Monday, March 15, 2010

Jobseekers: Customer Care Representatives needed

Prima-Dent International is a multinational company that provides administrative solutions to insurance companies and sickness funds in the dental and health care markets. We work with our insurance company clients to develop innovative dental and health product solutions. We are currently expanding our operation to Thailand have the need for a Customer Care.


More information can be found here.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Call Center Slang 101

One of the most colorful things about the call center universe is the slang-words used by agents. Pinoys are notorious for coming up with terms that only those within the 'circle' would know (just look at the extensive vocabulary of Pinoy gay-speak). Presented below are the most common terms (think of it as the basics) used within the call center universe:

Aftercall - this is a status where the agent just finished one call and is not receiving any calls but is still technically 'logged in'; common use is to make last-minute maintenance on the callers account but is also used to just take a 'breather'. As expected, the higher-ups frown on 'abusing' this option.

AUX - refers to a status on the phone that most centers use; can be sub divided into several categories depending on it's use. Most often used for breaks.

Barge - The act of entering/listening in on an ongoing (read:| live)call using management tools, usually for official monitoring purposes and quality assurance.

Batch - aka Wave; a group of agents hired and go through training at roughly the same date/time. Essentially the same as in school, batch/wavemates usually form strong bonds long after the group is segregated.

Buddy - Having a veteran agent assist a 'noob' but can also refer to peer agents assisting one another.

Brand - refers to the 'client' name (essentially the Brand name); often an agent would be required to mention the client name during a call to 'Brand' it.

Close - A term often used to an agent ending the call but can also mean sealing the deal on a sales call.

Downtime - AKA System Down. When technical issues arise that shuts down operations/prevents callers from reaching the agents. Can be individual or site-wide (regardless to say, agents look forward to this :p)

EOP - literally "English Only Policy". As most call centers service Americans or other English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, the UK) this policy is imposed theoretically to maintain the illusion to callers that they are calling within their own country. In practice, this is probably the policy agents most often break.

Floor - common term for the actual workplace; mostly comprised of the operational units/stations. Note that policies are strictest within it's confines.

Graveyard - type of shift wherein an agent's work hours would start or fall between 10pm-3am.

Inbound - one of the 2 major types of calls; this refers to agents receiving calls in the course of their work. Customer service and technical calls are the most common types.

Irate - refers to a caller who is venting disappointment/frustration/rage at the agent (regardless if it's the agents fault or not) which often includes colorful expletives (i.e. cursing); may also refer to the agent himself releasing his own frustration verbally (putting the status on mute... ideally)

Multi-task - a catchphrase often used to refer to an agent's ability (or lack thereof) to manage multiple programs/systems/tasks while taking calls. This can also relate to non-essential activities (i.e. chatting, eating, sleeping[!])

Nap - AKA Powernap; most centers have sleeping areas where agents can catch much-needed but rarely enough sleep particularly those in the graveyard shift.

Noob - literally 'newbie'; an agent with no previous call center experience. May also refer to a veteran but who is new with the company.

Outbound - refers to 1 of 2 major types of calls agents perform at work. May encompass the entirety of an agents work-description. This term is for calls made by agents to consumers/clients/customers. The most common agents that perform this task are telemarketing and collections specialists.

Petix - the time-honored act of just hanging around and not working (while still being on company time hence 'paid')

Queuing - status wherein the floor/site is experiencing a high-volume of calls; agents receive a call immediately after ending the last one ends. Understandably, agents detest circumstances that result to this.

Sup - refers to an agents' immediate superior; also often used as a prefix to other terms relating to tasks the agent cannot perform and must be deferred to the immediate superior the most often being 'Sup-calls' (i.e. caller asking for a supervisor)

Veteran - a title unofficially given (and sometimes derogatively) to agents who have been working for several years not receiving promotions though they may be more qualified than those who have already been.



This list is not extensive yet and will be addended from time to time. If you have any, feel free to post them in the comments section. Til, next time!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Revising this blog for the "Call Center Universe"

I have been in the call center industry for the last 5 or so years. At this point I am what people in the know would call a "Veteran Agent"; that means I've seen it all and done it all as an Agent/Associate/Professional/Representative/insert-your-own term but STILL just that. Never been promoted for reasons still lost to me.

In any case, what has dawned on me very recently is I've never related any of my experiences through the magical world of online blogging which, for whatever reason, may provide insight to the call center "noob" or maybe provide a chuckle or two to my peers who know what it's like (and probably have been in the same situations/know of the same stories).

I had this old blog http://servewithasmile.blogspot.com that I wasn't really using for more than the occassional quiz or mentioning a reaaallly important event I wanted to record for posterity like this one (Hi, Tatay! We still love and Miss you!) I fidgetted about creating an entirely new blog but the blog address was just so perfect as it pertains to one of the hardest things to do as a call center worker (especially in Customer Service): Service with a smile whether the caller can see you or not.

So, ignore all the posts that have come before this one (or not, might be worth a snicker or two from you and hey, that's ok). From here on this blog is all going to be about my points of view and experiences in the Call Center 'universe' (hey, there've been smaller niches called 'universe', I figure at least I came up with it first for the BPO/Call center community).

To all "callboys/callgirls"(slang used to refer to people like us) Welcome to my blog and how can I help you today? ^_^

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Komiks Trip this Feb. 13!!!

Go to this site for more details! http://komikstrip.jonasdiego.com/

Friday, October 09, 2009

Bagong Sigla!

The Bagong Sigla Concert will be happening TONIGHT at 7:00 PM!

Four of the biggest Philippine rock acts will be doing four separate venues all over the country.

BAMBOO will be at Manila at Liwasang Ullalim (besides Folk Arts Theater), IMAGO will be doing the show at Dagupan in the CSI Stadium, SPONGECOLA wll be bringing the house down at Davao at the Darmost Market Basket Parking Lot, and CUESHE will be at Iloilo at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand.

The concert was originally intended to be a free concert but after the recent tragedies brought about by Typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng, it was decided to turn it into a fund raising event.

All you have to do to get in is bring canned goods, clothes, or anything you're willing to part with to be given as part of the relief operations. Heck, even Php1.00 will do. Every little thing will go a long way.

All proceeds of the concerts will go to the victims of Ondoy and Pepeng.

BAGONG SIGLA CONCERT
October 9, 2009 Friday 7:00 PM

BAMBOO
Manila
Liwasang Ullalim

















Manila




IMAGO
Dagupan
CSI Stadium

















Dagupan


SPONGECOLA
Davao
Darmost Market Basket Parking Lot

















Davao



CUESHE
Iloilo
Iloilo Freedom Grandstand

















Iloilo

Monday, September 07, 2009

Is that Chiz???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6LIBFs3OtE

And here I thought the guy was square

Friday, September 04, 2009

32 years...

...hard to believe I'm that old now. By this same age, my father had been married for 4 years and I'd been around for 3 of them. Yet, I'm still single... I've taken up the mantle of being the head of the family... I'm working but hardly happy with my line of work... and the job I really want is at a distance...

This next year and the years that follow, I have vowed to strive towards reaching my goals. No more wallowing in the coulda woulda shouldas. Whether it's one step at a time or sprinting like no tomorrow, I WILL not be denied.

Happy Birthday to me! ^_^

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