Friday's entry was written when I came home for lunch, and things seemed to be going well. I had gotten logged into a critical system, although the part of the screen that should have contained links to other training programs and actual work programs was empty. It had taken another day for others to see stuff there, so I wasn't too concerned. I'd go back Monday and they'd be there.
Wrong again. They never showed up today and I made our new trainer, who should be with us (us? or should I say the rest of the class?) for the next couple of weeks, aware of it, but by the end of the day, nothing had happened.
So now it looks like tomorrow morning I'll be pretty much back where I was late last week. I'll go in and let them know that if they want me around after lunch, someone needs to get on the ball. I think I've been more than patient while letting them know how I felt about the issue. If they can't get things working for me tomorrow, that's it. I've wasted enough time on a company that just can't seem to get its act together enough to provide a proper training environment even though it was able to do it for the vast majority of the class, and in less time starting from scratch with them than they've had to try and fix my issues.
And they brag about being a Fortune 100 company. Gimme a break.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Wheel Squeaked
I just re-read the post I made yesterday and it seems I wasn't clear that the other members of the class had gotten their logins on Tuesday or Wednesday, so it wasn't like I was reacting to something that had just happened. It's just that yesterday, before I left, I'd been told it could be ten business days before I'd get mine, finally.
So today I made it clear to the trainer, who's a pretty decent guy thrown into being our trainer at the last minute, that being forced to wait ten days was unacceptable. We start at 7 a.m., which was when I spoke to him, and he said he'd speak to his boss when he arrived. A while later, I spoke to his boss - at his request - and let him know I was not at all pleased with the situation. I also explained that I'd decided to give the place another shot after leaving due to an unsatisfactory training situation the first time around. (At that time, I'd been on a type of call for about two years, and they were shrinking the number of people devoted to it. They gave us one whole week of customer care training, which really turned out to be only four days because on the second day we were joined by another group, so the second day was a repeat of the first.)
Around noon, just after we all returned from lunch, the trainer gave me a new ID number. It didn't work right away, but after he checked, he said try again after 20 minutes. I did, and got a bit further. It looks like it will take a while to get everything going, but others had that problem initially as well.
Also, from a brief conversation with the trainer, it looks like the client has woken up to the fact that you don't do customer service on a competent level that keeps customers by being cheap with the people who are actually wearing the headsets and talking to the customers. He said things could be improving within days. No idea how much of an improvement it will be, but he seemed somewhat impressed, so who knows.
So it looks like I'll be sticking around there for a while anyway. It is nice to be so close to home. We're supposed to have a half hour lunch, but things seem fairly relaxed in training, and the guy we've had this week has been giving us an hour, so I've been coming home for a while. We get a different trainer next week, so I'll pack lunch in case we only get the half hour.
Two weeks from Monday we start taking calls. It's always a nervous time, but this time I'll be going back to using a billing system I used when I was with the employer before, and Cingular/AT&T used the same system, although some of their implementations were different.
So today I made it clear to the trainer, who's a pretty decent guy thrown into being our trainer at the last minute, that being forced to wait ten days was unacceptable. We start at 7 a.m., which was when I spoke to him, and he said he'd speak to his boss when he arrived. A while later, I spoke to his boss - at his request - and let him know I was not at all pleased with the situation. I also explained that I'd decided to give the place another shot after leaving due to an unsatisfactory training situation the first time around. (At that time, I'd been on a type of call for about two years, and they were shrinking the number of people devoted to it. They gave us one whole week of customer care training, which really turned out to be only four days because on the second day we were joined by another group, so the second day was a repeat of the first.)
Around noon, just after we all returned from lunch, the trainer gave me a new ID number. It didn't work right away, but after he checked, he said try again after 20 minutes. I did, and got a bit further. It looks like it will take a while to get everything going, but others had that problem initially as well.
Also, from a brief conversation with the trainer, it looks like the client has woken up to the fact that you don't do customer service on a competent level that keeps customers by being cheap with the people who are actually wearing the headsets and talking to the customers. He said things could be improving within days. No idea how much of an improvement it will be, but he seemed somewhat impressed, so who knows.
