... today was a bad day at work. First, they had wanted everyone to come in at 9:00 a.m., since a couple of the domestic call centers were expected to be closed due to bad weather, and call volume was supposed to be through the roof for us, today. Turned out not to be so true -- those who arrived early had a slightly-above-average call volume (turns out neither call center was officially closed, and although one had high absenteeism, the other was staffed normally), and those I spoke to reported way above average "cust sat" issues -- people calling because their systems had not arrived yet, or a change or cancellation of an existing order, etc.
I decided last night that I would not arrive before 11:45 a.m. (my scheduled start time), primarily because I needed to sleep, and secondarily because I had been ordered to produce proof of citizenship by the temp firm. That meant that I had to get up early, and travel to the Social Security office, to obtain proof that I am who I say I am (is there any possibly way I could not be a hillbilly...?). As many here know, our federal system of bureaucracy means that one must take a number, and sit in uncomfortable chairs for prolonged periods of time, as was the case, today (side note: federal officers at the SocSec office are damned serious about the "no cell phones" rule -- they barked at one dude who didn't have his shut off, and I thought the Taser was coming out any moment; now what the fuck is it about the SocSec office that a cell phone could provoke such a response?). Anyway, I got to work at the appointed time, and got right down to bidness.
Now is the question: Why, exactly, did I need to do this? Because, I made the mistake of not getting a receipt for my Social Security card when I gave it to the temp agency recruiter a couple of months ago. That's right -- I got my driver's license back from her, but not the SocSec card -- apparently, I didn't notice that day, and she apparently lost it before making a photocopy for the I-9 verification.
Why am I surprised? After all, this place can't even pay me correctly, ever. Ever!
Then, I talked to fifteen people before I made the day's "first" sale (not counting the last call that closed after midnight the day prior, and the system I sold to Dear Sarah, after hours). I literally could have slept in, and came to work at 5:30 p.m., and the results would have been the same from a sales perspective. Every sellable call I got, I kept the customer on the phone, answering every question, joking with them, building rapport, etc., because I can tell when people are intent on actually buying, and I wasn't going to rush any of those folks today -- no way, Jose. Our "team coach" bitched me out for that, and I showed him my sheet, littered with our shorthand for "didn't qualify for financing, had no money; transferred to (our rent-to-own partner)," and gave him my best "shut the fuck up" look. It must've worked, 'cause it would be hours later before he approached me again. Even then, he quipped that he was surprised that I had closed the last sale (he listened to much of the call), since the guy was all over the map with tech questions, and he said I didn't "control the call" as I should have. I said, "Look -- I sold the guy a nearly $2000 PC, and he called me asking about refurbished systems. You want me to blow off a sale to the refurb department so I can take another call, when I can spend ten extra minutes answering questions to close a high-margin box?" Repeat production of call tracking sheet, and facial expression. :)
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