(no subject)
I've worked at Sallie Mae for over a month now and I have so many stories I don't even know where to begin. I don't know if it's a good thing that I let them build up...I probably should've told you guys about some of them before now. Before I go any further, however, I have something very important to say.
I hate Sallie Mae.
That's better. It's truly a terrible job...for me, at least. I sit on my ass for ten hours a day four days a week and when I don't get to go home for my hour lunch, I'm at Sallie Mae for eleven hours out of my day. It's both mind-numbingly boring and straight-jacket inducingly stressful. There's sooooo much to remember and the stupid computer program that they use is ancient. It reminds me of MS-DOS. I also think that, because of the line of work that it is...namely the kind where you sit on your ass all day...it attracts people that don't like to do much physical activity. I think I've seen more over-weight and obese people there in the past five weeks than I had in the past five years. Some of it is honestly horrifying. I don't know how those people get around. I was outside reading on my lunch break and one guy that had been in my training class was talking to other people who were out there smoking; he was complaining about how far he had to walk from his computer to the break room; he said that he wishes the snack machine could be right beside him. The call floor is probably about the size of a football field...maybe. Probably less. It's not THAT huge.
Anyway.
I don't even know where to start. My experiences ranges from fragile old ladies telling me that they just got out of the hospital, that it is their grandson's loan and they don't have any money, to answering machines that say "Your mom's a HO!" Beeeeeep. I think an entire novel could be written on the different messages people leave on their machines. I had one machine ask me how I knew that it was actually an answering machine. What if it's all a dream? Is this even reality?...and so on. I heard the milkshake song. I've heard, "This is ______. Leave a message. Whateva." There is some god-awful music that people make me listen to instead of a ring...country is the worst, I think. And as an aside...if they can afford to make me listen to their shitty music when I call them, why the hell aren't they paying on their student loans?
Other things that have happened....I had a conversation that went like this:
Me: "Thank you for calling Sallie Mae. This is Amanda. Could I get your Social Security number or your account number please?"
Caller: "I would jus like to verify ma tickets to da Carribbean on dis Friday."
Me: "I'm sorry...verify your tickets?"
Caller: "Ya, I got de number, I jus wan to know if de flight's still goin' "
Me: "I'm sorry ma'am, I think you have the wrong number."
This is already long enough, but suffice it to say that when I started to get somewhat crappy with a woman--telling her that I couldn't give her information on loans that she wasn't a co-signer on--I found out that her brother had been in a fire the month before. He was still in the ICU and unable to get on the phone and tell me that I could speak to her about the account because he had a breathing tube shoved down his trachea. And he couldn't sign any forms because he couldn't move his arms.
Oh geez.
I'm going to stop now, because I'm tired of writing. Luckily, it's Thursday and my last night to work at the library until Sunday. No Sallie Mae this weekend because I worked last Saturday....so that's exciting. Hooray for the weekend!
I hate Sallie Mae.
That's better. It's truly a terrible job...for me, at least. I sit on my ass for ten hours a day four days a week and when I don't get to go home for my hour lunch, I'm at Sallie Mae for eleven hours out of my day. It's both mind-numbingly boring and straight-jacket inducingly stressful. There's sooooo much to remember and the stupid computer program that they use is ancient. It reminds me of MS-DOS. I also think that, because of the line of work that it is...namely the kind where you sit on your ass all day...it attracts people that don't like to do much physical activity. I think I've seen more over-weight and obese people there in the past five weeks than I had in the past five years. Some of it is honestly horrifying. I don't know how those people get around. I was outside reading on my lunch break and one guy that had been in my training class was talking to other people who were out there smoking; he was complaining about how far he had to walk from his computer to the break room; he said that he wishes the snack machine could be right beside him. The call floor is probably about the size of a football field...maybe. Probably less. It's not THAT huge.
Anyway.
I don't even know where to start. My experiences ranges from fragile old ladies telling me that they just got out of the hospital, that it is their grandson's loan and they don't have any money, to answering machines that say "Your mom's a HO!" Beeeeeep. I think an entire novel could be written on the different messages people leave on their machines. I had one machine ask me how I knew that it was actually an answering machine. What if it's all a dream? Is this even reality?...and so on. I heard the milkshake song. I've heard, "This is ______. Leave a message. Whateva." There is some god-awful music that people make me listen to instead of a ring...country is the worst, I think. And as an aside...if they can afford to make me listen to their shitty music when I call them, why the hell aren't they paying on their student loans?
Other things that have happened....I had a conversation that went like this:
Me: "Thank you for calling Sallie Mae. This is Amanda. Could I get your Social Security number or your account number please?"
Caller: "I would jus like to verify ma tickets to da Carribbean on dis Friday."
Me: "I'm sorry...verify your tickets?"
Caller: "Ya, I got de number, I jus wan to know if de flight's still goin' "
Me: "I'm sorry ma'am, I think you have the wrong number."
This is already long enough, but suffice it to say that when I started to get somewhat crappy with a woman--telling her that I couldn't give her information on loans that she wasn't a co-signer on--I found out that her brother had been in a fire the month before. He was still in the ICU and unable to get on the phone and tell me that I could speak to her about the account because he had a breathing tube shoved down his trachea. And he couldn't sign any forms because he couldn't move his arms.
Oh geez.
I'm going to stop now, because I'm tired of writing. Luckily, it's Thursday and my last night to work at the library until Sunday. No Sallie Mae this weekend because I worked last Saturday....so that's exciting. Hooray for the weekend!