why I love sitting in after call
why I love sitting in after call
- a free thought brought to you by michael.12289
Premesis:
1. NuComm is crazy
2. NuComm affects who we are (our personalities inside and outside of the work place)
3. The longer we spend working at NuComm the more Nucomm thought (from this point in the essay shall be known as Nu-thought) infiltrates and affects who we are as people.
4. The longer we spend working at NuComm the less we are aware of these changes and their affects on us.
5. Therefore the longer we spend at Nucomm the more crazy we become.
6. Sitting in After Call creates a distance between ourselves and Nu-thought.
7. Thusly, sitting in after call results in a more healthy and well rounded individual.
After working at NuComm international for nine months, I\'ve reached a point where i can no longer passivly sit in these seats and feign contentness. I\'ve become bitter and spiteful towards all the customers that call in, and instead of answering my calls with a smile and excitement, i can only answer in a robotic, monotone voice, \"hello thank you for calling comcast, this is michael speaking, how can i help you today?\" When i hear that beep in my ear, telling me that another customer is about to complain about another problem, my automatic response is to ask that question, without thought and without pause.
the next time you hear that beep in your ear, listen not to the person on the other line, instead pause and listen to your body\'s natural reaction.
For myself this would include, tension of both my shoulders and hands, slouching in my seat, a sigh of discontent and sometimes shutting my eyes, tightly.
As time passed and as the Ques got larger and the availibility got lower I discovered a saving grace in what is commonly known as \'sitting in aftercall\'. I felt safe, for those few moments, knowing that no matter how many angry customers were waiting to yell into my ears, i couldn\'t get a call. And the more i used it, the more i noticed just how great it was. it was a well deserved 3 minute break after a 40 minute 169 fix that never did get solved, and it was that 2 minute conversation i could have with a friend beside me. and it was after call that lead my thoughts here, writing this manifesto on an unapproved site. So enjoy, and please, save yourself.
::Nucomm Is Crazy::
When signs on floursent bristol board screaming \"QUALITY\" are hanging from the ceiling and when these same blinding flouresent signs are asking \"did you offer the survey?\" there is an obvious problem. The problem is apathy. and no matter how many signs on bright bristol board they put up, its not going to make us care anymore. it seems like the most basic form of brainwashing. these loud signs posted everywhere, drilling these ideas deeper and deeper into our minds \"we need to show more empathy and we need higher quality.\" This may seem obvious, but this brainwashing sinks to another level, more subtle than signs hanging from ceilings.
Our OPI (overall performance index) is one of these subtle brainwashing techniques. they slide these ideas past you right away, so instead of asking why our quality should be high, and why should be really care if this person gets on the internet tonight, the questions they pose is \"just how high is your OPI?\" or \"are you in yellow or green?\"
have you noticed in the washrooms and in the kitchen over the sinks they\'ve posted insructions on how to wash our hands? it seems that we\'ve become so adapted to reading walkthroughs that its become the only way we can function. perhaps they should do an educational video on how to brush our teeth next. thanks nucomm, for implying we are all complete idiots.
last quarter i was hounded endlessly about doing my weekly tests, and i can honestly and proudly say i never did one. At a time i used to do them, and as most people here i just waited until someone would send me an email with the answers. one week, after not having recieved the answers i attempted to do the test myself. a few of the questions seemed reasonable, and then i got to one that totally threw me off. \"how many times can you take the Nucomm manager test\" (or something equally as obscure and unimportant) and i had to ask myself \"why does this matter?\" and i realized that it really doesn\'t and that for some reson or other they ask us, just for the sake of asking, and just to keep us doing these weekly tests...week after week.
Nucomm in itself is hypocritical, which just adds to the insanity. According to Nucomm\'s website, Nucomm has three core values Honesty Dignity and Respect. the website also goes on to say \"These core values are strongly upheld in the organization and everyone (including management) is accountable to them each day. We walk the talk. \" About two months ago a friend of mine was fired (or should i say liberated?) This is how it happend:
He was called in to a meeting with a ccm. a few moments passed and he came out again, followed closely by an Eps. He told me that he was suspended and that he would get a call when nucomm wanted him back. He left the building, followed again by an Eps and upon exiting the building he was told that he was not suspended, but infact fired. the Eps took his headset and his security card and left him outside. So where does honesty dignity and respect fit into this scene? Those core values can\'t exist when a company\'s priority is generating revenue and not in treating their employees with compassion or respect.
as i walked down the isle i noticed a series of small posters plastered over a set of cubicles. the words \"think positive\" were printed, and surrounded by dollar signs. this is the perfect example of Nu-thought. in one way you can see \'think positive\" but in another way you see that the only way of being positive is to think about money. it says to me that you can\'t just be positive because of what you do (how positive can you be sitting in here when the sun is shining and the birds are singing outside?) and the only benefit of working here is the monetary gain.
and have you ever noticed that the EPS\'s phones have the MOST annoying ring possible? seriously, what is up with that?
