Common Illness of a Call Center Agent

Here are the common illness a call center agent could get when exposed to BPO industry and some remedy to counter it.

High Blood Pressure

Working in a hectic schedules, stress from difficult and rude customers, lack of sleep, little to no exercise, drinking and smoking abuse. These are the common components why the blood pressure starts to sky rocket.
Remedy: Eat healthy foods. Get more fruits, vegetable, whole-grains and potassium rich food which can help prevent and control high blood pressure. Reduce your comsumption salty and fatty food, oh yes and I mean frenchfries, burgers, pork liempo, fried chicken, etc. If you are overweight lose a few pounds and do a regular physical activity. Limit alcohol intake and don't smoke. Manage your stress and practice healthy coping techniques such as muscle relaxation and deep breathing. Getting enough sleep would also help.

Respiratory problems

Too much humidity and cold brought by the air conditioned room plus carpeted floors makes it prone for agents to get respiratory problems such as pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, and allergy. On some cases, agents shares the same stations or they have no permanent station or working cubicles which makes them more susceptible to any communicable diseases.
Remedy: Early detection is key to prevent the condition to get worst and others from being infected. Getting medical attention, drink plenty of water or fresh juices and rest should be enough to overcome this illness. Wear comfortable and warm clothes to protect you from cold.


Acoustic shock

Acoustic shock used to describe the symptoms a person may experience after hearing an unexpected, loud sound via a telephone. Whether it's the shouting and cursing screams from rude callers or static noises and electrical feedback coming from headsets call center agents are prone to this type of disorder.
Remedy: Try to lower down the volume of the headset when taking in calls and adjust it accordingly and never set it to the maximum. When hearing loud noises remove the headset from your ear immediately.



Voice loss

Talking over the phone for a long period of time could lead to dry and sore throat due to lack of moisture from drinking little water. In some cases, the strain in your vocal can produce inflammation of the larynx, swelling of the vocal chords, and ulceration on the lips.
Remedy: Drink plenty of water and make sure that you have enough rest. Do not strain the vocal chords further if you have this condition, it could get worst and prolong the recovery.

Ulcer

Due to the busy schedule and adhering to scheduled lunch and breaks, the inability to eat on time could lead to ulcer.
Remedy: Make sure that you eat on time if not atleast try to eat little meals in between shift or during breaks.

Carpal tunnels syndrome

It occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the palm of the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. Since most of the time agents spends a large amount of time in front of the computer they are more prone. It could affect teh fingers that would lead to numbness of the hand.
Remedy: Avoid repetitive stress, work modification through the use of ergonomic equipment such as wrist rest and mouse pad, and taking proper breaks. Eat food rich in omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins help to prevent CTS.

Lung cancer

Smoking causes lung cancer and most agents resolve to smoking when relieving their stress or when bored during small break or just to past time. Long term exposure to tobacco could lead to lung problems and in severe cases lung cancer.
Remedy: Stop smoking period.

Urinary tract infection

Both men and women are prone to suffer from UTI because of little or no time to go on peepee break. Agents tends to address first their clients and sometimes forget to go on bio breaks thus resolving to UTI.
Remedy: Wear diaper... kidding, just be aware of your breaks and plan to unload on each breaks or lunch break.

Depression/Anxiety

When you lost the chance to have a little freedom to relax because your leave was not approved. When you didn't meet the metrics or facing a lot of objections from a rude customer leading to unhappiness and worry. Depression is a very serious matter that needs attention.

Remedy: Try to do activities that is relaxing like swimming, yoga, sports, or meditation. It helps a lot to calm you inner self.

 Insomnia

It is a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep as long as desired. The inability to sleep on the normal time could lead to insomnia. Especially when one have no choice but to follow the tight working shift schedule. This could affect the body biological clock as the normal sleeping pattern are lost.
Remedy: Do not drink too much caffeine before going to sleep. Turn off appliances like TV or radio. Remove computers inside your bedroom to prevent constant checking of status and notifications from your FB or Twitter accounts.


Some other illness were Anemia and Gall Bladder diseases but they are related to lack of sleep, iron deficiency and sunlight, and obesity. We need to take care of our health because it is the source of our wealth! Taking vitamin C and other supplement is good but nothing beats complete rest, exercise, and healthy diet. God Bless!

An Angry Call Center Agent

I've read something on the Internet about effective blogging and one of the things that readers value is brutal, open honesty... so here it goes hahaha!

