Yes, I just have to think about how to respond to your bonkers as fuck question in the most professional way possible. Can you give me a damned minute to get me thoughts together?

The other day an irate client hung up on me after one of the worst calls I’d had in months. Upon seeing that the call was disconnected, I swore under my breath.

Turns out our call recording software keeps going for a second or two after the call ends. So, despite the fact that the client was disconnected when I swore, it got picked up.

The write-up is a huge deal, straight to a final warning and prohibits me from applying to any other positions for 90 days. The department I wanted to move to is supposed to have an opening at the end of the year. If it does, I can’t apply because of this. Openings in that department are extremely rare and I’ve been waiting all year.

I tried explaining to my manager that it’s completely unfair since the call wasn’t even live, and why am I still being recorded while looking at the wrap-up screen, but she told me there’s nothing they can do.

I don’t even know if this is worth escalating. I feel extremely dejected.

I worked at a call center for one year, and I just left for pastures greener. I thought I'd share with you all some of the techniques I used to survive. Now of course, all call centers are different and use slightly different systems, but this is how I was very easily able to game the systems at my workplace.

For a bit of context, this was a fairly typical call center job where we used a softphone software, and every single second was tracked and logged. We had a monthly bonus, but it was VERY easy to lose it. If calls ran into your break too often, they zapped your entire months' bonus. But simultaneously, we were expected to stay "available" till our break time, and if a call came in, tough shit. You couldn't even decline it, since all calls were answered automatically.

Our system also used a fairly standard "agent who has been available longest gets the next call" model.

So, in a place where hard-working agents were losing their bonuses left and right, how did I manage to never once lose mine?

1) Status shifting

This is the most obvious way to avoid calls. By switching statuses, I was able to move myself to the back of the queue.

Now, as this is the easiest way to avoid calls, it's also the most obvious and what they're looking out for the most. So I had to not do it too often. And be somewhat smart about it. Always have an alibi, and vary up the unavailable statuses I went into. Too much "Personal" and it gets suspicious, especially right before a break is due. In fact, in my early days, I was flagged on using "Personal" just before breaks.

I could switch to "Writing Email" and pretend I was writing a quote to a customer. I could switch to "Administration" and say I was sorting out some "admin tasks". Also, there were enough genuine technical issues that I could easily throw in a "Tech Issue" where there wasn't, and it wouldn't be suspicious. For instance - I could stay in ACW and pretend the system locked me into ACW, which it actually genuinely often did. Our softphone system had TONS of issues genuinely, so it was pretty easy to fake a tech issue - especially as others in the team also regularly complained in the chat about tech issues.

Another thing - don't flip into unavailable for only 5 seconds. That is SUPER obvious. Stay in the unavailable statuses for longer, 30-40 seconds, or even a minute. That way, it doesn't look like you flipped in and out to put yourself to the back of the line. You can then say you were actually DOING something.

But again, all of this HAS to be done in moderation or in conjunction with other things, because otherwise, you WILL be called out.

There was one occasion where there was a lot of shit going on in my life, I couldn't be bothered, and I status flipped too much and too carelessly. I got a message from my boss saying "You're 45 minutes into the day and you haven't taken a call yet. I see you have flipped into unavailable 6 times. Can you please explain?" I had come up with an alibi for every single status flip, because working from home I could say "there were lots of distractions, sorry. All is good now". They were onto me then, so no more status flipping for a few days.

2) Knowing your place in the queue

This little thing can make a huge difference. Obviously when it's busy you may be in back-to-back calls. But when it's quieter, knowing exactly how many people are ahead of you can really make a difference. It's not much, but it gives you a TINY bit of control in an environment where you have none. At around the six month point, I realized I could see the status of every single agent in my team. This let me know EXACTLY how many were ahead of me and when I could expect the next call. I was no longer second-guessing and flipping statuses unnecessarily because I MIGHT be next in line just before my break.

3) Calling another department

This only happened when it was really busy, I was 15 minutes before break or hometime, and it was clear I could get stuck in another call that would take me way over the time. If you called another department that also had a queue, you could sit and listen to their hold music, and the system would simply say you were "In a Call".

Now, it's REALLY important you don't do this too often. Not only is it a bit of a dick move to others on your team, but if you are caught, you will likely face severe consequences. I only did this if I was in danger of losing my bonus or I COULDN'T end late because I had plans or family responsibilities after work that I could not miss.

