the site for a particular shift, they would send the van for me when it would have been cheaper to just give me transportation allowance in cash.

I must say it was utter disrespect and disregard to basic human and employee rights to provide a transportation that would highly inconvenience even expose the employees to certain dangers and illnesses. I wish the management had employed more common sense in what they did. All sensibilities point out that I must make a case out of this with my supervisor and the other people concerned.

But I guess I’ll wait and see if they repeat the same atrocity again. (Atrocity.. hmm.. not quite the right word but I like the sound of it so indulge me.)

Addendum:

I later learned that the “support” people like the supervisors got to ride in the vans and enjoy its plush comforts. Apparently, everywhere there is discrimination of the classes. Tsk.

Breaking Free — Soon

I need some life outside work. Something that will boost me up or make me see the multi-facets of the life I am living. I need to be able to have a life outside what I do, not to be too engrossed with where I am and to be free of the shackles that work forcibly binds me to. Even though most of my waking time is consumed by my job, I must not be consumed by it. Even if I get to do nothing else most of the time because of the nature of the work that I do, I must still force myself, try my very best to break free of its clutches.

When I was a student I thought that working will allow me the freedom I have dreamed of. When I was a student I thought working will give me the time to do the things I really want to do. Now I see that I was wrong. Being a student already gave me all the freedom that I had or wanted in life. I was just bogged down by projects and exams but apart from that I get to join organizations wherein I got to explore myself and hone my skills and abilities. I was even able to travel to various places because of my activities. When I was a student, my social network expanded to immeasurable proportions and I got to interact with a lot of people from all possible walks of life – from the poorest of the poor, like kids in an illegal settlement in UP to the old rich of Philippine society like Mrs. Judy Araneta. I got to experience life for what it was really like – how to live amongst the poor and how to move alongside the rich. When I was a student, I had a life.

Now I am working. I am earning my own bucks and making my own way in the world. Unfortunately, I am also not living the life I wanted; the life I thought of or imagined. I feel more than ever that I am imprisoned in a life bounded by very strict and stringent walls. And where there is nowhere else I could turn to except to get out the door. I desperately want to take the exit, while I am still able to see it – to go out in the open fields and experience freedom again like I’ve used to. Sadly, I am not at liberty to do that – YET. I have no doubts that once I get the green light to flee, I will flee. I will leave this prison I have gotten myself into – to enter another prison? I sure hope not. I want to leave and forever remain in the freedom the meadow offers. I know I can make it out there.

It is scary to live in the open meadows – unsure what would happen next, uncertain when the next meal would be. As much as imprisonment sounds dull and boorish, it still affords security – security of shelter, of food, of provision. Yet in life, or in my life, there are needs greater than security. Needs greater than basic provisions. If only I could get the green light for these things, there is no doubt that I will pursue the higher needs – needs of self-fulfillment like Maslow said.

But for now, I must content myself with this prison I am in. The meadow is always there on the other side. So long as I can hear the birds chirping, feel the rays of the sun shining through, smell the fragrance of the dew-stained grass, I will remain at ease; at peace that the meadow is still there, waiting for me.

Breather

Days like this, I feel more than ever inept for the job I’m in. Not because I lack the skill or the discipline for it but because I feel like my skills, my abilities, and my talents are severely overlooked and underrated. Days like this I feel more than ever that it is time to quit. To look for a more challenging job wherein my full potential is exploited and the only reason I get marked down or overlooked is because I really do not have what it takes for the next step or the next challenge.

I guess I was placed on vacation leave, a rather unexpected one at that, to prepare me for the bad news I was to receive. Part of me does not think I should be blogging about this, for reasons that people I know will read about it, but then what is the purpose of my blog if I cannot share my sentiments to it. Besides, I have been talking a lot about politics the past days and I need to take a breather and talk about something else lest someone mistakes my blog to be a political blog instead of a personal one.

Maybe he was indeed better qualified. Maybe he was indeed a better candidate than I am. Maybe he had better stats than me. In any case, he was accepted for the position I believe I was fit for; for the position I knew I was supposed to have. I don’t even know why I was not selected. I guess they don’t tell you that. They just leave you to figure things out on your own – see where you went wrong and resolve it yourself. Maybe I was so out of the action last week, for very valid reasons that I do not know if they checked, and they thought that since my attendance was sort of erratic, I was sort of losing my touch and is a bit irresponsible for the job in question. Again, track records don’t matter I guess because they just have to look at the immediate and that’s it. You’re judged.

