My advice?
Whiners should just suck it up! Jobs were not meant to be easy -- you work hard to earn money.
So if you want to succeed, change your mindset and be thankful you have a job.
Allow me to share with you the things that I've picked up as a Callboy and the reasons why agents should like working in call centers.
1) You gain independence
Most people grow up to be 30 and still don't know how to take care of themselves. When working in Call centers (especially the shifts for the dead), you will unavoidably learn how to practically live alone and survive. When you get home, everyone has left for school or work. This experience makes you realize that your parents will not cook and clean for you forever. You learn to be independent and you strive to survive. The power of common sense (which isn't very common at all) is developed.
2) You learn to budget
While some stupid agents spend all their wages on Starbucks, cellphones, clothes and pirated dvd's, I have seen more agents learn the value of money. Money in the call center is not easily gained, and paychecks are borne from enduring frustrations and curses from irate clients who have low IQ levels. Night differentials and bonuses came from risking safety and health -- so you learn to respect earnings more.
3) You get a computer literacy upgrade
If you work as a callboy or a callgirl, you become somewhat tech savvy. Gone are the days when you panic at the first sign of computer trouble. You immediately say, "clear the cache and delete temporary internet files" to fix computer problems (even if that computer has no internet). You also develop dexterity in typing, and use the amazing time saving power of ctrl+c & ctrl+v. You become more exposed in the realm of computers and technology -- free training that you won't easily get from anywhere else.
And bukas makalawa..hacker ka na, nag pipirata na ng DVD...etc.
4) You learn respect for people
You get exposed to a wide array of individuals, attitudes, preferences, cultures and sexualities.
In call Centers, racists and stupid judgmental people are the outcasts. Minds get broadened and understanding evolves.
5) You get to be who you really are
Unlike other industries, acceptance is a norm in a call center, you have the freedom to be yourself. If you have three kids by the age of 20 (o makati ka pa sa kuneho), no one will judge you. It does not matter even if you are gay, lesbian, old or young. Even if you were ugly, people will not care. You will be evaluated based on the work you do.
6) Your communication skills improve
Gone are the days of nosebleeds.
In three months, you'll learn the meaning of escalate and sub-categorize. English is caught and not taught, and you will catch a whole lot of English in call centers.
7) You get other health benefits
While others spend thousands for skin-whitening chemicals (like glutathione and dyobos), you naturally get whiter skin as a night shift call center agent because you do not get exposed to sunlight.
You will also be far from the dangers of cancer since Coffee has lots of antioxidants. In call centers you may drink coffee till the world ends.
But seriously…
I believe that the best thing that an individual gets from working in call centers is that they learn how to be strong, to be patient and to accept and understand others.
A call center career may be challenging and may not be the dream careers we wanted. But it's honest work that we should be proud of. We also get free aircon, and the higher than average salaries do not hurt either.
So what other benefits can you think of?
