* Low pay
* Uninformed, inexperienced management communicated poorly with client and agents
* Too much politics in leadership put a strain on what little opportunities for advancement one might have
To add:
I should preface this review by stating that this applies solely to the department I worked in as a Customer Care Representative. Other departments might be stellar, but I cannot say for sure since I was not a part of them. Looking back, working in my department was not a great, or even good, experience and I would have to fault management for that.
Things started poorly from the very beginning. The Customer Care position was advertised as E-Mail Only on job posting sites but as soon as they had ensnared -- I mean, hired -- enough agents, they did a complete about-face and informed us that all new hires would be answering inbound phone calls as well. Mind you, some of these people had absolutely no call center experience, had made that known during their interviews, and had been hired by management with that little detail in mind. It became clear to me after a while that their interview process was more of a bureaucratic formality, their vetting process near non-existent, so that they will hire just about anyone as an agent/representative since the turnover rate is so high.
There was two weeks of training, during which they attempted to familiarize new hires with the client, the software, and the call center environment (mostly failing in these attempts). Once the two weeks were up and agents were thrown on the Production Floor, the vast majority felt they were not adequately trained or equipped to handle any call or inquiry that came their way. Once on the Floor, you were bombarded with hundreds of emails detailing information you were to commit to memory near-instantly, made to answer an incessant stream of calls, and received regular warnings about not "deviating" from your schedule (which consisted of two 15 minute breaks and a half-hour lunch, with 6 measly minutes reserved to leave your desk -- yes, even going to the bathroom is subject to this draconian itinerary). Having your cellular phone in plain sight could result in a verbal warning, a dismissal, or (for repeat offenders) termination. Naturally, leadership was exempted from this rule and were frequently caught happily text messaging away both on and off the clock. As for the emails agents were supposed to respond to (hence avoiding dealing with inbound calls)... those were reserved for certain agents that leadership felt like assigning the task to. Most of the department was kept on a part-time schedule, with full-time reserved for whoever management felt like bestowing it upon. Some people worked shifts like 5:00am-1:30pm or 12:30pm-8:00pm. When I tried to get my hours changed, my Team Lead threatened to cut my hours dramatically as a preemptive measure. Other suggestions, such as adding additional minutes to Away from Desk time, were under perpetual "consideration" (that means no).
I had always been something of a Pollyanna so when I heard whispers about favoritism my initial (naive) response was to reject it as poppycock -- surely there was no way our departmental leadership would be so unprofessional in their dealings with agents. Yet, as weeks and months went by, this favoritism became glaringly obvious. I watched as far more qualified, ambitious, and punctual agents were taken for granted while "Team Leader's Pets" were over-rewarded, over-compensated, promoted to leadership positions, and, if caught doing something irresponsible or not in accordance with company compliance, were gently chided whereas others who weren't on leadership's good side would be severely reprimanded. As aforementioned, emails were assigned to capable agents that were on good terms with leadership. Leads were cognizant of the fact that email duties meant that you did not have to answer inbound calls. What's more, they played favorites by designating select agents as "Floor Walkers" who would ostensibly assist other, more inexperienced agents in acclimating to the job, but in reality was simply a "free pass" that allowed them to chit-chat, answer a question or two, and spend the rest of their time wandering around while other agents responded to calls and emails.
The leaders in my particular department seemed to have an ax to grind with those who they felt might eventually become their competition. They didn't like too much ambition, or someone whose attendance and adherence were perhaps too peerless because they're looking out for Number One -- themselves. When some of the more competent agents would figure something leadership couldn't on their own, or do something to impress the Program Director in some way, you could hear the sound of their blood boiling, and rest assured, those agents would earn a prominent position on their blacklist. Incentive prizes -- typically outdated portable DVD players or third-rate digital tablets -- were frequently doled out to individuals in good standing with the Team Leads (although agents were expected to believe their declaration that the prizes were determined by metrics and survey responses -- on several occasions, they were given out to people who had hardly responded to any calls or emails for that week).
Several months after enduring this nightmare, I applied for a position with another company, had an interview (a legitimate 2-part interview, not the 2-minute one Alta Resources conducted), was offered the position, accepted, and left the company without looking back. So I walked in a Pollyanna but walked out a very jaded Ebenezer Scrooge (except that, in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the latter amassed a considerable sum of money -- something one won't be able to accomplish with Alta's biweekly paychecks. Bah, humbug!). In a way, this was actually a good thing -- it alerted me to office politics and ensured that I'd never fully trust management no matter where I would end up in the future. I suppose that might be the one thing I can thank Alta Resources for.
