An Ordinary Day

I had gone to work at 12midnight last night, as usual. Got the routine calls, with a completely unique or difficult call from time to time. Had gone on break, as per schedule as usual. Took my lunch a bit behind schedule due to a long  but engaging call with a nice grandma, very much a lady in her own right, from somewhere in the Southwest. Got out of the office at about past nine-o-clock in the morning. Nothing extra-ordinary. Walked the same route I take everyday. The sun was just about getting hotter by then. Went home. Eat some bread, cheese, tuna; drank my favorite choco drink. Some friends, officemates texted, greeted. My mom and younger brother also texted. A friend called, then greeted, talked about some other things. Some time after that, my brother and mom called. Then the same greetings again. Asked how I was; some other things discussed. Said goodbyes.

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Now I'm in front of my laptop on the desk typing this blog. Later on I'll be answering inquiries about some real estate for sale online. The usual things. In an hour or two, I would be resting, maybe read a book then go to sleep; I still have work later. As usual.

Just like any other ordinary day except for the fact that today is my birthday.

<signed>

The Callcenter Boy.

Blank on a Saturday

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Normally, this is a regular workday/night for me. Being free on a weekend still hasn't sinked in. I honestly don't know how to spend it amidst all the possibly interesting things to do on a weekend aside from blogging. <LOL> I haven't actually planned on being free on a weekend. Now that's peculiar...

Might as well spend it catching some lost sleep.

Might as well read some pending books on my reading list.

Or do what the Italians call, "Il dolce far niente." <winks>

Till here.
<Signed>
The Callcenter Boy

Redeem the Callcenter Boys and Girls!

A callcenter that mainly supports U.S. customers starts on either 8 P.M. (if it's daylight saving time) or 9 PM and closes variably between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. if it's not a 24-hour support. So it was basically a complete 360-degree turnaround for someone who's a day person like me especially when I was still starting. I even at one point, started calling myself a "vampire" because I was always wearing shades during daylight whenever there's a dire need to go out to buy or do something out of the dark comforts of my bedroom. <LOL>. With these struggles and then some, I have been thinking about how it feels to carry the "callcenter boy/girl" tag on our foreheads. Not that the big eyebags or stressed/distressed faces are enough to justify the stresses this kind of job brings, but there are a lot more things that we in this field, should be more concerned about.

1. Fewer quality time with family members and/or loved ones could really take a toll on the relationships. I have known people in the business who have had been happy at some point, but got separated; among any other reasons for the break-up, but I believe HAVING TIME for each other is basically the most important factor in any relationship.

2. Then there's this larger risk of getting held-up by criminals while on the way to work, especially at night. And it is a fact that callcenter boys and girls are a significant percentage of victims of these good-for-nothings. We can read all that in the papers. The "Callcenter rep" or "callcenter agent" moniker seems to be equated with lots of money. 

3. And very importantly it's also very sad to note that callcenter agents, according to studies done by authorities, are also prone to promiscuity and Sexually Transmited Diseases which in a way degrades the profession and seem to demote it on the level of low-lifes and deemed dirty and not desirable. I guess being away physically from a loved one or the lack of intimate human touch almost everyday might be one of the factors for it.

What does this tell us?

That the callcenter people can be considered abnormal, not in the clinical way of course, but it's about like getting a bit more consideration and compassion from those people who lead "normal lives." And of course, we who are in this field should also be considerate enough to at least show to people the good side in us, that being one doesn't mean we have to be what other people deem us to be, with all those negative aspects. For me who have had the opportunity to start working in the callcenter business when it was not as saturated as it is now or hyped up, when the "callcenter boy" or "callcenter girl" was held in due respect, without tarnish on its name, I feel sorry for us. But it is not too late to redeem ourselves from all this bad publicity.

<signed>

The Callcenter Boy

Drunken State of Wakefulness (or, A Day in the Life of a Callcenter Boy)

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**The word "circadian" is a 20th-century invention. It was coined in 1959 from the Latin "circa" (around) + "diem" (a day).
It refers to events occurring within a 24-hour period, in the span of a full (24-hour) day, as in a circadian rhythm.
(http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=6766)

 I got home from work about 3 hours ago and I am still up writing this blog; I am a bit sleepy so please forgive me if there are typos that I might have missed after I publish this. <sheepish grin> It's been a long dragging day at the office. And let me say, a "day" in a callcenter person's life is not circadian** -specific(my own term, actually<grins>). In my case, it's from 9pm to 6am. And that should be it for me for the next two months or so, then it would be changed again. No permanent schedules in this kind of job.

Last night, I arrived as usual 15 minutes early for my shift. Only two of my officemates were there. Nico and Tisha (not their real names, to protect privacy) were already preparing their tools of our trade - and that includes but not limited to the headset, which to me is our "crown of glory and agony". <Laughs>. Now these two guys have had been with the company for longer than I have been; I do admire their work ethic. It was really good they're already there, at least I wasn't alone "on the floor", a callcenter term for the agents' working area. Our day started smoothly since it was still a Sunday for them and we were what we call the "opening" agents - those who answer the first calls of the day. We open their day (the callers') so it is assumed we should be upbeat and perky although we are on the other side of the globe and just about a little more or less 24 hour time difference. Haha! So much for acting as if sunlight is streaming from our office window (by the way, we don't have windows in our building; a compact structure with centralized airconditioning) while assisting their various needs. There were times I'm just slumping on the office chair, but still on upbeat voice mode nevertheless. <Smiles>.

