Call and face the flak

GEETHA RAO / TNN / Feb 18, 2007, 22:34 IST

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Unsolicited calls get the worst out of any one. So what's it like being one of the huge workforce that makes those calls?

Unsolicited calls get the worst out of any one. So what's it like being one of the huge workforce that makes those calls?
Say 'telemarketer' and watch people's hackles rise. With telemarketers calling people at all odd times, offering loans, credit cards and what have you, it's natural that those at the receiving end spew hatred at them. But what's it like for the callers? Does the negative response stress them out?
Says Ishrath Unissa who worked with a mobile service provider, "My job was to call mobile users and convert them from pre-paid to post-paid users.When I called customers, they'd say they were not interested and hang up. I'd call back the next day."
What if annoyed customers told her off ? "Initially it upset me. Specially when customers responded by screaming back saying the network was bad or that customer care was bad." But she was trained to handle them so, she'd ask them what really happened and promised to get back to them.

Says Rizwan Khan, an assistant manager with a BPO who worked with such a unit before, "Some agents do get stressed out because they do not intend to irritate, they are only trying to achieve their targets. And they are snubbed. But we are all trained to get thick-skinned."
And one does get thick-skinned with time. It's part of the job, and the incentives help. Says a telemarketer, "We are expected to make a 100 contacts daily, from which we get 8-10 leads people we've convinced with our sales pitch. Our targets may be 30-35 leads, which includes activation."

The incentives may be coupons for a film, or cash. Plus, two applications get you Rs 50, four get you Rs 100. In the case of high leads, where field executives follow up, incentives can go up to Rs 150 for the agent.
Agents are also trained to handle irate customers. Before they go live, they are made to go through mock calls where such situations are acted out; they also listen to calls and asked how they'd react to such calls, how to keep cool.
Rizwan says, in reality, "Almost every third call is such a call. So you are taught to let him vent his frustration first, and calm down, then empathise with him. Initially, you do feel uncomfortable taking people's anger and irritation, but you are taught not to react emotionally, but be professional all the time," he says.
Kankana Kar, in international customer service says customer ire makes you feel bad, but you must be ready for the next call with a smile. "When they are angry you must think they must have had a bad day," she says.
Lathika Pai, founder of a BPO company, says, "Though you are trained to expect annoyance from cus tomers, it does have a negative effect on you.
But it's part of any service industry, whether call centres or hospitality or airlines. All of them are trained in 'How to handle an irate customer'. In fact, we have a module on this very topic."
But trained or not, you still can't intrude on a person's privacy, says techie Ramnath R, who's fed up of unsolicited calls on his mobile.

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