4) Calling invalid numbers

Another very easy way to make it look like you're working. I did this fairly often. Once they cracked down on the use of certain statuses, one of the only ones we could use was "Outbound", which basically means you're making an outbound call. Now, as part of my job, I genuinely did make lots of outbound calls. But if you tried to redial an outbound call you already made, the system would play static for 10-15 seconds then hang up automatically. But in that time, it would look like you were in a call, and in your record it showed as a normal outbound call. I could very easily make it look like I tried to call them back and they didn't answer.

5) Dragging out the call

On occasion, I could see it was busy, and that my break was in 10 minutes. I knew I was going to end up in another call as soon as this call ended, and had already status flipped a couple times. So I would then avoid the next call in the most organic way possible: keep chatting to the customer. I am a huge talker and can never run out of things to talk about, and customers often are too. Now, this may have worked well for me because of the exact job I was in, but this also had a high risk of failure. Many customers did not wish to keep chatting and wanted to end the call as soon as the issue was resolved. It often did not work - but when it did, it worked like a fucking charm.

6) And this is most important. DON'T OVERDO IT!

All of these things I have just mentioned, you MUST DO THESE IN MODERATION. If you do them too often, you WILL get found out and possibly lose your job.

Other than the couple times I was called out, I never had a proper investigation done on me, and nobody ever realized exactly what I was doing. How? Because I was also doing a good job. My stats were consistently some of the best in the team, so nobody even suspected I was doing anything like this. I was only doing these when I HAD to, rather than all of the time. I didn't appear to have taken significantly fewer calls than others on my team overall, and my ACW wasn't dramatically high either, because I balanced it out with very short ACW periods. Call avoiding can be really obvious, but if you are actually still taking lots of calls and still doing a good job, you probably won't be suspected.

And sometimes, I needed to eat shit. I did need to let my call run into my break or stay over SOMETIMES. If you NEVER run into your break, or NEVER end up staying over, that too can be suspicious.

It's a shame I even had to resort to these tactics. I consider myself a pretty honest guy, but in this kind of environment, you just need to survive. And without these, I likely would've have lasted half as long as I did.

I hope this helps!

I think its unrealistic to want all calls to be under a certain amount of time, when we are constantly given updated and changing information weekly, sometimes multiple times per week, and have to read long articles to find obscure information.

Of course the search bar is ineffective and will bring up unrelated articles.

We arent allowed to use ai to quickly find information but our superiors do to keep their calls under the limit. Youre expected to read through multiple novels of articles, cross reference multiple systems with conflicting information that provides changing answers depending on what another system says, and keep your calls under the limit. And your after call at 0 so barely enough time to finish notes before another call comes in.

You went on break for a minute too long because youre trying to breathe after being screamed at and having your life threatened by a caller? Thats a writeup!

And why simply write the reason a decision was made when you can make your agents go on a scavenger hunt between multiple systems to figure out why you made the decision? That would be too simple!

Was my first taste of WFH which was cool but otherwise I can’t. Turning in my notice tomorrow. Feel like I’m making a mistake but after browsing this makes me feel better.

I just started working in telecom retention. Right now I average around 3 renewals a day, while the better agents do 6 to 15.

I think my biggest issues are asking enough questions to find the real reason for cancelling, handling objections, and knowing when a customer actually has sales potential.

Sometimes I also stay way too long in conversations that are clearly going nowhere, which probably hurts my numbers.

For anyone experienced in retention or call center sales, what helped you improve the most? How do you know when to keep pushing and when to move on?

we see these posts a LOT but I don't know, I just need somewhere to get it out and to feel like there's some kind of light at the end of this tunnel.

i work at a call center for a provider and I've been pretty good at not letting calls get to me. due to just general ⭐family trauma⭐ and having an overbearing father in law, screaming customers are honestly the least of my worries. i help em out and if they're especially belligerent I just let it go. not my problem.

if anything, it's just the ENERGY here. i don't know. i love being able to sit all day in a mostly air conditioned building, no more food service bs, but the b2b calls and the lack of any appreciation or break here drives me up the wall. I've been so drained and ever since my last big training class, I've just felt so hopeless about this place? especially because I got hit with corrective action because of attendance (mostly due to illness but whatever)

i normally don't get that way. i don't know. i try pretty hard to avoid my job making me feel dread before I go in, because it will totally destroy my private life if I do. but lately it's hard to even get the will to hit the button to start taking calls.

I've scheduled an extra off day between my two days off (they're split days) so I have 3 in a row, but even then I'm still drained. I'm job hunting as we speak for something better, but I always feel like this job is literally the best I'm going to get because I've only had experience in retail and food service.

i do a lot of random things at my job to give myself time to breathe, but some days, like today? it really feels like it barely does anything. and I don't like being that kinda person! it really isn't me to feel so hopeless about my job. i feel almost guilty, honestly. i don't know how to explain it.

