When to call it quits...

[XpandTheMind]

So, I work in a call center for a well known company and feel I may getting picked on by a guy in the quality department.

 

QA reviews 3 calls a month, my manager reviews 3 as well. There's two guys on QA and one of them always gives me a huge amount of "check marks" on the call they review. It's almost always a high number which has made it impossible to bonus and could threaten to block me for future promotions.

 

Issue I have with this is they're more than likely choosing calls to review (not randomized). I have worked hard on doing better on calls, but every time I get this guy, he hits me with all these marks.

 

It's really discouraging and putting me in a bad spot because I do my absolute best and they keep giving me marks. They tell us to refer to policy, which is convoluted and hard to follow.

 

Lately, I've been considering pursuing what I got my degree in (fine art/filmmaking) and taking my chances doing something I want to do. Cause I'm getting the feeling I'm not wanted here for whatever reason. Was wondering what advice if any is there?

[moodindigo91]

I used to work at a glorified call center myself. It is the worst kind of job. If you can, take your chances with a degree in fine art. I got my degree in a liberal art and do not regret it one bit. You can work part-time elsewhere in customer service, serving customers who appreciate you rather than cold calling people who will lash out at you.

 

As for this QA guy picking calls to review and it not being randomized, if that is really going on then you have a right to complain. The rules are that they are to be random calls they review, that's the whole point of it. The only time I've reviewed a specific call with my manager is if I asked to review it with him. QA reviews are supposed to be random.

 

What marks do you get from other QA's and your manager? Are they vastly different from the ones you get from this specific guy?

[gebaird]

Have you talked with your boss about the situation? Is that particular QA hard on everyone, or just you? Is it some kind of personal bias? Few things are more frustrating than feeling like you can't succeed no matter what you do.

 

If you can't improve your current situation, I'd encourage you to switch jobs. Even a different position in the same call center could be an improvement.

 

As far as the fine art/filmmaking goes, if you can find an opening that will pay the bills go for it! You can also work to develop something on the side that you can eventually step into. I'm a musician/writer on the side, but I still need my day job (sadly). I'd love to be able to do what I love for a living and I'm working hard to make it a possibility.

[Wiseman2]

Sharpen up your resume and start sending it everywhere you can think of. Get on LinkedIn and list your education/chosen profession and start joining film making/fine arts associations, join your college alumni groups and network there as well. No use being in a dead end job with a good degree for something you love to do.

I've been considering pursuing what I got my degree in (fine art/filmmaking) and taking my chances doing something I want to do. Cause I'm getting the feeling I'm not wanted here for whatever reason.

[XpandTheMind]

@brienoch

 

The second guy never tees off on me like the one in dealing with this month. My manager gives me 1...rarely, it's usually 0 from the manager. But this guy? It's 9 or above (the limit for our stats) so I don't know.

 

@gebaird

 

I hear ya, I'm thinking I'm kind of playing myself. Every time a gig gets hard I always think "I need to chase this film thing, it's what I want to do. Rather be failing at something I want to do, than succeeding at something I don't want." But bills gotta be paid.

 

@wiseman2

 

I will be sharpening the resume ASAP and getting out there in terms of film. Appreciate the response. I def need and want to put my degree to use.

[XpandTheMind]

@brienoch

 

The second guy never tees off on me like the one in dealing with this month. My manager gives me 1...rarely, it's usually 0 from the manager. But this guy? It's 9 or above (the limit for our stats) so I don't know.

 

@gebaird

 

I hear ya, I'm thinking I'm kind of playing myself. Every time a gig gets hard I always think "I need to chase this film thing, it's what I want to do. Rather be failing at something I want to do, than succeeding at something I don't want." But bills gotta be paid.

 

@wiseman2

 

I will be sharpening the resume ASAP and getting out there in terms of film. Appreciate the response. I def need and want to put my degree to use.

[Wiseman2]

Excellent! Success is being prepared when an opportunity presents itself. Good Luck.

I will be sharpening the resume ASAP and getting out there in terms of film. Appreciate the response. I def need and want to put my degree to use.

[ParisPaulette]

Oh god, a relative of mine just went through exactly this and gave her notice two months ago after finding another job and getting a better offer. You don't by any chance work in Canada do you?

 

At any rate it's probably time to go find other work, so in the meantime smile and bear it but be on the lookout for something else. What my relative (a cousin) told me is they would get higher pay for better work, so periodically she'd have one or more people trying to "find" things to complain about with her, so they didn't have to pay her that higher wage since she was making "errors." And yes, many times it was just stupid crap of the "you have got to be kidding me" variety. NOT something like being rude to customers or altering the script or whatever.

 

So it's probably time to just call it a day, but go out and look around and see if you can line up something else. On the plus side of things if you enjoy the basic work, the talking to people, you're gaining valuable skills in being able to talk to customers and handle them. So there's that bright side.

 

For an introvert like me that job would be what they'd make me do if I died and went to Hell. (Shudders) But my cousin loved doing it, just not the managers--she had at one time six different ones "monitoring" her and telling her different things and it just got to be too much. So she found another job and left.

[DancingFool]

As a practical matter, don't quit until you have another job lined up.

 

Call center is not a career no matter what. They lose their contract, you get laid off. Nobody cares and they will cut employees ruthlessly.

 

As for QA, unless it's a small company and he personally knows you, chances are he does that with everyone. A better question to ask would be are his marks actually correct? Because if they are, nothing you can do about that - he is doing his job more meticulously than others and you really won't look good complaining about that. However, if the marks aren't correct, as in he is maliciously marking you wrong when what you did was correct, then you can go to HR and nail him on that.

[catfeeder]

How long have you worked there? Have you discussed the discrepancy with your manager, and what does he or she say about it? Is it just you, or does this guy fault everyone heavily?

 

Nothing prevents any of us from seeking another job while we're still working the one we intend to leave. Most employers will schedule interviews 'around' the work schedule of applicants, because working people are more desirable than non-working people.

 

So I would not quit and THEN go seek; I'd seek while working and use my PTO hours to take any interviews I'm unable to schedule on my off hours.

[XpandTheMind]

Yeah, I'm just gonna start hunting now. The job is highly stressful. Constantly getting these little check marks called "opportunities" yet no real direction on how to avoid these. And then, I deal with people from other departments (when I can't assist the customer in my department), they will flat out refuse to assist (a lot of folks with the "I want the most pay for the least amount of work possible" attitude. They have more excuses than answers) Looking forward to getting something else and leaving this bs stress behind.