call times

[TelephoneAngel]

We are now being put "on report" with the risk of being fired if we do not adhere to strict call times.Which is all very well, and I am a professional who knows how to give good customer ervice and stay on the topic and not waste time.

But it apears that management do NOT KNOW that SC's exist and will make you go over the call times most times.

So a phone call which if made with a perfectly normal customer will take maybe four minutes, will with an SC take anything up to half an hour, by the time they won't answer questions, want to talk about something irrelevant, argue with you about nothing.

Any other call centre workers on strict timed calls?

[chickengirl]

is that if your average time goes over the limit, or are they putting you on report just because you had one long call? both are unfair, but the second one is abusive.

my call center keeps stats for average handle time but it's irrelevent because handle time is heavily skewed by hangups and calls where we only leave a message. it doesn't factor into our performance reviews.

[Mr.Customer]

Well if they fired you for unjust cause then the company is generally liable for legal reprecusions. Since it is beyond your control how customers act, firing you their call time would be unjust cause. Depending on your state and country (here in Canada I would start with the labour board) on how you would start that legal action if it came down to it.

Your first and best bet is to not wait for the company to fire you because of this, but to act now and contact whatever labour board, or applicable authority and find out what your legal options are, ussually the labour board will contact the company on your behalf, (without saying who exactly) to see what their exact position is on the matter and to inform the company on the legalality of their policy.

In adition, my suggestion to any worker where there is policies like this, is to take notes. Pad of paper and pen handy, log the specifics of each and every call, (time of day etc) where the call takes longer then ussually taking careful notes as to why that call took longer.

[r2cagle]

That was the reason I 'had' to get out of our call center. I was focused more on quality and even with my best customers it would take me 6-7 minutes. They wanted us to be at 4-5 minutes average. I tried, honestly.. but it was either get out or get fired for not being able to make the numbers. And the only way I could make numbers was to bring down my level of customer service.

I just couldn't do it. Which is why it was fate that a position in the billing department came available at the time I needed to get out.

Unfortunately, due to the competitive nature of call center work, time really is money. If it's more economical for a company to contract customer calls out to another call center, the quality may suffer, but the costs are cheaper. And companies will do it, especially in this current economy. So companies that have their own call center are looking for ways to justify the expense of hiring people to staff their phone center. It really does come down to the employees have to make numbers in order to keep their jobs. I don't know how much UK law affects call centers, but I'm sure contract call centers out of India could easily replace those currently located in the UK.
Shoot, our call centers are just a tiny bit over the cost per call that a contract company would cost, but due to some of the complicated state rules, it still makes sense for my company to have well-trained employees. Though, that may be next on the chopping block....

[lobo94]

"shakes head" The bean counters who come up with stuff like this have no clue about what actually happens in the trenches.

[freeatlast]

When I worked in the Call Center from Hell, the front line agents were expected to average 2 minutes 15 seconds per call. I took escalated calls, and we were expected to average 2 minutes 45 seconds per call. And ATT was part of our yearly reviews.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

When I worked at a call center they talked and talked about keeping handle times down but unless your average was astronomically high, you didn't get bitched at much. My guess was they were happy enough to have people who would show up and work the phones for 8 hours a day, they didn't want to push it.

My longest call was 1 hour 45 minutes

I had three calls over 1 hour

Most were less than 10 minutes.

[The Electric Fetus]

Long time lurker, first post ever! I have a few tales from the trenches, but i'll start with this one.

My pals from overseas and Canada think I'm kidding when i say this but i live in NY State and we're one of a few states that have a lovely lovely thing called 'at will' employment.

What that means is that you can leave your place of employment with no notice if you desire. However it ALSO means that your employer can fire you "WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE", and NO PRIOR NOTICE. Sounds like a joke? Come to our state and grab a few job app's and read the fine print.

How this relates to the post: yeah, employers can pretty much set any unrealistic goals they want, especially in a state like ours. "Can't meet the established goals? There's the door and good luck."

And they wonder why people just snap.

[searssoulslave]

What that means is that you can leave your place of employment with no notice if you desire. However it ALSO means that your employer can fire you "WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE", and NO PRIOR NOTICE. Sounds like a joke? Come to our state and grab a few job app's and read the fine print. And they wonder why people just snap.

Michigan has the same law in effect. Which is by far the best way to rape people of their human rights when it comes to employment. I would take Mr. Customer's advice and see if you can protect yourself legally. But if you're location has something to the effect of "At Will" your basically a helpless wage slave like myself. :-(

[Kristev]

Idaho's one of those states, too. It's a disgusting flaw.

[Marmalady]

Are the calls recorded at all? very often if I have to ring a company I hear the message that 'some of the calls may be recorded for training purposes'. That would be one way to show the higher-ups that callers are unpredictable.
Regarding companies that move their call centres to India or wherever, I won't do business with them. One of my best friends lost his job after about 30 years with the same (big) company because the firm moved that part of their operation to India, whereupon I cancelled all the business I had with them. And I'm not being xenophobic, I just don't like the idea of big firms that do this so they can get away with paying less wages while charging the same for their services.

[searssoulslave]

AI just don't like the idea of big firms that do this so they can get away with paying less wages while charging the same for their services.

And getting crappier service to boot! It's hard as hell to understand people who have thick accents and when you're trying to relay information back and forth it's infuriating. For this reason I no longer call my credit card payments or a few of my bills over the phone anymore because I'm tired of having to repeat myself (or have them repeat themselves) several times. I'm not against any foreign trade but honestly outsourcing is the quickest way to dissatisfy customers from a different nation with a different language.

[tenzilkem]

I work in the lovely At Will state of Alabama. I have managed to survive 3 accounts over 8 years and I think this last account will be the one that does me in. Instead of mostly tech support it is a lot of customer care crap. No offense but people's feelings factor very low in the training I've had. Only reason I am on this account now is due to the other account I was on pulling out and I got out before the ship sank if you will. I really despise the account and the bs that they pull about talk times. If you get someone who is honestly trying to get things taken care of(bill, been busy with real life problems like death in the family or in the hosptial) I can try and work with them within reason but if you are flat out just avoiding paying your bill and act like an ass....screw yourself and see if it brings forth enlightenment. I seem to be the moron magnet on the phone, yeah I get some short calls but man when I have long calls Jesus Tapping Christ And The Church of Blithering Idiots help me. It's like a tick on a dog, they won't let go. No we cannot extend your services, no we cannot let you get pay per view til you pay your bill, it's nice you want to give me your credit card info to order the ppv, but you have to pay your bill first!!! They argue, they pretend to be nice and turn into cursing tards when you say no! Sorry to get ranty here but things like that make it really hard to have short hold times.

[r2cagle]

Long time lurker, first post ever!

to

I hope that you'll post more. Especially your stories from the trenches. Call Center work is a thankless job especially when people in other departments look down on you as a minimum wage worker. They always have to sit with a rep and listen to a few calls to truly 'understand' how good you have to be to work at a call center.

[monolayth]

My performance reviews keep telling me i am too efficent and need to take longer with the caller.