It's amazing how all the big time call centers keep appearing out of nowhere. And the frequent that they come in, the more we are hypnotized to drop our current jobs and start joining their business. I guess with experience, In-house call centers (centers that support their own accounts) pay higher than outsourcing centers (centers that support outside accounts from different companies). Just like JP Morgan Chase. From what I've heard, they pay on the level of experience you've had with the industry, so for example you've been taking those friggin calls for like 5 years, then your salary would range at around 28k to 30k. Now it's stupid if you don't actually get blinded with that. The good thing about applying for them is you don't have to go through the standard call simulaton/grammar/technical exams that most call centers have. All it takes is the confidence in surviving their various initial, second, final, client, whatever interviews.
Of which I sparingly managed to survive.

I applied for their QA post like a month ago. HR called me for an initial interview, and to my surprise it was a phone patch interview with their QA manager and another HR person sitting there in the room with me, crazily jotting down notes. I took the liberty of explaining my qualifications which felt like forever for the 30 minute span that I sat there with all my English pouring heavily down my nose. After the interview, there was no word of advice from the HR, no "we'll inform you of what happens.." or "we'll call you back". All she could muster to say was "thank you for your time and have a great evening". WTF?????

And after a month, I am still waiting for a call. Normal people would have accepted that tiny detail that I wasn't qualified for the job. But sad to say it didn't stop me from hoping. Because after all, there was no confirmation or whatsoever. No email or text message the least from JP Morgan Chase that I didn't bag the job.

I don't know if there are other applicants who went through the same thing I did. I know for one thing that applying for a support position isn't exactly a one day processing thing. But waiting for a status of an application shouldn't be this tedious. You don't know for sure if they are still pending your status, or if the 25 pesos 5 page resume you had printed eventually went through their paper shredder.

So my experience with Chase isn't actually one of the best. I've heard as well that if you have bad history with any of the local credit cards, they instantly ban you. Which I think is crap. Because if one has a problem with managing money and debt, I think it's pathetic to judge a persons experience and credibility with the work being presented to him. Whatever the case maybe, it is not a basis on how well he could have performed with the company.

I have decided to throw away the issue but it's just discerning that a company with such high standards and popular advancement could possibly be this unprofessional. People actually take their job applications seriously, so it wouldn't hurt just as much if they were properly informed. Whatever it was worth, it was fun trying but in the end of the day, try not to waste other peoples time as well.

A friend told me a story regarding this agent who was termed from a company because he apparently peed in a mineral water bottle during his shift. I was amazed at this story, not to mention grossed out. Picture this setting: Air-conditioned surroundings, multiple agents talking rapidly because of the queue, and then this brave young man suddenly stands up from his seat, pulled out his thingy, and then disposed himself right there and then in the middle of the operations floor. One would ask why this act of crudeness? Why wouldn't he simply go to his superior and ask himself to go to the little boys room? The answer is plain. A big plain NO. Most of us know that sometimes when the firing of calls are way beyond our control, our team leads would deny us that right to have our wee wee breaks. But the question is, why did this prevention cause this agent to push himself to rebellion and do this needful thing?

I believe that one wrong act can possibly be provoked by another. Let's say this agent is a veteran one (the ones who have been to so many call centers already and has been tenured long enough in the business to do something crazy and unlawful), but despite how aggravating a persons behavior is, this agent wouldn't have done anything beyond his self if someone did not fuse his temper. So he went to his team lead, asked politely to pee, and then this supervisor answers in a rude manner: "No, you stay in your seat and wait until your shift is over so you can go to the bathroom!" In ancient times this would have been cruel, and not to mention demeaning to ones sense as an employee. So all hell broke loose, as well as his thing in his pants and did the deed right there and then.

I once was a agent and never have I encountered such harshness. And now that I'm a supervisor too, I would never deny an agent his right to go to the bathroom despite the queue. I know that a team stats is fair competition, and the harder you press on your people to meet the goal, the better your scores would go up. But isn't this situation way too much? His act of disgracefulness would have caused his termination and I wouldn't disagree on it. But things could have been prevented easier. He wouldn't have lost his job, and the team leader wouldn't have lost his respect and vice versa if the entire situation was handled properly and fairly.

I wonder sometimes why other supervisors would value their numbers first beyond anything else. I remember a colleague telling me that agents are people too, they are not only digits that make a team perform. But I guess people vary, and once or twice we have encountered managers who see us only as a graph inside their heads. They smile politely to your benefit, but when you unconcsciously commit a mistake, they are the first ones to hang you at town aquare.
Just like this team leader. She has termed most of the agents who do not perform on her team. She thinks that they are the reasons who pull the stats down so she takes them out of the game. Wouldn't it have been better to focus your attention on non-performers and help them out of their weaknesses? But no. Nothing else matters for her. Only the numbers and her promotions. No wonder she doesn't have any friends.

I know not all of my agents like me. But I try to be fair with what they come up to me with. Besides I was an agent too before, and a team leader who doesn't believe in you and trust you makes the entire workplace a living hell. (Not to mention the difficulty of filing approval for Vacation Leaves).

So wherever that agent is right now, I can't help but be somehow proud of him. Although I know what he did is entirely uncalled for. There is just a lesson to be learned in all this, no matter what position you are in you have to know how to respect each other. And to that team leader slash terminator, I hope one day she learns to handle her team in a personal aspect as well. I mean you don't have any more friends, so if you keep kicking people out, there might not be a team left.