A Letter to a Workaholic

To my beloved workaholic self,

Please be reminded that you have to change your lifestyle or at least take a breather once in a while. Work is not the most important thing in your life and you know it. You have got to remember how it feels like to go to a party and just let those ounces of responsibility off your shoulders. One of these days, I’m going to lead a rally with a campaign against overtime.

Just because you can easily clear a night shift unlike other call center agents in the office, doesn’t mean that you should blow this nocturnal crusade out of proportions. Remember, there are a lot of other agents working on night shifts in any Philippine call center. Clearing five consecutive nights doesn’t make you any tougher because insomniacs can do ten without them even trying. I do believe we still sleep.

There is nothing wrong with being proud of what you achieve; in fact it is a healthy sign as you are energetic. You should be proud of your salary considering that other people are already satisfied just getting through the day. However, your work is about talking to the voices of random people while facing the front of a monitor for eight hours, with you usually not taking a break. You may not break a sweat but you’re also not blinking enough, or so the optometrists says, and that is why you have to wear those wonder specs that would make even the blind see. The world is not created by three blue squares, a wooden desk and a headphone. It’s not made up of an agency or any Philippine call center for that matter. There are your parents, your sisters, your friends, your co-workers, your cats. You wouldn’t want to say on your deathbed that you wish you could have joined that family dinner at Gumbo or that weekend party with friends at Dolce’s. Besides, who would take care of the cats if you’re in the hospital?

You are not a soldier at war. Therefore, you deserve a lot of peace of mind and hours and hours of relax time. Don’t you think? Don’t we think? We don’t want our friends to forget us nor do we want to be left out of the group. We don’t want a divorce in the future and we don’t our cats to die unattended and alone on their deathbeds. You wouldn’t want to be forgotten. You wouldn’t want the only attendees in your funeral to be your co-workers, who couldn’t attend because there’s work to do. There’s still a lot in store for us. Let us live life to the full.


Yours,
Yourself

Call Center in the Philippines: The Worst Types of Callers

There are many annoying callers. When you work at a call center in the Philippines, you get to meet them all. But there are annoying customer callers, and then there are really bad callers. These are the types that you would dread to have.

The time Consumers
In every call center in the Philippines or anywhere else, there will always be a time limit set for the call center agent. Generally, each call should just amount to five to ten minutes each. When an agent takes to long to close calls that consumes time and money. It also means that the agent might not be that capable of handling explanations and what-not. But there are time consumers out there that just break one’s track record. Those callers who ask about everything, who are too chatty, or who are clueless and undecided are usually the culprits.

Lost in Translation
There are people who are lost in translation. This means that they either have very incomprehensibly thick accents, or they have very bad English, or both. This is one tough challenge for anybody who works in a call center. There is just almost no chance for an agent to make this call go smoothly.

Angry
This perhaps needs no explanation. A lot of callers call angry because those who are having problems with their product or service are the ones with the most reason to call.

Angry and Irrational
This is the deadliest combination of them all. This is very different from people who are merely angry. The angry people, you know have some reason why they are angry. However, those who are angry and irrational are just enough to make any agent from call center in the Philippines or anywhere else to want talk back. Imagine if a person yells and cusses you on the phone while spouting irrational statements. It is truly the worst type of caller.

Philippine Call Center - English Only Policy

Working in the call center in the Philippines is extraordinary because of their strict English only policy replicated in the entire working force of the company. The company imposed this policy to further enhance the English communication skill of their people.

Call center agents are required to speak the international language while inside the premises of the company. The employees are prohibited to speak their native dialect especially if they're on call and staying inside the company. The English only policy is created not to demerit the Philippines national language. The call center workers should understand that they are working in a highly regulated management in response to the high demand in the booming business process outsourcing industry. Any agent who caught speaking in Tagalog is subject for verbal and written warning. The English only policy is often misunderstood in per say that it is a violation.

Call center employees are trained efficiently in handling their customers. The policy will give them adept understanding in applying the American culture in a unique working environment. Whether you like it or not, the agents are willfully advised to speak English all the time because speaking English does not mean replacing or degrading your native language. The success of the company also depends on how effective the agents in handling customers support inquiries. Oftentimes, the customers are complaining because of the language barrier and the accent of the agents. If the agent failed to satisfy their customers, this might affect the reputation of the company. American consumers like to criticize the quality and the productivity of the products, which also include criticizing the customer support service of the company. If the support center isn't effective, the output of the customers' satisfaction is also a failure.

If you try to analyze, the source of the problem is due to the very simple language barrier which was not given immediate solution. This will not happen if the agents were trained properly of what's the product information. Product knowledge will serve as guidance and window of opportunity to allow the agents to help their valued customers all the time. Accurate details and advises are needed by the clients to help them understand before and after buying the products. Making the customers happy is an achievement not only by the agents but also with the company.

Undoubtedly, Filipino customer service has strong communication skills because of their culture and recognizing English as one of their primary language. There customers will understand them better because of their capability to blend with the American way. The success of the call center industry in the Philippines is attributed with the magnificent workers. Filipino customer service representatives are trained to be efficient in understanding their customers. The English only policy is very helpful in improving their accent, their intonation, and speaking like in an American music. No wonder that any call center in the Philippines is improving and gives outstanding service with their clients worldwide. Potential locators who want to invest in the Philippines continue to believe that there's future on their business if they partnered with the Filipinos. Meanwhile, any school institutions in the Philippines implement the English policy in order to boost the international language and help the students overcome problem in communicating with their friends in English. This is inline with the success of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the world today, which fuel the country's economy.

To date, you notice how really good are these people from communicating in English because of their training background and their school institution they came from. In the next following years, the outsourcing industry will provide millions of job to every Filipino eliminating poverty and other economic crisis.

Rewards of Choosing Philippine Call Center Providers

Difficult economic situations also make the offshore call center business a very welcome option for most Filipinos. With higher-than-average rates in comparison to most other occupations, especially at the entry level, being a call center agent can truly alleviate one's financial burdens in the Philippines. Also, as mentioned earlier, Filipinos are adept at English so they are easily trained to become excellent customer support representatives.

Being a call center agent is also a popular 'transitional' job for Filipino college graduates. With the economic crisis, it is becoming harder and harder to find a job that is related to one's course in college. However, most call centers are willing to accept anyone who finished any degree. With call centers almost always in constant hiring, graduates who are still looking for jobs, deciding their career path, or wanting to make money to use in setting up a business of their own turn to call centers for solutions to their own problems.

Today, the Philippines has become one of the major outsourcing hubs of the world. As more firms realize the importance of concentrating on their core competencies, they are turning to Philippine off-shore call center providers to manage their important but non-core functions. This strategy helps them strengthen their brands and better manage their reactions to changing market dynamics.

Philippine call centers offer a vast range of services that suit diverse customer needs. Whether you want to offshore the management of customer inquiries or are looking for a call center that acts as a technical helpdesk, Philippine call center companies can provide a solution that takes care of your exact needs.


What can you outsource to the Philippines?

Philippine call centers offer various kinds of back-office services including: Phone support services like customer service, sales, tech support; telemarketing; email support services; chat support services; and many others.

Which call center company should I choose?

There are numerous call center companies in the Philippines. How do you know who to trust? Some are more well-established than others, but depending solely on the brand name and the firm's length of stay isn't always reliable. You should also look at the level of technology the company uses, the list of services it offers, employees' experience, and of course, value for your money. It will almost always be guaranteed, however, that whatever your decision is, your demands will be more than satisfactorily met.