Working in a call centre is a unique experience. While it can have its difficulties, working in a call centre also has its charms. Today we’re going to talk about 10 things call centre workers have to deal with.
1. ‘Why don’t you know? Can’t you do your job?’ Unfortunately, sometimes you just don’t know the answer to a question. It might be an obscure issue that you have never dealt with before, or it might just be that your department (sales, customer service etc) doesn’t deal with this kind of issue. However, there are some customers who, as soon as you explain this to them, will jump on you like a cat on a mouse. ‘Why don’t you know this?!’ they’ll shout, ‘isn’t it your job to know?’. Often you can understand their frustration but they haven’t even let you explain why you don’t know the answer.
2. ‘Sir, I can’t get my manager right now’. Sometimes a customer wants to speak to a manager. Whether they just didn’t like your tone, an order they placed was delivered incorrectly or they don’t believe the front line customer service ever do anything to help (I actually had a customer with this problem once). Often times they don’t need to speak to a manager and given a moment to figure out a solution, you would be able to help them yourself. What the customer doesn’t know is that we do go and ask our managers and the response is almost always the same – ‘You can fix this yourself’. Going back to a customer and telling them you can’t get your manager never makes them feel better, so when this happens, you know you’re in for a ride.
3. ‘If you swear at me again sir, I will have to terminate this call’. Sometimes a customer will get angry and swear. It happens to the best of us. However, as a call centre worker, you might feel personally affronted especially if this person directs their swearing personally towards you. This is where most call centres operate the ‘3 strike rule’ – swear at me 3 times and I’m hanging up.
4. ‘I’m just doing my job’. If you’ve ever been told by someone in a call centre that they’re ‘just doing their job’, you’ve gotten too aggressive. ‘I’m just doing my job’ is code to those around us for ‘this guy is being a jerk because he doesn’t like what he’s hearing’. Sometimes, we just like to remind you that we’re people. too. Besides which, why would we bother lying to you? Whatever we’re telling you is company policy, so don’t blame us if you don’t like it.
5. ‘She’s on her break right now, can I help?’. Sometimes a customer wants to speak to a specific coworker of yours and more often than not (or at least so it seems) that coworker is not at their desk. Customers always seem to call for a specific person when they’re not around. Usually, it’s a problem that you can resolve just as well as your coworker but unfortunately some customers just won’t budge and want to talk to the first person they spoke to. This can be especially annoying if all they have is a first name and you don’t know which of the five ‘Sharon’s’ they want to speak to so have to go and ask each in turn.
6. Being stuck on a call way after your shift ends. The last 5 minutes of a call centre workers shift are the longest in the entire day. You sit, watching the clock, silently praying that the queue is short enough that you won’t get any more calls. Lo and behold, 2 minutes before the end of your shift a call comes through. It’s a doozy. You’re going to be here for at least another half an hour. Hope there’s another bus you can catch!
7. Needing to arrive 15 minutes before your shift starts. Most call centres operate on the assumption that it will take you at least 15 minutes to get to your desk, boot up your PC and get your equipment ready to start the day. Therefore, your shift is often extended by an extra (unpaid) 15 minutes. On top of which, it only takes you 5 minutes to get ready for the day, so you sit at your desk for 10 minutes every morning waiting to start work.
8. Hold music. You might think hold music is annoying but at least you only have to hear it once. Many call centres have systems that make the call centre worker listen to the hold music at the same time as the customer, for example when transferring a call. This is alright in the first few weeks of your job there but my oh my are you going to be tired of that soundtrack when the novelty wears off.
9. ‘I’m going to make a complaint’. The dreaded call that most call centre workers will experience at least once, regardless of how good they are at their jobs. Sometimes, a complaint to a company about a coworker is justified. A lot of the time, it comes down to whether the customer liked what you told them, even if it was what you are obliged by the company to say. When a customer makes a complaint it can completely ruin your day. It puts your job at risk, you spend all day thinking about it until someone from HR lets you know they have reviewed the call recording and decided you were just doing your job. Phew.
10. ‘I’m sorry, can you repeat that?’. Have you ever been in a social situation where you don’t hear someone properly and have to ask them to repeat themselves? Everyone knows after 3 times you can’t keep asking, right? It’s an unwritten social rule. Unfortunately, in a call centre, you can’t just laugh at what the person says and hope they don’t notice you couldn’t hear them. This will often happen in the first few weeks of your job and results in huge embarrassment because you actually really need to be able to understand the customer to be able to do your job.
So those are our 10 things call centre workers have to deal with. Working in a call centre can be a tough job but can also be very rewarding if you’re the right kind of employee. Some employers offer great bonuses, flexible shift hours and other perks that are definitely worth looking in to. While it may sometimes be a bit of a grind, you’ll also find there are a lot of pleasant conversations you can have with people throughout the day. Why not look at our article ‘Shift Hours; Are They For You?’ and see if this is the kind of role you might enjoy? As always, good luck!
