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I haven't really spoken about this but I really need a place to vent right now. Months ago I applied for an Apprenticeship at a 'Major Telecoms Company' (I won't say who for reasons) and I quit my job at a Cinema a couple of weeks ago to go for this. The job itself is in a call center doing Technical Support and I have been in training for the last two weeks and I finally got on the phones today. I thought I was ready but boy was I not. My first call went fine but my second call reduced me to tears. I did other calls that went fine but that one call has kind of put me off the whole thing. It's going to be hard for me to get past it. I won't go into detail (DPA stuff) but he was pretty much yelling at me and blaming me for his phone not working and not being helpful when I asked him to give me information. Now I'm really dreading going back in and I'm starting regretting the whole thing a little. It's my first day so I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I hope tomorrow goes better. Right now I'm in dire need of Ice Cream, Moe Blobs and hugs.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
I haven't really spoken about this but I really need a place to vent right now. Months ago I applied for an Apprenticeship at a 'Major Telecoms Company' (I won't say who for reasons) and I quit my job at a Cinema a couple of weeks ago to go for this. The job itself is in a call center doing Technical Support and I have been in training for the last two weeks and I finally got on the phones today. I thought I was ready but boy was I not. My first call went fine but my second call reduced me to tears. I did other calls that went fine but that one call has kind of put me off the whole thing. It's going to be hard for me to get past it. I won't go into detail (DPA stuff) but he was pretty much yelling at me and blaming me for his phone not working and not being helpful when I asked him to give me information. Now I'm really dreading going back in and I'm starting regretting the whole thing a little. It's my first day so I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I hope tomorrow goes better. Right now I'm in dire need of Ice Cream, Moe Blobs and hugs.
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You'll get used to it. handling irate customers comes with the territory and you'll pick up the skill to deal with them as you go along. As long as the proportion of those calls isn't crazy high then you've got nothing to worry about.

I know a fair few people who became extremely adept at switching between "yes sir and could I ask what operating system you are are using" then hit mute then "ffs what a t****. why the f*** do you HP is an OS" then unmute then "I think HP is the make sir. I'm after the version of Windows you have there".... not that I'd recommend behaving in that way...
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Right now I'm in dire need of Ice Cream, Moe Blobs and hugs.
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Take your pick
Magic hug[spoilerbutton]
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[/spoilerbutton]Moe hug[spoilerbutton]
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[/spoilerbutton]RIP hug[spoilerbutton]
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[/spoilerbutton]Man hug[spoilerbutton]
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[/spoilerbutton]K-Hugs [spoilerbutton]
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Yeah you have to make sure you don't take it personally, but it's rough. I enjoy trying to be as cloyingly polite as possible in that position; some people become quite ashamed when they calm down a bit and realise they have been yelling at the only person who is trying to help them with their problem.

R
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Apprenticeship
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You poor bastard.
IncendiaryLemon said:
Technical Support
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Jesus.
IncendiaryLemon said:
call center
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I weep for your already dying soul.

Customer service is no job for anyone moderately sane or reasonable or who wishes to remain that way, especially if you're working for one of those companies that refuses to acknowledge there are times when yes, in fact, the customer is wrong and deserves to be told as much. We need people to help others solve problems beyond their capabilities and they're valuable jobs, but there's no way those people should be contractually obliged to put up with other people's sh*t. Expecting people to accept sh*t below minimum wages to be nice to sh*tty people is literally everything wrong with modern corporate culture and, to be quite frank, the governance of our country considering it's even allowed. Apprenticeships are simply a way for employers to avoid paying the minimum wage.

The revolution can't be long now, it really can't. Sharpen your pitchforks.
 
To be fair, the pay is pretty good. Well, good to me anyway, it's four times the salary I was earning at my previous job. Most of the people you speak to are nice or at least reasonable. It's just the few assholes who think solving their problem is as easy as hitting a big button marked 'Solution'.
 
Ah, the IT Crowd. One of my favourites.


And it's STILL not out on Blu-ray yet (and the final episode still hasn't been released either). :x
 
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IncendiaryLemon said:
Not even joking, we have to ask that, and I can't even say it seriously because of the IT Crowd.
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Ah on phones too did you say? so probably the inevitable "just because the screen is blank does not mean it is off..."
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Not even joking, we have to ask that, and I can't even say it seriously because of the IT Crowd.
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Many an hour have I saved by using this advices as a computing panacea. The usual stratagem thereafter is to escape to a save haven and go about other duties.
More often than not my advice ends up working.
More often than not this is entirely by happy accident.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Most of the people you speak to are nice or at least reasonable. It's just the few assholes who think solving their problem is as easy as hitting a big button marked 'Solution'.
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Haha, I love it when people call in and refuse to give any information, expecting you to immediately help with their unspecified (and probably unique) issue. I wonder whether the same people go to the doctor, sit down in the chair and say "Hi, SOMETHING IS WRONG!" then smile and await the detailed diagnosis they are certain will follow.

R
 
I don't get moved to tears often but standing in the Hiroshima Peace memorial park is moving, all those lives lost suddenly (although it did save the lose of more lives if US had carried out an invasion).

The only time I can recall feeling the same was 10+ years ago when I visited Auschwitz.

*watches some of the hug clips to pick myself up*
 
This may or may not be place, but I was wondering if I could ask for some advice. In the past month or so I've moved into a house with housemates I don't really know, one of the housemates is really reclusive (he still hasn't even spoken to some of the housemates) and engages in behaviour which is odd and other behaviour which could quite feasibly be interpreted as disgusting but probably has a legitimate explanation (he takes his laptop with him when he showers, there's a bucket under the end of his bed).

Over the past few days he has been the subject of much complaining and baseless speculation, and other housemates have started to blame him for things he probably didn't do. I'm slightly concerned he doesn't know about and doesn't deserve this treatment, but I myself am really nervous about talking to him. Is there a way I can warn him he's causing friction with his housemates/encourage him to be more sociable without upsetting him or being an ********?
 
I know you said that is is reclusive and maybe a bit odd but is he unapproachable? I think in that situation it might be a good idea just just kind of catch him and try and approach him and politely explain the situation to him. I think he deserves to know if he's having accusations thrown around about him. Not sure what I'd do if he was standoffish though or if he just outright refused to have conversation. It is kind of a tricky situation. As a side note, how does he take his laptop in the shower with him and not get it water damaged? That's a hard wearing laptop :lol:
 
I don't think most people would find him unapproachable, but I really hate starting conversations with people I don't know and the other day I had a conversation with him about something unrelated and I was stood outside his room for 5-10 minutes trying to work up the courage to talk to him, this only wended when one of my housemates intervened and forced the conversation.

The trouble is he never leaves his room (we know he's definitely still alive, nobody else is likely to be yelling in Mandarin at 1am :p), so I have to initiate the conversation, which make it feel like I'd just be bursting in and being a twat towards him.
 
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