Life in a call centre...

TSx

Another veteran of several call centres - most recently insurance based.

As above, the experience can be very different depending on the call centre - I still work (outside the call centre) for the same insurance company and all targets have now been scrapped - they are considered counter-productive (if you get a difficult call and it takes an hour to resolve properly then that is the right thing to do). Everyone is treated like an adult so no requesting permission to go to the loo etc.

I have also worked in customer services for a large broadband supplier which was much more frustrating as we essentially couldn't do anything to help and were expected to fob people off. That said, I made a lot of life-long friends in that job.

I've also done sales which was the most demanding as there is a real likelihood of them getting rid of you if you're not meeting targets (less likely in customer service roles if you're good on the phone, from experience).

If you know someone who works there, speaking to them will be the best bet to get an idea of the type of call centre it is and how well you'll cope with the work. I suspect that outsourced call centres are often the worst as their contracts will include targets which they have to meet. Being employed directly is far better.

dori2o

CrowCrow wrote: »

This explains why your experience is completely different to everyone else in the private sector.

?????

Really... You want to make this into an argument of public versus private sector?

Oh, thats right, I forgot. All those who work in the public sector sit on our backsides all day doing nothing. We have no targets to hit, we can sit and talk all day long. We don't care about customer service and couldn't possibly know what its like to work in the private sector.

Here's a few facts for you.

18 months ago a trial was done which involved using a private sector company to run a small selection of calls on the Tax Credit helpline.

This trial was done, according to HMRC, to try and compare best practices between the Public department and the private sector business. However, it was clear at the time, and still is clear, that this was a trial done to gain experience/data in order to potentially privatise public sector customer services, i.e. contact centres.

They were given targets similar to those HMRC staff work to.

They were compared against experienced HMRC staff taking calls, contingency HMRC staff taking calls (which is not their ordinary role and are used to help meet the increased demand) and HMRC staff new to tax credits.

When results were compared the HMRC staff were more productive, and more accurate than the staff working for the private sector business.

In terms of CC work HMRC staff are also generally paid less than the equivalent role in the private sector.

Unfortunately however, it's much easier for some to believe myth and conjecture, often done in order to make themselves feel better.

CrowCrow

dori2o wrote: »

?????

Really... You want to make this into an argument of public versus private sector?

Oh, thats right, I forgot. All those who work in the public sector sit on our backsides all day doing nothing. We have no targets to hit, we can sit and talk all day long. We don't care about customer service and couldn't possibly know what its like to work in the private sector.

Here's a few facts for you.

18 months ago a trial was done which involved using a private sector company to run a small selection of calls on the Tax Credit helpline.

This trial was done, according to HMRC, to try and compare best practices between the Public department and the private sector business. However, it was clear at the time, and still is clear, that this was a trial done to gain experience/data in order to potentially privatise public sector customer services, i.e. contact centres.

They were given targets similar to those HMRC staff work to.

They were compared against experienced HMRC staff taking calls, contingency HMRC staff taking calls (which is not their ordinary role and are used to help meet the increased demand) and HMRC staff new to tax credits.

When results were compared the HMRC staff were more productive, and more accurate than the staff working for the private sector business.

In terms of CC work HMRC staff are also generally paid less than the equivalent role in the private sector.

Unfortunately however, it's much easier for some to believe myth and conjecture, often done in order to make themselves feel better.

Someone has a chip on their shoulder.

I made no mention on work ethics of either sector, I was talking about the actions of the employers.

I won't hold my breathe for an apology.

dori2o

CrowCrow wrote: »

Someone has a chip on their shoulder.

I made no mention on work ethics of either sector, I was talking about the actions of the employers.

I won't hold my breathe for an apology.

Actions of the employers?

I don't enjoy the job because of the employer. In fact I would suggest that over the last 5 years my employer (HMG as a whole) has acted unreasonably, my employer has failed in several of their obligations to myself specifically, and to others in a similar position, they have actively sought to attack innocent people and force them, along with other vulnerable people in society to pay back the deficit, solve the problems of the economy, pay down the national debt etc, all of which are problems caused by people with much higher incomes, much more power, and whom have not yet been asked to contribute a penny towards any of the austerity projects, and still we're told we're all in it together.

It's absolutely clear that the majority of public sector/civil service employees (the majority of whom earn less than £21k per year) have been treated unfairly and with complete contempt by their employer given the decimation of their contractual terms and conditions, the continued unfair pay freeze/cap (set to continue for at least another 4 years), the ripping up of contractual pension rights, etc etc.

Come 2019 when the Living Wage becomes the National minimum, then the majority of civil service jobs will be paid at NMW. That is completely disgraceful.

I see no need to apologise given the basis of your original statement.

In order that the OP can get their question answered fairly I will not be making further comment on this matter.