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Repetitive means doing the same thing over and over again. It's call after call from people who have questions about their cell phones. If someone does not like being tethered to a headset and computer all day, it's not the job for them.
ABQ, with a steady supply of HS graduates and GED recipients is, I am sure, a great place to set up a call center. The perceived cost of living is low, although I don't know anyone who could afford to buy a home or support a family while making $10 to 12 an hour.
I went through their interview process when they were opening up the new call center several years ago and it was very easy. Perhaps when you need to fill hundreds of slots, they were less picky than they are now.
If I had to do call center work ( and I'd rather do just about anything else, I do not like being tethered to a desk ) I'd try for HP in RR first. I think the chances of advancing into a higher paid position might be better.
Yep, ABQ and it's call center "industry." I worked for an accountant this past spring and he commented, "a call center is not an industry." It's too bad ABQ doesn't have a steady stream of college graduates and an industry to benefit them. As for call centers, I consider them all to be terrible. Yes, tethered to a desk and if you are one minute late, you get this "occurrence." I'd rather be treated more respectable than that.
I did not condemn or criticize those who work in call centers. I worked at AOL for over a year before they closed the office and offshored the work to India. For 16 years prior to that I worked in the airline/travel agency field IN CALL CENTERS. Fortunately, I managed to escape tethering and advanced to a training and then support position very quickly. If I had not had that experience as well as the tech training at AOL, I don't think I'd have the very well paying position I currently hold.
I would hope that most who work in call centers are like the majority of my former co-workers, young ( 20's ) and realizing that to attain more than they had, they needed to go back to school and actually get at least a 2 year degree in a field that was hiring and which paid more than the amount they made there. Many of them ( especially those with IT certifications and degrees ) were hired on at HP, making more than they did at AOL, and are continuing their education. Some call centers have excellent tuition reimbursement programs.
Do I condemn someone who works for $10-12 an hour? Absolutely not. It IS better than earning minimum wage and it is better than doing nothing. It's NOT my cup of tea for long term employment and for someone who wants to advance in their field, own a home, raise a family...it's not going to happen on that salary in this city.
I did not condemn or criticize those who work in call centers. I worked at AOL for over a year before they closed the office and offshored the work to India. For 16 years prior to that I worked in the airline/travel agency field IN CALL CENTERS. Fortunately, I managed to escape tethering and advanced to a training and then support position very quickly. If I had not had that experience as well as the tech training at AOL, I don't think I'd have the very well paying position I currently hold.
I would hope that most who work in call centers are like the majority of my former co-workers, young ( 20's ) and realizing that to attain more than they had, they needed to go back to school and actually get at least a 2 year degree in a field that was hiring and which paid more than the amount they made there. Many of them ( especially those with IT certifications and degrees ) were hired on at HP, making more than they did at AOL, and are continuing their education. Some call centers have excellent tuition reimbursement programs.
Do I condemn someone who works for $10-12 an hour? Absolutely not. It IS better than earning minimum wage and it is better than doing nothing. It's NOT my cup of tea for long term employment and for someone who wants to advance in their field, own a home, raise a family...it's not going to happen on that salary in this city.
I wouldn't say you are classist. It is a fact that people who work at call centers, and stay at them, do not want to get a post secondary education. I saw this at Stream recently. I was there only temporarily since I got sick of the incompetence of the regular employees. It was a temporary position, too. But, the regular employees were young kids, and laid off older workers collecting welfare extensions, all of whom never wanted to get any kind of education beyond high school. The young ones made comments like, "you don't clock in until you are ready to take calls (which means you uploaded systems off the clock) since I DON'T PAY YOU TO NOT TAKE CALLS." As if this young 20 year old with the Big Swinging D actually paid us with money from his own pocket.
I will not work at a job in which I have to clock into a phone, not get paid for uploading computer systems which I need to have in order to do my job, and get watched over every second I am not on the phone. Also, I have more ambition to do jobs which require people to think on their feet and not be told how to do everything. Just listen to customer service people these days - and most are very young - and their speaking, delivery, and vocabulary skills are terrible.
Just because one has a degree does not always mean there is a job in that field. My daughter has a degree in Criminal Justice (and no, it is not from one of those online places). At the time, nothing was available. Rather than sit home and do nothing, she chose to work at a call center.
Fortunately, she does not have a family to support and has very few bills. Her largest being her car payment. I know several people that work at a call center for a bit of extra spending money and basically, to get out of the house.
If its not your cup of tea, do not put down those who actually like the work.
I have a friend who works at Verizon and she is stuck for the moment, not by choice but by the time she works her hours, takes care of her kids and elderly mom and tries to stay safe in her neighborhood, there is not the time at this point to do secondary education. I wish as a taxpayer that I could pay more so that somehow more NM nontraditional students could go to school. Unless we have been on the treadmill of trying to survive from paycheck to paycheck, I wish all of us would stop making assumptions about call center employees.
