Back on the Market

Well, after a bit of thinking, I decided to quit the call center. I made a few good friends there but that really wasn't enough to stay. See, there were a few things they left out during training... We didn't get to see the contract until we actually started which should have been a bad sign. That's when we learned that until they deem us "trained" (which means until you hit the sales target--which is too high for the campaign I'm on), we would be making $2 less that what was advertised. Then, once you are considered "trained," if you fail to make a sale within the first two hours of your shift, you are sent home. That's not good for me. I have an apartment, bills, student loans, a million shirts with oil stains, and a purse that is falling apart. I need to know that I can rely on those hours I am scheduled for. I need to set budgets and follow them.

But there were other reasons to quit too. They weren't telling us to be too aggressive but they did want me to be more than I was comfortable. Once, my manager asked me to listen to a phone call and use that as an example. However, that girl talked over the customer and didn't really answer her questions. And I hated that if people said they didn't want to buy the makeup we were selling for any reason--including allergies!--we still had to make a pitch to them. That just seems like a giant waste of my time. No one who had a previous reaction is going to buy again. They even advocated at one point that we lie and say it was newly formulated! I also had a problem with making sales to old retired people. I had this one woman who told me she only lived off her pension checks and couldn't really afford it though she wanted some. I know I could have manipulated her into making a purchase or pushed her into it but what kind of person would I be then? I knew that make up would outlast her, that she wouldn't wear it much, that she would get more than she needed for much more than she wanted to spend, and in the end would be re-enrolled to a subscription program that would ultimately take advantage of a forgetful old lady. That's when I really decided to quit. I didn't make the sale because I couldn't be so cruel and I knew they would have wanted me to.

And the last reason, my ears are really stiff and not too bendy; those head sets were giving me headaches everyday. I know it's kind of a small issue, but it counted for something.

So, I'm back on the market and looking for something better. I know I'll find one but it might just take a little more time. The good thing is that I didn't give up right away, I tried it out for two weeks and I made a full paycheck that will cover my student loans till December.

Oh, and one more thing that made my jaw drop... Just before I finished my shift yesterday, we had a "get to know each other" meeting with the whole outbound half of the office. At the meeting, we all wrote down a question and put it in a box where we drew one randomly and answered it in front of everyone. I can not believe some of the things people wrote down. Like, "When was the last time you wet the bed?" and "What is the most shameless thing you've ever done for sex?" Oh, and they got soooo much dirtier and disgusting. I couldn't believe that this kind of behavior was tolerated in a professional office!!! I'm not interested in working in an environment that encourages such inappropriate conversation let alone in office meetings.

So, there were some nice people and good training, but this definitely isn't the job for me. Wish me luck on my quest for the next best thing!