Saturday, May 21, 2005

buhay call center

i'm sorry, i haven't been blogging for more than a month now. well, aside from being busy preparing docs for my US employment (wow, you won't imagine what sort of stuff i need to prepare for this...my life's pretty colorful, so things can't be too easy for me, right?), i ventured into getting employed at a nearby call center...well, one will never know what the verdict of the consul will be during the interview! gotta have a back up, just in case...di ba?

so, since april 25, i've been working on a grave yard shift...from 8 pm til 4:30 in the morning, manila time. actually, i'm still in the training stage...trying to learn about life and health insurance...(mind you guys, it's not easy as you think it is. learning about how insurance works is heavy on memory work and very much like going back to school and taking quizzes every now and then. that's right...we also have quizzes!). ofcourse, we have to learn about our product first before we start entertaining phone calls...but this is just the tip of the iceberg...

what's really difficult is how to shift your entire biological clock the other way around, and turn your nights into days, and vice versa...i was really surprised when everyone in the building greeted me "good morning!" at 9:00 in the evening! akala ko, nagpapatawa lang! but when i heard the expats saying the same thing at the elevator, i said to myself, "my God...i'm in twilight zone..."

eto ang challenging...e di ba, summer ngayon? (and man, this is the worst summer of my entire life!) have you experienced sleeping during the day, only to wake up sweating profusely and feeling so icky because of the extreme humidity??? ang hirap matulog ulit, di ba? what more if you really don't have a choice coz you have work at night??? wow, i really had to scrimp on my budget and bought myself a new airconditioner!!! dahil kung hindi...mamamatay ako!!! not only because of the excruciating heat, but also because of sleeplessness!

i have never been so health conscious before than now....i've been buying boxes of Stresstabs just to make sure i don't get sick...and just as when i thought that i would lose weight, i'm so darn wrong guys...i eat more often than usual, drink an average of 5 cups of Milo a night (coffee gives me a bad feeling in the stomach...besides, bumabaha ng kape at milo sa call centers hehehe)...and now, i weigh 10 pounds more than i used to!!! GRRRREAT! (talk about losing weight when you don't get enough sleep!)

now since i've been officially employed for a month now, i've adjusted already with this new lifestyle...it gets pretty tough to stay awake on monday evenings though (one has a natural propensity to sleep at night), but i'm getting the hang of it.

and what about the phone calls? i haven't handled a phone call yet, but as they say, i've already "barged" in with an expert...since all of our clients are from mainland USA, then ofcourse, our calls are also 98% from american callers. at this point, what i feel would be difficult in taking the calls (aside from forgetting the proliferation of concepts about the products) is trying to understand different american accents while trying to explain things to an irate caller. there was one call where the only thing i understood was the policy number she gave...and that's it :-( i'm hats off to these guys at the call center coz they can understand practically every kind fo american accent they can hear...and what's even more admirable is the way our Filipino CC specialists converse with these clients...they, too, have the accent!!! many of these callers are amazed when they learn that the assistance they're getting comes from manila! imagine hearing a brown asian speak the way they do! HAH!!! bilib sila, di ba?

haaaaay naku....i have a few more weeks ahead of me before the interview with the US consul...if i get denied for whatever reason, i think, i'd like to stick it out with the call center and give it a shot. people there are nice, a bunch of young and intelligent breed.

as to the question if one can make a career out of this kind of job, i'd say, to the patient and hardworking, yes.

i'm actually feeling sad if let's say i do pass my interview...i've found new friends, really nice ones. but of course, first things first...at this point, there's nothing better than a job abroad, right?

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this is my personal favorite :-)

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22 comments:

ting-aling said...

Hey Joyce! just wonderdering where you've been. Hah, so you've taken another job. Akala namin nasa US ka na.

Apol said...

hi joyce! mukhang exciting yung bagong job mo ah! gudlak sa interview! miss ka na namin sa blogkadahan...

joyce said...

hi ting-aling!
sus, matagal pa yun! i'm not even sure if i'd make it good in the interview...but i'm keeping my fingers crossed...pag pray mo ko ha? :-)

hello papa apol!
salamat sa luck (as ka paulding would say it)...kayo rin, miss ko na...and this new job? yes, sobrang exciting...ngayon lang ako mabubulyawan ulit, kung saka sakali...hehehe

ting-aling said...