:Nucomm affects who we are and how we act:
about a week ago i had some friends over for the night, and someone asked if they could borrow a sweater. i started upstairs as i said \"i\'\'ll look into that for you\" luckily one of my friends stopped me and said \"that sounds like something you\'d hear in a call centre.\" I stopped. it was EXACTLY like something you\'d hear in a call centre, and it is something that i say to customers all the time.
this isn\'t a one time thing, and i know that it doesn\'t effect me alone.
i\'ve heard countless stories from other Nucommers and suffered myself from dreams of answering phones through the night. one particularly terrifying night i woke up thinking that my alarm clock was my phone. seriously. I\'ve had nightmares of calls that just won\'t end, problems that can\'t be fixed and, of course, being late for work.
have you ever answered your home phone with \"thank you for calling comcast...\"? i\'ve done it once, but once was enough to let me know there was a problem.
not only does Nu-thought impede on our dreams and our conversations, but it also changes how we view people.
when customers become petty annoyances and no longer people, then there is a problem. and when Eps\' and Ccms become our superiors and no longer people, it is the same problem. we become so imbeded in these roles that we completely accept them without thought and without question. the roles become so deeply ingrained that we no longer even see this pryamid of hierarchy. we\'re blind to it.
:The longer we spend working at NuComm the more Nucomm thought infiltrates and affects who we are as people.:
everything takes energy, some things take more than others. Showing compassion and empathy takes a certain amount of energy and intention. But faking compassion and empathy and making it a part of every conversation we have takes even more energy. \"oh i\'m so sorry to hear about that...\" \"i\'d be upset if that happend to me too\" etc. When this \'empathy\' becomes nothing more than a script to be read over and over, then we\'re no longer being empathetic. the more we do this the more numb we become to it.
the more that we have to fake our true reactions (as i know ALL of us do at one time or another) like yelling back at a customer or telling them that \'yes indeed, you are an idiot\', the more we get into these roles the less we act as a our genuine self.
:The longer we spend working at NuComm the less we are aware of these changes and their affects on us:
just yesterday i walked into this building and came across a poster on the wall. \"who do you want to see dressed as a bunny?\" it asked. my answer was a sigh and a step away. i logged in to my computer, brought up my programs inculding Pc pine. Again i see this question \"who do you want to see dressed as a bunny?\" again, i answered with a sigh. I can\'t help but see that these thing, these fake humour business kind of things as just a distraction. they dance these psedo-jokes and competitions (what campus can get the most surveys done? if you win you\'re campus gets $200... Nucomm just giving money to Nucomm) or bunny donations (half the money goes to the culture club... Us just giving money to Nucomm). they dance these things infront of you, keeping your eye on the spectacle while slowly you\'re just getting more and more insane.
:Therefore the longer we spend at Nucomm the more crazy we become:
If we spend long enough in an environment that doesn\'t allow us to be genuine, for example stopping ourselves from saying what we feel, not allowing us to read subjects we deem important (unless it gets approved, but what really important things gets approved? dogs in canada? thanks.), not allowing us to read books or write online (oh how ironic) the less we are actually ourselves. Given a long enough time frame, the less you act in your own best interest or act like you naturally would act, the less you can notice these changes. you\'ll come to believe that you actually don\'t mind having people yell at you, and that you actually think \'oh i wonder how my OPI is... am i in the green?\" you forget about the sun shining outside and the birds singing, you forget about walks on the beach. you forget about good book and heartfelt conversation. instead you discuss work, \"oh i wonder who is going to be in that bunny suit\" \"did you hear about crazy hat day?\" \"oh my last customer was an idiot.\" etc etc etc. We become less and less aware that we are unhappy and less aware that these chages have severe effects on our genuine self.
:Sitting in After Call creates a distance between ourselves and Nu-thought:
This all being said, that we are all suffering from the insanity known as Nu-thought, what is there we can do about it? my answer? after call.
