A day in the life of a call center agent

07.06.2005
Von April B.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind call center doors? What?s behind an industry that continues to generate interest from offshore investors?

To find out, I recently infiltrated ePLDT?s Vocativ Systems Inc. to experience firsthand a day in the life of a customer service representative or, simply, a call center agent.

A partnership between ePLDT, the Internet arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and TeleTech, Vocativ is a customer interaction center handling telephone calls and e-mail inquiries originating from TeleTech?s clients in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries. The company uses PLDT International?s Global Point of Presence network, which spans eight countries worldwide, to haul voice and data call center traffic.

Buddy Up

My shift in Vocativ was from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a period wherein I was supposed to ?buddy up? with an agent from IBM, Lesley Rodriguez.

IBM?s account in Vocativ handles both customer service and the technical support branches. Rodriguez is one of the agents in customer service whose main responsibility is to outline the information given by the customer and pass it on to the technical support branch.

?IBM is a very easy account. We just receive calls from customers, make an outline of the problem encountered, and then transfer the call to a technical support representative,? explained Rodriguez, a communications graduate from De La Salle University in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Nestled in the heart of the Bonifacio Global Center, formerly Hatch Asia, in Fort Bonifacio, Vocativ is Rodriguez?s first employer. ?I have been here for a year already,? she said. When asked why she chose to work in a call center, Rodriguez?s automatic answer was the pay. ?My family?s experiencing financial problems now, and I want to help out as much as I could,? she said.

Recounting her experience as a novice in the industry, Rodriguez related that she did not have a hard time adjusting to her work schedule because she was used to staying up late at night.

?Sometimes I stay up until 2 a.m., and I thought that I might as well put it to good use,? she said with a laugh.

When the calls started coming in, Rodriguez calmly handed me a headset so I could listen in on her calls. She disclosed that agents included in queuing receive an average of 75 calls per day, and 35 to 40 calls if they are not on queue.

Receiving 75 calls per day is no mean feat, considering that some clients tend to get on agents? nerves, Rodriguez said. Patience is, thus, a virtue in the industry.

?We can?t afford to answer back or be rude to customers because we never know when the QA (quality assurance) will tap our calls,? she added. Like any other company, call centers operate under the supervision of the QA department which ensures that clients get quality solutions for their concerns.

?Our QA monitors the performance of our agents. If they are not performing well, we motivate them and we supervise their calls,? explained Peter Paolo Corazo, a team leader in the IBM account.

Good deeds, too, are monitored in Vocativ and they never go unnoticed. If an agent perfects the target metrics used to gauge performance, he or she receives incentives such as movie tickets, mugs, DVD players, and ?IBM money.?

?When we perfect our performance score cards, they give us IBM money that we can spend on various items on display or for sale,? disclosed Rodriguez.

Controlled breaks

It was almost time for lunch so I asked Lesley where we could eat. Her response: ?Everything here is controlled, even the breaks.? This means no one is allowed to take breaks without informing the team leader.

?We can?t allow agents to just take breaks whenever they want. Everything has to be scheduled because if they take breaks at the same time, no one would be left to take the calls,? explained Corazo.

With a rumbling stomach, I continued to listen in on Rodriguez?s calls. At the stroke of two, we were finally allowed to break for lunch, which is strictly an hour. There?s an AUX button in designated phones where agents key in their lunch log-out and lunch log-in time. These phones are connected to the main station where team leaders can keep track of the breaks of the agents. If an agent frequently exceeds the time limit, he or she gets suspended.

As the day progressed and the calls kept coming in, I was astonished by the efficiency of Rodriguez. She tirelessly received call after call, remaining cool as ice.

?I love my job so I really want to do well in it,? she said. ?Who knows? Maybe someday, I?ll get to fulfill my other dreams after the opportunity that Vocativ has provided me.?

Quiet room

Rodriguez?s shift finally ended. But instead of going straight home to her rented apartment in Kalayaan St. in Makati City, she headed to the ?quiet room,? a spacious lounge where agents can get some shuteye or catch up on news with other agents. Furnished with plush sofas, the quiet room is the perfect place to unwind after a long shift.

?I live with a friend in the apartment. When I know she wouldn?t be going home, I just stay at the quiet room because I?m scared to stay alone in the apartment,? Rodriguez confided. Vocativ is practically Rodriguez?s home away from home. Complete with a ?bedroom,? pantry, and a bathroom, agents could practically live in the site.

After spending a day with Lesley Rodriguez, I realized that the job of a call center representative is harder than most people make it out to be. It is not just about answering phone calls to earn a living. It is about concentration and patience. It?s about having the dedication to perform well. With pressure coming from virtually everywhere, from customers to team leaders, call center agents have to constantly prove that they have what it takes to belong to the industry.