Oh, boy. Settle in, because this is going to be a long, bumpy ride.
First, as I mentioned in the pros section, training didn't prepare you for at least eighty percent of the situations you actually faced once you hit the phones. I understand that you cannot be prepared for every eventuality, but the training materials could be more comprehensive. I came out of training feeling like I learned basically nothing.
Second, the metrics are unrealistic. Management expects you to resolve complex issues in seven minutes or less. My average handle time was always atrocious, mostly because I handled a split that was notorious for longer calls. And yes, your supervisors do call you out if A) your call time runs a little long and B) your AHT is over the set standard. The TLs also posted everyone's stats in the team chat and sometimes criticized the people who have higher AHTs. One of my team leads even said that you'll learn to throw customers to the wolves in order to keep your AHT down. I'm sorry, what? For a company that prides itself on being customer-oriented, this is really a horrible attitude. And by the way, my AHT may have been high, but customers repeatedly told me I was the most helpful customer service rep they'd talked to. I don't even think I was that great. I just think I was willing to do the bare minimum and refused to view people as a number, especially grieving widows and widowers who had no idea what to do with their deceased spouse's stock. It actually infuriated me when customers told me that previous reps had given them the brush-off. This company stresses "One call resolution", but if you simultaneously enforce the idea that a low AHT is The Most Important Thing, you're going to facilitate shoddy customer service. I can't even blame the reps, because management is so heavy-handed about numbers.
Third, angry customers. Now, look. I know that call centers are often synonymous with Karen Central. But I feel like at least ninety percent of my callers were enraged and dissatisfied. As you can imagine, when you're dealing with people's money, they're not exactly going to be pleasant. But here's the thing: I sometimes couldn't even blame them. Computershare's "Investor Center", which is their answer to online banking, was awful with a capital A. If customers needed a new password, it was mailed to them. As in, snail mail. Yeah. You can't make this stuff up. And that brings me to my next point...
Four, the outdated technology. So, at the time I left, they were integrating everyone's systems to Microsoft Edge. In the interim, they were still using Internet Explorer. Yeah, you heard me--Internet Explorer. Also, my system froze constantly. And when that happened, if my phone was still connected to Avaya (the phone system all call center reps use), I was expected to still take calls. While I was waiting for my system to come back up. Because that makes a lot of sense. Also, if you had some sort of tech issue, you had to call the help desk, which impacted your adherence. So if you were on the line with HD for thirty minutes, trying to resolve an issue that affected your ability to even do your job, it'd put you out of adherence. Which, in turn, impacted your overall numbers for that month. If you were like me and had an issue that HD couldn't fix, you can just imagine how awful my adherence was.
And five, management. I will say I did really like my TL and ATL, and I have no complaints about them personally. They were good at their jobs, and they were both very nice and pleasant. The only thing I disliked was how they went out of their way to avoid taking escalated calls. They'd throw out solution after solution, all while the customer was growing more and more abrasive. In the end, they just ended up taking the call regardless, so it was just a very time-sucking way to delay the inevitable. Also, some of the other TLs/ATls had snarky, know-it-all attitudes. I dreaded posting any questions into the team chat that included everyone from my center. Either management didn't get back to me, or they treated me like I'm an idiot for not knowing the answer to a very complex question. Great way to treat your customer service reps.
Bonus point: the call volume is ridiculous. Call after call after call, with no breathers in between. It was worse during tax season, slowed down a tiny bit during the summer, then went right back to the way it was during tax season. This job made me so stressed that I lost 10 pounds in two months and started to develop serious stomach issues. Unless you have a thick skin and a very high threshold for nonsense, this is probably not the job for you.