The most beautiful thing about after call is that, if done with intention, it distances you from Nu-thought. it allows you a free moment to just sit and breathe. You\'re not anxious because you know that you can\'t get a call, you\'re safe from the insanity, at least for a few moments. it gives you a moment to just be, to just be more genuine. After call gives you a chance to read something interesting, to expand your mind and your thoughts. it gives you a break from comcast, from ip addresses and from modem/router combinations. if you sit there long eough you might realize that these things don\'t really matter all that much. you might realize that, yes, Nucomm breeds insanity and that you are its product. or maybe you\'ll just have a rest. whatever the outcome, if you sit in aftercall with intention you\'ll definitly reap the benefits.
but i know some Nucommites out there are thinking this is a bad idea. they think that we\'re taking a dig at the company, and that instead we should all just go Auto-in and hope that we bring the availability up that way.
personally, if i have trouble showing empathy for a customer, a human being, then trying to show emapthy to a company, an abstract concept, will be near futile. and really, why should i care about a company that sees me merely as a generator for more income. instead of going auto-in and hoping that we can possibly bring the availability up from 2 to 4 we should all sit in after call. If Nucomm really cared about us as people they would put more agents on the phone at any given time. its obvious that everyone is happier and better working when the availability is high. we\'ve got something to look foreward to at the end of our call, instead of automatically getting another one.
the truth is this:
WE run Nucomm. we are the inmates that run the asylum. Of course there are people in positions that appear higher, but without us they would be completely useless. They should work foremost to make our lives easier and happier, and secondly to make a higher profit. they should know that quality of service will only rise if our morale does as well. sitting here now, with 8 available, i think of the months past when i could log in to see 80 agents logged in and 35 available. i think of the free time between calls when i could chat with my friends and read some interesting things online (as this was before they started blocking non-approved sites) and basically just being content. But again, profits come first, even before honesty dignity and respect, and here we are on the verge of Queing every night. So here i am, sitting in after call.
Sometimes i feel a little crazy for sitting here. I feel insane simply for entering those doors day after day. Sometimes i feel like never coming here again. but, as with everyone, i need to earn my income. I\'ve sold alot of my time to Nucomm, and i\'m proud to say that i\'ve indulged and undermined as much as i could. I\'ve read and wrote as much as i could. I\'ve tried to stay true to myself and to not let their Nu-thought take control of me.
these are all just words,
you need to save yourself.
- a free thought brought to you by michael.12289
Premesis:
1. NuComm is crazy
2. NuComm affects who we are (our personalities inside and outside of the work place)
3. The longer we spend working at NuComm the more Nucomm thought (from this point in the essay shall be known as Nu-thought) infiltrates and affects who we are as people.
4. The longer we spend working at NuComm the less we are aware of these changes and their affects on us.
5. Therefore the longer we spend at Nucomm the more crazy we become.
6. Sitting in After Call creates a distance between ourselves and Nu-thought.
7. Thusly, sitting in after call results in a more healthy and well rounded individual.
After working at NuComm international for nine months, I\'ve reached a point where i can no longer passivly sit in these seats and feign contentness. I\'ve become bitter and spiteful towards all the customers that call in, and instead of answering my calls with a smile and excitement, i can only answer in a robotic, monotone voice, \"hello thank you for calling comcast, this is michael speaking, how can i help you today?\" When i hear that beep in my ear, telling me that another customer is about to complain about another problem, my automatic response is to ask that question, without thought and without pause.
the next time you hear that beep in your ear, listen not to the person on the other line, instead pause and listen to your body\'s natural reaction.
For myself this would include, tension of both my shoulders and hands, slouching in my seat, a sigh of discontent and sometimes shutting my eyes, tightly.
As time passed and as the Ques got larger and the availibility got lower I discovered a saving grace in what is commonly known as \'sitting in aftercall\'. I felt safe, for those few moments, knowing that no matter how many angry customers were waiting to yell into my ears, i couldn\'t get a call. And the more i used it, the more i noticed just how great it was. it was a well deserved 3 minute break after a 40 minute 169 fix that never did get solved, and it was that 2 minute conversation i could have with a friend beside me. and it was after call that lead my thoughts here, writing this manifesto on an unapproved site. So enjoy, and please, save yourself.
::Nucomm Is Crazy::
When signs on floursent bristol board screaming \"QUALITY\" are hanging from the ceiling and when these same blinding flouresent signs are asking \"did you offer the survey?\" there is an obvious problem. The problem is apathy. and no matter how many signs on bright bristol board they put up, its not going to make us care anymore. it seems like the most basic form of brainwashing. these loud signs posted everywhere, drilling these ideas deeper and deeper into our minds \"we need to show more empathy and we need higher quality.\" This may seem obvious, but this brainwashing sinks to another level, more subtle than signs hanging from ceilings.
