customer service representative

programmer analyst

CDS Global

At first it seemed as if it was going to be an amazing place to work.  WRONG! Just know that if you are someone that needs extra time here and there for doctor's appointments, or get sick often, then this is NOT the place for you.  Even though PTO and Sick Days are given, once that time is gone then it's gone and you basically can not take any further days off sick or not. One would think that even though your PTO is gone, if your sick then you're sick and should stay home to prevent getting others around you sick as well (which is what they tell you to do and stress during training, to not come to work when you're sick.) WRONG each and every time it is counted and used against you.  Doesn't matter if you have a Doctor's note. And, one would think that if THEY SENT YOU HOME, then it won't count against you either...WRONG!  So, even though you do as they tell you when it comes to being sick... don't fall in to that trap, cuz that is how they got me. I was sent home, by their nurse eve, more than anything and that is why I was terminated. Even though I went straight to the ER a time or two, had doctor's notes for every single day that I missed whether they sent me home or I called in.  Nothing was good enough. If you weren't there, for any reason, it was used against you.  Oh wait, I should add in that apparently EVERYTHING that I just said, only applies to certain people.  Cuz I happen to know for fact, that 2 other people had missed way more time than I for far less of reasons...(not being sick, simply didn't feel like going) and not only do they still have their jobs but, one was promoted. 

All of that being said. Someone else may have a review of the complete opposite from mine. Because, the managers pick and choose their favorites and once they've made up their mind about you, there is no changing it.  For example, I got compliments from customers daily and at least once a week someone would ask to speak to a supervisor to tell them how amazing I was.  I was REALLY GOOD at my job. But, because one manager decided she didn't like me and due to my attendance issues... it didn't matter not one bit how good I was at my job anymore.

Sorry that was stupid long...had to vent I guess.  Just wanted to let others know of the truth behind the place... oh and not to mention the fact that everything that was part of my job offer...I basically got the total opposite, including the hours that I was to work.

As a regular CSR, your work will consist of taking rolling calls back to back regarding issues with magazines- be it cancellation, renewal, delivery issues, addresses, and issues with the website/apps. You are rated on call time, and “wrap”- which is the optional time you use to “wrap up” a call. On most lines you also have “intellisels,” which are offers you have to give a certain amount of times per day. For example, when I left it was around 50% of calls per day. You get $.50 per accept you get on offers.
Local management is great- most, if not all managers used to be CSRS at some point and want you to succeed. Depending on your manager you have a chance they may micro manage you, but it doesn’t occur with most managers. 
At this time, due to covid, most are working from home. They do have permanent work from home positions available if you would like, but those typically aren’t allowed to progress in the company, and come at a pay cut. Pay is decent for an intro-level desk job. Some days you can go home early due to lack of call volume. Coworkers are great to fine. 

That is the description of the job itself, as a regular rep. It can be straining at time, but generally it’s pretty okay if you can handle being yelled at occasionally. The culture changed significantly from what it was when I started. In 2017, most desks in the company were filled- and maybe I was naive at the time, but it felt like a company that was improving and that cared about its employees. Over time, people seemed to quit, and the desks were never filled. In 2018, there were hints of offshoring. In 2019, layoffs began and the culture never really recovered. Corporate didnt seem to care about the location as much as most of local management did. The offshoring became almost the main deal for the supervisor staff, and began hiring just for that, as the offshore reps struggled with the job and constantly passed the buck to our workers, be it supervisor or not.

As an entry level position, go for it. But unless things majorly improve, I can’t see the supervisor position and above being worth your time with the call volume and the stress of the supervisor calls. 

I work at CDS as a Inbound Customer Service Rep- taking phone calls for various magazine companies, where customers need help with their subscriptions and online access. Out the gate, the job can be stressful with the amount of information thrown at you, but over time, it becomes like second nature if you pay attention. Occasionally, the clients will throw us all a curveball we have to deal with (which is stressful and confusing sometimes, to be truthful), but we can get through it and the managers do understand. I mainly do things like the New Yorker and Better Homes and Gardens. At times, calls can be slow, but expect a steady pace of calls at all times. You do have stats, and you are rated based upon them. (Talk time, time off phone, break time, offers, etc.) You do have to give offers, though, and make a .50 cent commission off of the offers that are accepted. Don't stress about that though because you do not have to get accepts, just give the offers out. 

You can get pretty far based on the amount of work you're willing to learn and take on, although training can take a while to become available. You can transfer departments if the option becomes available if you want (Email, web chat, hard copy). Most of the supervisors are nice people who understand what you're experiencing at the moment because they were reps before as well. Dress is casual, just don't be gross and you'll be fine. The work culture is generally relaxed (for phones) because everyone is dealing with generally the same thing. I don't feel there is favoritism because as long as you're a nice person to be around, and you do your work, you'll be fine. You have to be a person who can brush of criticism, though, because you'll be receiving a lot of (undeserved) hate from callers. Coworkers are never a problem. It's the first job I've had where it's not my coworkers' fault something is happening.

All in all, work here is nice and I enjoy it. It's a pretty easy job (for me). CDS usually has munchie days or random days where they decide to give us all pizza. It's a good job, I recommend it.

Feel free to skip this review as it is me just venting about the Injustice of the world as it pertains to my personal experience with this company. Let's start with Cds Global is a Hearst company. Hearst revenue grew 4% to $11.4 billion in 2018. Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. This is their 8th years of record profits. With that being said you would think they could pay their employees a living wage. Instead they took part of that profit and purchased call centers in the Philippines. Because they can't hire and keep people in the USA with the low wages they offer.

