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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Laughed At For Working in a Call Centre

83 replies

ShirleyValentine51 · 01/03/2018 19:42

I have been unemployed for 3 months and have tried really hard to find new employment. I had a very successful job working as an Accountant for a Firm of Solicitors and this job was really bad for my health and had to leave in the end.
The people were really horrible, especially the Senior Partner and his Secretary. I was expected to start early and finish later (especially at the end of the month and was never given the time back or paid for it!!).
Anyway, I did some voluntary work just to get up and keep my routine going. I had some savings but realised that this was never going to last forever plus I wanted to have some money so I could do something nice with it, not to use it to pay bills, although I have to say I was very lucky I did have some savings or I would have had to claim benefits. (There is nothing wrong with claiming some benefits, I know, its just that if I didnt have to then I didnt want to).
I was off for an interview on Tuesday for a full-time job. It is only 2 minutes away from where I live and the bus stops right outside. I did very well in the interview and I was offered the job the next day. You can imagine my delight. The interviewer really sold it and it sounds great. She said my job title is Customer Claims Handler. There is a lot of paperwork involved and only SOME telephone involvement. There is great staff benefits and a chance of promotion if I want it. Wages are really good too!! (To be honest they are not paying me much less than I was receiving in my last job)....I though all my Christmases had come at once yesterday!!

My wee face was beaming all day yesterday until I met some people I know and when telling them my GOOD news they burst out laughing saying "Oh I know people who work in there and they hate it!! Its a terrible place to work - do yourself a favour and dont start...find something else"!!!...I felt mortified. As I was walking away, one of them shouted after me, "Dont tell anyone your working there....LOL...what a brass neck"... (These people are not my friends by the way and nor will I stop to speak to them again in the future)

What do you make of this??
(I'm not giving up my new job for anything but has anyone else ever worked in a call centre?? is it that bad??)

XXXXXXX

OP posts:

MrsHathaway · 01/03/2018 19:45

How rude of them to piss on your chips like that.

If they really think it's a bad employer then there's better ways to warn you. And if you aren't going from another paid job you will lose nothing by giving it a go.

Best of luck.

Squirrelpatrol2174 · 01/03/2018 19:47

Don't listen to them. Good on you for finding yourself a job.

ilovesooty · 01/03/2018 19:48

That must have hurt. They sound horrible.

acornsandnuts · 01/03/2018 19:48

I just don’t get mean people. Ignore and hold your head high.

Congratulation on your new job. When do you start?

Possumfish · 01/03/2018 19:49

Those ppl are horrid!!! Don't listen to them. Call centre work can be very hard - and it's not for everyone! But I know many people who love working in them. And if you don't like it you can use it as a learning experience :)

RebootYourEngine · 01/03/2018 19:49

I will admit that i have said this to someone that i know. One of my old places of work was a horrible place to work and i did it because i liked the person and didnt want them to experience what i did.

Idontdowindows · 01/03/2018 19:49

Look them up on Glassdoor and have a bit of a read there to see what's said about them.

Ollivander84 · 01/03/2018 19:49

I've worked in 3 call centres. One wasn't great but bearable, one I worked in for ten years and I've just started a new one which I really like

WTFIsThisVirus · 01/03/2018 19:50

I've worked in a call centre before. I took 40 calls a day, it was very busy! The team leader was very strict, that was the only downside. She once emailed me about being a minute late back from lunch. I then moved onto software support, which I prefer, and has been my field since 2010. It also involves phone calls, but most of the work is via email.

If you like talking to people, then call centre work can be fun. If you are the type of person who gets easily offended, it's properly not for you. If a customer starts effing and blinding down the phone at you, you have to be polite but firm.

However, I think your "friend" sounds like a dick.

acquiesce · 01/03/2018 19:50

I used to work in one - pay could be better but I found it really relaxed, made some good friends, had a laugh working there, generally easy job, chance of promotion of you were good at sales.
As long as it’s not one of the commission only ones!

RebootYourEngine · 01/03/2018 19:51

How sure are you that it is because it is a call centre rather than just a horrible place to work?

Umakemefeellikedancing · 01/03/2018 19:51

That's really rude and shitty of them.
I hope you enjoy your new job.

BarryTheKestrel · 01/03/2018 19:51

How rude!

People say similar about my place of work, also a call centre. I've been there 7 years and worked my way up and I'm very happy in my job. People that slag it off tend to be people who couldn't hack to fast pace or the occasional angry customer and left after a few weeks/months. Which is common in the contact centre industry, people use it as a stop gap or come from a very different industry and just can't cope with the work load, whatever it ends up being.