A tenured agent approached me and asked if I applied for the post. I think I have heard that question a dozen times already and I simply replied an unemotional YES. I don’t want her to see how upset I was for not being selected. She probed further if I got interviewed and by whom and when, and I just replied the standard answers to her questions. I asked her why she asked but she never gave a straight answer. She just smiled and left. I wonder why she thought to ask me. We were never close and I never disclose to anyone except my immediate supervisor my plans for my job.

Maybe I am being silly and immature. This is corpo world after all. Dog eat dog. Full of crap. Funny I ever considered working in the corpo environment, where I know people do step on people to reach the top; where I know connections have a way of creating favors skills cannot. Still it hurts. Much as I want to think well of the issue; make some graceful congratulatory remark; emulate Mar Roxas for his willingness to yield; I’m afraid that I am unable to. Tears constantly threaten to spill from my lacrimals and I have to stop them – I still have an 8 hour shift to fill in. Good thing I only have tonight and tomorrow night to work, then I’ll be going on my day off. I’ll be temporarily forgetting all this crap.

Another thing that really pisses me off is the survey I just got. It wasn’t even a survey for me but for another agent. But as with the case for these surveys, customers cannot really be blamed for wanting to express their opinions. It is just a glitch, and an unfortunate one at that, wherein agents will receive bad surveys for the bad service they did not perform. And now I am being asked to account for the DSAT survey and to analyze what went wrong with it. Well what went wrong was that the customer answered the wrong survey and it wasn’t his fault. It was the system’s fault.

I want to leave but sad to say I cannot. I do not want to leave only to move to a work totally wrong again for me. When I leave the work I want to transfer to is the work that I want, not another work that I’ll next hate. I do not want to create a string of hated jobs. But as of now I cannot pursue the work I want, not when the house financial situation is still shaky and somewhat dependent on me. I will need to wait. I have to. As of now, I have no other choice.

I entitled this post Breather because it is a breather from the political posts I’ve been writing about the last days. I feel like I’ve also came from a breather from the routine of work, a breather punctuated by the death of my grandfather and the recent buzz in politics; a breather that is now unfortunately coming to an end. I am again being sucked into the vortex of this relentless life as a call center agent – a hapless technician whose brain cells are dying from the rigorous routine of similar boring work issues.

A friend from work told me that life as an agent will never satisfy me. I need to get promoted to have a louder voice; a better perspective; a challenging duty. I need to get promoted quick. But with the changing ratings, the inconsiderate work rules and the questionable qualifications plus the feeling of utter disregard for one’s abilities, I have no concrete solid hope for ever climbing the ladder. Not that I really care. I just want a more challenging task.

And for that, the challenge I long for, the brain activity I crave for, I turn to other means. Work won’t satisfy so I must look for some other outlet.

Now back to those political discussions.

Addendum:

I just really want to know why. Why him and not me? But I am too afraid to ask.

mood swings and mean sides

Dahil sabi nila, at sabi ko, na ang blogs ay paraan ng pag-express ng mga saloobin at hindi dapat na-ce-censor di kaya ng ibang paraan ng komunikasyon, hayaan nyong ipakita ko ang malupit na aspeto ng aking pag-uugali. OO mabait akong tao. Pero minsan baliw din ako at nagiging mapanglait. Ewan. Gusto ko lang siguro manlait. O mamintas. O baka lumalabas lang ang pagka-masama ko. Dapat nga hindi ko to i-popost at gud lak na lang kung ma-post ko man to.

At dahil this is one moment of insanity in my end; a moment wherein I deviate from all norms of my thinking; then pardon my irregular and informal use of language. If I switch from Pilipino to English and vice versa pardon me. And if you know me personally, that is you will see me any time soon, please refrain from talking to me about what you read here. You see I hate it when people will try to censor what I write. Heck! There was this girl who could point blank curse in her blogs and no one censors her for it. I will not curse in my blogs. That is not who I am. It’s just that I also have a mean side to me. I am no angel. I know I am a work in process though. Yet there are times when we have to unleash the evil in us to get rid of it. And maybe that is what I am doing now.

In any case, I have been an anti-social person at work. In the sense that I do not like social functions like all the apparent school-like activities like theme days or talent nights or programs or even sports fests! I have had my fill of such activities when I was in school. I am sick of it! Totally! I have been a constant participant and organizer of numerous events that to see them at work makes me gall. How I wish it was my day off during such occasions. The reason I loved the morning shift so much was not really because I could have a normal bio clock but because I get to have the whole site to my own. We are the only account with a morning shift and as such the number of people at the site is next to zero. It was lovely taking your breaks alone – in silence – punctuated only by the occasional chirping of birds. During the night shift, there are a lot of people and when you take your break, you are never alone. It is never quiet.

