10 Reasons to Appreciate Your Call Center Job

Drinking: Peppermint White Mocha
Listening to: Owl City "Fireflies"
Watching: my cat run around like he is on kitty crack!

10 Reasons to Appreciate Your Call Center Job

Anyone who has ever worked in a gray cubicle of abyss has a special appreciation for shows like The Office or more on target, Office Space. We appreciate it but we are also envious, praying that a weird boss or diabolical scheme blows in the door to break up our monotonous days. Unfortunately that rarely happens. Instead we are confined to bathroom pauses and break rooms that provide bad coffee. We have headsets wrapped around our heads almost like a ball and chain tightly clamped around our ankle. I understand how difficult it can be to look on the bright side of this situation but there are a number of skills you are expanding with each and every unbearable call.

1). Oh the things you’ll learn.
My first favorite thing about working in a call center is the wealth of knowledge you pick up just from speaking to people on the phone. In a matter of minutes, and before any news station can reach me, I know there is an ice storm in Lexington, Detroit has a foot of snow, and there is a Firestone Tire in Vacaville, CA. This seems like pointless information but you never know when you will need to know how far Denver airport is from the city of Denver (10 miles!).

2). SpelChek
Airports all have three letter codes so they are easily accessible but it’s always useful to know how to spell Kahalui (airport code OGG), or Tallahassee (airport code TLH). This knowledge is also helpful when it comes to peoples names or city names. When a customer tells me her name is Carol I always ask, “is that with an ‘e’ at the end?” When a customer asks for a rental office in “Worster Mass” I used to say, “huh?” Now I know that it’s just pronounced different and that it’s spelled: Worcester, Massachusetts. The best one? Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

3). NATO phonic alphabet
Some of you may have heard people refer to letters like this: “A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo.” This is called the NATO phonic alphabet and is super helpful if you are speaking to anybody on the phone. Letters like E or C sound very similar and can be hard to decipher so this system was created to help spell things correctly over the phone . You can go with the standard “C like Charlie, D like Delta,” or you can make up new fun ones like “E as in Elephant, F as in Famous, H as in Happy.” This is useful information whether you are a pilot or some poor sap who is calling in to make a reservation for a rental car over Christmas.

4). Valuable information
Chances are when half of your customers are asking for a Dodge Charger instead of a Chevy Impala they know something you don’t. I had a customer who called in to make a reservation because his Scion was in an accident. I was (and still am) thinking about buying a new Scion so I asked him if he liked it. He detailed all the things he loved about his car with me which will come in handy when I go shopping. Same goes for car insurance, just open up your ears and the least you will get is some helpful information.

5). Fake it til you make it.
Personally, I hate that saying, but a call center is a good place to practice putting your customer service face. Honestly any customer is going to try to pull one over on you so they come out ahead which in this case means with a lower rate. They are willing to say things like “I was told this” and “I’m entitled to that” and will use tears or nasty words if they are pushed to that level. Beat them at their own game and kill them with kindness. Your future employers will love you for it.

6). Mistaken Identity
People don’t like to listen. They hear what they want to hear. So when I say “my name is Kylie, how may I help you today?” And they say, “what’s your name? Carly?” I always respond, “yes sir/ma’am what can I do for you?” If they aren’t willing to listen closer there is no point in correcting them. Plus when they get pissed off because I give them a weekly rate of $600 and ask if my name is Kimberley so they can make a complaint, I say yes. That way they will never find me again:)

7). Personal Appearance
I don’t know about everyone out there but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do everything that I want to do! Luckily when you are on a hands~free headset and sitting in an inconspicuous place the possibilities are endless. Pluck your eyebrows, file your nails, eat your lunch, floss your teeth, balance your check book, do some calf raises or bicep curls with a training manual etc. These are things that I wouldn’t normally “make time” for but are easily accomplished during an eight hour shift!

8). Practice your skills!
A call center job gives you the opportunity to become a wiz at crosswords, sudoku, writing, and reading. Sharpen these skills so your brain doesn’t turn into swiss cheese after 5,000 calls.

9). People watch
If your call center has windows then you are likely to be in a people watching area. This can pass the slow times very effectively.

10). The best thing about working in a call center is...tolerance.
That’s right, if you are in a call center job and you can tolerate it for a year or more you will be more prepared for your next job than any of the other applicants. Why? Because sitting on the phone day in/day out while customers scream at you has to be one of the hardest things to do. The most important thing is to keep a good attitude. I know it isn’t your dream job but being positive is the only way you will stay alive. In a single day I can get my homework done, read the newspaper, speak to someone in France, and sharpen my typing skills, all in under three minutes and 30 seconds.