Pros
Steady hours Mostly nice staff Higher level staff are told, "not to refuse a transfer," and they generally hold to that Trainings after the initial training are decent Decent starting hourly wage
Cons
Initial training doesn't include on-the-system practice at all, the first time you see/use the computer system is when you're sitting with a rep listening to their calls. Then they listen as you type and talk, but all this happens very quickly and training prior to this seemed very short and did not thoroughly cover the info needed. It seems that there is high turnover -- this seems to be the reason training is short/not thorough -- and level ones are expected to jump right in. There are specific abbreviations you're supposed to use that aren't clear and you only get the sheet of abbreviations right before being put on the floor. Work instructions in the computer system don't include examples yet supervisors/team leads/buddies sometimes act frustrated when you ask questions You're making collection calls -- while not all interactions with customers are difficult, there are many calls where the approach in calling upsets the customer receiving the call. Even though higher levels are supposed to address mistakes with your supervisor, occasionally they will call directly to "advise" you of your mistakes -- this seems to usually be a lecture about something they believe you should know how to do but in reality you may not have had any training about the subject. They have a "rounding" method for your hours. If you go over the end of your day by 7 minutes or less, they round down to the nearest hour -- pretty sure this is not a legal practice in Oregon, but this is the company practice. Also, no information is provided about insurance coverage except its start day. No specifics, no packet of information, nothing. Not all employees have email -- even intraoffice email would be beneficial to ask questions of parties who are hard to catch on the phone or for things that don't require immediate attention. They spend a lot of time in training trying to convince you that collections are a positive part of the economy because they prevent business from driving up prices and often claim the company is having a difficult time in this tough economy.