Call Centre Working Can Be One of The Most Stressful Jobs on Earth!

23/12/2013

Call Centre Jobs can be Extremely Stressful

During my thirty year career I have dealt with the general public thousands of times but NEVER have I spoken to anyone as rude as the ones I speak to in my current job who appear to believe their basic human rights have been breached because their shopping has not been delivered on time or has an item missing.

People - I know it must be frustrating for you but just possibly could you have a cup of tea before calling; after you have come down off your little pedestal and calmed down just a bit.  At least wait until the steam is no longer emitting from your ears. Please! - for the sake of all us long suffering souls who have to answer the phone to you.

I have vast experience speaking to the public on the phone as both a motor insurance underwriter and a loss adjuster. I've spoken to people who are often highly emotional.  As a call centre worker I take over sixty calls during a five hour shift and these are 99% complaints - people very rarely call to say how happy they are. Day in day out. Peck, peck, peck, peck. After a very short while it begins to grind you down until you eventually begin to lose the will to live and your inner demons surface. This may be the reason all the windows on the top floor are bolted closed.

Following redundancy from the 18 years in insurance, I now work in an incoming call centre dealing with irate members of the public regarding their home shopping deliveries. Total shock! Never have I been spoken to the way some of the customers talk to me on the phone.  I'm regularly spoken to as if I'm something which has just been scraped off a shoe.  Mr and Mrs Public appear to think anyone who answers the phone from a call centre is fair game for as much abuse as they wish to spew forth until they feel relieved of whatever pent up stress they have accumulated over the preceding hour/day/month/year.  Some folk treat us as if we are at the bottom of the scale of life itself. Amoebas with the intellectual ability of ant dandruff.

It is a call handler's job to hear the customer out, let them vent and then provide a solution to the issue in as quick and as appropriate a way as possible, politely and professionally. I know the calls are recorded and should I feel the urge to advise the caller to stick their attitude where the sun doesn't shine, I must resist.

They say things like 'I don't give an effing TOSS if your driver and his effing van is at the bottom of a cliff ~ that's not MY problem ~ I want my effing shopping and I want it NOW!'  Oh joy! We are supposed to treat these individuals with respect and professionalism.

Call centre staff are there because they need a job, some as a stop gap while studying for a degree at university, some because they need the unsociable hours in order to juggle the needs of a family. Some are there as a second job. Some may even be there because they like it (although this is unlikely!) Nobody ~ NOBODY leaves school with the sole ambition of working in a call centre. We're all real live people and we have the same daily stresses and strains as everyone else. Even so, some members of the public think it's perfectly acceptable to be as nasty and as rude as possible ~ it's almost like a form of therapy in a 'lets call some idiot in a call centre and let them have it' kind of way. If they can't see us then we are clearly androids and not humans.

Whatever it is our company has or hasn't done is not personally our fault, even so, we will do our utmost to put it right.  We know what can be done and the appropriate action to take.  We can, will and actually want to make customers happy.  After all if they are happy then this makes us happy as we feel we've done our job well and they will not scream or abuse us. - Good call!  If you get the vibe that we may be being a trifle abrupt with you just bear in mind this is probably because you have been abrupt with us.

A colleague of mine with a child of three, who is studying an advanced maths degree in university was told 'listen love I know you don't quite understand how things work in the real world as you are only a monkey in a call centre'. Another colleague who has two jobs to make ends meet has been told 'I know you unfortunates can only dream of earning what I earn and I really don't have time to be messing about with your type on the phone'.  An Asian colleague who's lived in the UK forty or more years since age two who sits at the desk next to me in has been told 'I don't want to talk to you I want to talk to someone in my own country'. Another was told 'I want to speak to someone who earns more money than you' - (tempting oh so tempting to say 'well you can speak to Wayne effing Rooney if you like but he's not going to help you with your shopping is he?) I could cite many more examples ~ my point is callers have NO IDEA who they are talking to.

My current colleagues are all the most wonderful, colourful, diverse, down to earth, grounded. wild and exotic people I could ever wish to work with.  All of them have their own life stories, their own families and their own very individual personalities. The company deals with online deliveries - a big company, good name, good prospects, nice office and lovely staff. Our customers choose to have their shopping delivered ~ a convenience which they pay very little for so they don't have to go to the store themselves.

