www.desertbus.... Cam tells customer service stories, and then convinces us why we should also do it, which turns into Bus stories. Uploaded by the Desert Bus Video Strike Team
This gave me flashbacks to my first job ever, working in a phone call centre in high school... It got to the point that I literally *fainted* from stress, and my manager was so worried that we mutually agreed that I'd just quit that day without bothering with the two weeks' notice.
I know exactly what Cam is talking about when he says he didn't talk for 3 weeks after he quit. I used to be a CSS (Customer Service Specialist) for a cable company. It was the second cable company I had worked for. After about a year and a half, I just couldn't deal with people who did not understand how to Internet anymore, so I abruptly quit. I was so happy about not having to talk to people for 8-10 hours a day that I stopped talking to everyone, even when friends would call, I would barely speak. My gf at the time, who I had been with for about 3 years at that point, totally understood and was great about it. It was probably a month before I started to converse again, but that month of silence was so nice. I also did a cross country trip, but much later and I drove by myself from the east coast, I'm just outside of Philly, to Seattle, WA and that was also a life changing experience that everyone should do.
My call center/CSS experiences left me with telephonophobia; I am REALLY leery of speaking to someone on the phone, especially if caller ID isn't terribly descriptive (just a # with no hint as to WHO I might have to talk to)
Cam's experience in 'customer management' (not 'service' because that implies we might actually HELP you) exactly dovetails with mine. (yes, right down to the help someone with completely unexpected usage charges, and just up and quit...and realize you have no classmates around to say goodbye to) I think I've figured out that THIS shared experience is a big part of why I have such an affinity for him - the scars on his psyche resemble mine. :) (and yes, cx mgmt jobs pay really well...because they're the #2 most stressful job, right behind Air Traffic Control. Burnout is an acknowledged factor; you either quit, or - as Cam mentioned - you become a 'veteran' and *stop caring* )
....aaaaand I also have the cross-country bus experience in common with Cam...except I did it BEFORE I took a job in a call center - three days going from Calgary to Iowa, then a week later a slightly different return path that was still three days; slept in Minneapolis' bus station during a nine-hour layover, watched a sunset over the Manitoba prairies...then a sunrise (in maybe Manitoba or maybe Saskatchewan?) after a 'night' of insomniac reading, had the "wake up somewhere in North Dakota for a 'breakfast stop' at a diner"; walked across from the Winnipeg bus station to an internet cafe to check up on online friends during a 'short' three-hour layover. I even zoomed past the spot where the Coen brothers filmed that scene in "Fargo" where Steve Buscemi's character buries the ransom money in a snow bank next to a fence. And the closest I came to any BAD bussing experience was picking up a newspaper near the end of my trip and reading that *another* bus, not far away, had catastrophically crashed into the back of a semi, killing the driver, his wife and son (who were passengers...right up front, naturally). That was an extremely sobering last leg to MY trip, I can tell you!.
I worked at a place called On Target Research. We just called people and did political surveys all day long, for 8 hours with a collective half hour break in the middle of the shift, where everyone went outside and smoked three cigarettes because that was enough to fill 30 minutes. My favourite call, and one of my last, was a woman who picked up, and upon hearing my introduction started shouting at me, saying, “IM NOT ON A CALL LIST! GET A NEW JOB! GET A BETTER JOB! GET A FRIEND! GET A FRIEND WHO CAN GET YOU A BETTER JOB!” and then hung up on me. The next day, I had the same moment that Cam described of turning in my badge and quitting and then not talking for a very long time.
Me: May I have your name, please? Pranker: Bendimi Rover Me: All right, can you spell that for me? Pranker: Uhhh...B-E-N-D-I-M-I, R-O-V-E-R Me: Okay, I have Bendimi, B-E-N-D-I-M-I, Rover, R-O-V-E-R. Is this correct? Pranker: Umm, you didn't say it right. Me: I'm sorry, I have Bendimi, B-E-N-D-I-M-I, Rover, R-O-V-E-R. Is that the proper pronunciation and spelling? Pranker: Uhmm, yeah, but, could you say it again please? Me: All right, Bendimi, B-E-N-D-I-M-I, Rover, R-O-V-E-R. Is that correct? Pranker: Could you say it once without spelling it? Me: Unfortunately, I am required to spell out the name every time I am asked to repeat it. Pranker: Just once, please? Could you say it without spelling it? Me: Well, I could call over a manager and see if they will give me permission to say your name without spelling it. Pranker: Well, okay. Me: Do you mind if I put you on hold to wait for that? Pranker: Sure. Me: Thank you, I'll return when I have a manager. And then I put them on hold and read my book for the five to ten minutes that they took to decide to disconnect leaving them on hold.
Here's the REAL fun; when your company has a glitch and 'the system' doesn't process payments properly, and then triggers automatic 'past due' notices to a pile of customers that HAVE paid on time, and the IT people then find and fix the glitch, and then some group of agents got tasked to correct all the accounts with those erroneous twelve quid fees....but the 'you haven't paid' letters have already automatically been printed, and mailed off...so a couple of weeks later YOU have to spend three full days of just taking calls regarding these 'error' notices and use up all your spoons reassuring customers that YES, your bill WAS paid on time, and this late fee has already been removed, and when your monthly statement is sent out in days, it will reflect that... Arguing with people over problems that have already been resolved, and over things that DON'T IN FACT EXIST is really, REALLY tiring and rather corrosive on your psyche.
I know exactly what Cam is talking about when he says he didn't talk for 3 weeks after he quit. I used to be a CSS (Customer Service Specialist) for a cable company. It was the second cable company I had worked for. After about a year and a half, I just couldn't deal with people who did not understand how to Internet anymore, so I abruptly quit. I was so happy about not having to talk to people for 8-10 hours a day that I stopped talking to everyone, even when friends would call, I would barely speak. My gf at the time, who I had been with for about 3 years at that point, totally understood and was great about it. It was probably a month before I started to converse again, but that month of silence was so nice. I also did a cross country trip, but much later and I drove by myself from the east coast, I'm just outside of Philly, to Seattle, WA and that was also a life changing experience that everyone should do.
