Candid Comment - Unsung Heroes - The Call Centre Agent

During the pandemic there has been a lot of shift in the way work is being done.  The move to at home, this is very true in the world I work in which is call centres.  I actually did work from home for about 2 months before having to vacate the apartment do to circumstances that just did not lend themselves to me staying there. While I hopped around looking for a place to live I was granted permission to return to the call centre I work at.  From the time I returned until now I have worked a fixed shift, so in short during four waves I have remained employed I even got to move up the ladder a little, increased my pay and yes I have a nice place to live in.  This Christmas for me at least it's nice to get and give a gift but the greater gift is a job and not being ill.  

Call centre Agents have been working through the pandemic to provide a variety of services.  These range from handling customer billing, technical support, banking etc.  Calls from business owners, hospitals and agencies have also been fielded.  Yes there have been calls made to collect overdue bills, delinquent accounts, and surveys as well as sales calls.  

Some people have questioned why call centres are considered essential.  I have had people laugh at me saying you and essential worker, what a joke. That kind of sentiment is disheartening especially to those like me who can not work form home and go to the centre to work.  All of us who have travelled to the site we work at have taken the risk of catching COVID.  This disease has killed over 10,000 in Ontario where I live.  The city of Hamilton Ontario has seen 26,695 cases with 424 of them being fatal.  Sure that is 1.6% but that is still 424 too many.   Along with other impacts COVID has made a real mess of things and lives.  So having to deal with that plus the usual stuff an Agent deals with does make it pretty challenging.  Hearing that well your just a call center rep what is so essential about that really is a cheap shot.  

Do not get me wrong I love what I do for the most part.  Generally customers I deal with are pleasant nd just want the issue resolved.  But, I do get nasty people on the phone, it's part of the gig.  What is not part of the gig is hearing that role is not important and all I am supposed to do is make it rain goodies for people who feel entitled and that I have no role to play other than to deal with adult toddlers.  That is not the gig.  

The gig / job is to provide world class service.  Help people who want that help, fix the issue and yes where needed apologize and offer a form of compensation for the fail.  That is what we do in call centres, and yes we are an essential service.  We matter because without agents on the phones the food does not get delivered, the apps do not get fixed, the phones and computers do not get repaired, the lights stay off etc. etc. etc.  There are many heroes on the phones who go the distance and make life easier for people and I am proud to serve with them and count myself as a member of a unique club of men and women who do a job that is mentally challenging, always evolving and even with AI and apps will never really go away.  

Here is to us the unsung heroes who man the phones take the calls and have done so in one the most unusual events of out modern time.  Thanks for serving the customer, the community and being a part of an essential group that keeps our world humming along even though there are a few bumps like COVID along the way.  My challenge to you who read this is this.  When and if you call a company that uses a call centre take a moment even if you are really angry and upset to say thanks for taking my call.  Saying thank you, it's not just a phrase in a lot of ways it's a gift you can gift you can give that can and does go a long way at any time but, even more so at this time of the year. 

Cliff T.