DISH Advanced Technical Support Representative reviews

Work at DISH becomes your life. During training, you learn a dizzying array of technical terms, business rules and procedures that you use every day, and you think about even when not working. These rules change at any given moment - but training is often thin and skims over important details that will unavoidably come into play during work later. It's hard to summon energy to have a life after talking to a mix of angry people, constantly changing job goals, and management that makes sure you're aware that you can be replaced in an instant. The company expects 100% of your focus, and 100% of your time. If you don't mind that, you'll do great - and it may well be to your benefit (see above about sales & performance incentives). However, the metrics you are scored on are often arbitrary, and either beyond your control or are subjective, and often both. If these scores are not exactly what the company wants them to be or better, it could cost you thousands in bonus & incentive pay. These metrics are also a constantly moving target, by the way, and will undoubtedly change the moment you accustom yourself to work with them. If the company wants you there more than your scheduled hours, it will often demand mandatory extra time. This is great if you need more pay, but less so if you want to actually accomplish anything with your time off. Being a phone agent, the company keeps time available between calls to an absolute minimum. DISH does not want you to be able to take a spare breath between incoming phone calls, as it would be wasting money - if there's a gleam of space between calls, the company will tell you you can leave - for an hour, or half hour maybe - unpaid. As an hourly phone agent, unless you take them during your scheduled breaks, you are expected to punch out if you need to visit the lavatory. Salaried or off phone hourly agents are not held to this expectation. Medical benefits are offered, but are often missing crucial parts. For a job where the primary function is mental, it is incredible that mental health coverage is not offered in anyway. Furthermore, there is no support available for you if you do want to talk with someone about the stresses you feel doing your everyday work. This can be exceedingly difficult when your job consists of speaking to angry & frustrated people all day. Technical Support agents should not be held to sales goals. The company has sales agents just for that purpose. Customers appreciate being educated about their service, but not sales driven for an extra buck. The company encourages bending the moral & business guidelines to meet your goals, but will punish you if you're actually caught breaking them. Advancement opportunities are abundant, and the corporate HR structure promises a transparent, fair and equal application & interview process. Yet this never happens - local management will lose your paperwork, or they'll interview you, score you on the interview, but still deny you or approve you based on how much they "like" you. Managers in the call center tend to hold grudges.

No constancy with ANYTHING. Unattainable unrealistic goals. Often felt I was spinning plates. They were here balance this and this and this oh and these 3 other things. Constantly lived in fire of getting a "box" which they fired people and made a huge production like leading people to their death like the green mile. For months and months I voiced my unhappiness and applied for multiple transfers which fell on deaf ears. They did get hellbent on sales and i was marked down over and over for not selling to customers that was having equipment replaced or a tech out if they had at least one working tv. They only focus on stats even when they say they aren't they do it sneaky. Like telling us multiple times a day "there is a shiftbid coming, everything counts" which never made any sense because the last shiftbid they came in a few months later and just changed everyones schedules. Then you have the fact that often times to get one metric you have to put one or more in jeopardy. The place mentally abused me. I was celebrated when i was a top agent but when i fell and struggled, no one helped. I tried to figure a way out to meet everything, which ultimately led to my "box". They re-enforce to us on a daily basis we are just a body filling a seat, and we can be replaced at whim.