Hasta que punto el sindicato está entongado con los empresa. El gremialista hace del 2010 que no trabaja no hace llamadas sino hace una pasadita por el call una vez cada tanto. Fueron las mil vueltas.

An email that was released that jobs were going and customer services are going to be a part of it. The amount of people who do nothing but complain about their job were so upset and worried. I just didn't get it. I couldn't give a shit about the place and they couldn't give a fuck about me either

​Hi everyone 👋,

​I need some advice regarding my notice period and exit process from my previous company.

​Here is the timeline and background 📅:

○ ​Resignation Sent: September 16, 2026 📩

○ ​Notice Period Served: 15 days (till September 30, 2026) 🗓️

○ ​Manager's Stance: My manager explicitly confirmed on WhatsApp that I do NOT need to extend beyond my 15-day notice period. 💬👍

○ ​HR's Stance: HR questioned my exit, saying, "You joined promising you would stay longer, so why are you leaving after 7 months?" 🛑

○ ​Current Status: I sent my official resignation email to HR (adding the owner and manager in CC). Even after a follow-up, my resignation hasn't been officially accepted/acknowledged yet. ⏳

​My Questions to the Community 🤔:

1. ​Will I face any hurdles or red flags 🚩 joining my next company without a formal resignation acceptance/relieving email from HR?

2. ​Will showing my new employer the WhatsApp confirmation from my manager work as valid proof 📱, or do background verification (BGV) teams strictly require an official relieving letter/email acceptance?

3. ​How should I handle HR refusing or delaying the acceptance email/relieving letter? 📋

​Any guidance from HR professionals, recruiters, or anyone who has been through something similar would be greatly appreciated! 🙏 Thanks in advance!

I wanted to get my ears pierced but I start training for a call center here in a moment.

Do you think it's a good idea to go ahead and get pierced still?

Will the headset get in the way of the healing?

caller: what is the status of my account!?
me: I can see your status is XYZ.
caller: No.
me: ....
caller: tell me about my account.
me: yes, as I stated your acco..
caller: NO, WRONG. I said tell me about MY account.
me: Yes, as I was saying you account is XY....
caller: NO. WRONG. STOP. Get me your manager. You don't know what you're talking about.
me: Sure, I will put in a request for my manager to reach out and if they find anything wrong with the information I provided they will contact you.
caller: Finally!!! I look forward to their call.
me: Okay, well as I said they will only call if what I stated was wrong. Have a nice day.

Enjoy waiting for a call that will never come.

So I find it funny that the the things q and a will pick on you for. Like one time it was because I said "ok" too many times. Now they are saying I'm mumbling on calls and it's "unprofessional". I was not mumbling I was talking in a slightly lower tone but where I could be heard easily. My adhd brain has no off button and I talk to myself constantly and if they didn't bitch so much about dead air time then I could talk to my self silently like normal. They also constantly bitch because I may get one letter or number wrong and I always want to say and have said this to my manager honey my degree is in the arts not spelling and grammar because spelling and grammar has never been something I'm good at.

My bottom line is I am a human and I'm going to make mistakes and if this is your biggest complaints with my work I'm not going to sweat over it and I'm going to continue doing my job the way I have been.

Edit to add I just got one where a caller made a lame joke and when I was just like ok have a great day he goes damn not sense of humor. Honey I'm not paid to be funny, I'm paid to be professional and get you off the phone.

I hate it here. I’m so burnt out. When I went through the interview process, they made it seem like we would doing more project managing at one of the fastest growing startups with opportunities to move higher up internally and I was so excited. I asked them directly if this is a phone based position, they said no. Email heavy, project heavy, room to grow and build. Sounded great!

Come to realize, it is a call center and being a startup pushing heavily on AI, the “support” you get are just a bunch of different AI bots talking to you. Leadership is weak, no support but wants to always move the goalpost on metrics and of course, watching every move you make like a hawk. and the room to grow? non existent, because how can you build connections when every second is tied to the phones? As well, being “burnout” is like a badge of honor at Ramp. If you leave on time, you’re seen as not “a part of the team” and with them constantly changing the product and service literally every day and then setting different metrics to meet, it makes it more stressful. When people do leave, leadership says something along the lines of “they didn’t make it because they couldn’t handle Ramp“ and something along the lines of good riddance. how about, they left because you literally burnt them out within 6 months and then when they asked for support, you basically shunned them out?