Occasionally something goes wrong!  Imagine the busiest time of year for this type of business - let's call it 'Christmas' shall we? Superstores are obviously very busy this time of year and it is not a pleasant experience doing battle with other like minded individuals also involved with this Christmas malarkey. Most people I know will opt to roll up their sleeves, sharpen their elbows and prepare to do battle in the shops. The advantages of this are that you can pick your own items. If there is something sold out - (just imagine that at Christmas - it may just be a passing possibility may it not?) then you can choose your own alternative.  You can pack your own items in the order that you like and take your time to do this.  You can then pack your own bags into your own car and take them lovingly to your own house and put them ever so carefully away.  You can then forget about everything, knowing you have done all the work in advance to ensure your lovely family have all they could want and need and lots, lots more beside.  Happy days!

Having their shopping delivered is a necessity for some people ~ the elderly, infirm or disabled. Some people have childcare issues and I know that shopping with three kids in tow is one of those things once done once never to be repeated. For most people though, having their groceries delivered is an option. It is NOT a basic human right. They pay a little more for somebody else to pick their items so that they can do more important things such as watch TV or go to the pub or just sit on their lardy arses and do nothing.  This somebody else is quite often a student or young person just starting out in the job world.  This person has a target to hit and has to pick many items for many other people at the same time. Errors will occasionally be made, items may be out of stock and alternatives may not be available.  Some food items may have a shorter life than you would have picked yourself.  Sometimes items will be damaged and this will not be noticed.  This is not deliberate.

Imagine the following scenario:  December 23rd and the driver just dropped off your Christmas order. You check the whole order, all is fine except the yoghurt is dated boxing day and  HORROR OF HORRORS, the cranberries are missing!  OMG! What the hell are you to do? The CRANBERRIES! - your whole Christmas is now obviously ruined.  Totally and utterly ruined.  How dare they ruin your Christmas. What on EARTH are you to do? Hey why not just call the incompetent raging fools and give the bloody idiots a piece of your mind? My word how are you possibly meant to get through Christmas without the cranberries after all they are the whole meaning of Christmas.  Your whole year will be totally ruined when your family realise you have planned dinner and have not got the cranberries.  You have failed as a wife/husband, a mother/father and a cook.  In fact your whole life is ruined. Boy are they going to suffer when you get through.  You will give those total imbeciles a piece of your mind. How very dare they.  You have PAID for this service and they have made a mockery of you.

So you punch those numbers into your phone, steam emitting from your ears and your pulse going like the clappers. Boy are those incompetent idiots going to pay for this.  You get a message on the line to say they are busy at the moment but your call will be answered as soon as possible.  Oh gosh can your blood pressure take any more?  Surely in the very near future you will surely explode with anger.  The answerphone message repeats itself.
'we are very sorry to keep you waiting, however we know you are waiting and your call is important to us, please continue to wait and your call will be answered shortly.'
By now your ears are pulsating with frustration, not only have this company ruined your Christmas dinner but they are now going to be the cause of your early demise. Oh boy are they going to get it.

Finally after three whole minutes and thirty seven seconds your call is answered by a friendly 'smiling' voice.  The owner of this voice is doing her utmost to sound friendly.  The owner of this voice has been told to 'smile' when she speaks as the customer will know the difference. This smiley voice is beginning to sound like a cheese grater. The owner of this voice has been in work for six hours now and has another two to go, she has already spoken to 47 other people using her smiley voice, 7 of whom were lovely and polite and wished her a Happy Christmas, 12 of whom were calling to complain their delivery was 2 minutes late and asking where the hell it was and why the hell were they paying for it, 17 of whom were not happy that their shopping was not quite as perfect as it would have been had they got off their lardy arses and gone to the store and picked it themselves, 1 of whom wanted 'condensation' (I kid you not) because a yoghurt had leaked over his bananas and he had had to wash them (imagine the trauma)! Six of whom have been moderately inconvenienced because an item was out of stock and had been substituted with a item/flavour they didn't like.  Some were polite, a few were even friendly. One or two called as they had every week to get as much money back on their order as possible by lying that items were missing/damaged/out of date - yes we know you do it we aren't stupid, we see your records of previous calls and we know...

