Ring Ring ... why not give me a call?

The phone rings, a momentary pause, that time of the day again. After two rings, she releases the mute button, puts on her best smiley face and says ...
"Good morning, Tweetfreedonia, you're speaking to blah,blah, how can I help you?" Nice,polite, welcoming. The reply makes Malcolm Tucker look like an extra from The Sound of Music. Welcome to my world ... the world of the call centre.

Along with a cast of 1000s, we sit in a badly designed 60s office. Too hot in summer, freezing in winter. We're part of the ever increasing faceless army that deal with customer complaints for a large high street organisation. We're the ones who are called all the names under the sun (and some new ones to boot) because YOU the customer feel obliged to shoot from the hip. You feel aggrieved that you were overcharged 1p on your purchase or Tweetfreedonia have too many charity collectors, or didn't prevent disabled drivers from parking in the parent & toddler bays (or vice versa).

So you dial that magic number, and full of your own self righteousness let rip. Mrs Shouty, Mr Sweary, Ms Obnoxious, not even pausing for breath. Brave behind that telephone and from the comfort of your own home, it's a wonder your neighbours' haven't applied for an ASBO. We work hard, we look for the best resolution to resolve your query. Sometimes that's all very well. Other times, well perhaps it's financially motivated. You've been done down, and the world owes you ... big time!

Well let's pause there, tough person. There's something you haven't quite grasped. The person at the end of your screaming rant is actually a human being as well. That person you've reduced to tears all for the sake of 1p could be your mother, father, brother, sister, grandson etc. Would you treat them in this way? First impressions last. I don't know you from Adam, but you believe during the contact we briefly have, that it's acceptable behaviour to reduce me to a crumbling wreck? Do you think that's fair?
I don't!

Next time you call, remember this. Call centres are set up to deal with customer issues. The people who are employed by them are not necessarily part of that same organisation. We don't get the same perks, bonuses, holidays, salary etc as the real employees of the organisation we represent. We're lower than that. We're outsourced workers. We're pretendy employees, over qualified and can't find work in our specialised area of expertese. We're on the private sector conveyor belt, the job we took out of desperation and paid a salary that doesn't even meet the national average. We work unsociable shifts and have to work beyond that if we receive a last minute phone call. We don't receive sick pay and are expected to drag our ill ridden bodies into that office.

So before you dial ... pause for thought, you may be aggrieved, but put on your nice happy smiley face ... and you might just be rewarded yourself