* The job is tedious. I feel like I've had the same conversation all day. By the end of my shift, I'm tearing out my hair with boredom.
* Yes, you get time off. Taking it is an entirely different matter. Plan your life around call volume.
* People are very concerned about when you pee, how long you pee, and whether you should pee at a certain time. It's sort of creepy, not to mention inhuman.
* You will get knocked for every small detail on every call. Accept it.
* You are graded on surveys by 20% of your score. You either get an excellent, or you get nada. A very good rating is just the same as terrible. It doesn't matter if the ph was upset you had to add their teen to the policy, or they don't like the price of their new vehicle premium. You get the honor of being the recipient of their frustration and then you get a skewed survey filled out about you.
* Not everyone is smart, not everyone is nice. Being is customer service has strengthened my belief that the United States needs education reform NOW.
* Mandatory overtime. This is not on the brochure when they hire you, but it certainly is on the menu. They automatically put the time in your schedule and expect you to come up with a good reason as to why you should be exempt. And then they wonder why they lose people. You may be "requested" to do as much as an hour of mandatory over time five days a week. Over time is fine, but I will be darned if someone is going to demand I do it. They may want to create a sweatshop, but it isn't quite one. Yet.
* Dependability. This is an understandable request. You are expected to be at work in a punctual and reliable manner. This is a call center, and volume depends on every one doing their part. HOWEVER, there have been employees nearly fired for going to the hospital. People come in terribly sick because if they take another sick day, they know it could be curtains for them. They get you sick, and it spreads throughout your team, and throughout the center you work in. People stick trash cans by their desk to throw up if they need to. GEICO does not give two cents about the condition you're in, as long as you're getting it done at work. If you have a bad year with illness, regardless of how much you've given the company, you can be booted out.
* You can always tell the new people. They have spark and happiness in their voice. After people stay so long, that spark is dead. You can hear it in their voice. This job will suck the happiness out of you. Either get in and bust it as quick as you can to move up, or use your training to GET OUT before you become one of those soul-less voices!