I am in the middle of my graveyard shift and I am taking my second 15 minute break. It's 2am in the morning and Im feeling kinda sleepy so I've decided to arch my back on my chair and raised my legs on the otherchair to get a 10 minute power nap.

I am about to doze off when somebody tapped me on my shoulders. When I opened my eyes I was startled to see it was one of the OM (Operations Manager), then she told me that it's inappropriate to sleep in production floor because other agents are still taking in calls. She asked me who's my TL (Team Lead) so I pointed our OIC (Officer In Charge) since our TL is not available that time. She talked to our OIC for a brief moment then left.

After a few minutes, our OIC asked me to go on coaching just to tell me what that OM told him. She said that it is prohibited to sleep on stations because we have designated sleeping quarters. She also told our OIC why is he letting an agent "INSULT" him that he was not "RESPECTED" by the agents that he is handling.
Well that really ticked me off. Yes I was sleeping on the production floor and I admit that I was wrong because it is against their policy. But calling me "DISREPECTFUL" is something that I consider below the belt. I don't know how she uses these words to pep talk her subordinates but it is definitely did not boost my morale.
Just so she knows, it is my break and napping doesn't mean that I am slacking but instead napping restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%. Napping has psychological benefits.  It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation.
I don't know how she got the OM position but I pretty sure that she has a lot of areas for improvements including her attitude. It is not "DISRESPECTFUL" if you close your eyes for a second to catch a little sleep. If that is "DISRESPECTFUL" then what do you call an agent that are always absent, tardy, and not meeting the target metrics? I am staying with this company for more than 5 years and I think I lasted that long because of my hardwork, dedication, and love in what I am doing. I will not certainly be affected by this demoralizing act of power tripping but then again continuous exposure to this toxic environment would mean otherwise.

The Real Annabelle of "The Conjuring"

Ever wondered how the story of the doll "Annabelle" of the Conjuring was created? Well there is a strong historical background and proofs of its existence. Here are some of information that you might want to know about her...

Watch the full documentary video here: Mysteries At The Museum - Annabelle Doll

Story behind these clips from creepypasta.wikia.com.

In 1970 a student named Donna got a "Raggedy Ann" doll for her birthday, sent from her mother.

Shortly after Donna and Angie (Her roommate) began to notice the doll switching positions and move around the apartment they lived in on it's own.

Annabelle (The doll) could write too. Donna and Angie found messages written in a child's handwriting on parchment papers. the messages said "Help Us" and "Help Lou." But what was written on the paper isn't as important as to where the paper came from. At the time, Donna didn't keep parchment in the apartment...Where did it come from?

Donna had once come home from work to find the doll on her bed. (At the time, this was typical of the doll and Donna had expected it.) But something seemed off about it. And when she picked it up, she saw what looked like blood on it's chest and on the back of it's hands.

Panicking, Donna and Angie contacted a Medium. (They didn't know where else to turn at the time.) Donna was introduced to the spirit of Annabelle Higgins, a young girl, who's 7-year-old body was found on the plain the apartments now rest on.

Annabelle Higgins told the Medium that she found comfort with Donna and Angie, and wanted to stay with them inside the doll. Feeling sympathy for the spirit, Donna invited it to stay with them in the doll.

They soon found out however, their precious Annabelle, was not what she appeared to be.

Lou, you may have been wondering, was friends with Donna and Angie. And had been ever since "Annabelle" arrived. He was never very fond of the doll. And on several occasions, warned Donna to get rid of it, but her emotional ties to the doll had lead her to ignore him.

"Lou awoke one night from a deep sleep and in panic. Once again he had a reoccurring bad dream. Only this time somehow, something seemed different. It was as though he was awake but couldn't move. He looked around the room but couldn't discern anything out of the ordinary and then it happened. Looking down toward his feet he saw the doll, Annabelle. It began to slowly glide up his leg, moved over his chest and then stopped. Within seconds the doll was strangling him. Paralyzed and gasping for breath Lou, at the point of asphyxiation, blacked out. Lou awoke the next morning, certain it wasn't a dream, Lou was determined to rid himself of that doll and the spirit that possessed it. Lou, however, would have one more terrifying experience with Annabelle." -http://www.warrens.net/Annabelle.html

The next day, Lou and Angie were reading over maps alone in her apartment. (They were preparing for a road trip.) When they heard rustling from Donna's room. In fear of someone had broken into the apartment, Lou went to go investigate. With no signs of forced entry, the only thing out of place was The Annabelle Doll. Who was lazily tossed in the corner. As Lou got closer to the doll, he got the feeling someone was behind him, he turned around...And of course, as every scary story goes, no one was there. But when he turned back around, he got 7 claw marks. Three verticly, and four horisantaly. They were compeleatly gone 2 days later.

