Call Centers a terminology when heard by a common man gives him a vague idea of a job profile and also the kind of work probably the people must be doing in the high rise dark glass buildings working all nights and sleeping all day at home. With the age groups falling between 18 to 25 years the thought process and the maturity level is at stake. This is the time period when the early bird either want to gain work experience or make quick bucks to enjoy life their independent way. For those between the age group of 25-35 years it is more about making quick money by climbing the ladder faster whether it takes to put down his/her own friend. In an Call center environment there is no term such as healthy competition, it’s all about back biting and socializing for promotions and faster growth in the company for which your colleagues can go to any extent.
In a Call Center people from various walks of life come in and transform as if there has been a sudden Magical Spell over them. Guys start doing the moon walk, and Gals who while giving the interviews were found in their Salwars and Duppatas, suddenly are found in their, noodles and backless culture. At the end, what are we here for either answering to irate customers if they are from U.K or abusive customers if they are from U.S.A. Then why the @#$& all the dressing up for, Oh yes! After Call Work, More popularly know in Call Centers as ACW on which parameters the advisor’s are appraised monthly for their performance pay. However where do you find these advisor’s after their shift @ home?, no you are wrong this time, you will find them at the most famous Discotheques and Pubs around the City, dancing to the tunes of the DJ’s on the hot numbers of Hip-Hop, Rock, Remix, Hindi films, etc, until early morning with a bottle of beer in 1 hand and a Girl in the other. Now whom do we blame for this culture, the heavy pay-package, the growing economy, The Number of Multiplexes & Malls which encourage you to spend, or the number of marketing calls for Credit cards and Loans which force you to spend on Plastic Money.
A general misconception in the general public is that Call Center is all about calling people for marketing calls or receiving calls for inquiries. However it is our responsibility to clear their doubts. A call Center Constitutes various opportunities starting from the basic like Voice(Customer Service Associate), Non Voice( Back Office), Technical( Voice/Non-Voice), Correspondence(E-mail), Sales, HR, Administration, Quality, Training, Operations, HouseKeeping, Security, Front Desk, Recruitment, etc. One can directly get into one of these above mentioned positions based on qualifications and designations and years of experience, or can start with taking calls and and apply through IJP’s which are regularly posted on Intranet of company’s website called Internal Job postings where an Internal employee who wishes to move is given first preference over the external applications.
Over and above if an employee completes 1 year in the organization he automatically becomes eligible for ADC’s(Assessment Development Center) a path towards transparent promotions where one has to prove his abilities by going through 4 rounds of activities and Interviews with an Panel before he is declared a true winner.A general Shift of an Advisor is of 9 hours including breaks, briefings, and call taking time. He spends about 3 hours traveling. So in a city like Bombay a Advisor would be out of House for almost 12 hours. Sleep for about 8 hours. Get ready in next 2 hours. 2 hours for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, & off to work again.With no fixed weekly off.’s.
And if you thought Call Center was All work and No Play, then you are absolutely wrong, this time. Call centers arrange major parties at 5 star and 3 star hotels, Discos, Pubs, to keep their employees Happy and motivate them to come to work with a smile. The Parties are on the house with Booze, Menu with everything from, Veg to Non- Veg, Disco, Dj’s & Dance. Most often clients are around and they are always a part of every event be it on floor or at the party. Besides this every month it also arranges for a Monthly R & R function to Reward & Recognize the hardwork put in on the operations floor to achieve targets and meet the client expectations on time. This includes giving away Certificates, trophies, Gift Vouchers at the Hands of Who’s, Who of the company. Other Activities include, Giving Gift Vouchers on Birthdays, **Anniversaries, Cutting Cakes on B’Days in Cafeteria. Pot Luck during Pre Process training. Celebrating days such as, Traditional, Black & White, Formals, Rose, Chocolate, Hat, Glares, Shorts, Hippy, Disney Day, etc
Often due to change in shift patterns which occurs once in fortnight in some processes and once in a month for some, advisor’s especially those on calls spending long hours in front of the PC, complain of Acidity, Stomach upset, fever, cough, cold, headache, migraine, burning of eyes, asthma problems, ear pain, back ache, neck problems, and problem with knuckle’s. However Most Call centres have a 24 hour attending Doctor to take care of all emergencies and an Ambulance handy to rush to nearby Hospital. Call center provide with Bunkers separate for Men & Women during such times to relax and lie down
The network and frequency of transport system in a Call Center is better than B.E.S.T and equivalent to the Bombay local trains, not crowded as them, but convenient and fast and secure round the clock.Call Center also give you the facility of a Destress room equipped with a Colour television with over 100 channels to surf on, a Kiosk to surf the net, newspapers and Magazines to read and cozy sofas to rest and sip a cup of hot coffee or tea or soup
Now Coming to the Title: How I lost 16 kilos in 6 months, I work for a MNC, BPO for the last 4 years, having explained all the tips and scenarios above you must have realized how things work in a call center. A true, sincere, hardworking, frank, upfront employee of an organizing was promoted in the company’s very 1st ADC and chosen as the 1st best employee of the month of the center. However, the company since then has grown leaps and bounds, and I have been moving in the same company from one process to another for last 4 years. The in human behavior of my superiors and their stand towards me inspite of my dedication and hard work, creating an humiliating and embarrassing situation at a stage by which I should have been an AM in the company has caused hormonal changes causing trauma and imbalance in the sugar level to cause the weight loss of 16 kgs in 6 months. Now isn’t that a surprise? No Medication! No Meditation! No Weight Loss Program! No Diet! No VLCC! Just Pure harassment by collegues and superiors!
*Overall It’s been a great experience working in a Call center, but what it lacks is Humanity, Self respect and Dignity of Work. People at Higher post or those who have gained success early are only after Vitamin "M". However my advise to them would only be, "Every Dog has it’s Day". My AM has quit, but I still serve.