Our OPI (overall performance index) is one of these subtle brainwashing techniques. they slide these ideas past you right away, so instead of asking why our quality should be high, and why should be really care if this person gets on the internet tonight, the questions they pose is \"just how high is your OPI?\" or \"are you in yellow or green?\"
have you noticed in the washrooms and in the kitchen over the sinks they\'ve posted insructions on how to wash our hands? it seems that we\'ve become so adapted to reading walkthroughs that its become the only way we can function. perhaps they should do an educational video on how to brush our teeth next. thanks nucomm, for implying we are all complete idiots.
last quarter i was hounded endlessly about doing my weekly tests, and i can honestly and proudly say i never did one. At a time i used to do them, and as most people here i just waited until someone would send me an email with the answers. one week, after not having recieved the answers i attempted to do the test myself. a few of the questions seemed reasonable, and then i got to one that totally threw me off. \"how many times can you take the Nucomm manager test\" (or something equally as obscure and unimportant) and i had to ask myself \"why does this matter?\" and i realized that it really doesn\'t and that for some reson or other they ask us, just for the sake of asking, and just to keep us doing these weekly tests...week after week.
Nucomm in itself is hypocritical, which just adds to the insanity. According to Nucomm\'s website, Nucomm has three core values Honesty Dignity and Respect. the website also goes on to say \"These core values are strongly upheld in the organization and everyone (including management) is accountable to them each day. We walk the talk. \" About two months ago a friend of mine was fired (or should i say liberated?) This is how it happend:
He was called in to a meeting with a ccm. a few moments passed and he came out again, followed closely by an Eps. He told me that he was suspended and that he would get a call when nucomm wanted him back. He left the building, followed again by an Eps and upon exiting the building he was told that he was not suspended, but infact fired. the Eps took his headset and his security card and left him outside. So where does honesty dignity and respect fit into this scene? Those core values can\'t exist when a company\'s priority is generating revenue and not in treating their employees with compassion or respect.
as i walked down the isle i noticed a series of small posters plastered over a set of cubicles. the words \"think positive\" were printed, and surrounded by dollar signs. this is the perfect example of Nu-thought. in one way you can see \'think positive\" but in another way you see that the only way of being positive is to think about money. it says to me that you can\'t just be positive because of what you do (how positive can you be sitting in here when the sun is shining and the birds are singing outside?) and the only benefit of working here is the monetary gain.
and have you ever noticed that the EPS\'s phones have the MOST annoying ring possible? seriously, what is up with that?
:Nucomm affects who we are and how we act:
about a week ago i had some friends over for the night, and someone asked if they could borrow a sweater. i started upstairs as i said \"i\'\'ll look into that for you\" luckily one of my friends stopped me and said \"that sounds like something you\'d hear in a call centre.\" I stopped. it was EXACTLY like something you\'d hear in a call centre, and it is something that i say to customers all the time.
this isn\'t a one time thing, and i know that it doesn\'t effect me alone.
i\'ve heard countless stories from other Nucommers and suffered myself from dreams of answering phones through the night. one particularly terrifying night i woke up thinking that my alarm clock was my phone. seriously. I\'ve had nightmares of calls that just won\'t end, problems that can\'t be fixed and, of course, being late for work.
have you ever answered your home phone with \"thank you for calling comcast...\"? i\'ve done it once, but once was enough to let me know there was a problem.
not only does Nu-thought impede on our dreams and our conversations, but it also changes how we view people.
when customers become petty annoyances and no longer people, then there is a problem. and when Eps\' and Ccms become our superiors and no longer people, it is the same problem. we become so imbeded in these roles that we completely accept them without thought and without question. the roles become so deeply ingrained that we no longer even see this pryamid of hierarchy. we\'re blind to it.
:The longer we spend working at NuComm the more Nucomm thought infiltrates and affects who we are as people.:
everything takes energy, some things take more than others. Showing compassion and empathy takes a certain amount of energy and intention. But faking compassion and empathy and making it a part of every conversation we have takes even more energy. \"oh i\'m so sorry to hear about that...\" \"i\'d be upset if that happend to me too\" etc. When this \'empathy\' becomes nothing more than a script to be read over and over, then we\'re no longer being empathetic. the more we do this the more numb we become to it.
the more that we have to fake our true reactions (as i know ALL of us do at one time or another) like yelling back at a customer or telling them that \'yes indeed, you are an idiot\', the more we get into these roles the less we act as a our genuine self.
