I was going to wait until someone commented on my last post before I wrote a new one, but I can't hold it in anymore!
For those of you who didn't know I started working at Qwest as a Sales & Service Representative when we moved back to Idaho. I applied for the job thinking two things: good pay and full benefits. When I started there I was pretty excited. It is a good company and there are a lot of opportunities for growth. They, also, treat their employees really well. Sounds like a great job, right? WRONG! My job entailed answering the phone and helping customers with their billing questions and then hopefully selling them a service we provided that they currently did not have. Sounds easy enough. Well, at least that's what I thought at first.
We spent four weeks in a classroom not even touching a phone. Learning their programs was confusing, but I understood better than most in my class of 24. That really isn't saying much considering my fellow classmates... Anyway, fifth week in training we start taking real calls. We are still in training for another six weeks. The second day I'm on the phone I get a lady that wants something that I don't know how to do. This happens on almost every call for the first week. We are told to put them on hold, raise our hand, and wait for an available trainer to come by and help us. In the meantime I'm trying to find the answer myself. I get back on the phone to tell her sorry for the wait and she BLEW UP! She went off on me about how stupid I was, that I shouldn't be working there, how I should have found her answer by now, and on and on! At this point the tears started flowing. How could this lady be so cruel to someone she doesn't even know?
My trainer came over and was right next to me frantically looking for the answer to this ladies question. Not even my trainer, who has worked for Qwest for over three years, could figured it out. And here is this lady calling me retarded when I've been on the phone for TWO DAYS! The worst part is, we aren't aloud to tell the people on the phone we are in training or that there is a supervisor available. So, I just had to listen to this lady verbally abuse me for almost an hour. I was bawling once I got off the phone!
Well, I took two more weeks of the abuse and couldn't handle it anymore. I don't know how people can work at these jobs. I was just incapable of handling all that negativity day after day. So, here I am writing you from my very own Hatch Marketing office. OK I share it with another girl who is only here twice a week. It's warm, my chair is big and comfy, my computer is beautiful and my job is fun. What more could a girl ask for?
A word of advice for those of you who are unkind to those customer service reps on the phone:
They might be in training and are doing the best they can to help you. OR they might have worked there for three years and have never been asked the question you asked them. So, cut them some slack. They are real people and have real feelings. The mistake on your bill is not their fault. They don't own the company and they probably don't care if you threaten to cancel your services. If you get their employee information and threaten to turn them in, the managers won't listen to you so don't bother. Just be a nice person and have some patience. They will really appreciate it.
P.S. If you're wondering if Hatch Marketing was my old job before we moved to Chicago, it is.
