Unfortunately
I've recently moved from taking calls to taking chats here at work. In some ways, it's easier, in some ways it's not. My jaw gets a well-deserved rest from talking all day, so that's great. On the other hand, I have to juggle between two customers most of the time. But it's ok, I'm used to that (Hello YM! Hello facebook chat!)
Allowing to connect our customers on chat online makes it possible for our international customers to talk to us about their booking without making any expensive international calls. It also seems to be drawing an entirely different type of chatter.
I have received (and I'm still receiving) a lot of chats today from the Philippines. Apparently, on TV Patrol last night, the company I work for (a luxury cruise ship company) announced that they needed to fill about 100 positions in our ships. This prompted a lot of chats from eager Filipinos who needed to find a job out of the country. They were also pretty eager to tell me their life story, and it took a lot of careful explaining before they understood that I was not at all an HR manager. I was a lowly chat agent!
"I saw last night in tv that you are in need of 100 crews. Im very much interested."
"Do I have apply to an agency?"
"Were can i send my resume through internet what particular website."
There was a 47-year-old Mom who was chatting with me at the same time her young seaman son was. There was a guy who said he was an experienced butcher. Perhaps I made a mistake when I told one of the applicants that I was a Filipino too. She was quick to tell me that she was a graduate of accounting from one of those schools on the university belt, and she will do whatever job to get on the ship. She was asking me if I knew anyone who could probably help her; maybe there were more Filipinos who could pull some strings. She was beginning to ask more personal questions like how I got the job and I had to politely tell her that I needed to answer other customers...
The most I could do for them was point out a link in our website and send their resumes to wherever it really goes. I asked my supervisor about the situation, and he said he unfortunately did not know anything about that announcement. If there was an actual agency they could contact, we weren't advised of that.
Pretty much half of the crew on our ships are Filipino (the other half are Indonesians). Our guests appreciate their courteousness and good work ethics. I myself am entertaining the notion of possibly working the ship and exploring the world, sailing the seven seas.
For most other Filipinos though, their concerns are more mundane. They are unemployed or underemployed. They complain openly about their living conditions. Living in cramped, close quarters at the bottom of a ship will be a change for the better for most of them.
Tomorrow I expect even more chats, more confused wannabe seamen (chuckle) running around like headless chickens, looking for the way out. I would like to reach out to them. I would like to say, "Good luck! Hope your application goes well! Let me help you with that." Instead, I will say:
"Unfortunately that's the only information I can give right now. Thank you for contacting us. It was a pleasure assisting you. Again, my name is Adrian and have a good day!"e
Allowing to connect our customers on chat online makes it possible for our international customers to talk to us about their booking without making any expensive international calls. It also seems to be drawing an entirely different type of chatter.
I have received (and I'm still receiving) a lot of chats today from the Philippines. Apparently, on TV Patrol last night, the company I work for (a luxury cruise ship company) announced that they needed to fill about 100 positions in our ships. This prompted a lot of chats from eager Filipinos who needed to find a job out of the country. They were also pretty eager to tell me their life story, and it took a lot of careful explaining before they understood that I was not at all an HR manager. I was a lowly chat agent!
"I saw last night in tv that you are in need of 100 crews. Im very much interested."
"Do I have apply to an agency?"
"Were can i send my resume through internet what particular website."
There was a 47-year-old Mom who was chatting with me at the same time her young seaman son was. There was a guy who said he was an experienced butcher. Perhaps I made a mistake when I told one of the applicants that I was a Filipino too. She was quick to tell me that she was a graduate of accounting from one of those schools on the university belt, and she will do whatever job to get on the ship. She was asking me if I knew anyone who could probably help her; maybe there were more Filipinos who could pull some strings. She was beginning to ask more personal questions like how I got the job and I had to politely tell her that I needed to answer other customers...
The most I could do for them was point out a link in our website and send their resumes to wherever it really goes. I asked my supervisor about the situation, and he said he unfortunately did not know anything about that announcement. If there was an actual agency they could contact, we weren't advised of that.
Pretty much half of the crew on our ships are Filipino (the other half are Indonesians). Our guests appreciate their courteousness and good work ethics. I myself am entertaining the notion of possibly working the ship and exploring the world, sailing the seven seas.
For most other Filipinos though, their concerns are more mundane. They are unemployed or underemployed. They complain openly about their living conditions. Living in cramped, close quarters at the bottom of a ship will be a change for the better for most of them.
Tomorrow I expect even more chats, more confused wannabe seamen (chuckle) running around like headless chickens, looking for the way out. I would like to reach out to them. I would like to say, "Good luck! Hope your application goes well! Let me help you with that." Instead, I will say:
"Unfortunately that's the only information I can give right now. Thank you for contacting us. It was a pleasure assisting you. Again, my name is Adrian and have a good day!"e