Call Center Industry: Is It For You?

Looking for a job in the call center industry is easy. Try to walk around a business park full of BPOs while bringing a file case, and headhunters a block away would easily spot and tackle you. As long as you are fluent enough in English and without a regional accent, then you have a great chance of getting hired as a call center agent.

Even so, after a year of taking calls, I realized that this is really not my calling (pun intended). That taking calls is not something that I want to do for the rest of my life. Sure, there are opportunities to climb the corporate ladder so you wouldn’t have to deal with customers directly, but being in the management would always have more responsibility. That includes taking supervisor calls for irate customers.

But let us go to the effects first, rather than the causes. We are questioning if the industry is good for a person or not. We can explain this if we know the reasons why people leave their companies. I had hesitations in applying for this line of work, and after testing the waters, I had proven that it is really NOT for me.

What are the reasons why people leave their companies? To simply answer: they no longer want to work there or they hate working there. Although there are a lot of reasons explaining why, you would only need those specifics when you are trying to write your resignation letter.

To all those who are curious, an agent leaves because of a lot of reasons, topped with a solid reason, like the last nail in a coffin. He no longer wants to deal with one or more of the following: what the business is selling (and upselling), the outdated processes, the nagging managers and supervisors, the small perks and incentives, the salary disputes, the crowded work environment, the unfixed work schedule, the overtimes, the annoying teammates (there is always one in every team), the workload, the health risks, the hazard risks when going out at night, the irate customers, the “it’s-not-you-it’s-the-company” kind of irate customers, the sarcastic customers, the backstabbing, survey-taking customers, the misinformed (don’t call them dumb) customers, the customers who only have cursed words in their vocabulary, and I can go on and on.

In addition, the reasons are slightly different to a call center newbie and a tenured agent. Most newbies I spoke with are more stressed and affected with the line of work, while veterans would speak of compensation and fulfillment. A call center pays more than a regular office job, and that is why newbies would always be satisfied with the salary. Agents who have worked from previous call centers would always compare the salary they are getting now from before.

The reasons may be different with anyone who left their call center jobs. I do hope that these call centers do not take it as a loss, but rather, an opportunity to improve. To those who are looking for jobs, do not apply for something you do not wish to do. Although regrets come in the end, try to make the most out of life and take every hardship as a challenge.