Donna, finnaly beliveing that it was a demonic force and not a sweet ghost of a 7 year old girl, after what happened to Lou she contacted a Episcopal priest named Father Hegan. Father Hegan contacted Father Cooke, who imeadiatly called for Ed and Loraine Warren.

"Ed and Lorraine Warren immediately took interest in the case and contacted Donna concerning the doll. The Warrens, after speaking with Donna, Angie, and Lou came to the immediate conclusion that the doll itself was not in fact possessed but manipulated by an inhuman presence. Spirits do not Possess inanimate objects like houses or toys, they posses people. An inhuman spirit can attach itself to a place or object and this is what occurred in the Annabelle case. This spirit manipulated the doll and created the illusion of it being alive in order to get recognition. Truly, the spirit was not looking to stay attached to the doll, it was looking to posses a human host.

The spirit or in this case an inhuman demonic spirit, was essentially in the infestation stage of the phenomenon. It first began moving the doll around the apartment by means of teleportation to arouse the occupants curiosity in hopes that they would give it recognition.Then predictably the mistake of bringing a medium into the apartment to communicate with it. The inhuman spirit now able to communicate through the medium, preyed on the girls emotional vulnerabilities by pretending to be a rather harmless, lost young girl with which during the seance, was allowed permission from Donna to haunt the apartment. Insofar as demonic is a negative spirit, it then set about causing patently negative phenomena to occur; it aroused fear through the weird movements of that doll, it brought about the materialization of disturbing handwritten notes, the symbolic drops of blood on the doll, and ultimately it even attacked Lou leaving behind the symbolic mark of the beast. The next stage of the infestation phenomenon would have been complete human possession. Had these experiences lasted another 2 or 3 more weeks the spirit would have completely possessed, if not harmed or killed one or all of the occupants in the house. "

The Warrens felt that it was nessicary to have an exorcisim blessing done on the apartment to cleanse it and it's occupants. "The Episcopal blessing of the home is a wordy, seven page document that is distinctly positive in nature. Rather than specifically expelling evil entities from the dwelling, the emphasis is instead directed toward filling the home with the power of the positive and of God." (Ed Warren)

The Conclusion


Father Cooke although uncomfortable with his role as an exorcist agreed to perform the seven page rite of exorcism a  doctrine he receited throughout the apartment at which point the Warrens were confident the entity would no longer reside there. They agreed to take the rag doll back home with them. Upon leaving Ed placed the doll in the back seat and agreed he would not take the interstate in the event the inhuman spirit still resided with the doll.

His suspicions were all to correct in no time the Warrens felt themselves as a the object of a vicious hatred. Then at each dangerous curve the car swerved and stalled with every corner causing the power steering and brakes to fail. Repeatedly the car verged on collision. Ed reached into the back seat into his black bag and took out a vial of holy water and doused the doll making the sign of the cross over it. The disturbances stopped immediately and the Warren's arrived safely home.

After the Warrens arrived home, Ed sat the doll in a chair next to his desk. The doll levitated a number of times in the beginning, then it seemed to fall inert. During the ensuing weeks, however, it began showing up in various rooms of the house. When the Warrens were away and had the doll locked up in the outer office building, they would often return to find it sitting comfortably upstairs in Ed’s easy chair when they opened the main front door. The doll also showed a hatred for clergymen who came to the house.

In one instance FatherJason Bradford a catholic exorcist came to the house. Upon seeing the doll seated in the chair he picked it up and said " Your just a ragdoll Annabelle, you can't hurt anyone", and tossed the doll back in the chair at which point Ed exclaimed "That's one thing you better not say." Upon leaving an hour later Lorraine pleaded to the priest to please be careful driving and to call her when he arrived home. Lorraine discerned tragedy for this young priest but he had to go his way.  A few hours later Father Jason called Lorraine and explained that his brakes had failed as he entered a busy intersection. He was a involved in a near fatal accident destroying his vehicle. This was just one of many such events that occurred over the next few years.