One woman however had been afflicted with the worst possible scenario :-    the store had not delivered her cranberries. Unimaginable error causing unimaginable stress! THE HORROR!

Conversation as follows:

'Good evening, welcome to XYZ, my name is Jo. How can I help you today?' (smiley face Jo, remember the customer will know).
'RightyourdriverhasbeenanddeliveredmyshoppingandIamDISGUSTED'.
(OK Jo, you may have had many other people shout and scream abuse at you for the past six hours, however, this customer deserves to be treated with respect and as an individual - be professional, be polite, the customer is probably traumatised and upset - something terrible must have happened! - perhaps the driver has run over her cat or reversed into her new Mercedes).
'Oh I am sorry to hear that Mrs customer, let me take a look at this for you'.
'It is simply not good enough, my cranberries are missing. I had ordered them for a reason you know I was going to make cranberry sauce and now I have no cranberries, it is totally disgusting. What the hell am I going to do now for Christmas dinner? Huh - you tell me!  It is simply not good enough! I want my cranberries delivered to me NOW!'
'OK Mrs customer let me see what I can do for you. Would you mind if I put you on  hold a minute to see if I can contact the driver...'
'No you won't SEE if you can contact the driver you WILL contact the driver and you will do it NOW.'
'OK Mrs Customer I will just see what I can do. I could offer you a refund if you prefer'.
'I DONT WANT A BLOODY REFUND (said slowly and loudly as if talking to an imbecile) I want my bloody cranberries you have obviously not been listening to me'
'OK Mrs customer, bear with me and I will call the driver'.
(Jo calls driver - driver does not answer).
'Hello Mrs Customer. I am very sorry the driver does not appear to be answering as I think he may be driving. I can...'
'What do you mean he is not answering. That is not MY problem is it. It is YOUR problem and YOU are going to sort it out. I want YOU to get my items to me NOW'
'OK Mrs customer I am really sorry about this but you see I need to contact the driver to see if he has the items on the van and if he is able to return to you if he does..'
'What do you mean 'if'? - No. You listen to me YOU WILL CONTACT THE DRIVER, you will do it now and I want my items in the next ten minutes this is absolutely disgusting, totally unacceptable, I am absolutely not going to wait for your incompetence and hang on this phone. You will get my shopping to me and you will do it now.  I don't want to hear your incompetent excuses'.
'Right Mrs customer I will see if I can contact the driver and call you back...'
'No you will not call me back - I am very busy. I just want my items. How dare you tell me I can't have my items. How dare you tell me it is up to me to chase it up that is YOUR job and your effort to help me is abysmal. It is absolutely disgusting. I paid for a service how dare you tell me to deal with it'.
(Er hello I think you will find you were offered help here not told to chase it yourself), Jo - her blood pressure rising to the level of 347psi knows she must remain professional.  She must allow this tirade of abuse rise over her head.  She is literally shaking with frustration. She feels sick. A typical 'fight or flight' type reaction. In regular face to face life she would have walked away (or run in the way you do if you see some wild animal with teeth barred - either that or hit the animal very hard in the face or with a stick)  Very similar situations in my opinion.
Jo is not able to help herself...
'Mrs customer is there any need to be quite so rude?  I am trying to help you!'
Mrs customer continues her verbal assault this time telling Jo how she only works in a call centre and so obviously does not understand the stresses and strains of someone with an important job. Jo is obviously personally unimportant, incompetent, clearly stupid and lacking in intelligence, immature, extremely rude and boy is she going to suffer for it.
'Excuse ME' says Mrs customer 'Who do you think you are talking to?  How DARE you call me rude!  You have been extremely rude, incompetent and totally unhelpful. What is your name?'
'My name is Jo' (no Jo resist the urge to offer to spell 'Jo' - tempting, so tempting but don't do it).
'Well JO, I hope these calls are recorded. - Are these calls recorded JO? because I hope they are. Because JO, I think you have been very rude and unhelpful and I am going to complain about you JO I am sure your seniors will be interested to know how you speak to people JO. I have noted the time and the date of this call and I am going to put in a complaint about you JO'.
'Mrs Customer I have offered to help you, I have offered to call you back, I am not able to do anything right now as I cannot contact the driver.  I need to contact him to see if he has your cranberries and if he does to see if he is able to return with them.  Can I call you back?'
'I do not want you to call me back.  I don't want to speak to you you have been very rude, incompetent and unhelpful.  I am very busy and I do not want you to interfere with my evening any further than you have. You have been extremely rude to me and I am going to take this further. You get my items to me and you do it NOW! Goodbye!'    (slam of the phone).