So it looks like I'll be sticking around there for a while anyway. It is nice to be so close to home. We're supposed to have a half hour lunch, but things seem fairly relaxed in training, and the guy we've had this week has been giving us an hour, so I've been coming home for a while. We get a different trainer next week, so I'll pack lunch in case we only get the half hour.
Two weeks from Monday we start taking calls. It's always a nervous time, but this time I'll be going back to using a billing system I used when I was with the employer before, and Cingular/AT&T used the same system, although some of their implementations were different.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Bureaucratic Screw-up
This new job could come to an abrupt end tomorrow. Everyone was issued login IDs for several systems. Because I worked there before, they gave me my old ID number. It doesn't work. Our trainer, who was pulled in to train our class at the last minute, having not trained anyone for two years, has checked with people several times, but I still don't have a valid login.
This afternoon, we spoke to someone recommended by another trainer. She said it could take 10 business days before I'd have a valid login, and by that time training in the classroom is over. That is not acceptable. They made an offer of employment, I accepted, and now they're saying they can't give me access to the tools all the other trainees have.
Either they fix it tomorrow, or I'm out.
For a Fortune 500 company, they sure are messed up. They're constantly telling people one thing, then something happens and whatever was told turns out to be wrong, or they just do something else. And they know this is a problem - I heard someone say this always happens with re-hires. They're more interested in filling positions so they can bill the client than they are in properly equipping people with the tools they need to do the job properly.
This afternoon, we spoke to someone recommended by another trainer. She said it could take 10 business days before I'd have a valid login, and by that time training in the classroom is over. That is not acceptable. They made an offer of employment, I accepted, and now they're saying they can't give me access to the tools all the other trainees have.
Either they fix it tomorrow, or I'm out.
For a Fortune 500 company, they sure are messed up. They're constantly telling people one thing, then something happens and whatever was told turns out to be wrong, or they just do something else. And they know this is a problem - I heard someone say this always happens with re-hires. They're more interested in filling positions so they can bill the client than they are in properly equipping people with the tools they need to do the job properly.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Even More Bureaucracy
After the multiple confirmations last week of my acceptance of the job offer, I got an email on Saturday with even more paperwork to fill out electronically. It took about an hour to go over the stuff, which I decided I should print out. But it was helpful in getting the W-4s done, setting up direct deposit for my pay, etc.
Today was the first day of training, and we were all presented with a thick packet of more paperwork which included a number of forms we had to sign and date. That place certainly believes in paperwork! Our trainer went over it all, and some of it was rather repetitive, then later in the day we watched some videos which further repeated a lot of the same information.
During the day, I ran into several people I'd worked with before, including my previous supervisor, a supervisor I'd worked with on Sundays, and the trainer was one I'd had during the far-too-abbreviated customer care training that led me to leave. It wasn't the trainer's fault, it was the company's for deciding that people who had never handled billing or quite a few other customer care functions would be just fine with four days' training.
We get three weeks training before we go into another training area where we take calls. In that area, there will be more people available to help us if we need it, although experience tells me that we'll frequently have to figure things out ourselves. I not only have the advantage of having worked there before, I also used many of the same systems at Cingular/AT&T.
There are several teams at this center that are set up as elite units. They make more money because they get commissions on every service or phone they sell. The claim was made that people on those teams typically make $15-19 per hour, which is pretty decent for a call center. It's something to consider because attendance is one of the keys to getting on one of those teams and when I was there before, I worked from September '04 to February '06 before I had to take a couple of sick days, and I was only late a very few times, and part of that was due to delays from trains crossing the bus route I used getting to the former job location nearer to downtown Portland.
Today was the first day of training, and we were all presented with a thick packet of more paperwork which included a number of forms we had to sign and date. That place certainly believes in paperwork! Our trainer went over it all, and some of it was rather repetitive, then later in the day we watched some videos which further repeated a lot of the same information.
During the day, I ran into several people I'd worked with before, including my previous supervisor, a supervisor I'd worked with on Sundays, and the trainer was one I'd had during the far-too-abbreviated customer care training that led me to leave. It wasn't the trainer's fault, it was the company's for deciding that people who had never handled billing or quite a few other customer care functions would be just fine with four days' training.
