Never Say Never!

Irate customers, unhappy callers, rude responses, abusive language; those are just a few of the what a customer service representative encounters in a day. But how do these affect them?
One of the most sought after job, which is now a trend, is the call center. Their good compensation and benefits are great that most of the job seekers want to have. 

Everyday, lots of applicants drop in their resumes wait for an interview. A lot, with no sweat, were able to make it but there are also a lot who don’t. Those chosen ones will be trained for 1 to 2 months. However, some trainees, after a month or two or even after a day, quit and leave the job. Such reason why the company is always hiring for replacements everyday. But the question is, why do call center agents can’t barely survive call center?

As I took my first call during my training at a call center, I can't help myself but to get terrified. I want myself to stay composed during the calls but I always get loss. I encountered lots of dead air. I want to keep back on track but I can’t. Everything I learned from the classroom training was all gone. The person next to me, who was also my co-trainee, felt the same way. He even mentioned that he wants to quit and not to return the following day. According to him, most of his callers were kind but the sad thing was he wasn't able to resolve their concerns because he was lost. It is expected that first day duty is always the worst. 

During my calls, the callers were kind at first but since I could not address their problem effectively they become rude and irate. There are some calls that I want to release immediately just to avoid the problem but I certainly can’t because it’s a grave offense and is equivalent to termination. So, as much as possible, you just have to keep your patience with you. 

Back to my co-trainee, his self-esteem is so low that he was not able to help his callers. In relation to my case, my self-esteem also decreased when a caller became irate. That day, I empathized those individuals who can’t survive call center. Maybe, for them, being in a call center is a curse. They could not handle the pressures in the work area and that leaving the job is the only option for them.

However, there’s always a room for improvement and that everyday is a learning process. If others made it for more than 5 years then why can’t we. Time will come for us neophytes, receiving a call will be as easy as ABC. So, “never say never!”.

All in a Day's Work....

I was having my initial rounds in the ward with my nurse aide. We came to our muslim patient with a DNR status. The room was filled with people. Patient's family and relatives were surrounding him and already mourning. Accessing the patient to do some assessment is quite difficult. However, I managed to reach the patient. I could only see a portion of his face and upper right arm. I grabbed a hand and pressed the fingertips to elicit pain. I checked for any reaction such as withdrawal, movement or any facial expression but could not find any, so, I pressed harder. Momentarily, requested the person standing in front of me who apparently was blocking my view to move aside. While continuously pressing the fingertip, I got a better view of the patient and to the owner of fingertip I was pressing. To my uttermost surprise, the fingertip I was holding is of the patient's wife. Dumbstruck for a moment. I could only watch her reaction. Boy...she had the ugliest facial grimace I ever saw! Immediately, we ended our visit and went to our nurse station as fast as we could. Shutting the door behind us my nurse aide and I burst into rage of laughter. Lesson learned: go back to the basics..clear first the area.