Typical corporate tyranny [Marketplace call center]
Pros
Insurance is free if you are paying for only individual insurance. You are paid on every federally recognized holiday time and a half if you are scheduled to work, even if we are closed for the day. Especially during the slower seasons there is a lot of opportunity to take unpaid time off when they offer it, called ATO, though again it's unpaid. If you are a college student who needs to take extra time off during shift to do HW or something maybe ATO would be helpful, but for as low as we are being paid, most people cannot afford to do so.
Cons
At 11.83 the pay for this job is below minimum standards for other call center jobs, especially given the amount of work you have to do. You are dealing with people who are dying from cancer on a daily basis who need insurance, but because they did not sign up during open enrollment period they will end up dying. You have to read scripting and basically behave like robot over the phone or your performance will suffer. ATO counts against your hours worked so if you take too much ATO you will lose your insurance benefit. The job itself is incredibly emotionally taxing and 100% stressful. Old equipment, internal resources refusing to help and give information they are paid to do. Most agents do not do their job so if you do, you are left to clean up the messes. Some of the centers have had bed bugs and literally yellow tape around sinks which don't work which are never fixed.
