Was once seconded to a call centre.
I went for a job once for a big IT Outsourcing company, mentioning no names but it sounds a bit like EDS based in Sheffield. We were working for the Employment Service Contract.

I was a young'un at the time, needing to move forward from my first job straight out of college as a Desktop Techy for a pretty nice building contractors firm. It was a good job, awesome staff and really getting into proper hands on I.T stuff from building servers, fixing printers.

Moving to a huge organisation was certiantly a shock. I was promised to be working with the industries best I.T people, working for a huge I.T company. First I spent 9 months travelling around the country on the trains (because i didnt drive) visiting Job Centres all over the place to help them go live with their new systems. Then they put me in First Line Support as they needed everyone in there.

First Line was basically their call centre. We could fix nothing at first line and had to literally just log calls, give incident reference numbers and pass onto Second Line support.

I was naturally irate, I was surrounded by people who didnt know anything about computers, and were just admin staff. So had various meetings with managers to say that I was wasted, and was told that if I was to shine on first line, then they'd get me promoted.

So I managed to wangle the local admin passwords of all the PCs in the employment service, which enabled me to make scripts to quickly fix the most recurring problems, and viola I was fixing stuff and not even passing to second line. People were well happy to be getting things fixed on their first phone call. And just running a script off wasnt making the call take any longer either!

Next minute I'm hauled into the office, and asked about them. I explained how I'm closing calls on first line. They told me to delete them. Seems im treadding on peoples toes. Great... so how do I shine then?

After that, I started the piss taking, spending most of my time on recruitment agency sites, talking to recruitment agencies using works phones speaking loudly, voicing salary details and stuff.. Which had me back in the office again and a verbal warning issued. Seemed i'd blurted out my salary and those around me were on 5k less than what I am and had been there years! Oops :) They were not happy!! Ah well their loss!

I was stuck there for some months, then just like busses, I had two job offers. I chose to head off to Leeds to work for a well known building society there doing much more hands on I.T stuff. I was quite suprised how all the managers at the call centre were congratulating me when I put my notice in. They knew I was wasted there.

The amusing thing is, and I should have had the bottle to do this. Is that some of the people who worked at that call centre, quit. Then set themselves up their own company and went back to the call centre contracting on £50 per hour!

Sorry for lack of funny , but I found it definately an experience. Call centres are literally just there to sort out the easy stuff and take messages. People who work in them are usually people straight from college or Admin staff. Theyre not TV, Phone or IT Experts what so ever. If you get lumbered in one and have skills.. then get out!
(Miggyman, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 7:59, Reply)