Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

Muta · 12-07-2008, 10:50 AM

When I was in New Zealand I worked for a telemarketing company, which of course, advertised that it was for a market analyst position. Stupid me, I thought it was actually a better job than it was.

After laughable training - seeing if I knew how to advance through a generic computer screen asking questions that popped up on the screen, being told for four hours how to complete a survey - I had to come in the next day to begin 'work'.

I showed up at 10:00 expecting a desk and stuff, and they sat me in this room with row after row of computers (from the 1980's), and they made me and about 20 other people sit down at the computers and 'commence' surveying. There was a 'supervisor' up front that watched over the group; she just stood in one place at the front the entire time. If anyone so much as looked out the window or started chatting with the person next to them, she went ballistic, slammed her fists on her desk, publically embarassed you for being out of line and screamed at them to get back to work. We were allowed 10 minutes break on an 8-hour shift, and we were only allowed to do three things - go to the washroom, have a SMALL cup of tea or have a SMALL cup of hot chocolate.

There was a quota of surveys we had to meet, for which I never did. You weren't allowed to look up, or do anything to could have possibly meant you weren't focused at this computer 100% of the time. I was saying I was calling from Scranton, New Jersey and doing a survey for some other research firm, which was a complete farce. Calling people in the southern states were the worst... I got so many death threats from them and insults from them that it was just too bizarre.

Eventually I re-wired my headset when the supervisor wasn't looking to disconnect myself from talking to people over the phone; even though it would look like I was completing surveys on her screen. I once asked a question and starting stretching when I did, and she told me this isn't rugby practice, sit back in my chair. I laughed at that, for which I got in trouble.

I promptly never came back after the halfway into the second shift. They called me and told me I HAD to work, and I needed to book shifts; I politely told them where to stick it, and their company practices would never fly back in Canada, and that no one would ever work for them there. Thank God that was the end of that; I'd rather put myself in debt for a while than have to work at a telemarketing company again.

12-07-2008, 10:50 AM	#108
Muta Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Auckland, NZ Exp:	When I was in New Zealand I worked for a telemarketing company, which of course, advertised that it was for a market analyst position. Stupid me, I thought it was actually a better job than it was. After laughable training - seeing if I knew how to advance through a generic computer screen asking questions that popped up on the screen, being told for four hours how to complete a survey - I had to come in the next day to begin 'work'. I showed up at 10:00 expecting a desk and stuff, and they sat me in this room with row after row of computers (from the 1980's), and they made me and about 20 other people sit down at the computers and 'commence' surveying. There was a 'supervisor' up front that watched over the group; she just stood in one place at the front the entire time. If anyone so much as looked out the window or started chatting with the person next to them, she went ballistic, slammed her fists on her desk, publically embarassed you for being out of line and screamed at them to get back to work. We were allowed 10 minutes break on an 8-hour shift, and we were only allowed to do three things - go to the washroom, have a SMALL cup of tea or have a SMALL cup of hot chocolate. There was a quota of surveys we had to meet, for which I never did. You weren't allowed to look up, or do anything to could have possibly meant you weren't focused at this computer 100% of the time. I was saying I was calling from Scranton, New Jersey and doing a survey for some other research firm, which was a complete farce. Calling people in the southern states were the worst... I got so many death threats from them and insults from them that it was just too bizarre. Eventually I re-wired my headset when the supervisor wasn't looking to disconnect myself from talking to people over the phone; even though it would look like I was completing surveys on her screen. I once asked a question and starting stretching when I did, and she told me this isn't rugby practice, sit back in my chair. I laughed at that, for which I got in trouble. I promptly never came back after the halfway into the second shift. They called me and told me I HAD to work, and I needed to book shifts; I politely told them where to stick it, and their company practices would never fly back in Canada, and that no one would ever work for them there. Thank God that was the end of that; I'd rather put myself in debt for a while than have to work at a telemarketing company again.