We get three weeks training before we go into another training area where we take calls. In that area, there will be more people available to help us if we need it, although experience tells me that we'll frequently have to figure things out ourselves. I not only have the advantage of having worked there before, I also used many of the same systems at Cingular/AT&T.
There are several teams at this center that are set up as elite units. They make more money because they get commissions on every service or phone they sell. The claim was made that people on those teams typically make $15-19 per hour, which is pretty decent for a call center. It's something to consider because attendance is one of the keys to getting on one of those teams and when I was there before, I worked from September '04 to February '06 before I had to take a couple of sick days, and I was only late a very few times, and part of that was due to delays from trains crossing the bus route I used getting to the former job location nearer to downtown Portland.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Bureaucracy
So far, with this new/old employer, I've confirmed three times that I'm going to be there for training at 7 a.m. on Monday. The first time was when I responded to the email I got late yesterday. Then earlier this afternoon, I got a call that I just missed - phone was at the other end of the apartment and I was watching something on the computer so I wasn't immediately aware the phone had gone off - and called back to the number in the voicemail message. Then just before 5 p.m. I got another call from a different person. This time the phone was nearby and I answered it, once more confirming I'd be there.
I'm not surprised.
I'm not surprised.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Starting Monday
I'll be starting training for five weeks at the new/old job at 7 a.m. Monday. Training goes from 7 to 2:30, which means with lunch, it's only 7 hours a day, not eight, so that's $40 a week less than a full week's pay. That's pretty minimal. Good thing Oregon has one of the highest minimum wages in the country, and I'll be getting all of 20 cents an hour more than that.
Oh joy.
At least it's the kind of job where I don't have to take it home with me. I show up, do the calls, and leave at the end of the shift. Training should be simple, since I was there before, and they're probably using the same systems, which Cingular/AT&T uses.
It should be interesting to see who I'll be spending the training time with. Typically it's late teens and twenty-somethings, many of whom have absolutely no work ethic whatsoever. Probably more than one won't make it through training, and probably a good third of them will be gone in six months. I'd be surprised if, out of a class of twenty or so, more than six make it to a full year. Hell, I'm not sure if I will make it a full year myself, although I was there a bit more than two years last time around.
The pay's crap, the benefits suck, but one thing is good - they're so desperate for workers due to the extremely high turnover (over 100% annually, I'm fairly sure), that they can't afford to engage in age discrimination, at least in hiring. And for me, there's another good thing - I can lock my apartment door, and less than 10 minutes later I can be in my seat ready to take calls.
The more I analyze it, the more the higher pay for the Cingular/AT&T job, which was downtown and required a 35-minute MAX ride and 10 minute walk, plus waiting time for the MAX (a longer wait going home), wasn't so great an increase over what I was getting when I left the new/old place the first time. And if I hadn't gotten a MAX pass paid for each month, it wouldn't have been any better at all, probably. Of course, then there's the fact that I didn't last at AT&T, and that wasn't my choice.
I don't know what I'll do about Ren Faires and Faerieworlds this year. I hope I can go to some of the events by switching days off. Faerieworlds has expanded to three days this year, but I may have to cut back to one day without staying over at a motel in Eugene as I've done the past two years. The problem is I signed up to work both Saturdays and Sundays, with Monday and Tuesday off. But I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen. I do hope I end up working Sundays, though, because they're usually easy days.
I spent a lot of the last three days with the cell phone close by, expecting a call, more so each day. The job offer came by e-mail. Now I've got three days where I can do pretty much as I please without having to wonder if I've got something to do Monday.
Oh joy.
At least it's the kind of job where I don't have to take it home with me. I show up, do the calls, and leave at the end of the shift. Training should be simple, since I was there before, and they're probably using the same systems, which Cingular/AT&T uses.