The Warrens had a special case built for Annabelle inside the Occult Museum, where she resides to this day. Since the case was built Annabelle no longer appeared to move but she is thought to be responsible for the death of a young man who came to the museum on motorcycle with his girlfriend. The young man after hearing Ed's account of the doll, defiantly went up and began to bang on the case insisting that if the doll can put scratches on people then he wanted to also be scratched, Ed said to the young man "Son you need to leave"  and put him out of the building

On the way home the young man and his girlfriend were laughing and making fun of the doll when he lost control of his motorcycle and went head on into a tree, the young man was killed instantly but his girlfriend survived and was hospitalized for over a year. When asked what happened the young woman explained that they were laughing about the doll when they lost control of the motorcycle. Ed warns you do not challenge "

Dilemma in Working in a Call Center

I hate it when people are stereotyping those who are working in a call center. It seems they have this idea that during our work time we just sit, answer calls, and say have a nice day at the end of each call. Working in a call center might sound easy but once your actually doing it, you've probably be in a shock. Let me give you a quick tour on what to expect when working in a call center.

The Application:

Since many are applying for the job, usually sets applicants are interviewed by a panel of interviewers. They will ask random questions that will measure your fluency with the English language so be equipped with lots of vocabs and grammars because you will need to meet their expectations before you can pass. Expect questions as bizzare as "How would you describe the color Blue to a blind person since birth?" or "What movie do you like most and why?". It is also possible that personal questions would be asked but this is to only gauge your communication skills.

After that, there is typing speed test and multi tasking skill test, there might be variation with each company but it is essential that you can type atleast 45 words per minute and can multi-task. During this test you will be given a task on a computer while speaking on the phone.

Next would be written test measuring the mathematical skills and grammar skills of the applicant. Some variations with the test includes computer based knowledge and logic especially for those who are applying for technical support representatives. Then the final interview, this is done usually to know more about the applicant's willingness to work given the conditions in the BPO environment. Usually the questions here are "What are your plans for the next 5 years? Why do you think we should hire you? Are you willing to work on shifting schedule? etc..."

The Training:

Depending on the job description either CSR, TSR, or chat support everyone must undergo review with basic grammar and communication. This also includes knowing the culture and tradition of the country of the account that you will be supporting. The training also includes computer training modules, role playing, familiarization with tools, and "nesting", where you take mock calls or live calls assisted by senior agents or trainer.

The Actual Job:

When you hit the actual operations floor it will be totally intense because even if you trained for it you will never be prepared for the things that you will encounter while taking in calls. It would take time before you can familiarize yourself with all the tools that you use to assist the customer and it will be a continuous learning experience for new things and new services would be offered by the account. You'll be talking to friendly old folks, screaming and swearing middle-aged men, mind boggling accent from non-American customer, and computer illiterate senior citizens that love buying new gadgets/computers that they have no idea using. You will learn new terminologies like "Hadouken", AHT, CSAT, FCR, Aux, Auto In, ACW, and more. Most call center jobs here in the Philippines caters customers offshore mainly US so expect to work graveyard meaning shift starting around 7pm-6am, during your shift coffee and sodas will be your bestfriend to battle the night.

The Perks:

 
Competitive Salary. Normally job offers for non-tech account starts around P13k-P15k but their selling point is the commissions that they get when they do really really good in selling out products or services depending on their account. For technical account starting salary would be P16k-P22k for entry level and if experienced it can go higher plus tech bonus.

Night Differential. Since most call center operate during the night, that extra 20% extra is not bad to the additional take home pay. Free coffee. Since coffee is the fuel of all agents during graveyard shift most call centers invest on free coffee vendo.

Freebies. Free tumblers, lanyard, bags, pillow, pouch bags, jackets, t-shirts, and other merchandise. In some centers they give mobile phones as incentives and monthly loaded with credits.
AC Workstations. Work with the luxury of air conditioned environment.
Dress Down. Although there are centers that requires their employees to dress smart casual, they allot a special day where agent can wear shirt and jeans to work. On some centers they allow it everyday which is totally cool.

Sleeping Quarters. For sleepy head that wanted to doze off during lunch breaks.

Party Party. They say when you work hard you should party harder, normally parties were held during anniversaries, Christmas, and other gatherings. Raffles also were held during these parties so expect gadget and cash prizes here.

Health Card and Insurance. Upon regularization full health benefits and insurance were provided to the agents and sometimes extended to their families.

Less Traffic. Travelling at night has its advantages and one of them is that there less to no traffic at all.

The Drawback:

Health and Safety Hazard. Working during night time affect our body clock thus making the body weak and prone to sickness such as anemia. Call center agents are also prone to UTI because of frequent withholding their urine and waiting for calls to end first before going to bathroom breaks. Since agents commutes and travels at night, they are more prone to robbery and hold up.

Shifting Schedule. Schedule rotations are most common on call centers to cover the full shift. Some centers also rotates day offs.

