First off be warned this is a telemarketing job. NOT customer service. In my interview I was unaware it was telemarketing and was told it was customer service based. They make it sound as if you are politely following up with people who made a request online but that is not the case. Even in training they do not use the word telemarketing at all and they stress the term "customer service". So many people who have worked in the customer service field end up thinking this position something else.
Basically what you are doing is cold calling people and pushing education sales. They claim these people have made an inquiry online but once you talk to them you realize that is not the case. Many of them will tell you they uncheked the option or skipped it but these websites sell all of their information to companies like this anyway so it doesn't matter. You are calling uninterested people and trying to convince them to allow you to submit their information to crappy colleges by using various rebuttals. Most of your calls are voicemails and hangups which makes for a very slow and unproductive day. When you finally DO get someone that surprisingly is interested in your crappy schools, most of the time you will NOT be able to find any program for them. Because in reality they only have a handful of schools and programs to actually offer. So on most of your calls you are STALLING trying to find a program that doesn't exist in the database. Most cases you end up trying to convince them into a more common program like business or healthcare. Doesn't matter to management as long as you "submit a lead" that's all that really matters. Its sad. And they try and train you to sound enthusiastic and excited for these people but most of us aren't because we are tricking people into agreeing on us submitting their info to other third parties.
The worst part is the fact that we make it sound like we are calling about a job. Even in some of the scripts they go as far as saying "I will send you information about making the most of your job search" in reality nothing is being sent out. We are calling for schools only. I feel so bad for some of the people I call that get so excited thinking I am calling to offer them a job, only for them to find out later in the script that its about education.
Also, the script is LONG AND ROBOTIC. Everything you say is script based and is really draining. They are not even written in sentences that sound natural. Its just one long run-on sentence that sounds like a recording (and they wonder why most people hang up instantly).
Secondly. The pay is horrible. They start you at 9 an hour with a 1 dollar increase after 600 hours I believe. After that there is no other real opportunity for raises, or promotion. Raises are based solely on how many leads you submit - not your customer service skills, or how high your quality assurance scores are, or your attendance. None of that matters. And the raises are a joke - 15 cents. They say there are opportunities to grow but I can tell you that is not the case. There has been maybe 2 emails for internal openings and one of them was canceled after many already applied. Turn over rate is extremely high even for management positions. There has been many managers that have left since Ive been here, and even the IT guy. The faulty system crashes all the time and in most cases you just sit around unpaid until it passes - only paid for up to an hour for system crashes anything longer than that you log out for the day.
Pay needs to be at LEAST 11 or 12 starting out especially in the Chicago area. The people you call are very rude - beyond anything I have dealt with and I have had many irate calls on other jobs. I have never been verbally assaulted like I have been on this job. But at the same time I don't blame the people because Im sure they are in tough situations since we primarily call low income people looking for JOBS.
In addition to the pay being low it is nearly impossible to get your scheduled hours. There have been many times where they have made reps log out because it was too slow. Or any time a holiday comes up you are missing out on that pay for the day. They claim to offer PTO but dont be fooled. For a full time worker 40 hours you only get 5 days and the way it accrues takes a full year to get your 5 days. And there is no roll over to the next year or pay out. So basically you just end up using a few PTO hours here and there maybe to take off early or something.. Impossible to take a vacation with how slow it builds.
In addition to this you are only paid for the time you are on the phone in "ready" mode so that makes it tricky to make your hours as well. For an 8 hour shift you have to work exactly 7:30 to qualify for paid break - never mind bathroom break or getting a drink of water. You have to meet exactly 7:30 otherwise your adherence for that day is off. So most cases you end up having to subtract time out of your break to use the bathroom or get water if you want to make your full shift without getting a penalty. Oh and if you are working part time be advised that anything between 5:45 and 7:29 hours you only get 15 minutes of break time other wise you dont make your shift and get a "point".
ALSO there are no benefits whatsoever. I think they offer 401k but who could even afford that with the crumbs you make here.
I could go on for days but these are some of my main issues with this company. Read the other reviews I'm sure they are saying similar things. We are not making this up or exaggerating.
I'm not here to bash anyone because there are some cool people within this company. I am just wanting to warn some of the people who may have more experience and may be considering "settling" for this job like I did. You will not gain any experience from it at all and doesn't really look good on the resume. This is one of those jobs you take until you find something else. It will drain you mentally.
Also, I am aware this is an entry level jobs that is not designed to be a career - But I have worked entry level for other companies and have been paid way more and valued as an employee. Here the only thing that matters is how many people you con into going to unaccredited for-profit schools that only care bout money anyway.
Might be a good job for those who do not have any experience looking to build their resume. If you really want or need to work from home there are definitely other companies that will pay you more, give you legitimate benefits, and will hold more weight on your CV. Do your research.
