I got my first call center job when I was 19 years old. I had been out of boot camp for six months and the case of instant ramen I had bought to nourish myself during the job hunt was almost empty. My previous work experience consisted of working part time in a toy store in the mall, and helping out my friend's step dad sell ammunition and ammunition accessories at gun shows. In short, I had no idea what I was getting into.
The particular call center I was going to work at was an outsource call center, meaning that they were essentially mercenaries of customer service, contracting out to larger companies and handling customer calls. This center was really a complex, about a half mile's worth of buildings dedicated to this purpose. Several companies contracted with this company.
I was hired on to work customer service for a satellite TV company, and later, tech support, then international support, then a specialized team of people who helped customers get access to the major local networks if they couldn't normally, like in a rural area or if they have satellite in their camping RV. By the time I got fired from that company I was logged in to five call banks at once, earning a cool $8.69. This was 2003 dollars, mind you.
This company made it nice and clear that if you didn't show up, they didn't mind. They would gladly let you quit before firing you. In fact, I didn't get fired until 18 months later for looking at porn at work. I know it's stupid, but I was 20. I was stupid. I did learn a lot about life at that place though. For example, the first taste of anti-military sentiment, even though I was in Utah. My coworkers thought that it was weird that I was in the Army Reserves and so they didn't like talking to me and never invited me to their team parties and stuff. Just because I was a soldier. More to come, dear reader.
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