Did I skip June completely?
I came home early today, because I'm a little bummed. Not full-blown depressed, mind you, but a bit of a stomachache on top of it was enough to make me say, "Forget this" and come home. Of course, it didn't help that the job is the main thing I'm bummed about.
See, because of the number of employees they need and the amount of people they're trying to find to work the phones, they haven't been terribly selective in their hiring. Now let me say that as a supervisor, I try to be conscientious, but strict. They've promoted up people who don't have it in them to supervise. People were getting away with murder. Rather than confronting the problems, they would make announcements like, "Because we've had so many people calling out on weekends, noone is allowed to wear hats on weekends (when dress code is much more lenient) until it improves." Now I'm sure that most of y'all can find at least three thing wrong with that statement without even trying.
So having failed all this, they've now implemented a new attendance/break policy. It's extremely anal. You have a one-minute grace period to come back from break on time, or you're given an "occurance". Occurances cover all attendance issues, andif you receive seven in a six-month period, and you're fired. And it's a no-fault policy.... I call it "no conscience". Except in certain defined circumstances (doctor's note and other legally protected reasons) they don't care why you're out. And the head supervisor or whoever the guy heading the meeting was, threw in, "And don't expect that just because you ask for bereavement, you're going to get it. It has to be approved."
Then, just before the end of the meeting, the general manager came in upset, pulled that supervisor guy to the side and started criticizing him about how the timing of the meetings was looking on the labor reports. I'm of the opinion that managers should never be admonished in front of staff in that fashion unless they're setting a bad example.
So I see that this is not a company I want to make long-term plans with, and I'm faced with the prospects of moving on again (though I do still kinda want to stick around at long enough for the benefits to kick in and get my eyes and teeth checked out). But I also remember that when I was hired, the guy who hired me considered me for a supervisor position, but said he didn't feel like I had the experience he was looking for. Now THAT bugs me more than anything. What the hell am I qualified for then? I probably couldn't even get a job at a burger place unless I lied on the application and said I didn't have a degree... not that I could do that becasue I would also have to lie and say that I haven't been working primarily as a substitute teacher for the last five years.
I dunno.. it's nice to get it off my chest, though. And so I'll get a little something else off my chest, too... a day in the life of a customer care agent for a prepaid phone company. Here are a bunch of snippets from conversations I've had over the last few weeks. Italicized text is mine.
Thank you for calling. may I get your name please?
Shanky Bear.
What can I do for you today?
I'm the guy who called the other night.
Well, we do have over 3000 customer care agents. What are you calling about today?
... The other night?
Can I get your address please?
Where do I find that?
ummm... on the side of your house?
I tried to add money to my account, but it wouldn't take my card number.
Go ahead and give me that card number, and i'll check it for you.
I threw it away.
I'm sorry, I won't be able to help you then.
Can't you just put some money on my account?
No.
Let me have you turn the phone off and on again, please.
:: call lost ::
Can you tell me how much money you have?
I'm sorry, but I don't think that's any of you're business. (laughing, thinking it's a joke)
That's not funny. :: hang up ::
Can I have you spell that street name please?
You don't know how to spell Juxtwanoroakee Street? It's the main street here in Craphole, Kansas!!
I'm trying to put money on my new phone, but your cards aren't working!!
I'm sorry, I can't find your phone number in my computer. Perhaps if you give me...
Forget it! I'm just going to take this phone back to T-Mobile!! ::hangup::
(Of course, a Boost card is not going to work with a T-Mobile phone)
Inbetween calls to the agent sitting next to me:
Apparently, if people don't know I'm a guy, people mistake me for an old lady. Now, I've gotten that long before now, and I usually just ignore it, but that guy who's phone I just fixed asked me to marry them. I really didn't know how to respond to that.
Aren't you telling them your name when they call in?
Yeah, I do. I also ask for their name, but many of them aren't listening, and just start telling me what's going on when I stop talking.
Maybe there's a way you can let them know you're a guy.
Hmm... let me try that. "Thank you for calling. This is a guy named Rich. Can I get your name please?" No? "Hi, my name is Rich, and I'm ALL MAN. What's your name?
This call wasn't mine... another agent told me about it:
(frantic) Hi, I'm holding my phone in my hand, and it says it's going to explode in thirty seconds!!
Did you say explode?
Yes! What do I do! Twenty-two seconds!
Throw it away!
What?
Throw it away!
I'm not joking! It says it's going to explode in fifteen seconds!
I'm not joking either. I'm I'm holding something in my hand that's says it's going to explode, I'm not going to call about it, I'm going to throw it away!
