Free SMS Through Your E-mail

Out of load? Hey, share-a-load or pasaload may not be the only solution for you to SMS someone when your prepaid load is at zero balance. Now just an e-mail away, and there's no need to download and install any application with Mail2Mobile, the newest free SMS messaging service. This service is made possible by MegaMobile, the wireless services subsidiary of publicly-listed IPVG Corp.Cool enough, I was able to send 4 free SMS for the day. There should be a daily limit on this… I will try to send some SMS again tomorrow. hehe. Here’s how: to send an SMS, just type-in @m2m.ph (ie., 09204658532@m2m.ph) in the email recipient box ("To:"), write the...

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BPO's Moving Forward in 2009

Despite the global economic slowdown, I still believe that business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in the Philippines will come out strong for the incoming year 2009. Recently, NCO announced with the ongoing construction of a 4,000-seat call center facility in Taytay, Rizal, becoming the biggest call center facility in Rizal. StarTek, a US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company, will be hiring an estimated 1,000 employees for its newly-opened Makati City facility.In a survey done, approximately 98 percent of BPO companies said that revenues and workers will keep growing for 2009, the Business Process Outsourcing Association of...

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My Top 10! Call Center Interview Questions

Aha! Looking for a new call center job? Well, obvious reasons are higher salary packages, promotion, living near your work place, etc… I can suggest that job hunting is at best when the current year is about to end, because you get to have 13th month pay and the coming January is the first month of the year and it’s a new year- new opportunities, new job, new hope… am I making any sense here? hehe.Now the inevitable: common call center interview questions that you need to hurdle in a typical call center interview. Looking around the net, here's my top 10 questions and I want to share some tips to you. It might come in handy... 'coz there's lotsa...

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Pacquiao - De La Hoya HBO 24/7 Video, Episode 1

The fight we are all been waiting for: Pacquiao versus De la Hoya. Let’s see a glimpse of their everyday training, all for one purpose- to be the best man on top of the ring. Got this video from macuha.com and lets watch it. Mabuhay ka Man...

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The Group Interview

In a group interview of three call center agent applicants, the interviewer started to ask questions on the first applicant. A guy on his middle 20's, clearly a call center veteran by just looking on his resume, just breezed thru the common questions of the interviewer with less effort and much confidence. Having mastered his pronunciation and voice modulation, the first applicant even sounded much "american" than the robotic interviewer who may be asking these questions everyday to her applicants.Now the turn of the second applicant, almost feeble, a man on his late 50's tried to speak but his voice lacked enthusiasm. He was applying for a technical...

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Callwork: Something We Can Finally Call Our Own

Our everyday life in the call centers working as agents are laden with different scenarios and experiences that we can describe to be as weird, sad, happy, outrageous, and the list goes on. As a result, people from the outside may find us acting strangely; but as this call center industry continuously grows, I can say that call centers are now eventually beginning to be a part of the Filipino culture and society.In a perfectly candid, untowardly funny, and creative manner, Hazel Manzano started to conceptualize the “pinoy call center culture” into drawings two years ago and made Callwork comics. Being part of the call center industry herself...

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Car Loans For Call Center Agents

Jeepneys, buses, taxis are the most common mode of transport for call center agents and the night time shift exposes us to danger in going to work. Criminals are bolder these days and its tragic to know what happened to Tara Santelices and to a call center supervisor Rue Ann Salvador, who were victims of public transport hold ups. May the ruthless perpetrators of these crimes be brought to jail and be punished.Why not call center companies or the government start giving car loans to call center agents? It is not only providing safe transportation during night time but it may also lessen the instances of tardiness among call center agents. Cars...

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Classic TV Commercials

Do you still remember those TV commercials during your childhood days? ( I’m presuming that we are on the same age group here, hehe) There were no cable T.V. yet and you simply can’t avoid them back then. Watching them once again after 15-20 years, made those commercials really hilarious.Now try to remember these commercials: Seiko wallet (ang wallet na maswerte), YC bikini brief, RA home vision, Juicy fruit gum (mas malinamnam), Caronia nail polish, Master Sardines, Family tootpaste, Lux soap, Gee my hair smells terrific, Sunny Orange, Encarnacion Bechavez, Royco Alphabet Noodle soup, Rhea rubbing alcohol, Bear Brand Sterilized (look at my mole), and the good old cowboy in Dragon katol and have a good laugh.Tisay Girl: “Ang daming lamowk!”Pekeng Koboy: “Teypowk sila ngayon… sa dragon katowl…”Dragon...

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Effective Recognition For Call Center Agents

Yup, it feels good to be recognized for your job well done. Coping up with your daily, weekly and monthly metrics is not that easy. But did you ever feel that you were not recognized for all of your hard work? I believe it’s not all because of money (yeah because of hard times, it is, hehe.) that call center agents leave for another BPO company but maybe because of lack of recognition from the management. I got some ideas from the net on how to effectively recognize call center agents.Managers sometimes use a recognition presentation as a time to talk about how far someone has come, or how they could have done even better. This is not the time...