A few years ago their solution to a living wage increase was to create tier pay. Levels 1-3. But instead of an increase in wages you are really just getting an increase in responsibilities. Once you have reached a level 3 you are taking on most of the grunt work for supervisors and managers without any additional compensation. If you do ever get a raise they go by 1% 2% or 3% of your current hourly wage.  Which in most cases comes out to be a little less then $0.40.

But what most people who work for CDS don't realize is the customer service department brings in the most work for our organization while paying their employees the least amount of money. 

A lot of the clients do not want their calls to be taken in the Philippines they want someone in the USA to be answering the phone. Unless CDS Global starts paying a living wage it's going to be hard to keep people in the customer service department.

These people are a joke. I am so disgusted with them. They are really nice at first. Pretend they care.  Then you see their true colors right after training. They treated me like I was beneath them. If you're not one of their pets, you are treated horribly. If you are a favorite, your perfect quality scores get emailed to EVERYONE and put in Teams for all to see. If you're a nobody and you get a perfect score on quality, your name is NEVER mentioned. They only celebrate the favorites. 
One minute people are chatting in the teams group but if the managers aren't included in the chat, they will bark at you that the conversation is not work appropriate. If they are included, then you talk about whatever you want. For the love of...... never ever wish anyone a happy holiday no matter the holiday! No happy Cinco De Mayo no happy 4th of July. NOTHING! They will call you out and purposely embarrass you. 
If you're sick, even if they have lay off time, they will still give you unexcused absences.  If you're one of their pets, you'll always get lay off time if you're sick. You have to be a favorite. 
If a customer wants a supervisor, the supervisor plays 20 questions with you then tells you to handle it. They are rude, uncaring and lazy. Almost worse than the Harlan office. This place is a constant panic attack. Save yourself the anxiety and look for another job. 

is place is ok, not something you would want to deal with for the rest of your life. Not only because this is a magazine business but there are no opportunities for advancement. Stats for call center were usually difficult to maintain. Calls are repetitive, which is fine, but you would think the company would look into the problems customers are having, but nope. Most managers have no clue what's going on. Often when you would call or IM them, they wouldnt answer or switch to "away" mode. They say "unlimited Upsells" but that's a lie. They are usually only $0.50-$1.00 per 'accept', so obviously you try to get as many as you can, but upper management would often find excuses and reasons as to why you wouldnt be getting compensated for them. Pay starts out at like $12 an hour, which honestly is not near enough for all the trouble this company makes you deal with. They do offer yearly reviews so you can increase your pay, but that only ends up being $0.25 more an hour. They do offer work at home positions, but if you work in the office they dont let you use the bathroom when you need to. (so dont get hungry or thirsty) they only allow 7 minutes of personal time a day, but you cant use it everyday or your will be docked. If you work an 8 hour shift you only get 2 15 minute breaks, no lunch. Benefits are ok. Lots of discounts offered on magazines, phone bills, stores, etc. 

Workload can be very stressful. Coworkers are willing to help when they are not also bogged down. Pay is low for the amount of stress and high workload. Lack of training for new account managers, so they come to experienced account managers for help with everything. It is a "you don't know what you don't know" culture instead of giving them the proper tools for their jobs. Information is scattered even though they do try to organize it. New processes are rarely announced to the entire department it instead are passed from person to person, usually after someone has not gotten help and then made mistakes because they didn't get correct information. Workloads are not balanced. Some newer AM's have very light workloads, while some get dumped on. Same for older AM's, some get to ride out their time with no addition to workloads when someone leaves, and others are dumped on. It seems like it is based on who your director is. Some people feel they are being set up to fail, like they are just there to fill a spot until upper management can find a way to redistribute the work and let them go. 

I loved working at this company in the position that I had because they handled the work load very well and gave you room to easily keep up with the standards while not allowing production to slip. I really enjoyed the momentum I could build up opening the mail as it allowed a type of flow to occur that made the day go by quickly. I only disliked their handling on benefits and the mandatory overtime that would crop up during the busy portions of the year. As it was an individual position that allowed one to work by themselves there wasn't too much co-worker interaction beyond work related tasks and everyone seemed capable and willing to be there.

A typical day when you first start is very scary. The training is a little basic and the knowledge they give you before  going on the floor is basic as it gets. Management is fine as long as you know them either outside of the work place or stay off the radar, but once you are on their radar a lot can go wrong very quickly and you start to notice how unprofessional they really are. The hardest part of the job is accepting that the people that are telling you how to do your job, do not know themselves how to do your job and dealing with constant belittling on and off the phone. As well as realizing that any investment you put into the company as far as loyalty and flexible on your hours as they request, that is not reciprocal. The most enjoyable part of the job is the pay, it is very well, partly believed to be because of such a high turn over rate, and partly because well the job is well worth it.

CDS is a typical old school technology company that is fighting very hard to keep things the way they are (at a high level, they offer highly individualized service to their customers by "man power" rather than efficient product design.  So, there is a lot of people doing a lot of work, but nobody is really aware of what anyone else is doing or why.  They have "good people" there but everyone is either too busy to care about a "big picture" or has given up trying or caring about trying to make things better... budgets are cut year after year, and during the year too, top level leadership is based solely on baseless growth forecasts and communication is relegated to meaningless platitudes.  I should be looking for a new job but in all of the confusion it is really just too easy to stay.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Customer service representative 3 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour
Programmer analyst 3 salaries reported	$71,000 per year

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