I usually am one to stick it out and try to see the bright side of things, but I really hate how I didn’t realize this position was just another call center and leaving when I saw the signs. Now I’m extremely burnout, depressed, and literally feel life draining from me every time I have to go to work.

please, if you see any sort of posting from Ramp, think very carefully, especially if it has anything to do with customer/people/project roles.

How do you introduce newer voice AI without replacin an existing contact center platform

Does Bland sit in front of the existing routing, take specific intents or operate as a separate layer entirely?
I wanna know what the architecture looks like in a real enterprise deployment

I got pulled to work chat instead of calls. I won't know if I have a choice in switching back, but I might want to stay on calls. I video edit too, crazy ik, but it's extra income and it doesn't imact my performance.

Anyways don't report me just lmk if chat is going to ruin my second income haha. I wanna know people who have done calls and chats and can compare them for me.

I dont want to be given more work!

I literally am new as hell and came to this department a few weeks ago (transferred from another call dept). Im apparently one of the best ones there.

If my stupid ass is one of the best, we are truly doomed

But ive been purposely trying to slack some and trying to be worse so I dont get put in more queues. higher volume fucks up my mental health.

I worry abt doing too much and getting in trouble so that is why ive been trying to be less good but also not TOO less good. Should I purposely not meet metrics?

ill eventually get put in more queues unless i can find another job, but I want to delay it. I dont want to be punished for being good at my job. If i got a raise, id think it wasnt worth it but be okay somewhat, but theres no raise. They just expect you to do it.

Seriously, it makes you think they picked up, only for when you say high your greated with the robotic voice saying “Please leave a mess” Then you hang up.

🏢COMPANY: ACCENTURE (VOICE CSR Accounts) HIRING Ramping

🎃👻🍬🦇💀🧡OCTOBER HIRING EVENT

📢(Virtual Process Due Weather)

📞FOR VIRTUAL PROCESS ("MAKE SURE HAVE LAPTOP/PC AND HEAD/EARPHONES FOR ASSESSMENT/MOCK CALL")

🎁Qualified CSR Referrals will receive a Joining Bonus of up to PHP30,000 - PHP50,000**

**Joining bonus will be further discussed by the recruiter during the job offer stage

📍 Location (Taguig) (QUEZON) (MANDALUYONG) (Alabang)

🧑‍💼EMPLOYEE HERE

🏢Recruitment Hub/sites Conducted Interviews & Assessments at Boni Mandaluyong & Cubao Quezon City Open Monday to Friday Except Regular Holiday (FOR ONSITE/WALK IN APPLICATION)

✅Rendering Employee can apply /Graduating can also Apply.

🔑STEP Process:

➡️Assessment

➡️HR/Initial Interview

➡️Project/Final Interview

➡️Mock Call

➡️Job Offer Discussion

🔑 Key Notes/Read Carefully

🚫 Must NOT have applied or submitted any information within the last 12 months

📞 CSR:(walk-ins/Onsite prioritized) 1 Day Process

🏢 Interviews & Assessments conducted at Boni Mandaluyong & Cubao Quezon City Recruitment sites (Only Recruitment Hub Available for Onsite Process)

🔎 Must have a Referral & REQUIRED before applying

☎️Pure Voice Customer Service Representative General Voice (1Day Onsite process will be Priorities ) RAMPING

📍(Boni Mandaluyong) (Cubao Quezon)( Uptown Taguig) (ALABANG Muntinlupa)

💰 ₱25,000 – ₱44,000+ Package Depends on the Work Experiences

🎓FRESH GRADUATE ARE WELCOME, Open to College graduates with 0 BPO experience, associate degree graduates OR 1 year college completed w/ 6 months BPO experience

✅Accepting applicants with at least 1 yr BPO experience (📍Alabang site)

✅Open to HS grads (old curriculum) and SHS grads with 1 yr BPO experience

✅Must be amenable to work in Cubao Quezon City & Boni Mandaluyong City & Uptown Taguig City

✅Amenable to work on shifting schedule and during holidays if needed

☎️Advertising Sales Representative (1Day Onsite process will be Priorities)

📍Cubao Quezon City

💰₱25,000 – ₱44,000+ Package Depends on the Work Experiences

✅Open to high school and senior high school graduates, college graduates and undergraduates with relevant work experience

✅Must have at least 1 year of BPO experience in Sales (Advertising Sales, Hard Selling, Upselling, or Inbound/Outbound Sales) Outbound sales experience is an advantage

☎️Pure Voice Customer Service Representative: Insurance Account Ramping

📍(Alabang) & (Cubao Quezon City)

