tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8014780.post-1156210235001015052006-08-21T21:03:00.000-03:002006-08-21T22:30:35.056-03:00I thought that my dear loyal readers must be growing tired of my lack of updates, so I figured I must let you both in on what's going on with me as of late.<br /><br />I no longer work at the call center where I was employed for close to two and a half years. It is such a relief to know that I will not be renting a full-size gas-guzzling SUV to someone who cannot afford it.<br /><br />At first the job was tolerable. The calls were simple, the training - while moderately intense - was easy to follow, the rules were reasonable, and the work environment was relaxed.<br /><br />Then half way through my inevitably terminal employment, things had changed, and I wish I could say that the changes were for the better.<br /><br />Instead, the rules changed, the policies modified, and the workload was increased. The company strayed from their "employee friendly" mantra into a "customer first (employee last, if at all)" mentality. Most of the supervisors avoided conducting meetings and team briefings with the employees. We were no longer allowed to surf the Internet between phone calls. We were now taking additional calls that at one time only a local counter would handle. And yet our paycheques still stated the same hourly pay rate. (They've even recently raised the starting wage for new employees while keeping all current employees wages the same! Imagine that!)<br /><br />Now, I know that some call centers don't allow you to surf the Internet anyway. I know this first hand as I have worked in several call centers with this policy intact. However, this was a brand new call center. They had new ideas for how to treat their employees (aka with a shred of respect).<br /><br />When I went through the training program, they "proved" how they are different in a positive sense. It didn't take long before all the the fresh-faced supervisors got settled into their power-hungry mindsets, and their holier-than-thou attitudes.<br /><br />It's not like I was a slacking, lazy call center representative. I shot to the top of the call center ranks, having maintained statistics that kept me in the top 10 of 500 people for almost 2 years. Not to sound braggish (...and oh, it will...), but Supervisors begged to have me on their team so they could have my stats on their charts and look good to the higher ups.<br /><br />I was even promoted to a Scheduling Management position. I wanted to escape from the phones, and have a somewhat-normal desk job, and I thought that having that promotion was going to provide that.<br /><br />So what went wrong? Well, as I said above: Rules changed. <br /><br />The higher-ups were wrapping their bony fingers around the necks of those in control of taking me off the phones. It made it nearly impossible to work in the scheduling department; so much so that when I did get a chance to work there, I was so rusty on how to operate the databases and spreadsheets that I suffered a huge migraine headache every time.<br /><br />This caused me to be fairly resentful of the managers at that point. I demoted myself to escape the migraines. I got less migraines being on the phone, if you can believe it.<br /><br />I burned out August of last year and had to go on stress leave. Many were surprised that after working in so many call centers for so many years that I didn't go on stress leave earlier. It surprised me too.<br /><br />I should have left after my stress leave was up, but the thought of searching for another job in Fredericton made me sick, considering the job market in the maritimes is either work in a call center or work for minimum wage. Thanks Frank McKenna. Your push to advance telecommunication technologies in the Maritimes has ushered in a new era of shitty-ass Call Centers. You sacrificed the mental health of thousands of Maritime citizens so we could have call display on our phones before anyone else. The psychiatrists of the region as well as pharmaceutical companies salute you!<br /><br />Anyway, the truth is that I had to come up with a better plan for my career and my life. During my stress leave period, I started working hardcore on an art portfolio. It was time to go back to school, and I was going to be ready.<br /><br />When I came back to work, nothing had changed, and for the remaining months of work, I was slowly losing my mind. I wasn't sure if school was going to be a sure thing at the time, and the people on the phones were becoming less tolerable to listen to.<br /><br />I've now been accepted into George Brown College's Graphic Design program, and I couldn't be happier.<br /><br />The thought of going back to school scared the hell out of me 2 years ago. <br /><br />Now it seems so right.<br /><br />I will be visiting family in Miramichi in the next few days, and it's off to Toronto at the end of the month.<br /><br />I cannot wait.<br /><br />Ciao.SuperMegaTomatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770251577238944489noreply@blogger.com