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Dec. 13, 2004 Call centers for the telecommunication's industry...taking incoming calls from customer's needing to pay their bills, make arrangements, vent their anger towards the company, or fighting for promised rebates and/or credits that never seem to appear. I have had a day job with a major telecommunication's company, who has been sued for signifigant reasons, yet everyday I take calls from people so angry at the company for reasons varying from: you messed up my order, why does my bill not reflect my payment, why is my rebate something I have been fighting to receive for months, and what about the cell phones I returned and haven't been credited for? It's difficult to find the words sometimes especially when you genuinely empathize for what the customer is going through. When you yourself begin to wonder: I've come to work for these people as I finish my novel and they have slick ad campaigns, but they aren't doing things right, smoothly, correctly, honestly...and I am a part of it. Some customer's apologize because they know they are anger at the corporate structure, while others start going off on you - in verbiage I will not repeat - as you are "part of," the company they are so angry with. Why you ask is it so difficult to treat employees and customer's with respect, offer good benefits and win customer loyalty through efficient, caring, fast, correct service? Why instead the cheap shortcuts and "one hand not knowing what the other is doing?" It has been an education to hear what sale's people have done to make their quota's and sold to people and then hearing the customer's reaction when they get their first bill and it's much higher than what they understood it would be. What do you say? Do you feel shame? I work in collections after taking a personality test, and being shy about talking about my relationship with my family - who had recently died in a car crash - they put me in collections, not customer service as I had applied for. (strange, but true. I suppose if you're shy that means you want to be yelled at by angry people who are beyond frustration, and feel comfortable, trying to explain to the customer what they feel they were lied to about, i.e. why their bill is so high, or their cell phone doesn't perform as promised, or getting a rebate is as pleasant as a root canal with no novacaine.) Just some thoughts about a seemingly harmless day job I took a year ago. The divesteture changed things, but the bottom line to "staying in touch," is doling out the dollars. I must ad, I am amazed sometimes at my co- workers ability to shrug off a customer's upset and/or yell back at them, with no sweat. As an observer of human nature, yay, writer, this has amazed me. The company I work for seemingly didn't learn anything from getting sued, already. It will be interesting to see how many times they need to be taken by the people to the Better Business Bureau and forced to cough up dollars for ripping people off. Yes, I'm leaving the company...I just wanted insurance and a paycheck...but it would seem the price for such things is to sell your soul to a greater evil of greed. I feel like the character in "pilgrim's Progress," who runs yelling, "all is vanity!" Telecommunications and you...when that phone is against your head sending it's radiation out and sucking your wallet dry, remember this: it's only greed that fuels it. ------------ About the author: Phoenix Morric is a published poet, working on first novel and has some ezine articles/reviews up to peruse. Currently she is working on her first novel and shopping for an agent. All queries, comments, please direct to: PMorric88@msn.com. Serious only, please. http://profiles.myspace.com/users/7934995 is also a site with my poetry and an interview of The Indigo Girls I recently did in July. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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