Ring Ring.....Good Morning

After being abandoned by my husband without a warning and not a single cent to support my five kids who were all very young then and four of them still in school.....I have to land myself a job that could provide us a decent life.

And applying in a bpo company seems to be the most rightful thing to do. A few failed attempts before I got in a company that matched my qualifications and abilities. That was almost 3 months of searching, applying, going through trainings, a few days or weeks of doing call and then quitting....for various reasons.

Going through classroom training for two weeks with the others who passed the final interview was fun and there are lots of things that I learned from our employers. They are hands-on when it comes to training their employees.

I've got nice co-trainees there, eventhough I'm the oldest in our batch, they treat me like I'm just same their age but with respect. We all became friends, we are 16 in our batch then 2 had to quit the training because of some personal reasons. After each training session, we all go out together and walk to the bus terminal, passing through through the mall. Sometimes we all eat out first, fried noodles or in any fastfood store we choose.

At the end of our training period, we celebrated our passing the final stage of our application by having a drink in a nearby convenience store. At that time, drinking were still allowed in that place but as years passed, it was already prohibited. Our boss gives us some money to buy a couple buckets of drinks and some barbeque to enjoy. Some nights they would join us and have a drink or two.

The start of real work

When we were still in training and while doing some shadowing beside an agent engaged in a call, seems like the work is just easy. Asking questions and then typing down the answers. But it was not that easy specially when the person on the other side of the line is not so cooperative.

We sometimes encounter people who doesn't want to verify some information, saying that they are not comfortable with giving out their info or data. There are times that we chance upon an irate client, they get mad at us, claiming that they did not apply for anything. Questioning us if how come we have their information. They don't listen to our explanation that the papers or application form were just given to us by the bank to be verified. And if they didn't really want to push through with the application then it's completely alright. Some clients even go as far as getting our names and contact information, threatening to sue us. But not of us really got sued anyway hahaha

Then I often encounter clients, male clients that is, who would ask for my cellphone number. Which I automatically answered with "I'm sorry sir, I can't give out my personal information because this call is being recorded" to which some would insist since I have their number might as well drop them a message myself since I can't give them my number.

Maybe it's because of my voice, my clients thought I'm still young but when I tell them that I'm already 36 they are really surprised, some even thought they were talking to a kid. I can't forget this one client that I've called, our call lasted for 20 minutes which was supposed to be just 3 to 5 minutes at the most. He was so hard to shake off, and it was rude to end our call just like that that's why I can't click on the end button. Same as the others who were trying to get my contact number but he was so persistent im fishing out my personal information in a subtle manner. I just told him that I have already wrote down his office number and told him that I would give him a call after I'm done with my shift. But of course I didn't call him. After our conversation, our QA walked over to my station, laughing because he was listening to my call at that time. And he relayed what happened to everybody on the floor and we all had a good laugh because of that incident.

But there are also some days that we have a batch of applications wherein there are only few numbers we can get through. We all love this kind of days, phones were just either be ringing, busy tone or number not available. It's a day for us to relax and can have a chitchat while doing our work.

Fun at work and after work

Before our day start in our office, we do this pre-shift meeting which sometimes last for 30 minutes to an hour. In here, our boss gives us an update of our production, giving announcements and sometimes we play games with cash as prizes. My favorite is the logic game where I'm really good at, my team always win this game, we saved up enough for a team night out. We also have bingo games but I only won here once and I have to share the prize with somebody else.

And sometimes when its a payday, we treat ourselves and have some drink in a nearby resto-bar or hang out in Metrowalk which is only near our office. Or maybe go over to any of our houses and buy some drinks and snacks and food to eat before drinking. We go home early next morning. But there are a few times that I go home at 2 am or 3 am, that's when I missed the place I should get off the jeep and walk back alone in the middle of the street and in the darkness. But I don't feel scared walking like that, maybe because of the alcohol in my body.

Then, there's our team building, my most favorite event. This is where we go to far away places where we can relax. A beach resort or a private pool is always our venue. I love it when we hold it in a beach resort, I love the sea, the smell of the sea water and the fresh air and the sight of mother nature my eyes feast upon. We have a complete meal here all for free, breakfast is already waiting for us when we arrive in the venue, we get to eat after we have settled in our assigned rooms. After eating we can roam around and have a swim and enjoy the sea, the fresh air and the sight of mother nature which I feast my eyes on. After we had lunch we get to have a nap for a few minutes or have a swim again then the games begin. Of course there are cash prizes too so every team did their best to win and get some extra money to take home. This goes on until the sun goes down and the liqours were served. With meat, chicken and hotdogs cooking away in grills. It's alright to get drunk a little bit, it is our time to recharge and this is our employers way of thanking us for our hard work. All these are for free.

Rewards and incentives

In our work, our employers gives out rewards and incentives when we reach or exceed our qoutas. There are weekly and monthly incentives, we get cash rewards for this. It is based on our productions.

Top agents are treated to a movie or a lunch out to a nice restaurant or a night out with the bosses. This is their way to motivate us to be more productive in our work. And this certainly works. Sometimes our lunch out is in a buffet where we can eat all we can. And we go back to the office so full and happy.

They also give cash incentives based on our attendance. If you have a perfect attendance you get to receive a thousand pesos in cash. Cash incentives are also given to those with two abscences but with no lates.

These are some of my most memorable moments during my 6 years of working in a bpo company. And I miss working again but my kids won't allow me to go back to work. That's why now I am just here at home and be incharge of the household chores. But they give me money for our needs and some for my personal use.

That's it for now....thanks for taking time to read my new article. I know it's been awhile since my last one, been busy with some things here at home. I will try my best to write another one soon. ☺️🤗