:The longer we spend working at NuComm the less we are aware of these changes and their affects on us:
just yesterday i walked into this building and came across a poster on the wall. \"who do you want to see dressed as a bunny?\" it asked. my answer was a sigh and a step away. i logged in to my computer, brought up my programs inculding Pc pine. Again i see this question \"who do you want to see dressed as a bunny?\" again, i answered with a sigh. I can\'t help but see that these thing, these fake humour business kind of things as just a distraction. they dance these psedo-jokes and competitions (what campus can get the most surveys done? if you win you\'re campus gets $200... Nucomm just giving money to Nucomm) or bunny donations (half the money goes to the culture club... Us just giving money to Nucomm). they dance these things infront of you, keeping your eye on the spectacle while slowly you\'re just getting more and more insane.
:Therefore the longer we spend at Nucomm the more crazy we become:
If we spend long enough in an environment that doesn\'t allow us to be genuine, for example stopping ourselves from saying what we feel, not allowing us to read subjects we deem important (unless it gets approved, but what really important things gets approved? dogs in canada? thanks.), not allowing us to read books or write online (oh how ironic) the less we are actually ourselves. Given a long enough time frame, the less you act in your own best interest or act like you naturally would act, the less you can notice these changes. you\'ll come to believe that you actually don\'t mind having people yell at you, and that you actually think \'oh i wonder how my OPI is... am i in the green?\" you forget about the sun shining outside and the birds singing, you forget about walks on the beach. you forget about good book and heartfelt conversation. instead you discuss work, \"oh i wonder who is going to be in that bunny suit\" \"did you hear about crazy hat day?\" \"oh my last customer was an idiot.\" etc etc etc. We become less and less aware that we are unhappy and less aware that these chages have severe effects on our genuine self.
:Sitting in After Call creates a distance between ourselves and Nu-thought:
This all being said, that we are all suffering from the insanity known as Nu-thought, what is there we can do about it? my answer? after call.
The most beautiful thing about after call is that, if done with intention, it distances you from Nu-thought. it allows you a free moment to just sit and breathe. You\'re not anxious because you know that you can\'t get a call, you\'re safe from the insanity, at least for a few moments. it gives you a moment to just be, to just be more genuine. After call gives you a chance to read something interesting, to expand your mind and your thoughts. it gives you a break from comcast, from ip addresses and from modem/router combinations. if you sit there long eough you might realize that these things don\'t really matter all that much. you might realize that, yes, Nucomm breeds insanity and that you are its product. or maybe you\'ll just have a rest. whatever the outcome, if you sit in aftercall with intention you\'ll definitly reap the benefits.
but i know some Nucommites out there are thinking this is a bad idea. they think that we\'re taking a dig at the company, and that instead we should all just go Auto-in and hope that we bring the availability up that way.
personally, if i have trouble showing empathy for a customer, a human being, then trying to show emapthy to a company, an abstract concept, will be near futile. and really, why should i care about a company that sees me merely as a generator for more income. instead of going auto-in and hoping that we can possibly bring the availability up from 2 to 4 we should all sit in after call. If Nucomm really cared about us as people they would put more agents on the phone at any given time. its obvious that everyone is happier and better working when the availability is high. we\'ve got something to look foreward to at the end of our call, instead of automatically getting another one.
the truth is this:
WE run Nucomm. we are the inmates that run the asylum. Of course there are people in positions that appear higher, but without us they would be completely useless. They should work foremost to make our lives easier and happier, and secondly to make a higher profit. they should know that quality of service will only rise if our morale does as well. sitting here now, with 8 available, i think of the months past when i could log in to see 80 agents logged in and 35 available. i think of the free time between calls when i could chat with my friends and read some interesting things online (as this was before they started blocking non-approved sites) and basically just being content. But again, profits come first, even before honesty dignity and respect, and here we are on the verge of Queing every night. So here i am, sitting in after call.
Sometimes i feel a little crazy for sitting here. I feel insane simply for entering those doors day after day. Sometimes i feel like never coming here again. but, as with everyone, i need to earn my income. I\'ve sold alot of my time to Nucomm, and i\'m proud to say that i\'ve indulged and undermined as much as i could. I\'ve read and wrote as much as i could. I\'ve tried to stay true to myself and to not let their Nu-thought take control of me.
these are all just words,
you need to save yourself.