*I worked in the call center and it was extremely stressful. For starters let me say the paramedics are called to FIS @ LEAST twice a week. granted it's not always for someone that works in the call center department but that just shows you what type of environment you're working in. ( This needs to be investigated by the labor board!!! )
*You have mandatory overtime working in the call center. The overtime schedule can vary week by week. One week you may be required to work 8 hours overtime, the next week you're required to work 10 hours overtime. The hours of overtime that you have to apply for needs to be available. So for example if you want to work overtime Sunday from 1pm-8pm and there is a 30 min gap (meaning they don't need anyone on the phone for the 30 minutes) they will deny the entire request & you will have to apply for hours working around that 30 minute window. & the reasoning behind this is "business needs" so if they don't need anyone on the phone for 30 min from 2:00pm- 2:30pm and they deny the request you submitted from 1-8pm & you have no where to put it they will drop it on your schedule more than likely on an off day.
*Overtime gets dropped on your schedule. If you don't get the chance to apply or your ot keeps getting denied they will drop it on you & you have to work it. I'm all for the option to get a good paycheck, but if overtime is needed by us then we should be able to apply for it WHENEVER we want. Since the call center is open 24 hours/7 days a week. The overtime schedule is so stupid its pretty much based on a prediction of call volume. & sometimes they put it out too late. They mandate everything friday by noon. Sometimes they wont even put out the mandatory hours or the OT chart until wednesday or thursday.
*The grading- The grading for the calls is sort of demanding. You will fail your call if you don't tell the cardholder about the website once you get in their account. This is dumb because it's on the back of their card which they will see when they turn the darn thing over to call customer service. The website needs to be said in the IVR when they call in not by us.
If you don't apologize after the customer tells you something that may seem negative you will get points off your grade. I knew someone that got points off a call because they didn't apologize to the customer because they called in saying they shredded the card thinking it was a credit card and they needed a new one.... so because the agent didn't apologize for the cardholder's own stupidity they got points taken off.
You get points taking off if you don't 'take ownership'. So for example if someone calls in for a balance but you see that their card is declining for insufficient funds because of the low balance you will get points off for not telling them that. They 'claim' our purpose is one call resolution, but that's b.s. they just want you to take the calls as quickly as possible. The calls is how they make their money (customer service fee's, ivr fees etc)
*Lack of information- since we service different cards it may be a different program you're pulling up each time. some of the programs are blank. no info about transfers, loading the card, website, daily spending limit.. so on those calls you're basically winging it. If you send an email to management about it nothing gets done. How do you expect us to assist on something that has 0 info? We cant even see what the website THAT WE SERVICE looks like... so we basically have to ask the customer what they see when they log in & wing it from there if they have a question with the website.
*Lack of communication. If there is something you had a question about regarding a program and you need help on it if you send an email hope & pray you get a response. Management & seniors act like they are so busy they cant take time to respond to your email. Then if you bring it up to them they will say "oh I saw that I was going to respond"......
*Dr.s notes/excuses. I have heard so many negative things regarding doctors notes & HR department. The job wants to know what your illness was/is which I thought was a violation. They also will not accept it if doesn't have a return to work date which is dumb.
*Special time off the phone- if you had an irate, racist, or sexist caller & you need time to cool down don't even bother sitting in ACW. They will tell you to auto back in & take the calls. They wont even give you @ least 10 minutes to cool off & if you need those 10 minutes you have to take it out of the 30 minutes emergency time you get per month.
*breaks/lunches @ different times each day. It may even get pushed back/up that day depending on 'business needs' so you can come in @ 8am check your schedule first thing in the morning & see that your lunch was at 12noon. You may get a notification that your lunch was updated to 1pm
*no work-life balance- If you have a social life, kids, have children with extracurricular activities, in PTA meetings, a student etc this really isn't the job for you.
*very strict- they have a no visitor policy. so if your friend works in another department across the hall & they come over to say hi to you, you both may be written up. They say it's a distraction. We cant even be @ someones cubicle if they work 2 seats down without permission...
They also shut off internet access. the only websites we can get on is for the clients we service. I can see how internet is a distraction but we cant even look up local news. So if there was a tornado warning/watch we cant even look it up.
Insurance- If you don't opt out of the insurance plan during open enrollment they will automatically sign you up for the highest plan they have. Obviously if I didn't sign up I didn't want it.... right?
*Bonuses are hard to get. They make it seem like you can get a bonus each month but that's very hard to obtain. You basically have to do everything perfect & get off your calls in a certain amount of time to get it. which is darn near impossible with the many issues the callers have. They say they don't want you to rush the person off the phone but they will constantly get on to you about your AHT if its high.
*speaking of bonus, there's no Christmas bonus, no Christmas present.... no nothing. We put in a lot of hard work, and hours, and sometimes will have to drive in the snow/ice during Christmas season...
*no job security- you feel like you're walking on eggshells. you never know when someone will be out the door. Don't bring anything personal to your desk. too much to carry when being walked out. Furthermore the employee handbook says you must clean off your desk each day anyway. even if it is a picture of your precious child. failure to comply will result in disciplinary action...
*shift bids are a joke- they hire you for a certain shift when you come in. They are supposed to have a shift bid once you're of of your 90 day probation or 6 months... or something like that.. they will promise a shift change & it wont happen.... all because of 'business needs'
*no food that you cant get out of a vending machine. which doesn't make sense because if I'm stuffing my face with cheetos the cardholder can hear that I'm eating. What's the difference between that and a sandwich? Whether I'm eating cheetos or a sandwich the cardholder can hear that I'm eating. Also the cheetos make your hands greasy and smears the letters off the keyboards. But okay vending machine food it is!!!
*customer service jobs suck ANYWAY.. but it's even worse when you're on the phone. The callers CAN and WILL take you there on a daily basis just because your're not face to face with them.
*Job pays less than the other call centers in the Little Rock area, BUT it's less work involved....which is probably why we get paid less than the others.
