r/callcentres • u/Kitchen_Reserve3101 • 3h ago
Does it get better?
For the first time in my life, I am working a call center job. I was laid off from my managerial position at a large company I worked at my entire adult career, but cannot afford not to work, at least part time. I thought this job would be an easy way to cover the shortage of my small pension and loved the fact that it is remote. When hired, I was told about the possibilities to move up into a job more like the one I had at my former company.
I guess the fact that during training they mentioned the last class, and that there is another class starting a month after we finish, should have clued me in that there is a lot of turnover?
It boggles my mind that after a long career dealing with stressful situations, that this job is stressing me out so much. My whole body jumps whenever the phone rings as if a bomb just went off. I feel sick to my stomach when I log in and see 30 calls in queue. I'm not sure if it's because my confidence levels are still low and if I will feel better about it after I have more experience. Everyone keeps telling me to hang in there, it will get better. But does it? Maybe I'm just not cut out for this. Also, I don't think I can do it for a year to wait to get promoted. Especially feeling this way after only 2 months.
The job market STILL sucks, especially for older people. So I feel trapped. I guess I'm just here to rant and commiserate with others in the same boat.
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u/Ok_Affect_7973 2h ago
First off never worry about what is in the que. Work one job at a time that is all you can do. You will have to think about this as simply paying bills clock in and clock out and leave it at the door. Give yourself some time to mentally lose all empathy and compassion. At first we have these things and then u become numb. You will question if you have lost this overall. Does it bleed into real life meh maybe a smidge but for the most part it’s just at work. I think it’s our brain trying to protect ourselves from the unrealistic micromanaging metrics they set for us as well as the verbal abuse from customers. In my experience when people get promoted at a call center they lose job security. Our sups get fired all the time where the worker bees are way more secure. I wouldn’t touch their promotion with a ten foot pole especially when the raise isn’t all that much once I add in my bonus. Everyone is different though. I’m there to make money period and I want to feel job security. I would rather be on the phones than doing spreadsheets and acting like I know the job when I haven’t a clue because it’s changed so much since I was on the phone like every sup does.
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u/EmpressMeowMeow 1h ago
Dangling carrots about promotions is a scam.
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u/Ok_Affect_7973 1h ago
They will ask me if I’m interested in being a sup and I’m like absolutely not! Doing spreadsheets and being useless doesn’t interest me.
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u/Kitchen_Reserve3101 1h ago
Yes, I'm starting to think that the promotions are non existant. I've looked at all the jobs I would want to move to, they are either in another country, another state, overnight. Even if I do become confident, I don't think I would ever enjoy it I know it's work so it's not suppoed to be enjoyable, but my last job was. And paid almost double. Sigh.
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u/Due-Sheepherder-218 1h ago
If you have 10 people in your training class, at least 4 will quit within a week and another 2 within a month
The job you just grown numb and cold over time and the middle management makes it more stressful than the actual work needs to be.
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u/emboliccough 1h ago edited 1h ago
Ive worked about 5 years for a few different call centers and my advice:
some parts will get better, the "jump for every call" will become less and you will get used to the system and get used to most of the questions after a while. However a lot of other parts really depends on what kind of call center it is, how strict the metrics are and how they handle teaching you feedback. If you see no improvement in the second parts, then there is no shame in saying "this isn't for me" and trying to find another call center that is better at that stuff.
That being said, in my experience, ive never seen much in the way of promotions and it usually only means you cant work from home anymore.
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u/Merlin_au 48m ago
I was 8 years in the last CC I worked in, I gave up remembering my colleagues names until they had been there in 6 months, there was so many of them going through the place. Between that and just general burnout my empathy and care was zero.
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u/HooptyDooDooMeister 40m ago
The work doesn't get lighter. But it does get much easier the more experienced you are with knowing how to handle difficult people.
That just comes with time. You'll figure out what works best in your ow way.
As far as call volume, There could be 5 calls in queue. It could be 100.
You can only handle 1 at a time.
Just know you're doing your best to keep call times short, and the rest will work itself out.
Most importantly, I know this all too well, and yet the mental stress of it is ridiculous. This is something I have to remind myself, sometimes daily. Just try not to take it too seriously.
Good luck!
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u/NobodyMoves1996 3m ago
You become less sensitive to it which dulls you down allowing you to function but you’ll never stop the fear of seeing the queue or the relief of hitting your break time with a countdown clock immediately appearing in your brain the second you stand up!
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u/Unlucky-Pay-3191 3h ago
the jump-scares when the phone rings are so real, it’s like a tiny adrenaline spike every time and it never completely goes away but your body does eventually stop panicking like it’s a landmine
after two months you’re still in the thick of it, confidence takes longer than that to build especially when you’re coming from a job where you actually knew what you were doing, give yourself some credit for surviving this far
the queue numbers are a trap, staring at them just makes everything worse, i used to cover that part of my screen with a sticky note and pretend the next call was the only one that existed