In which I change departments at work
Jan. 22nd, 2011 01:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robotech_masterTomorrow's my last day taking phone calls for [the computer tech support division of a major big box retail outlet, the names of which I am not permitted to divulge] for the foreseeable future. I'm not getting fired or anything, but I'm going through a change that I hadn't predicted at the beginning of the week.
My call center handles call not just for [the computer tech support division], but also for a more general tech support for [big box retail outlet]'s store brand products—electronic gizmos, audio cables, and so on. And I'm going to be moving over there, as is my supervisor, and the other [tech support] reps with the lowest sales performances who are willing to go.
It's not entirely without a bright side. The store-brand support group does not have sales goals, whereas the scuttlebutt on the floor is that people who remain in [tech support] will be told to meet a specific sales goal or be warned, and getting enough warnings will lead to termination. So if they're going to go all Glengarry Glen Ross, it's probably best all around that I get out of there.
Though I'm rocking every single other statistic we're ranked by on our calls, I'm really not the best at making sales. I guess I have too much empathy. If someone turns up with a rogue antivirus program infection, I tend to prefer walking someone through a system restore—a five minute procedure that gets most of them up and running again immediately—to trying to sell them a $150 Internet antivirus treatment or a $300 home visit. Which I guess I really shouldn't be doing by the scopes of work.
And it'll also give me a bit broader experience base with the company, which means that I might theoretically be able to move back to [tech support] at some future date if they decide they've got too many store brand reps. And it gives me a chance of perhaps getting onto a more regular Monday throug Friday schedule, which would mean I'd have to spend fewer days/hours off to make room for a Biokinetic medical study which could net me some highly-desirable cash.
It's just a little annoying this weekend, because I go from a Tuesday through Saturday shift to a Monday through Friday shift, which means I get a one-day weekend. And I'm also going from a 2:30 to 11 p.m. shift to an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift for the next two weeks of training. Hello, circadian upset!
The thing that annoys me most is that I'd been told if I was in [tech support] for some length of time (they said two years though I'm not sure that's right) and had a good record, I'd be eligible to get a [special token that the store's in-person reps are entitled to carry]. But I guess my sales probably wouldn't have qualified me to get that token anyway. Maybe I should apply at the actual store for an in-person tech rep job to get that token. My six months working for their phone support division ought to count for something, even if it's a subcontracted job.
Oh well. Two weeks of classroom training is at least two weeks not having to deal with phone customers. As good as I am at it, it can get tiring after a while.
My call center handles call not just for [the computer tech support division], but also for a more general tech support for [big box retail outlet]'s store brand products—electronic gizmos, audio cables, and so on. And I'm going to be moving over there, as is my supervisor, and the other [tech support] reps with the lowest sales performances who are willing to go.
It's not entirely without a bright side. The store-brand support group does not have sales goals, whereas the scuttlebutt on the floor is that people who remain in [tech support] will be told to meet a specific sales goal or be warned, and getting enough warnings will lead to termination. So if they're going to go all Glengarry Glen Ross, it's probably best all around that I get out of there.
Though I'm rocking every single other statistic we're ranked by on our calls, I'm really not the best at making sales. I guess I have too much empathy. If someone turns up with a rogue antivirus program infection, I tend to prefer walking someone through a system restore—a five minute procedure that gets most of them up and running again immediately—to trying to sell them a $150 Internet antivirus treatment or a $300 home visit. Which I guess I really shouldn't be doing by the scopes of work.
And it'll also give me a bit broader experience base with the company, which means that I might theoretically be able to move back to [tech support] at some future date if they decide they've got too many store brand reps. And it gives me a chance of perhaps getting onto a more regular Monday throug Friday schedule, which would mean I'd have to spend fewer days/hours off to make room for a Biokinetic medical study which could net me some highly-desirable cash.
It's just a little annoying this weekend, because I go from a Tuesday through Saturday shift to a Monday through Friday shift, which means I get a one-day weekend. And I'm also going from a 2:30 to 11 p.m. shift to an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift for the next two weeks of training. Hello, circadian upset!
The thing that annoys me most is that I'd been told if I was in [tech support] for some length of time (they said two years though I'm not sure that's right) and had a good record, I'd be eligible to get a [special token that the store's in-person reps are entitled to carry]. But I guess my sales probably wouldn't have qualified me to get that token anyway. Maybe I should apply at the actual store for an in-person tech rep job to get that token. My six months working for their phone support division ought to count for something, even if it's a subcontracted job.
Oh well. Two weeks of classroom training is at least two weeks not having to deal with phone customers. As good as I am at it, it can get tiring after a while.
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-22 03:36 pm (UTC)Naturally I don't know which big box store you're talking about, but I'd heard rumors that Best Buy was seriously cutting back on their Geek Squad group, so it's possible your company is similarly restructuring. Dunno.
That said - hey, still have a job, and hey - two weeks of learning on the employer's dime. It'll be an interesting shift, and maybe you can hang out with someone after work that you usually can't because you're working then?
Good luck!