....to be so ANGRY at the way people speak to me? (RANT)

[tigermoll]

I work in a call centre. It's hardly my dream job, and most days it makes me want to put my head on the desk and cry. I have been applying for other jobs since I started here (6 months) but, (as you may be aware ) it is not a brilliant time to look for work. So I'm stuck here for the forseeable future.

Often, very often, when I call people they are so rude and aggresive it can bring tears to my eyes. The people I call have voluntarily put their phone number into a request for information, so can hardly be surprised that they then recieve a call. However, this doesn't stop them from swearing at me, denying they ever made the enquiry, accusing me of lying about the enquiry, blowing whistles at me, claiming to have never ever heard of the company I'm calling from, or indeed the service we offer, sometimes even denying that they are the person they said they were a few moments ago, or that they even know what the internet is, mocking me, sighing, tutting, ranting, deliberately wasting my time then hanging up, asking aggressive questions in an attempt to 'catch me out' as they see it, and being as patronising and dismissive as they can. They assume that they can speak to me however they like, in a way they would never dare to speak to my face.

I understand that recieving calls can get annoying for people. In this case I would respectfully suggest that they:

Go on the TPS register
Get an answerphone to screen their calls,
carefully check any form or enquiry they make and tick the 'do not contact me in the future' box
and:
STOP PUTTING THEIR PHONE NUMBER INTO WEBSITES

But, no matter how irritated the recipient of the call may be, or how justified they may feel, do they forget that they are talking to a human being? A human being who:
a) is unlikly to be doing the job out of a strong desire to work as a call centre operative, and more likely, works long hours at low pay in a job they dislike.
b) is not responsible for the business model of the company, - it wasn't their idea to make all these calls.
c)is not a shareholder in the company, and probably doesnt like their employer very much
d) has no power whatsoever to take them off OTHER companies' phone lists, or change the fact that other companies may be contacting them, especially if they make a habit of chucking their phone number around.

It is actually illegal for a company to 'cold call' - ie get your number and phone you without obtaining your prior consent. So when you do recieve a call, it is as a result of your actions (ie you have given them your number and not ticked a box that says they can't pass it on), NOT because the company calling is EVIL.

If you are called by a company, and have no interest in the service they are offering, why not just politely say 'Thanks for your time, but I am not interested in the service you are offering. Cheers, bye.' There is no need to act out your irritation in a pettish display of superiority just because you feel yourself so justified that you can act any way you like.

Grrr. Here endeth the rant.

I am on the TPS. When my elderly parents kept getting nuisance calls I put them on it too. When my Dad was dying and they continued to get calls I would politely say 'he's not here', 'no thanks', or we're not interested. Can you believe that one company had the nerve to phone me straight back 3 times after I did this telling me how rude I was. I replied that I did not wish to speak to anyone who would not give me their number. The man said we have your number and we know where you live so think about that.

The last time they called was on the day of Dad's funeral and when they started the abuse I let rip and called the guy every name under the sun.

I'm hiding this thread now because I feel like I want to call you at home and shout at you .

tigermoll - sorry you get abuse but

Like many other posters we are with TPS. I never put in my phone number unless it is an obligatory field. I always uncheck to e box to say can we pass on your details and also contact you numerous times.

however I often work nights and yes my phone has an answerphone but it also has an extension next to the bed. I don't switch phone off when trying to sleep because I have children at school who may need me in an emergency, likewise my elderly parents.

If when I am trying to sleep I am rung by call centre, I politely say "not interested on nights" on the first call, I am slightly less polite on the second - and admit to being very pissed off by the third - as I'm sure you would be if someone persistently rang you when you are trying to sleep.

Whilst I have no doubt you wouldn't do this, unfortunately some of your colleagues do - hence why a lot of us are sometimes less than polite

I'm always very polite with sales calls - firm, but polite. Cos I just asume they hate their employer as much as the rest of us do

However, now I know it might be you calling, with all you defending of sales companies, and blaming of the recipients of the calls...I'll gladly tell the next cold caller to get to fuck.

@Tigermoll

You are not being unreasonable at all.

You have just made the silly mistake of failing to realise that it is completely acceptable to be bigoted on MN about: Catholics, Americans and people who work in call centres.

They also fail to realise they weren't exactly giving out halos when they took on their jobs. Unless they are routinely feeding the 5,000 they can all shut the F* up to be quite frank.

I have worked in a similar job to you it sounds like, by only calling people who have given their information willingly to the company. A point which numerous people here have totally failed to pick up on in your OP which is very telling.

You are BU to take it personally though. I mean what do you owe someone who is horrible down the phone at you. They are the morally bankrupt and unethical ones.

Oh op. I have some sympathy and fwiw I tend towards being polite.

But I am not sure if you are naive or foolish.

You work in an industry which has some truly shit practitioners.
Lecturing people about how they should prevent unsolicited calls is arrogant.
I have a landline which I need available at all tines because my sons school may need to contact me urgently.
I very very rarely give out that number yet people have obtained it and call. I have registered with the telephone preference service. Yet still they call.

Telling me that I should be unfailingly polite in the face of 5 or 6 calls a week is pushing it.