"Thousands move to Albuquerque by the month" was put privately on my site. Yea, but who are they? Certainly not an educated, talented workforce, since there is little industry for these folks. Many move in, then within a year, they move out.
"Thousands move to Albuquerque by the month" was put privately on my site. Yea, but who are they? Certainly not an educated, talented workforce, since there is little industry for these folks. Many move in, then within a year, they move out.
Been following this topic for some time.... and it wasn't until this comment that I decided to speak up....
I moved to New Mexico 2 years ago... why???? Family and work.... and my only means of transportation died on me and I was without a job (see next paragraph for further explanation on that)
I received my Associates in Applied Science in Criminal Justice (thats a 2 year degree for those wondering) long before I moved out here.... I sought to better my education in obtaining an Associates in Applied Science in Early Childhood Education to use the 2 degrees to obtain a Guardian ad Litum (advocate that speaks on behalf of children in abusive situations, custody hearings,etc) position within the courts...but life happened and that ECE degree never got obtained.... I obtained the CJ degree while working odd jobs (walmart, local gas stations, traffic flagger, used car sales, etc)... I could not find a job in the criminal justice field and was making minimum wage (7.25--actually it was more like 7.45 after my raises and bonus') + tips 25-32 hrs a week, delivering pizzas for 1 1/2 years until coming to New Mexico... Yes my dream job is still to be a Guardian ad Litum, will it happen? Probably not... not because I'm "lazy" but because life doesn't always allow for what we want to happen... that and I'm not totally thrilled by the education system in the state and the shafting the Government is giving to the child care system... but thats not here or there....
Within a WEEK of coming out here and after only filling out ONE application, I obtained a position at eTelecare (now known as Stream Global, since the merger last October)... and I don't find the place that bad to work for.... co-workers are not the imbeciles that some make them out to be... benefits are much better than anything i've had in the past and I went from having at the newest at 1998 Bonneville, before I moved here to owning a 2004 Saturn... something I would have never been able to afford prior.... yes I don't particularly care for call centers...BUT you have to take what you can get.... could I get a job in the CJ field here? probably could get a job as an officer, but I choose to work to obtain my bachelors degree first, by saving up the money to do so when I'm ready.... but like everything in life, it takes money and we all know that no one has a money tree in their back yard to be able to pay for the so called "good life" so for now we gotta take what we can get...
Now to the one that said all call centers scheduling is "senority based"... I would like to differ on that.... Stream does "Shift Bids" where you are placed on a list based on PERFORMANCE, ATTENDANCE & TENURE... meaning you could be a 6 month agent with a 100% attendance and the best performance on site and get a better shift than someone who's been there 5 years... plus you don't get a shift you don't want during shift bids... you pick shifts and rate them in order... those higher may get your first choice, but you still get a shift you want.... at least on the project that i'm on.. it differs for the different projects (clients) and I know the temporary project was given set schedules and they had to trade amongst themselves if they didn't want what they were given.
All centers are different, and stream is my only experience... but I have applied at Verizon, Sprint, Victoria's Secret, and T-Mobile and was turned away by all...
I wish you luck in attempting to obtain employment at VzW... but if you disliked Stream, chances are you may dislike VzW...because when it comes down to it... when you are dealing with cellphone customers... its all the same... none of them are ever happy... regardless if its a billing issue or a problem with their cellphone (And its just that... a cellphone, not a family member or a pet or car... its not a necessity)... I'll be the first to admit I dislike being called every name in the book multiple times during a 10-20minute call...but do I hate my job? no... Do I have intentions of not bettering my education? See above...
My theory... as long as there are jobs and people work.... no one will ever be satisfied with their employment/co-workers etc... it just comes with the turf.. Just be thankful that there are jobs out there for those that want them.
And on further note... my dad had put his resume on a popular resume site and had a phone call within 24 hours from a company here in new mexico that flew him out here to interview him and hired him and moved him out here...and he's still here, pushing 3 years later...... so yeah... no talented educated people come out here and stay for more than a year....
I recently escaped from stream's call center in rio rancho(terrible place to work) and got back to working with my hands. Unfortunately my back is trashed now and it seems like I'll probably end up working a cushy job again like at a call center.
I've heard good things about verizon's call center. Does anyone have any reliable information regarding pay, bonuses, benefits, working conditions?
Thank you
Since some people have gone off of the main topic here, I'll answer your questions with what I know. I just recently got hired by VZW; I begin training next week. The pay is 12.98/hr, more if you are bi-lingual. You can get bonuses up to 8% each month. You can choose between different benefits packages - I haven't signed up for any yet, so I can't tell you exactly how much it would cost, but the benefits are pretty nice from what I've heard. We will be going through 19 weeks of paid training. The interview process had multiple steps - applied online, phone interview, computer assessment, 2nd interview, job offer, drug test, background check. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me.
And just for the information of anyone reading this, I was born and raised in New Mexico, received my Bachelors degree from UNM, and chose to apply at a call center. It has been hard finding employment in my field of choice (psychology), but I actually wanted to work at a call center.
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