Jo sits in her chair, her heart racing, literally shaking with emotion. She would never speak to anyone the way she has just been spoken to by this customer. Jo wouldn't speak to a dog the way she has just been spoken to.  Jo has done all in her power to help this caller and has had to listen to a tirade of abuse aimed at her personally. She is expected to remain professional and polite.  Jo was told in her training that any abuse is not personal. Clearly this customer has got under her skin.  The  constant use of her first name was clearly intended as personal and was condescending in itself, as was the suggestion she was just a call centre worker who was not able to do her job very well and was rude and stupid into the bargain. Of the 70 odd calls Jo is expected to take in a day and the 300 or 400 calls she will take in a week this customer has got right under her skin and really got to her.  She is still shaking and a burning hot tear rolls down her face.  Jo is not a kid, nor is she stupid, she is professional and she has been abused by this excuse for humanity, albeit verbally.

Jo wonders if this customer will complain.  If she does, will the company back her up or give her a warning?  Jo replays the call over and over in her mind - all she did was ask the customer if it was really necessary to be quite so rude.  She knows all calls are recorded and this customer may complain. She wants to scream, to cry, to talk it over with someone.  Jo is feeling sick - to date after two years at the call centre only about three customers have been quite this rude and got under her skin this much. Jo puts her phone code in 'emergency break' and goes to get herself and Lou a nice cup of tea. She is allowed six minutes.

She returns, still shaking with stress and frustration.  This can't be good for her health.  Jo tries to tell Lou about the call.  Lou is sympathetic - she's had many similar calls.  Everyone on the team has had similar calls.  Lou asks if Jo is OK - Jo is not OK, she is still shaking, what she needs is a shooting range or a punchbag or a stiff whisky.  However, her emergency break six minutes has now come to an end and she has another 67 minutes to go before she can go home. She puts her headset back on, plugs herself back into Hell, and clicks her phone into 'ready' - there's a long queue of calls waiting.  Here we go again.

Jo officially finished her shift at 9.30pm although wasn't able to go home until 9.47 as she had to finish dealing with another complaint before she left. Leaving late is just an expected part of the job and not a part which is paid or appreciated. Jo ends her shift and heads home.  At home there is nobody awake and she is still upset.  There is a tight knot in her stomach has stubbornly refused to untie by the following morning.  She tells her family about the call.  They listen, they give her a hug but they are clearly not interested and she is left to mull it over and over.  It will be Christmas soon.  Jo knows she should leave the call behind and move on, but the knot remains and she has to get it out somehow. She tries to forget it but the knot will not untie.  She can't vent on Facebook as although she'd never mention the company she's aware Big Brother is always watching and if found out she'd be for the high jump.  Perhaps her company should be offering support. So for cathartic effect, she writes a blog about it. - Perhaps the blog will provide a bit of a laugh to poor unfortunate fellow call centre workers. Perhaps it will be read by people who see call centre workers as fair game for their frustrations. Perhaps they will think twice next time.
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DISCLAIMER:  This blog is written purely it to get it out of my head.  We don't always have time to speak about these things at the time or people to talk about them with and they are left to go over and over and over. It MUST come out.  If I didn't write it down it would stew in my head until my head exploded and that would make an awful mess on the call centre carpet.  So with this in mind all references to people in this blog whether living or not are entirely coincidental.

Yeah Right!

Jo!  
(Names changed to protect the innocent).

For more on this story and others - see 'Confessions of a Call Centre Worker' by Izabelle Winter. ;)