Laughed At For Working in a Call Centre

[ShirleyValentine51]

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??)

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When returning to work I got a job in telephone sales which was hard but got me back in the market and I went on to do other things I enjoyed more so I am grateful for that job (although different to yours which isn't sales I was also worried in the beginning ) the people I worked with were by far the nicest I've ever worked with and I got my self esteem back thanks to that role and those people. I will always be very grateful for the doorway that job gave me. Your attitude is great and that's the most important thing IMO. Good luck and well done!

The place I work has a high turnover of staff, the average being 6 months. It's a great stepping stone for another job though.
I've been there for 16 months as I couldn't find another job with the hours I wanted only this one.
I won't lie it's not brilliant but enough people do it, my ds2 also works in a different CC.
It is very boring, you just follow a script and know after a while exactly what people will say.
Depending on if you are selling a product (s) or providing a service inbound or outbound calls, its pretty monotonous almost robotic.
Huge bonus, there's no responsibilty, no taking work home, you log off and don't think about it again until you next log on

I worked in one for a famous bank. I was terrible at the work but I was treated well and looked after the work just wasn’t for me. However people loved working there and because it was a huge company had lots of development opportunities. What’s right for one isn’t for another. I love my job now but I know others who hate it. You go and make your own decision and well done at Trying something new.

Worked in my call centre job for eight years, it's got a bad rep but it's a company that a lot of my friends have worked in for a long time. It's one of them where you get in get on don't necessarily love it but end of stopping for a long time or your here for a little while then decide it's not for you. It's boring and repetitive but I get paid well for what I do. Going to be leaving the call centre shortly for another role in the same company but it's learnt me a lot of life skills being my first proper job and wouldn't hesitate to work in one again.

Give it a go OP - everyone's experience of each workplace is different. Perhaps the people that hated it couldn't get it together to turn up each day, got the sack and are now bitter. Who knows? I've worked in a couple of call centres. It's looked down upon for some reason in this country, I thought it was fine.

Maybe they are just being honest and were trying to help you.

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.

^This

LuckyBitches, I had the same thought running through my mind. I did go onto Glassdoor and if I was to believe every bad thing that was reported then I definitely would NOT work for this company. And maybe some of it was just sour grapes!! - I worked with a girl who couldnt understand why the boss pulled her up for being on Facebook quite a lot???....Because you were being paid to do a job!!! Dohhh!!!....It wasnt even as if it was on her time. She was eventually sacked, so of course to everyone she met it was a "horrible place to work"....

But I am a mature adult, I have a lot of work/life experience under my belt and I will go in with a very open mind and make my own decisions. Someone posted that you just go in and get on with your work, go home and don't have to think about it again and this fills me with total delight!. Taking my work home with me every night (and most weekends), is what I had become used to and there was never any "switch off" time. I don't want a job like that anymore. If this new job is boring then I'll take boring thank you....You dont appreciate boring until you've had turmoil all day, most days!!

And I also think if I wanted to forewarn someone about the pitfalls of starting work in a "not very nice place".....I certainly would not tell them in the manner that was told to me....(Greendale17 you probably told your friend in a nicer/better way than these people did to me)..Then again, I dont even know if I WOULD tell them. It's like people, some folk may love a certain celebrity, while others cannot stand the sight of them?? Works the same way. Someone else on here also said "what works for one person may not work for another"...Also very true.

Totally overwhelmed at the number of really positive comments and support from you.

Thank You!!

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