Perhaps a slightly greater recognition that people get hugely frustrated and upset by the behaviour of some of your peers would get you slightly getter responses.
You are coming across as pretty snotty and unthinking tbh.

I'm registered with the TPS. Doesn't stop me getting 3-4 sales calls a day. Our phone line went wrong and we couldn't get any incoming calls for a couple of weeks, it was bliss. I was almost disappointed when BT repaired it.

"someone has chosen to buy a phone, install it and pay for the line"

Well it has to be said that if we didn't have to have a landline for the broadband package, I'd be tempted to get rid. No-one we actually want to speak to every rings our landline. There is so much sales spam now.

Perhaps the solution is that we shouldn't HAVE to pay for our landlines and that telesales companies should have to subsidise everyone's phone lines if they want to contact us in that way.

Ah HannahHack. Another admirable voice gor the industry.

You are really turning me round here.

I very politely tell callers that I am registered with the TPS. Nine times out of 10 they hang up on me. Not doing their fellow call centre workers any favours there. I think the guidelines suggest an apology is in order.

I think Tigermoll, people have been badly treated by other telesales people, and resent the intrusion into their private life.

I am never rude though. I have been treated terribly by call centre staff in the past and prefer not to speak to any of them.

Wow, I had clearly underestimated the strength of feeling on this topic.

I just had an awful revelation, - I suddenly realised I was DEFENDING these companies to you. And I do agree with you about most of it. Most of the companies ARE duplicitous, untrustworthy, and obssessed with money. The mechanics of how they manipulate information and pass it around to make money are shady at best. They are run by people who see big piles of money where they should see human beings. However, that doesn't neccessarily apply to the individuals who make the call. They are just poor phone monkeys.

Possibly in the 6 months of doing this job, I have become hardened to the faintly-immoral nature of what I do.

@Pagwatch How have I tried to big up the industry? I didn't even mention it in my post.

I just pointed out there are few industries that are truly glowing with morality. We are all capitalists.

I agree with worraliberty. You do sound perfect for this type of job.

Yes Hannah but we don't all annoy the hell out of people in their own homes

I think that's the possible difference....

Tigermoll - exactly!!

Redirect your anger toward the shits who run and make a killing in this kind of industry, cos it certainly aint you or your colleagues.

Yay, an epiphany! They are basically total c**ts. Get as much money as you can out o fthem and simultaneously make plans to MOVE ON.

@worra but so what if you are "annoyed"?

I understand it is an intrusion, but the level of feeling here is really over the top. I don't like the military as it involves killing people in the name of this country. But that's my problem.

I wouldn't go on a thread about people in the military and point out the moral issues associated with their choice of work.

I am registered with TPS - still get calls.

How many times are YOU ask to remove someone's telephone number. Do you do it straight away as you always promise.

So no sorry your not paid to have people be rude to you, but you should expect people to be pissed off when they receive yet another unwanted call.

I have been on maternity leave for the past 3months. I had no idea that we had so many calls during the day. Having worked in a call center I know first hand how awful it is and I only took incoming calls.

When people call here and I pick up I am polite but tell them I am not interested and to please not call back. If they call back a second time I ask to speak to their supervisor and request once more that they remove my number from their database. If they call back a third time I ask to speak to the supervisor and ask where the company is located. I call the local police department and speak to them. Rarely do I get another call. In 3 months I have managed to get the phone calls down to 1-2 a week. When ompalumpa pregnant I would get 8-10 a day.

Well you slightly misrepresented I think in your OP. In my mind there's a vast difference between call centres ie those that are set up to take incoming enquiries from consumers such as banks, insurance companies. In my head I have every sympathy with those people when I hear the way that they are spoken to by customers.

I believe though that your job is with a company that sells via phone. Now, in those cases like when I get called 5 times a day asking to speak to the BT account holder, flogging double glazing, debt advice etc etc callers frankly take their life in their hands.

I dont know what youre flogging, but if you were honest you'd ask yourself how many times you thought to yourself "what I really need is some new double glazing, i hope that someone rings tonight as I'm bathing the kids to read me a shit script".

Your solutions are stupid, why should I screen all calls just to preventbyour company exploiting my leisure time.

Accept your job for what it is, take the money while you need it, but don't you dare preach to me about how to behave to unwanted attention.

You didn't big up the industry Hannah.

What you did was post that people should put up with it and shut the fuck up unless they are saints.

So in a fairly aggressive manner you dismissed the genuine irritation of people at having their home life dusturbed.

So you represented the industry by being rude, abrasive and disinterested in anyone else being inconvenienced.

Were you intending something else?

@worra but so what if you are "annoyed"?

Yes I think that's the general attitude of most people who do that job

Hence the reason they're told to fuck off so often by the people they annoy....

YANBU - it takes just as long to be polite and end the call as it does to be rude.

But the op was asking why people are rude. People are explaining.

tigermoll, its very easy to turn native isn't it? Stop unwittingly defending the companies.

There is NO excuse for anyone telling you to Fuck Off on the phone though. It doesn't achieve anything.

And I apologise, I realise now you had seen the light earlier. Have these by way of apology OP