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Graveyard Shift

One thing we have to live with in a call center agent's job: the graveyard shift. Back in 2006 when I was still with Teletech, work schedules were the weirdest they could get… like 3:00 am shifts. Just imagine what kind of courage and will power you must have, just to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and go to work.After kicking the alarm clock, I started to get up, but still I sat and stared at the wall. After a few minutes I had the urge to lie back on my bed and also started to think of a good alibi for not going to work.But with one quick motion I shrugged off all thoughts of iniquities and jumped on my way to the bathroom. Arctic...

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Filipina domestic helpers insulted in a BBC show

What's more annoying are some Filipinos saying that protest actions launched by Filipino communities in the UK is “over reacting”. I watched the video in You Tube and the sketch in question is from the “Harry and Paul” TV show and I found it relentlessly distasteful and racist. Sad to say, this is a portrayal of the real situation of our Filipina OFW's being exposed to discrimination and exploitation. You can watch the video here and tell me what you thi...

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Here comes a new challenger! The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Got the title from the good old arcade game, Street Figher, hehe. But anyway, there was so much excitement when the Apple iPhone 3G was launched couple of months ago, by Globe Telecoms here in the Philippines. I got a chance to try it when I visited a Globe store in Shangrila, and I found it really sleek and cool. Well, Apple has been dominating the digital music market for quite some time now, while Nokia is still king for mobile phones. Nah, just as I thought, the latter would not just let his “territory” be invaded that easily.Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker launched the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in London and Singapore to rival Apple's...

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Call Center Shaker

It was about past 2am and I was off the phone as my manager and I was discussing about my "performance bonus" computation. Then suddenly my chair rocked forward and backwards like someone is pushing it from behind. A slight commotion on the floor took our attention, it was a tremor! It stopped after making its presence felt for about 8 seconds, amidst the usual buzz of a busy call center.According to the news, it was an aftershock of a "major" quake that happened Saturday last week that rocked parts of Southern Luzon, including Metro Manila. It registered 6.5 magnitude in the epicenter located near Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. The October 2...

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Ice Cream!

I simply love ice cream. You too? Hehe. Then let’s head off to the nearest Mini Stop store to buy that big cone of ice cream that will cost you 15 pesos but would satisfy you for 15 minutes. But before these fast times I still remember the familiar bell clanging that will tell you that the “mamang sorbetero” is around and you would rush out and stop whatever you’re doing just to buy his delicacy- “dirty ice cream”. Wow, how I miss the Avocado flavor! Nah, who told you it’s really dirty? I haven’t heard of someone die because of eating “dirty ice cream"... yet. Hehe. It’s part of the Filipino culture, I should say. Family gatherings or birthday...

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Sponge Cola Live in Eastwood City

The date is September 26, Friday night and its been awhile since I watched and heard some good headbanging stuff in Eastwood City, as Sponge Cola did their album launch for the self-titled album “Sponge Cola”. Led by frontman Ysmael “Yael” Yuzon, this band performed to the crowd’s delight some songs from their new album and its carrier single “Puso”, which is UAAP’s official song for the Ateneo-La Salle Finals. The band, with a sound clad with crunchy guitar riffs, booming bass and melodic vocals, also played “Jeepney”, “Bitiw” and my personal favorite “Pasubali".For a good seat and entrance, one must buy their CD album that is selling for a...

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Free Call Center training

Just imagine kung wala kang trabaho sa panahong ito. Mayroong iba na kuntento na sa current daytime job nila pero minsan ay kulang talaga ang sahod sa pangkaraniwang non-BPO companies. Ang sagot sa kahirapan sa panahong ito: Call Centers. Para sa mga nagbabalak na maging isang call center agent, basta ka nalang ba mag wo-walk in at mag apply para sumubok sa ganitong larangan? Unang una siguro ay tanungin ang sarili kung may sapat ka bang kakayahan para matanggap or aminado kang wala kang ka ide-idea talaga. Siguro nga marunong ka mag english at mag computer, kasi magaling ka mag chat sa Yahoo Messenger at IRC. Pero still in doubt?Magandang hikayatin...

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Call Center Sa Probinsya

Mas prefer nyo bang magwork sa province sa mga bagong international call centers? Di kasi katulad sa Metro Manila na napaka congested na, mahal pa ang cost of living, compared sa province almost sure ka na mura ang bilihin, at hindi pa polluted. Ang nabalitaan ko is sa Tacloban mayroon nang bagong tayong APAC, located sa Leyte ICT Park. I grew up in Metro Cebu at alam ko na mostly ng mga nagpupunta sa Cebu ay galing sa mga karatig probinsya sa Visayas at Mindanao, kaya it’s a good idea to decongest the urban areas by creating more jobs in the provinces. Pero pano kung sobrang baba ng basic pay ang i-offer ng APAC sa mga agents sa Tacloban? Ang...

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