Anyone who says that a callcenter agent's life is a breeze, well it's not totally true. A lot of things people hear about us callboys and callgirls are just hype. I guess there are more hardships than what have collectively been assumed as the good life. Firstly we have to be awake when our body says "sleep" and don't forget those difficult callers who can drain our energies appeasing, pleasing them, making them happy. I mean, here's where the "selling" ourselves take place. Haha! The challenge to bend some people's view/s, previous bad experiences with the product and/or the company we represent, into positive results that should be a win-win situation between both parties is not just a walk in the park. AND about the big salary hype about callcenters, all I can say that one would get paid exactly for what he/she had really strived hard for. It's real hard work. And amidst it all, there's nothing much more rewarding than to know that we are able to help a person regardless where he/she is in the world. I can imagine the unseen smiles our callers are wearing everytime we are able to resolve their issue over the phone and made them feel they're valued. I would also do the same way too. If you love helping people, then I bet this kind of job is for you!

Have a great day!**(remember, not circadian-specific,ok? hehehe)

Lost in Time and Date (or, How does your job change you?)

Look how time flies!
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There are 365 days in a regular year (except on leap years); I suppose holidays or other special occassions are redmarked on everyone's calendar. But not me, not on my calendar if I ever even have one. I just rely on my cellphone's date and time. To me, the days are all the same when I started a call(center) boy. And I'm bad at remembering birthdays. The times I was able to greet some friends were those when I was able to read their birthday notifications on social networking sites, almost always on the unavoidable (LOL!) Facebook. For one who works even during holidays, every day of the year seems to be the same as any other. Even the spark of Valentines Day and the feel-good atmosphere of the Yuletide season don't sink in to one's core anymore.

I don't even celebrate my own birthday, especially when it falls on a workday. So I just spend the day sleeping, as I'm always (and I guess, forever will be) on night shift. It might sound pathetic to some but for me, always having this grateful mind especially on one's birthday is just about enough. On the contrary, I don't feel sorry for myself for not having to celebrate it, much less with other people since there are always other days to do that. Aside from being able to save some bucks in doing so, I would rather sleep or rest than to go out and have fun. I bet a lot of "call" boys and "call" girls agree with me on this one. <chuckles>

Some say I'm an individualistic person and I respect what they think. Anyway I guess it's just my own way of evolving with my current work. We have to know how to adapt to anything, especially to things as essential as our jobs.

What's your job and in what way/s does your current job change you?

Coffee-drunk

I drink coffee. Period. I drink it when I wake up to go to work. In the office right before I go on "auto-in" to take my first call of the day, I would fill up my small thermos with coffee till it's almost to the brim. I have the liberty to do so since it's basically free for everyone there. <chuckles> I guess that is one of the stronger reasons why I am hooked to it. I would get my second and third servings between my first breaktime and lunch (which is, by the way, usually in the wee hours of the morning, say 1 A.M.) And then sometimes another serving about 2-3 hours before my shift ends.

You might really want to ask me how bad it is? Well, let me list all the things I notice myself:

• It's an automatic task everytime I wake up and prepare for work. My brain doesn't need to tell my hand/s to pour the sweet smelling thing in the cup. Just like that. Snap! (LOL)

• My urine smells coffee when I pee but its almost always when I'm still in the office.

• My sweat smells like coffee. Even on times I'm not drinking coffee..really! A bit scary, huh?

• Maybe it's just my imagination but my head hurts when I can't drink coffee in a day.

They say that coffee is somehow beneficial (sort of) to our health. I've read about it somwhere... Some say it's anti-aging (though some studies say otherwise) and an anti-oxidant that could prevent certain cancers, heart rhythm problems, and strokes among others. But really guys, too much of a good thing, even the sweet aromatic lovely savory stimulating coffee that I love, is just plain bad if taken in excess. So at least to balance out the damage that might already have been done, I balance it by drinking lots of water or pair it with something healthy, say an apple.

My Mantra: Keep drinking coffee and eat an apple. A cup of coffee keeps you kicking and an apple a day they say, keeps the doctor away. <winks>

Looking back...again.

The first time I've heard all about these callcenters was through a friend's friend who had applied to one. And true enough even before then, "BIG PAY!" was its official slogan. <smirks> And I guess I admit rather hesitantly, that it's the biggest factor why I'm drawn to this industry although the difference between my 1st pay of my company and my job prior to this (in an architectural/construction firm) was just almost a thousand bucks shy. But I grabbed at it anyway, since especially they said all I need to do is to just sit and answer calls from people. At that time, the "people" I'm refering to is almost exclusively Americans since U.S. companies were the first ones who had pioneered the outsourcing concept.

Without thinking about the work hours which are almost always graveyard shift, I jumped into the bandwagon. And boy, what an adjustment was that for me! I always consider myself a day person and an occassional insomniac so it was really a struggle. I literally dragged myself out of bed in the first few months. And when I had my insomnia attacks, I'd just party the night away if its on a restday (I have since moved on from that phase in my life, hehehehe) and end up feeling so wasted and tired during office hours the workday after. Or if its in the middle of a workday, I would render OT's if at all, because OTs (this means "overtime" by the way) weren't rigoriously tracked then. You can just do OT all you want, even if it's not a very busy day and you get paid for it every minute! I know any old-timer in our company love to reminisce the days when anyone can just render OTs just that easy. And that's one of the things I still miss on those good 'ole days.

At first I thought I'd just be a callcenter boy or call-boy for a few months...and almost everytime when I felt sooo stressed or beat out, my mantra is, interestingly, "Don't quit, loser!" And I guess that was very effective for my psyche because right now I realize I'm already quite a bit overstaying in this fickle, changeable world of call-boys and call-girls.

Bravo to us!