To ask what words come into your head when you hear 'Call/Contact Centre Job'

[Lifeonmars77]

Just that really. Interested in perceptions and opinions of that type of role.

I used to work in one so I’d say receiving inbound calls & providing customer service for minimum wage.

Had good colleagues and shifts were fairly flexible, but no opportunity for progression & monotonous work.

I used to work in one i earnt amazing money

depends on the compay, i work for one that does inbound/outbound sales and customer services, business to business tho
company is very big on personal development and its not unheard of new starts moving onto other jobs within 12 months outwith the contact centre
and they paymore than min wage

No thank you!

Simply awful x

Ah. My DD1 has just started doing this.

• better pay than a nursery
• better working conditions than a nursery
• fewer life threatening responsibilities than a nursery
• more variety of colleagues than a nursery

Stress, targets, not being to even go to the loo without asking permission (and being timed as to how long you’re on ‘wrap’). Calls waiting, team leaders hollering ‘there are 9 calls waiting, pick up, pick up’, hated it to the point it made me ill.

Hell. Being treated like a thing, not a person. Boredom.

Soulless work, emotional labour, enforced positivity, strip lighting - migraines, young people, low pay, dead end, conformity, mcjob, pointless, depressing, lack of respect, angry customers, means to an end, unempowered.

I've been working in a call centre almost a decade now! I'm Kind of happy I got made redundant.

It's shit that the level of respect, job progression and renumeration are so low because a lot of the work is actually quite highly skilled and most of my colleagues have been lovely people!

Impossible career choice for me

I can’t use telephones

Awful uni job doing this. Targets and boredom

The two are different things - call centres are generally outward bound sales calls, contact centres are generally inbound calls requesting a service.
I’ve worked a contact centre - if you have a good team it can be great, but I’m not cut out for call centre work

Some contact centre jobs are awful but I had one that I loved and was fulfilling, that paid great money for a great company which was a springboard to another job.

I guess it depends on the company.

Rude customers

Repetitive

Being timed on how long I went to the loo for, team leaders constantly shouting about calls queuing, rude customers, awful awful anxiety inducing job

The first thing that comes into my head is you couldn't pay me enough for me to agree to do it. I honestly think I'd rather starve.

Did it 25 years ago. Hell on earth.

I love call centres, have progressed every 2 years since staring at 17, now in a senior leadership position on good money.

Like every job you get out what you put in!

I worked in one cold calling, selling kitchens when I was a student (ok it wasn't an ethical choice but I was skint). Turned out I was quite good at it and earned really good money. It was absolutely soul destroying though, I felt awful for the people who worked there full time, permanently. The management were genuinely stupid we and had gained promotion by just staying there, when staff turn over was ridiculously high.

TeenTimesTwo I’ve been in a nursery for 15 years. I have an early years degree and an still only minimum wage at nearly 40 years old. Early years work is so hard and so badly paid, please tell your daughter not to go back.

It makes me see how wuick people are to WRONGLY judge. Yes, some are bloody awful. But some are fab! I worked in one part time as a student, and in the lead up to Christmas last year to help out a friend. Both inbound only so no sales just customer service enquires and answering emails. Way way above minimum wage, good money for easy work.
Very flexible and easy to pick up more or less work.
Anyone I know who judges that job where they hear it is very misjudged! I used to think ‘sales, min wage’ but it was the opposite!

Shit working conditions

Good money, busy but happy work. Did it for years.

I've worked inbound call center sales, the things i took away from it is you are monitored, watched, listened to, everything in your working day is controlled and performance plotted.

I didn't mind the work, but hate that minutes on toilet breaks are checked, minutes logged onto incoming calls are measured, you are very controlled.

Valued, senior staff are never put under so much minute by minute scrutiny.

Hell. My nightmare job.

I've worked in a few different ones. One was poorly paid and a rubbish job overall as a student when I was at secondary school. The second one was a bit repetitive to begin with but I ended up earning as much money as many of my friends in more 'respectable' jobs and had a great career with progression, good pay and flexibility to personal circumstances. I left to study for a second degree, chose not to pursue that career at the end of it and I'm now in another call centre. The job is ok but it's not as well paid with fewer opportunities to progress but they're still very flexible if you have stuff going on e.g. kids/house move/study etc.

It really depends on the company in my experience and I wouldn't write it off immediately.