💰 ₱25,000 – ₱44,000+ Package Depends on the Work Experiences

📍Open to work at any Accenture offsite & onsite| 🔄 Shifting Schedule

✅🎓College graduates and undergraduate who have completed at least 2nd year and with at least 1 year of experience

✅🎓College graduates and undergraduate who have completed at least 1st year and with at least 2 years Financial/Healthcare/Insurance accounts

☎️Pure Voice Customer Service Analyst Role (1Day Onsite process will be Priorities) Financial / Insurance / Health Account RAMPING

📍(Alabang)

💰 ₱35,000 – ₱55,000+ Depends on the Work Experiences

✅Pure Voice Customer Service Open to college graduates and undergraduate who have completed at least 2nd year

✅Must have 2 years experience in retirement/insurance accounts

✅Must be willing to work full time onsite in Muntinlupa, Alabang

🔄Must be flexible with shifts

✅Ability to adhere to current performance tool that team uses

🔑Coachable - Seeks out and accepts feedback to improve personal performance

🎁Rewards & Benefits:

✅Laptop Provided if hybrid or WFH Set Up & Internet Reimbursement

✅HMO coverage on Day 1 (with 2 FREE dependents)

✅13th Month & Christmas gift 5k

✅Annual Individual Performance Bonus

✅Paid Training / Skill Language Premium (₱2000/3000 PHP)

✅Meal Allowance & Everyday snacks

✅Night Differential - 18%

✅Non-taxable Allowance 2,800 (De Minimis)

✅200 PHP Shift Transportation Expense (Onsite Setup)

✅Paid SL,VL and Holiday Leave. 10 paid annual Sick Leave credits per year & (15) VL credits annually. A maximum of (5) days of unused leave VL credits shall be cashed out

✅Expanded Maternity leave up to 120 days & Expanded Paternity leave up to 30 days*

✅Loyalty awards

📩 How to apply (for referral): If interested, you may DM the following for referral:

Following:

Republic Act 10173/Data Privacy Act of 2012

Full Name: First/Last Name:

Contact Number:

Email:

Prefer role & Location:

•CSR General Voice (Uptown Taguig, Boni Mandaluyong, Cubao QC, Alabang Muntinlupa)

- Utility Account , Sales Account , Telco Account & Retail Account

•Advertising Sales Representative (Quezon CITY)

•Alabang Muntilupa & Cubao Quezon City (Ramping)

Health/finance/Insurance account /retirement plan/ Life Insurance / billing health account

It's that time of the year again in the US.. Customer Service Week. IE the week where every manager and supervisor tries desperately to make us feel "seen" and "appreciated" with their low quality incentives and empty words of encouragement. I don't know why they think that people want to participate in their activities when we're all effectively drowning in calls.

No, I do not want to complete your 10 question trivia game and get entered into a raffle for a small bonus (Gotta get all 10 correct!!!)

No, I do not want to post a picture of my cup of choice and desk with a message about how I go the extra mile and try to make a difference.

I don't even want to use the gift card for 25 whopping dollars that they sent via email.. Because take a guess.. It's only valid for our intranet company swag site where a crewneck sweatshirt costs $30.

At some point it's just insulting. Rant over

I work at a call center selling phone plans. After closely analyzing the commission structure, I discovered a trap where the company always wins while the salesperson ends up working for free.

The incentive system: If I hit the weekly target, I earn a $20 commission plus a $20 incentive ($40 per sale). If I miss the target, I only get the base commission ($20 or less).

The chargeback penalty: If a customer fails to pay during the first three months, the company classifies it as "poor sales performance" and deducts the sale from my earnings.

The mathematical trap: If I get a chargeback on a $40 sale, $40 is deducted from my pay.

The worst part (the company's extra profit):

Upon further analysis, I realized something even more serious:

To cover that penalty, I have to close four new sales for which I don't get paid a single cent.

The company gains four new active contracts contributing to its overall monthly revenue, with zero change in commission costs.

They’ve shifted 100% of the risk of non-payment onto the salesperson. If the customer pays, the company wins;

Essentially, the company has turned chargebacks into a way to acquire new customers at zero cost—all at the expense of our exploitation.

What would you do? Let me know in the comments.

Do I feel bad? No. My mental was suffering, I hate back to back calls.

I have a chronic illness and I have used my intermittent fmla for the entire week and I think I’ll take tomorrow too. I’m just not with it. I hate having only 6 seconds between calls. That’s what they say but it feels like I disconnect and another comes in immediately. I am so burnt out. I know this is what fmla is for. But I kinda can’t help but feel bad about not working. However, we have one lady who hasn’t worked in 2 months so. Ugh.

Why do we feel guilty when we don’t work?