No Cellphone Policy. Most accounts requires the agent to process confidential information about the customer so call center prohibit the use of cellphones on the floor to protect their customer's informations and also to prevent agents from using their phones while working.

Work On Holidays. We are usually required to report to work even if it is holiday. Christmas and New Year are not excempted so kiss xmas vacation goodbye if you failed to file your leaves early.

Unstable. If the account that you are working for closes or pulled out by clients it's bye bye job.

Stats Driven. Clients demands to pass all metrics at all cost and not meeting those metrices would mean termination of employment and with multiple stats to balance such as Average Handling Time (AHT), Customer Satisfaction Rating (CSAT), First Call Resolution (FCR), etc...
Stressful. Dealing with difficult and frustrated customers over the phone can really affect the agent emotionally even trained to handle customer objections there will be instances that it could turn stressful. Ever wondered why some group of call center agents gather in front of the building and consuming huge amount of cigarettes... now you know why.

Now next time that you see or meet a call center agent, think twice before criticizing and accusing us that we have the most boring job in the world. Please understand why sometimes when we party or have fun we over do it, it's because we deserve it. We are hard working people that needed to be recognized and respected.

Wentworth Miller... Prison Brokeback

It is all over facebook about the news today about Wentworth Miller (star of Prison Break) declining the invitation from St. Petersburg International Film Festival. Wentworth wrote the British-American psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook. Now what really surprising is the statement from Wentworth, and i qoute “I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government.” He went on:     "The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly. Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice".
I salute Wentworth for his courage for saying these words because in a world where discrimination about gay men and women is widespread, he overwhelmingly support the LGBT community against Russia's inhumane law.
Here is the copy of the letter of Mr. Wentworth.

Anyway the movie "Stoker" written by Wentworth Miller who stars Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, and Nicole Kidman got a 7/10 star rating rotten tomato and IMDB so I'll be adding that movie on my bucket list.

The Conjuring

I've been browsing my facebook page and they are all making comments and post about the movie "The Conjuring". It is actually a movie about a family that is haunted by an evil spirit after moving into an old house by the lake. I've seen the movie and I can say that it is not that scary ... there are scenes that are hunting but not compared to "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" or "The Exorcist", but still its a good movie to watch... try watching it around 3am in the morning to experience the eerie feeling. By the way Anabelle is freaky.

Here's the trailer and if you wish to download it just click here to follow a link.

My Blogfolio

What makes me create this blog is the willingness to share my experiences and newly found information to others. It is not that I want to become the next walking encyclopedia but I find it cool to post your real life experiences on the web where everybody can read about it.

My name is King Jonas, born June 10, 1983 (you do the math for my age), the youngest member of the family. My father passed away a few years ago, my mother is living in Italy with my 3 step siblings (if there’s such a word haha) a stepbrother and two step sisters. My only brother is happily married to a wonderful and caring wife blessed with two adorable daughters, they are living in Cavite where I was also borne.

My childhood years are really not that eventful, just like a normal kid I went to school (Amaya Elementary School) in our hometown, experienced a lot of embarrassing things. I am a shy kid who’s always on the back not making a sound while the teacher is discussing or when my classmates are making noises or doing mischievous things. I was even awarded “Most Behaved Boy” for three consecutive years. High school was different, i was exposed in a lot of extra curricular activities. I don’t like sports, actually I hated it, don’t get me wrong I like playing them but not to a point of making it a hobby or a profession. I liked dancing more, I even became a part of a dance troop called “Prime Movers” during my 4th year stay in high school.

I finished bachelor degree in computer science at STI College Bacoor, I shouldn’t have because all things I’ve learned from that school could easily self studied, if I could only turn back time I should gotten a course in Customs Administration but due to financial constraints it would be impossible for me to finish that course but anyway so much for regrets. The only advantage of my course is that I was able to equip myself with computer knowledge. I love computer games and I am enjoy playing Perfect World, an MMORPG  released by Level Up games here in the Philippines. And I also enjoyed playing computer games that test my reaction, knowledge, and logic.

I am now renting an apartment in Makati together with my housemates. I am currently working in a call center in Makati. I can say that I am pretty contented on what I have right now and I can see myself still doing this in the next two to three years. I am planning in managing a small business in the near future and hopefully that would be sufficient to provide for my needs.

Making this blog is like writing a new chapter in my life. I am really excited and thrilled on what is waiting for me in creating this but hopefully everybody will be pleased and also intrigued in what this blog has to offer.

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