Pros
Reasonable benefits, decent pay, the potential work from home, job security, the opportunity for advancement
Cons
Where to start? The call center is without a doubt the most difficult and frustrating department to work in. This is no secret - the call center at ABC Financial plays a vital role within the company and I believe that most of the upper management genuinely appreciate (and empathize with) the representatives. Part of the job is often times giving your caller news they did not want to hear and not being empowered to do anything about it. This is simply part of the job description - and hey, it wouldn't be so bad except that lately conditions have deteriorated exponentially. Let me explain. ABC has a strict attendance policy. While I agree that it is an employee's responsibility to be present for their job, it is very difficult to request off in advance as there are only so many slots allocated for each day. As of my termination, every Monday and Friday for the next month were full. Christmas and Thanksgiving have also been claimed. They also designate mandatory overtime several times a week. I think they are in the process of adjusting the attendance policy so things may change in the future. As a remote agent you may feel estranged and alone. Most of the communication with your supervisor or coworkers is done through email or IM - all of your questions will be answered in this fashion. Most of the supervisors/leads work very hard and try to understand your issue. (Although, it is quite frustrating to see your supervisor at his/her workstation shopping online for shoes after you've just gotten yelled at for using your cell phone.) Sometimes it feels like you're being looked down upon if you ask a "stupid question." From my experience, supervisors and leads generally have a better experience with ABC because they are not constantly on calls. They are able to joke, chat, and socialize between tasks. Even in-house representatives have co-workers to share frustrated glances with when they get off a bad call. This is why I feel the remote-agent model will eventually fail. At-home representatives are disgruntled and this is leading to lower call quality and longer hold times. Why would you take someone off of hold when you know they're going to scream at you when you can just play candy crush or watch your favorite show with the subtitles on? The truth is it is difficult to care about this job because you are getting angry callers, back to back, and there isn't any morale or company loyalty for an at-home rep. Being at headquarters would keep an employee focused. You have someone physically behind you when you have a tough call. Working from home you get some encouraging words through an instant message and a picture of your boss. 'd like to add that ABC does not clearly explain the nature of the job to new-hires. They have terrific instructors but no amount of training can truly convey just what ABC's call center does. Also... in general, ABC Financial is an honest company. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for some of their clients. There is some shady stuff going on at a few of those gyms. And in other cases?... just because something is 'legal' doesn't mean it is moral. I will leave it at that.