...BOOM! (hang-up)
I'm sure I'll have more to come. There's a lot of dummies out there.
See, because of the number of employees they need and the amount of people they're trying to find to work the phones, they haven't been terribly selective in their hiring. Now let me say that as a supervisor, I try to be conscientious, but strict. They've promoted up people who don't have it in them to supervise. People were getting away with murder. Rather than confronting the problems, they would make announcements like, "Because we've had so many people calling out on weekends, noone is allowed to wear hats on weekends (when dress code is much more lenient) until it improves." Now I'm sure that most of y'all can find at least three thing wrong with that statement without even trying.
So having failed all this, they've now implemented a new attendance/break policy. It's extremely anal. You have a one-minute grace period to come back from break on time, or you're given an "occurance". Occurances cover all attendance issues, andif you receive seven in a six-month period, and you're fired. And it's a no-fault policy.... I call it "no conscience". Except in certain defined circumstances (doctor's note and other legally protected reasons) they don't care why you're out. And the head supervisor or whoever the guy heading the meeting was, threw in, "And don't expect that just because you ask for bereavement, you're going to get it. It has to be approved."
Then, just before the end of the meeting, the general manager came in upset, pulled that supervisor guy to the side and started criticizing him about how the timing of the meetings was looking on the labor reports. I'm of the opinion that managers should never be admonished in front of staff in that fashion unless they're setting a bad example.
So I see that this is not a company I want to make long-term plans with, and I'm faced with the prospects of moving on again (though I do still kinda want to stick around at long enough for the benefits to kick in and get my eyes and teeth checked out). But I also remember that when I was hired, the guy who hired me considered me for a supervisor position, but said he didn't feel like I had the experience he was looking for. Now THAT bugs me more than anything. What the hell am I qualified for then? I probably couldn't even get a job at a burger place unless I lied on the application and said I didn't have a degree... not that I could do that becasue I would also have to lie and say that I haven't been working primarily as a substitute teacher for the last five years.
I dunno.. it's nice to get it off my chest, though. And so I'll get a little something else off my chest, too... a day in the life of a customer care agent for a prepaid phone company. Here are a bunch of snippets from conversations I've had over the last few weeks. Italicized text is mine.
Thank you for calling. may I get your name please?
Shanky Bear.
What can I do for you today?
I'm the guy who called the other night.
Well, we do have over 3000 customer care agents. What are you calling about today?
... The other night?
Can I get your address please?
Where do I find that?
ummm... on the side of your house?
I tried to add money to my account, but it wouldn't take my card number.
Go ahead and give me that card number, and i'll check it for you.
I threw it away.
I'm sorry, I won't be able to help you then.
Can't you just put some money on my account?
No.
Let me have you turn the phone off and on again, please.
:: call lost ::
Can you tell me how much money you have?
I'm sorry, but I don't think that's any of you're business. (laughing, thinking it's a joke)
That's not funny. :: hang up ::
Can I have you spell that street name please?
You don't know how to spell Juxtwanoroakee Street? It's the main street here in Craphole, Kansas!!
I'm trying to put money on my new phone, but your cards aren't working!!
I'm sorry, I can't find your phone number in my computer. Perhaps if you give me...
Forget it! I'm just going to take this phone back to T-Mobile!! ::hangup::
(Of course, a Boost card is not going to work with a T-Mobile phone)
Inbetween calls to the agent sitting next to me:
Apparently, if people don't know I'm a guy, people mistake me for an old lady. Now, I've gotten that long before now, and I usually just ignore it, but that guy who's phone I just fixed asked me to marry them. I really didn't know how to respond to that.
Aren't you telling them your name when they call in?
Yeah, I do. I also ask for their name, but many of them aren't listening, and just start telling me what's going on when I stop talking.
Maybe there's a way you can let them know you're a guy.
Hmm... let me try that. "Thank you for calling. This is a guy named Rich. Can I get your name please?" No? "Hi, my name is Rich, and I'm ALL MAN. What's your name?
This call wasn't mine... another agent told me about it:
(frantic) Hi, I'm holding my phone in my hand, and it says it's going to explode in thirty seconds!!
Did you say explode?
Yes! What do I do! Twenty-two seconds!
Throw it away!
What?
Throw it away!
I'm not joking! It says it's going to explode in fifteen seconds!
I'm not joking either. I'm I'm holding something in my hand that's says it's going to explode, I'm not going to call about it, I'm going to throw it away!
...BOOM! (hang-up)
I'm sure I'll have more to come. There's a lot of dummies out there.