It should be interesting to see who I'll be spending the training time with. Typically it's late teens and twenty-somethings, many of whom have absolutely no work ethic whatsoever. Probably more than one won't make it through training, and probably a good third of them will be gone in six months. I'd be surprised if, out of a class of twenty or so, more than six make it to a full year. Hell, I'm not sure if I will make it a full year myself, although I was there a bit more than two years last time around.
The pay's crap, the benefits suck, but one thing is good - they're so desperate for workers due to the extremely high turnover (over 100% annually, I'm fairly sure), that they can't afford to engage in age discrimination, at least in hiring. And for me, there's another good thing - I can lock my apartment door, and less than 10 minutes later I can be in my seat ready to take calls.
The more I analyze it, the more the higher pay for the Cingular/AT&T job, which was downtown and required a 35-minute MAX ride and 10 minute walk, plus waiting time for the MAX (a longer wait going home), wasn't so great an increase over what I was getting when I left the new/old place the first time. And if I hadn't gotten a MAX pass paid for each month, it wouldn't have been any better at all, probably. Of course, then there's the fact that I didn't last at AT&T, and that wasn't my choice.
I don't know what I'll do about Ren Faires and Faerieworlds this year. I hope I can go to some of the events by switching days off. Faerieworlds has expanded to three days this year, but I may have to cut back to one day without staying over at a motel in Eugene as I've done the past two years. The problem is I signed up to work both Saturdays and Sundays, with Monday and Tuesday off. But I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen. I do hope I end up working Sundays, though, because they're usually easy days.
I spent a lot of the last three days with the cell phone close by, expecting a call, more so each day. The job offer came by e-mail. Now I've got three days where I can do pretty much as I please without having to wonder if I've got something to do Monday.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Neighbors
I'm on the second floor of a two-floor apartment complex. Some months ago, new neighbors moved in downstairs. They have one kid, maybe three to five years old. Just about every evening, the kid goes mental and starts running around, screaming and yelling, and banging around. Daddy doesn't seem to be much help. Sometimes it sounds like he's encouraging the kid, and sometimes he's even louder, which is why I know he's not trying to quiet him down but keep things going.
So tonight they're going at it as usual, and it's well after the time normal parents would have put a kid that age to bed for the night, but not these parents. I was sitting here at the computer, not doing anything particularly special, but I just decided I'd had enough of the nightly show.
I've got a leftover piece of 2x4 that's maybe 2 1/2 feet long. I decided I'd put it on the kitchen floor and get the hammer and pound on it for a bit, just so they'd know there's someone up here - something they've ignored all along.
My method of placing it on the floor was to hold it at mid-point, with one of the wider sides parallel to the floor, about 2 - 3 feet up. Then I let go. It made a nice sharp sound as it hit flat on the floor (didn't want to cause any dents in the flooring, which is why I got it out in the first place to pound on).
Next I went over to my tool box and picked up the hammer and went back to the kitchen, prepared to do some noisemaking of my own - lightly at first, harder if needed.
But suddenly it was awfully quiet down there. It's over half an hour later, well after 10 o'clock, and it's still quiet. I never needed the hammer.
That was easy.
For tonight, anyway. I doubt it's over.
So tonight they're going at it as usual, and it's well after the time normal parents would have put a kid that age to bed for the night, but not these parents. I was sitting here at the computer, not doing anything particularly special, but I just decided I'd had enough of the nightly show.
I've got a leftover piece of 2x4 that's maybe 2 1/2 feet long. I decided I'd put it on the kitchen floor and get the hammer and pound on it for a bit, just so they'd know there's someone up here - something they've ignored all along.
My method of placing it on the floor was to hold it at mid-point, with one of the wider sides parallel to the floor, about 2 - 3 feet up. Then I let go. It made a nice sharp sound as it hit flat on the floor (didn't want to cause any dents in the flooring, which is why I got it out in the first place to pound on).
Next I went over to my tool box and picked up the hammer and went back to the kitchen, prepared to do some noisemaking of my own - lightly at first, harder if needed.
But suddenly it was awfully quiet down there. It's over half an hour later, well after 10 o'clock, and it's still quiet. I never needed the hammer.
That was easy.
For tonight, anyway. I doubt it's over.
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