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Tardy

2009-09-25T07:05:00.001-07:00

It is my second week on the floor from nesting and I already have 3 lates in a row. This can really be frustrating to me because I won't get the attendance bonus for this month and it will affect my team's stats and personal stats. I remember when I first met my Team Manager, it seems that I am being ignored. Well, I understand him since I made a mistake but anyway, I gave him a very good impression since he received a commendation email from my previous customer telling him how happy the customer is with regard to the support I gave her. Anyway, working in a call center is really different from working in the government or any other industry, since the business caters to foreign businesses, it is indeed important that the people working in this industry must be flexible, hardworking and a team player. The fact that we venture ourselves in the call center industry, then it is a must for us to adjust with its needs in time, patience and integrity. I've been working in a call center for quite a long time now and personally, I still have this problem with being punctual. Since college, it is normal to me being late in class that my teacher would even ignore my tardiness. My case is worst when I was in college because I normally woke up 1:30P.M. and my class starts at 1:30P.M. When I arrived at school, I'm over 30 minutes late and that made me decide to just skip the class and wait for my next class. I brought that habit until I got hired. That has been an issue to me by my supervisors and colleagues. I can't blame them since it is my fault. I think I should start reading "Punctuality for Dummies" book because I am aiming for higher position in my current center. With the love of God, I will start practicing not to be late, not even a minute.

ExcelAsia launches its online portal!

2009-08-19T20:57:00.001-07:00

ExcelAsia, a recruitment, sourcing, human resource training and business process hub firm launches its online recruitment portal. ExcelAsia was founded by Rita Trillo-Ugarte last 2005 and trained over 20,000 people for BPO employment. They recently opened its fifth facility at Libis, Quezon City. Other facilities are at Makati City, Cebu City, Alabang and Bacolod. The company also partnered with TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) for President Arroyo's Work for Training Scholarship Program. Once you get to pass the hiring process of ExcelAsia, you will be trained for 2 weeks. The training covers communication skills, computer skills and call center basics. After the training, ExcelAsia will refer you to call centers and that's for free. You will be trained and referred at no cost. You can check their website at ExcelAsiaJobs.

How to handle Irate Customers

2009-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest challenges that a call center agent can experience when working at a center is handling difficult customers. Difficult customers are those who are impatient, irate, uncooperative, arrogant etc. People that have been working in the industry for how many years now are really good in handling difficult customers. Those people have already mastered handling difficult customers. Its something like a piece of cake for them. I listed below some guidelines on how to handle difficult customers.

1. Watch your voice
2. Keep perspective
3. Don't join the battle
4. Using HOLD - the "Penalty Box"
5. Avoid saying No - Give choices
6. Don't hide behind Policies
7. Do what you can
8. Don't take it personally

There are times that customers get more irate when you're gonna tell them some negative information or bad news. The way you deliver your message can make a big difference in the customer's perception and response. Its just a matter of how you pace yourself and how you give the message by not offending them. Also, customers doesn't like refusals, so you will have to avoid saying no. Instead of saying no, give them an option or choices to let the customers decide between the alternatives that you define to focus them away from ones you'd like to avoid. Pressing the HOLD button when handling calls like this is a big NO. You can place them on hold but sometimes, it can make them more angry. So, if you think that it is really necessary for you to put them on hold, ask permission and wait for their response. After you put them on hold, go back to the customer and give them resolution to their concern. Don't get back to your customers with only one solution. It would be better if you get back at them with multiple solution. So what you can do is to collect more information while the customer is on hold.

Life of a call center agent.

2009-08-07T03:57:00.000-07:00

If you could not easily adapt the "Call Center Culture", maybe this industry is not really for you. Basically, agents are from different walks of life. Some agents are from provinces who was raised with their own cultures. Others are from the Metro that most of them are "sosyal". But that's not gonna be a problem since you will have all the time to get along with this people. There will be some changes in your personal life too. There are times that you will be drag by your colleagues in a drinking session early in the morning. You won't have enough time with your high school or college classmates since you will be sleeping in day time and at night, you're at work. That's gonna be normal for an agent. People around you are gonna give you a stick of cigs. If you don't smoke, its really up to you if you're gonna take that stick from your teammate or not, but you'll end up sniffing 2nd hand smoke from them. So if you're planning to apply at a call center, expect some changes in your life. But I assure you that you'll enjoy working at a call center.

How much is the basic pay?

2009-08-06T02:17:00.000-07:00

As we all know, contact centers here in the Philippines do offer salary above the minimum. I think its not really ethical for us to discuss about this topic when we're being interviewed not unless the interviewer will be asking you that leads to this topic. Even in other industries, if you're gonna ask someone about their pay, they prefer not to talk about it. Some companies do really offer a mouth-watering pay like Dell and Stellar. Well, if you apply for a supervisory post or higher than a Tier 1 agent, I suppose you would get more than what you expect.

What to wear during the interview?

2009-08-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

When I first applied for a job at a call center, I can still remember how dressed to kill I am. I was driving my motorcycle, when I went to the recruitment area at Makati, I'm already "rugged". One thing that I learned when I apply is that when applying for a call center job, you need to be at least presentable. Personally, I don't really believe that you need to wear your long sleeves and a khaki with a black shoes or a skirt for the ladies when you go to the recruitment. But that's a plus if you do it that way because the inteviewer will have a good impression to you. In some recruitment process, they would really require you to wear corporate attire but some doesn't really care. But I think they would really prefer applicants to be presentable. A tip for an applicant would be, bring a jacket. Yes, you heard it right. Bring a jacket during the interview. Its because most of the recruitment floor's aircondition are set to low temperature. So, if you don't want to get frozen while you're being interviewed, wear a jacket. It can really help you.

Computer Literacy in a Call Center Industry

2009-08-05T23:17:00.001-07:00

Using computer is one of the essential skill that an applicant must have when working at a call center. Its not really necessary to learn computer language. A bit of knowledge about Microsoft Office would do just like Microsoft Words, Microsoft Excel and some Microsoft Powerpoint. Also, one must know how to do some keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+C, CTRL+V, etc. Filipino are now hooked into Technology so I assume most of us know the basics of the computer. If you're gonna apply for a Technical Support post, then you should know not only the basics but also the troubleshooting and some computer parts. Being knowledgeable to the computer will make you equipped to handle the job well. During the exam, some of the questions will be about computer basics and Internet related topics. So if you think you could not handle basic of computers, I advise you to practice now if you would really want to apply for a job at a call center.

Dell MOA acquired by Teleperformance

2009-08-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Last summer, April 2009, Dell site in MOA has been acquired by Teleperformance. Base on some trusted eavesdropper, Dell MOA has been purchased by Teleperformance for Php200 Million. The employees of Dell MOA was given a chance to file a resignation with a separation fee or to continue working there with the same pay and benefits but under a different management. I can still remember when I saw the Dell site in MOA, I said to myself that I will be transferring to this center. I don't know now if they still give the same luxurious benefits to their agents with Teleperformance's governance. But yeah, it was a hell of experience to the agents there. One of the generous contact center in the Philippines, Dell.

Welcome

2009-08-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome here to my brand new blog. This blog is dedicated to all the people working in contact center.

What to expect in this blog? For sure, it would be my personal experience in working at a call center. Job openings for call centers will be included here too. Some rumors and hear-says.

The Author.

My name is "Boy", currently residing at Quezon City, Philippines. I've been to 3 different call centers. I applied to several contact centers too with "failures" and "job-offers".

Contact Us

2009-08-03T05:44:00.000-07:00