The only time I would ever agree is with a cold calling centre, I couldn't hack it, wouldn't be proud to do that job, and probably wouldn't stay long, but that's me and frankly a jobs a job, if it was the only one available, I'd take it.

Be proud of your new job, you nailed the interview and will excel at your role I'm sure!

Lokisglowstickofdestiny · 01/03/2018 19:52

As part of my role I occasionally listen to calls into and out of our call centre. I have the greatest respect for our staff in the centre. It's a difficult job and will give you great customer service experience. Ignore these people.

ItIsReallyW1ndy · 01/03/2018 19:53

My suggestion would be to do this
job and see if there is any chance of promotion after a year. If you dont like it look for another job while you are still employed
You also have a small commute
I assume you will receive paid holiday, sick pay, pension and perhaps some other benefits

ididntmeanitlikethat · 01/03/2018 19:54

Congratulations...well done you!

This is what they would have replied if they were decent human beings.

Give it a chance OP and if it doesn't work out...onward you go. Leave the negativity with them and don't give it another thought

sayanythingelse · 01/03/2018 19:54

I've worked in call centres for years. I love my job and due to promotion, I don't take calls anymore and tbh I'm overpaid for what I do. I find that there's usually good opportunities to work your way up the ladder if you can stick it out because call centres usually have such a high staff turnover!

I'm guessing it's more likely the company you're working for. We have a certain big utility company call centre here that people are warned about as apparently it's an awful place to work.

Just go for it OP, you've got nothing to lose.

ScreamingValenta · 01/03/2018 19:55

Congratulations on your new job! Ignore the idiots - some people just delight in raining on other people's parades for the sake of it. You could have announced you'd been appointed as CEO of Microsoft and they'd still have found something to sneer at.

Even if you find the job or the company is not for you in the long term, you will add to your transferable skills. If you like the company, but not the role, other internal vacancies will arise and frontline experience is always valuable internally.

Hope it goes well when you start, OP.

AlannaOfTrebond · 01/03/2018 19:56

That is so rude. Congratulations on your new job.

Call centres vary widely. I worked for one after uni that was awful and had a huge staff turnover, however the call centre in the building next door run by a different company kept staff for many years as they were treated well and enjoyed their jobs.

Fingers crossed your new job works out well for you.

underneaththeash · 01/03/2018 19:56

Different people like different jobs...its close by, good money and sounds suitable. As long as you're not cold calling, I would much rather work in a call centre than be a dentist, chiropodist or teacher!

Somerford · 01/03/2018 19:57

Oh OP, those people sound horrible. Don't let them dampen your enthusiasm. If you approach the job with the level of excitement evident in your post I find it hard to imagine that you won't do well.

It wouldn't be right for me to start trying to predict whether your new employer will be good to work for or not but you said yourself that you are happy with the money, the benefits are great and the opportunity for promotion is there for you if you want it enough. There are an awful lot of people who would snatch your hand off of you offered them the chance to start a new job under those circumstances. Don't let a few sneering idiots take the shine off it. If you let these people get inside your head it's going to be difficult for you to seize the opportunity, if it doesn't work out because you didn't give it your all I'm sure they'd take great pleasure in saying "I told you so". Get cracking, enjoy the money and the benefits. Get your promotion.

MrsPworkingmummy · 01/03/2018 19:58

I worked in a call centre from the age of 16 to 21 when I qualified as a teacher (basically, through college and uni) and I absolutely loved it. It frustrates me that some people have a such a negative perception of call centre work. Hold your head high and rightly feel proud of your job offer. The call centre I worked in had many offices around the country and ours employed around 1000 people. Career progression was good, there was a great graduate programme, staff morale was high, hours were flexible and the general benefits were excellent (e.g on one shift a ball was passed around the office - if you had it when a whistle was blown you would win a prize, one of which was a holiday to New York). I've been teaching for 10 years, have had many promotions etc, but often wish I had stayed at the call centre - the hours would have been better for my family and I could have earned a fortune had I joined their graduate programme. Good luck in your new position x

SlothMama · 01/03/2018 19:59

Ignore them they are dicks, good for you for getting a job!

StickThatInYourPipe · 01/03/2018 20:00

I don’t think they meant call centres in general, but this specific one.

Look it up on Glass Door as a PP said, I’ve worked in many call centres and some I wish someone had warned me about as I wouldn’t have stepped foot in the place after knowing what it’s like.

Start and see, it could be that they are just absolute twats, or they could genuinely be warning you.

Manupprincess · 01/03/2018 20:01

Fuck them! If it is an awful place to work they could have told you in a very different way. Not nice people.

Go with an open mind and see what YOU think. Even if you don't like it, you can start to look for something else.

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