And so today was Hawaiian-theme day and finals night of the American-Idol inspired singing competition. I have nothing against the organizers or the participants. It’s just that I know the events could be further improved – based on my numerous experiences with the matter. But then I am not complaining. For if I was to complain, knowing myself, the next thing I know is I am the heart of it – fixing the item or factor I was complaining about. You see when I see the reason to complain, that means that to my opinion there is something that can be improved and what I do is I look for the solution or the manner to improve that. And again, I can only shake my head as I watch the numerous number of people in the pantry that time, participating as audiences. I guess I am really too serious for a person. This is after all their idea of a break from the routine of work.

I have a different idea. How I wish that given the upcoming elections there would be forums or debates or discussions as to who should be the next leader of the country or what reforms the country would need or what kind of a leader should we vote for. How I wish that there would be some sort of propaganda introducing us to the numerous aspirants for various political positions. And then sometimes I think there are other great activities that we could have, maybe. But then again, I do not want to dwell further on the thought. Because knowing me, if I am utterly convinced that something is a good idea, I will not rest till I get to implement it.

He said I liked to complain. Well maybe I do. But I also want to resolve things. I complain because there is something that does not meet my expectations. Yet I see to it that when I complain, I do something to remove whatever it was that caused me to complain. Tsk. This is hard core blogging. Why am I back to blogging in my outlook? Because I cannot talk to him. Tsk. I don’t feel like talking to my other blogs. OR blog since there is only one that is in there.

I am having mood shifts. To think that I am so pretty today. And the senior manager even took my picture because they apparently thought I conformed to the Hawaiian inspired theme. But then I did not. I just thought I’d dress up today – my own style.

When I Became the Customer

I don’t like calling customer service. As much as I am a representative, I don’t like talking to other representatives. And it was to my chagrin when I had to call Globe Customer Service to complain about a missing load because of an unwanted subscription. Basically I was calling to ask for a refund for a game and a polytone I didn’t subscribed to but the suddenly billed me. To think that I seldom load credits in my cellphone, and the only time I ever loaded some, I get billed erroneously.

I hung up in my first attempt. I was too intimidated and I felt too stupid because I didn’t know how to express myself. So I calmed down my anger, composed my statement then tried again. This time I had better luck, although I can still sense the frustration in my voice and my sentences were usually left hanging. I still didn’t knew how to phrase my concern but I was able to somehow express it. Good thing the agent understood me. She was really patient and she kept apologizing – it was really sort of irritating but I dismissed it. I know how this things work. Usually they are automatic statements for a rep.

Well I was glad my issue was resolved. She promised to make a report out of it and she promised that within the day I will have my credits back. Well I did and for that I am pleased. And I was amazed by their system, out of curiousity I wanted to ask how their system worked but I restrained myself. She must have an AHT also and I must be eating it up already. I even asked if I get some sort of survey but then I guess they have their own different way of doing things.

The positive result of the experience was that I knew what it felt like to be a customer. Somehow I became more understanding of my own customers and in my shift today, I was a bit more patient than usual. I could really symphatize with them. And I did my best not to sound too robotic although the issues were, as usual, the same.

I guess we all are customers at one point in our lives and if you are a customer service representative, then you should better understand customers and their perspectives.

If we could only understand that they cannot understand, then we would be understanding.

–personal mantra at work-

Speaking My Mind Out: Customer Satisfaction

If you were a customer, what would satisfy you with with the current state of services you are receiving? Working as a Technical Support Representative, customer satisfaction is the primary goal of our industry – we aim to please the customer and hope to retain his loyalty to the company and its product by banking on his satisfaction with our service.

Yet customer satisfaction is the hardest metric to achieve by any hard working representative. Most of the time, customers call in already frustrated and disgruntled with the product that it takes a lot of efforts to make them satisfied and happy again.

In line with the upcoming QA Apprenticeship interview, of which I was asked to prepare for, came to mind the various ideas by which I think customer satisfaction would be drastically improved in our specific account; in our specific product. Basically our account only represents one product – an anti-virus software provided by an ISP company to its subscribers. There is only one product that determines how satisfied our customers are.

I lament that often times this product fails its expectations. I do not know whether it’s because the customers are only receiving a small portion of a vast product suite – and a free one at that – or simply because the manufacturers of the AV software are capitalists, in and out, that they only aspire to leach out more money from their customers. I beg to disagree on both accounts though. I’ve decided to give the benefit of the doubt to the AV company. Yes, the customers may only be receiving a few components of a bigger suite but I would like to believe that these few components are the most essential ones for virus protection and as such are the most developed and top of the line components of the said suite. I would also like to believe that the company itself cares about its customers, their satisfaction and the general improvement of their products – whether as stand-alone components or as part of a bigger suite.

And so with these beliefs held in check, I launch on to my ideas for attaining better customer satisfaction.

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