Misconceptions About Call Center Agents

There are a lot of misconceptions about call center agents. I bet each one of you has his or her own connotation. Before I joined the call center industry, I used to think that this is a job that would benefit moms like me because you'll have no other responsibility but to answer customer inquiries. It turned out that I was wrong. Big time!Many people think that working in a call center is easy. Easy enough that even non-degree holders can be accepted. Although it is true that there most call centers accept non-graduates, it is not analogous to say that the job is easy. More than anything, it is very important that the person can handle stress...

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Mute It

You can't deny it. We all live in the same extra world. I call it extra because its just really uncommonly difficult. And easy. A combination you feel when you are in it. You go to work at night. You sleep whole day. Then you wake up worrying what shirt could probably look new under your same old black jacket. Then you go to the same spot, if you are lucky to gain that position all your project life (whatever account that is) with your pictures posted on the wall and the rest extra-- like the new policy that just came in, steps on making that call, et cetera. Ah! This is a life! You are free to speak the unbearable, as your caller is free to...

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Philippine Independence Day

Today June 12, 2009 is celebrated as the 111th year of Philippine Independence. That's more than a century ago and is it still relevant for us present day Filipinos?For BPO night shift workers like me, probably it's just another day in the calendar when we can work and be paid double. But is it an irony that most of the BPO workers are employees of foreign BPO companies or call centers and we declare that we indeed are independent?As foreign BPO investments pour in the Philippines because of the Filipino's innate talent, are we Filipinos have any plans of building our own call center or BPO industry that can rival the best and be a global player?...

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A Short Story

Inhale. Exhale. Deep sigh. Over and over until the smoke from my cigarette stick goes out. I'm really nervous. The result of our exams are about to come out anytime soon. Normally I'm not afraid to hear the exam results and I don't have vices but this exam depends whether I'll stay with the account or be re-profiled. I was able to breathe easy when the results came. I wasn't able to perfect the scores but at least I passed.Bad trip! I already wanted to move out from the call center world but I still can't. I still need money nowadays. Why is it that only the BPO industry are the ones with high-paying companies in the Philippines? I don't really...

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Among companies and businesses today, there is a trend towards undertaking what is called "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR). The basic idea of CSR is that companies should be doing more to ensure that the community they operate in is taken care of. This could take various forms - anywhere from feeding programs to livelihood projects, and even environmental cleanups. It's a good concept, and I don't see anyone disagreeing with this in principle. The thing is, a great many companies that supposedly practice CSR are under the mindset that it is an opportunity for self-promotion. If one surveys each of these companies and tries to find out...

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