Siempre naman. Pagbutihin mo girl! Huwag kalilimutang magpakurap-kurap ng mga ng konti pag kausap ang consul. Malaking points din yon. Atsaka yung dimples ilabas. Bawal ang nakasimangot!

ting-aling said...

Ay naku..ang ibig kong sabihin, magpakurap-kurap ka ng konti ng iyong mga mata..(twisted tongue ko)

joyce said...

bwahahahahaha!!! walastik ka talaga ting-aling!!! i'll keep that in mind...sana, kelot ang matapat sa akin na consul hehehehe

Anonymous said...

goodluck!!!

sachiko said...

hello joyce..this is sachiko of blogkadahan..my first time here and im hooked! what a very interesting read about call centers. always been curious about it!

goodluck sa interview!

b3Rn1cE said...

hi miss joyce!!!

joyce said...

Hi Sachiko!
yes, call centers are the in thing nowadays! it's the filipino's ingenuity and credibility that makes him a trusted stakeholder in the businesses of foreign investors. that means more jobs for us!
thanks for dropping by!

hi ja!!!!!
how's the pretty young lady? i haven't visited your blog for the longest time...my apologies...this weekend, pramis!!! :-)

joyce said...

hi AnP!
salamat! pag pray mo ko ha? :-)

rolly said...

Good luck ha. Siguro sexy mo na ko no?

joyce said...

sir rolly!!!!

how's you??? nasa school ako kanina eh, naglimas ng gamit at baka nabuburaot na si ms. melisse...hehehe...
salamat sa good na luck...kelangang kelangan ko po yan!

batjay said...

hi joyce.

good luck sa bago mong profession. wow, that's a tough job. hirap ako sa mga ganyan kasi mabilis uminit ulo ko. i might saya the wrong thing to the customer.

sana ma approve na ang application mo.

joyce said...

hi batjay!
first of all, i apologize for not being able to contribute to blogkadahan. alam mo bang puro draft ako, di ko natatapos? :-(
my new work is really an awesome experience for me...as for having patience, there are a few times when i would really feel like blowing my top...but come to think of it...mas marami ako'ng na endure noon na init ng ulo galing kay U-HURM U-HURM...so chicken na itong mga calls na ito...
thank you for visiting :-)

karlaredor said...

hi joyce :)
so you'll be a teacher in USA I suppose..
anyways, just take it easy with the call center job.. i know it's stressful because some of my friends are in the call center too.. like they've said..
buhay call center = buhay bampira.. take care :)

joyce said...

hi carla!
hahahahaha! parang sumisipsip ng dugo ah! actually, i don't consider myself a vampire...a vampir-ish CALL GIRL will be more like it! nyahahahahahaha

Anonymous said...

nasa crossroad ka pala... hmmm... na alala ko interview ng mommy ko sa Embassy.. nag Vctory sign ba naman... (hang ups nya sa Wold War II) Anyways dito sila now for vacation! :)

joyce said...

hi porn!
salamat sa pag retoke ng html...hehehe i owe you one!

Anonymous said...

Hi Joyce,

Nice to come across a fellow filipino blog on the net. I've been living in New York City for the last 20 years. Everytime I call Sprint, Citibank. or whoever, I get connected to a Filipino in Manila. Never once I thought of what you guys go through in that call center or the hardship in adjusting to our time zone here in the US. Verry funny story though.

Good luck with your interview.

joyce said...

hi Noel!
as expected, my trip is postponed for next year. reason is the embassy gave me a bad schedule for the interview...august 30th when i'm supposed to be due to start working today! ofcourse, the school can't wait for me, so they decided to shelf my employment for next year. i'm okay with that, though. at least, i get to spend more time with my little one...the thought of being away from her even when i'm still here makes me feel really blue.

thank you for dropping by!

Anonymous said...

Hey joyce, just looking info on homebased business and stumbled onto your blog. Actually buhay call center was not exactly what I was searching for, it caught my eye and grabbed my attention. I understand now how I landed on your site when I typed in homebased business related info, and I'm glad I found your page. Nice post and I'll check back for more wisdom. : )