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Call center jobs in the Philippines are said to suffer considerable damages because of the looming world economic crisis, and Obama's plan to fix the glitch in the US Obama has been very vocal about his economic policies and stance throughout his campaign and during the first few months of his term as the leader of the watchdog of the world. He wants to centralize all resources and circulate revenues within the sphere of American economy. This translates into a total overhauling of economic plans to reinforce America's domestic labor. In plain and less complex English, the name of the game is to provide more jobs to his people by employing Americans instead of foreigners. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his master plan. In fact, it is good that he's thinking of ways to alleviate the blow of their spiraling economy to the American populace. But the larger picture shows a different reality. The Philippines' strong bond with the US economy through business process outsourcing (BPO) might be extremely affected by this sudden economic steer. Filipinos working for American call centers, medical transcription companies, and content off-shoring companies are doomed to lose jobs if Obama's economic plans push the envelopes further. Saying that many of call center jobs in the Philippines are at the verge of going kaput sounds awful, but when you look at the stern numbers, it gets worse. According to statistics, we have 46% of twenty-something fresh graduates desiring to plunge into the BPO workforce, 900,000 employees earning their way through call center jobs, and thousands of families relying on relatives working in BPO companies. Do the math. If these stark projections were to come true, Filipinos should brace themselves for a fiercer bout with unemployment and poverty as Philippine economy swings from low to ground zero. On the other hand, there are also claims that this big pullout of call center jobs in the Philippines is just blown out of proportion. Since American BPO industry moguls would rig in more revenues through cutting the cost of labor, pulling out their accounts in Asia spells less profit. Most of them would rather hire Asian agents than their fellow Americans because of affordable labor. In this time of economic turmoil, even the richest of businessmen would not be adamant to go for the cheapest labor there is. Not only that, Asian agents are not at all bad when it comes to client-relations based service. In the US, minimum wage for blue collar jobs is $12.00 to $14.00 per hour, which would still cost a lot more for American businessmen. Asian-based BPO employees are paid a LOT less with wages that run from $300.00 to $500.00 PER MONTH. Considering the huge recession happening in the US, it is no wonder that businesses would still opt for cheaper labor cost despite the Obama promise of tax cuts. Obama's win is not only phenomenal because he's the first African-American US President. It is way beyond that. His win is a sneak peek of changes to hit countries all over the world. Since US still remains as a super power in world affairs, every move and decision this US President makes will not only affect Americans but neighboring countries, as well. However, to say that Obama's economic plan is enough to completely knock off business process outsourcing in the Philippines is just not accurate. A lot of factors come to play when it comes to shutting down this mammoth of an industry such as economic fluctuations, production, cost, etc. Pointing all blaming fingers on Obama's win for the depleting call center jobs in the Philippines is just not logical at all.
If you've ever worked in a call center then these 5 reasons will probably resonate with you personally. If you've never worked in a call center, it has it good and bad sides, just like every job. Here are my top 5 reasons why I hate call center jobs. 1. Bad hours. When other people are at home having dinner, you're at the call center, calling them. I would much rather be having dinner rather than interrupting some other persons dinner. The reasons call centers are usually staffed between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. are because that is the time people start getting home from work. If you're going to make a sale you need to get someone on the phone. Your best chance to do that is around 6:00 p.m. so as a consequence you'll work most nights instead of having dinner. 2. Commissions make or break you, most of the time break. A day with great commissions makes it fun to go home, but a slow day where you couldn't get many people interested is horrible. It is bad knowing that you worked a full shift and made 25% less than the day before, or that great day you had last week. Working on commission has always been fun for me because those $800 days are great to talk about and think about. You rarely hear about the days that you didn't sell anything and make $10. 3. Horrible managers and supervisors. As if your call center job wasn't bad enough! I have worked in a few different industries and by far the worst managers and supervisors are in the call center industry. I don't know what it is about these people, but they are the absolute worst. They're idea of "constructive criticism" is yelling and talking about you to your coworkers. "Why can't you be more like Sarah?" Or behind your back, "I can't stand John. He's only been here 3 weeks and it feels like 3 years!" For some reason they think this is better than trying to make the call center agent a better employee.
4. Poor working conditions. If you thought Nike sweat shops in Mexico were bad, you've never seen the call centers that I have. Tiny dirty cubicles, poor lighting, dirty and never vacuumed floors, overflowing trash cans, etc. All because the managers (see point 3) don't want to spend a few bucks to pay someone to clean up once a week. Instead of working the phones while at work you'll find yourself cleaning up your workspace so you don't vomit on the phone in front of you! 5. Monotonous days. When you're selling one particular product, every day is the same. People yelling, you calling again. People yell, you keep calling. Every once in a while someone buys your product, but it's rare. Most of the time people don't want to talk to you and that puts you in a bad mood. Such a bad mood that your friends and family don't really want to be around you either. You can't expect your prospects to understand the type of day you've had so you put on a smile and keep calling, and keep calling, more calling, and calling... Well, that's what it really looks like in a call center. If you've never had a call center job, you won't understand, but once you take that first job, these 5 points will come flooding back into your mind and you'll understand everything! In the world of customer service, there are no strangers, just friends you haven't met yet. And unfortunately, some of those new friends are mean, rude and just weird. But no matter the disposition of your customer de jour, your demeanor should always be poised and professional. You"ve probably heard the expression, "The customer is always right." No one is always right, not even customers, so we've slightly amended this phrase to read as follows, "The customer is always right...if you want to keep your job." And you do want to keep your job, right? In this economy, jobs are precious resources. So if you want to excel in the customer service field, there are a few things to remember. A smile goes a long way, but attentive, professional service goes even further. Not every customer is going to leave your business happy, but by treating people with the same respect you expect from them, you can at least minimize the damage a miserable customer can do to you and your company. Here are a few customer service tips broken down by the most popular customer service industries: "Counter" culture and retail jobs When people think about customer service jobs, they often think about the cash register jockeys breaking change, and the sales floor employees folding sweaters and stocking shelves. These retail jobs can be stressful, especially during the holiday shopping season. (And if you haven't already started your seasonal job search, this is a great place to look). One way to ease the stress of these retail gigs is to embrace the diversity they offer. Ask your manager if you can move departments, or see if you can cross-train to learn a new skill set. For example, if you're a store greeter charged with making a positive first impression with customers, see if you can be a changing room attendant. Manners are on the menu at restaurant jobs Restaurant jobs may be the most demanding of customer service jobs. You're always on your feet, hungry people aren't always the most polite, and the late-night and weekend hours can be demanding. But these jobs can be especially rewarding because they're one of the few gigs where your effort and positive attitude are directly linked to your earning potential. That's right; tips represent the bulk of the pay for servers, bartenders and even bussers. So remember: Grabbing that extra serving of blue cheese dressing or bringing the undercooked steak back to the kitchen after a sincere apology can reap you big rewards on the flip side. Dialing in call center jobs Taking a steady stream of calls from angry and confused customers would be tough to do for 30 minutes. But imagine doing it for eight hours at a time. Many customer services jobs involve never seeing actual customers, but instead talking over headsets while typing up a storm. If you don't have an onsite ergonomic expert at your telemarketing camp, here are a few basic guidelines to make sure that you won't get carpal tunnel syndrome your first week on the job. Be sure to keep your eyes at least 20 inches from your computer screen, adjust the monitor to your eye level and keep your feet positioned firm on the ground. And don't slouch. Working at a desk or cube all day can make you feel cramped and restless. There are, of course, customer service jobs in a number of additional industries we can't fit here. Just remember: When conducting your next job search, make sure to find out how you'll be interacting with customers - and whether or not that fits your personality. |
