Simone Reddington

Customer services eh?  It’s a phrase we hear all the time, and it’s a skill that all successful companies need.  We’re a nation of big spenders and we all expected to be treated well by the businesses who we spend our hard-earned money on.  As adults we have all had to ring up a customer services number to resolve some form of inconvenience, but we don’t normally pay much attention to the voice at the other end of the phone.  Working in a call centre was not something that was ever mentioned in career advice at school but around 1.3 million people are employed in customer services in the UK.  During the recent Christmas period and January sale I was employed as a customer service advisor for one of the UK’s biggest clothing retailers for the busiest period in retail.  I was unsure of what to expect from a call centre, but after 13 weeks I learnt a couple of life lessons. 

• Age truly means nothing after leaving full time education.  There are 18-year olds with their shit together as they know that they have to work hard for their money; there’s also a lot of bitter middle-aged people who haven’t realised there’s more to life than bitching about people.
• Although I still hold onto the treat-yourself mentality as much as the next twenty-something girl in Western society, there are things more important in this world than spending money.  Retail therapy does not justify people phoning up on New Year’s Day when most people are too hungover to be patient on the phone, or ringing at 8pm when the call centre’s closing and some poor soul must stay behind and take the last call.
• This may sound obvious but people who are dealing with your query are doing so because they are getting paid.  We are following the company rules set by our employers so that we can do a good job and afford our rent.  Shouting angrily, swearing or self-pitying moaning is not going to motivate us harder to work harder than they already are.
• Mental health awareness is nowhere near as recognised as much as it should be in 2019.  Millions of people go to work every day while coping with depression, anxiety and many other similar mental health issues.  You literally don’t know what the person who is dealing with your complaint, or the colleague who is under-performing, is battling with in their own mind.  Please, just be a nice person.  It literally does not cost a penny.
• 99.9% of the time, the manager is only going to tell you the exact same thing as what you’ve already been told, whether you’re called Sharon and have the bob haircut or not.
• If you work during the Christmas period and can still get merry with your loved ones, as well as doing a successful shift while surviving on a 4 hour sleep and a Belvita  then you are a trooper.  I hope you enjoyed all those Christmas pints because you sure as hell earned them.
• The early bird really does catch the worm.  Waking up at 6am might be grim but you will feel better when you have more free time when you finish work and realise that you can do things other than improve customers’ shopping experience.
•  There are 24 hours in a day and the average working day is 9 hours.  When you work full time, your free time seems a lot shorter than 15 hours.  It’s important to make them count and to take care of yourself (please remember that sleep is very important within this time).
• Work is difficult and customers can be horrible but as long as you have nice friends on your team, then you can get through the day