Lib Arts BA-->Call Center-->Argh!

[ricotta]

Well, it happened. After getting my BA and resolving myself to not work in a call center again, my first full time job after college is in one.

First off, I work swing shifts Fri-Tues so meeting new people in my new city (moved about 6 weeks ago) is almost impossible. Of course it's a call center, so not much interaction with co-workers either. In addition, I don't have much motivation before my shift to do things like work out, volunteer, etc. Most of that time is devoted to spending time with my wife, and that will go out the window once her job goes full time 8-5 pretty soon. PLUS, I have a 2.5 hour commute round trip.

I can't stand coddling people all day/night over the phone, and dread going into work--and I've only worked there a month! I do not want a future there or the company in general, even though I could probably work my way up fairly quickly.

There are positives of course. The pay isn't terrible at $14.50, even if some of that is eaten up in commuting costs. The company is decent and the product is simple and well-liked. Employees are treated relatively well. I also perform well at the job and began out-performing the metrics as soon as I started.

I am still continuing with the job search and am waiting on final round decisions from a couple places already, but I'm still quite bummed out. I KNOW I should not quit, especially with lack of jobs now. This probably says something about me, because a few years ago I would have walked away already. I think I just needed to vent. Definitely not where I wanted to see myself at this point in my life.

Anyone else in a similar situation? How do you deal with the drudgery and monotony of the job while also handling the constant, usually negative (people usually don't need to call unless there is a problem) interaction with people? Any tips on getting through the daily grind?

[mahlerssecond]

I currently work at a call center for one of the nation's best loved retailers whom is known for it's customer service. The company treats us very well, and I am making about the same wage that you are. Even though I love our customers and have honed in my people skills in the year and a half I have worked them (they are a great company when it comes to employee development), I feel like I am "leashed" to a telephone for eight hours a day. I worked as a security officer before I came to this job, and even though the call center job is tons better, I miss the ability to up and move around during my job. I am also a person who feels that they do better when they are in a support position, and not on the front lines.

The biggest negative I feel to my job is the micromanagement of the call center environment. My metrics and quality have been within the means laid out by the company. I wish my job didn't depend so much on these attributes and that we had more autonomy to do the things we needed to service our customer without "big brother" looking over our shoulder. I wish the company would focus on how I service my customer, much rather than metrics.

Another thing you might want to try is ask your employer if you can interact with your customers via other mediums such as chats or e-mails. If you mix up the mediums that you converse with your customers, it can make the job more interesting.

Don't feel to bad, I completely understand what you are dealing with.