Pros
• Easy job to get into, no experience required so perfect for entry level • Recruitment process is fast, less than 24 hours after applying I received a phone interview, then was asked to come in for one on one interview, (some people are asked to come back for group interviews and role play however I wasn't) and then within 5 days I was offered the job • Due to the stressful environment majority of the agents are supportive of each other and teams become like family, I have made many friends through my 10 months working for TSA • During the 4 weeks paid training, I was very excited and hopeful about the future career opportunities with TSA and the bonuses seemed achievable • They offer 2 free counselling session as they understand how stressful the job can be
Cons
•Training didn't properly prepare us for day to day calls, mainly focused on product knowledge that is useless since it is ever changing • One support person to help around 16 people all taking their first phone calls at the same time • After a week taking mainly store calls we were split up and put into teams and expected to know everything, support members were very impatient with newbies • Support members are rarely on the same page about information as each other • System is constantly slow and shuts down for a couple of hours at least every week, we are still expected to take calls when there is nothing we can do for the customer and can't see their accounts • When other departments (eg. Billing, moves) are busy, we are given their call flow even though we are not trained in anything they do • So much pressure to make sales that do not value customers and they have no need for them (eg. Selling a tablet to pensioners) • TSA's priorities and Telstra business rules are conflicting making it difficult to do the correct thing • They do not care about their customers or staff self development, only care about the whole centre stats (eg. Call was lost during conversation and agent was advised not to call back as the centre had too many outbound calls that day) • High turnover rate due to the pressure, workplace bullying and favouritism • HR do not follow up on bullying complaints even when multiple agents report it, the victims end up quitting before anything is done • Unless you are sucking up to management or have agents/team leaders willing to stick up for you, it is very difficult to feel secure in your job • Even the best agents in the centre are struggling to keep up with the expectation • They offer false hope, act like they are willing to help you but takes up to 2 months for anything to be submitted (eg. Full time to part time for family commitments) • They don't understand privacy, upon return to work from sick day, they require a med cert and formal meeting explaining why you had a sick day and sometimes ask for proof that you have contacted them about it • Team leaders are often staying late and coming in early up to 3 hours per day unpaid to finish all of their excess work otherwise they risk being demoted • Managers and team leader have meetings every hours and upskilling meetings every week, leaving maybe one authorised staff member on the floor to help out with difficult issues • Rotating roster is incompatible with a healthy work/life balance, often get put on shifts with 9pm finish and 7:30am start next day as well as having to be available 7:30am to 9pm everyday and they don't care about what you put down for availability • Worst company to work for!!!