customer service representative

bilingual customer service associate

TeleDirect

Wow, where do I even start? I applied and was hired in the same day...but don’t take that as “Oh, that’s amazing!” No. That’s a problem. The test for the application is a 3rd grade spelling test. Got put into the class starting the following week. There was no drug test, no I-9 forum, not even sure they did a background check for goodness sake. They also emailed me for like 5 days nonstop and would call my phone alll freakin day. . Sounds all fine and dandy right? Wrong. The training is only 4 days. Okay. Intense but I can roll with it. Also you have to be on webcamera for 9 hours. And they don’t care if 20 people being on one screen at once freezes your computer(Newsflash, it does) I was lucky to not be on camera. Living in th city and by a truck stop, my environment won’t be dead silent for 9+ hours a day. Just won’t. Day one, an hour of the day consisted of role playing. Supposedly I was apart of the transition team and have to introduce myself as that okay.  Lets get to day two. Here’s where it all goes to flames, including being fired. They randomly threw us out there to take real calls for 3 hours. Okay cool. First call I get is a billing call. Well, i wasn’t trained in billing, but according to the trainer she deeply went over billing(I’d remember and have notes on it if it happened but okayyyy) You have to follow the script to a T. Okay. Normal. Script says transfer. I tell the customer I’m transferring them. Cool. Next caller wanted to check on a very old insurance claim. Wasn’t trained on that either. So they gave us this little “support line” to call if we need help. That line is a joke. First person had no idea what i was saying. So i called again...was on hold for 7 minutes. Oh yeah, the customer hung up while i was doing that. Now, the support agent who finally answer got mad cause i called them from my cellphone....i mean you take calls through this dashboard on your computer...if you have a customer on hold...how else would you call the support line unless you hang up on the customer to clear the line. They also had a rule where if someone was calling from the medical office you automatically transfer them. So that’s what i did. It’s nit my fault 80% of callers were from a dental office. So then i got a call from my trainer(Goodness these people they blow up your phone) She kept asking me what my issues were...tried telling her and she literally started shouting over me. I had wrote down some questions didn’t get to ask them. So apparently they fired me during the lunch break and didn’t tell me till later. I tried to log into the system and they shut me out. The hiring manager had called me yelling over me telling me it’s not gonna work out and that she knows on day one who’s fit for the job. Well, I’ll assume she was pretty fit since everyone is amazing on day one, right? :)  I asked what i did wrong, could she listen to another call...she literally screamed over me “HR is sticking with the decision. You are not a good fit” the one call she decided to fire me on was when i called the support desk. So long story short, avoid this job at all costs...it’s way too demanding for $9/hour. Honestly you’d be better off working at McDonald’s.

TeleDirect gave me a job, so I'm grateful for that! I love my Team Lead; she is great at checking on me periodically and letting me know where I stand with my metrics, giving me advise, and encouraging me to aim higher. My co-worker, with all of their different personalities, are the best. We have a chat room where we can vent our frustrations about live and work. The work is very fast-paced,  and stressful, and there is always a new account popping up throwing you for a loop. You have to catch on really fast, so at least is sounds like you know what you are doing when a new account pops up with a caller on the line. We are a lot of different things at work, depending on what the client wants us to be i.e. receptionist, answering service, appointment line, call center, ect. Our job is to basically send over messages to clients, transfer, make appointments, tag deer, tech support, call in stroke alerts, pass calls over to lawyers, and so much more. So, there definitely is variety, and you will never be bored. It's just that any given time, there could be back to back calls with no time to take a sip or water, etc. because you have to balance out your disconnect time, break time, and turn off time. The attendance is a joke! You are quick to get an occurrence, even with a Doctor's excuse, you will get an occurrence. Too many and you end up with a warning and then a final warning. They are constantly hiring new people because people are constantly quitting or being fired for the occurrences, but the bonuses are the bomb. If you keep up your metrics, you can bring home a couple of hundred dollars extra on the second pay check and also you receive a $200 bonus on the second check for being with the company for your one year mark and then another for your two year mark. So, clearly, there are pros and cons and you really won't know if the job is for you unless you give it a shot. The pay is low for the job, but it helps me pay the bills and have a little left for leisure.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The remote team leaders were always available for assistance. I loved talking to the callers and felt great satisfaction when I was able to help.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not getting an occurrence. You would get an occurrence if you were even a minute late back from breaks or lunch. You would receive an occurrence if you needed to pause for a few minutes if you had to go to the bathroom and if was longer, you were turned off by a supervisor and then you had to get a new password to get back into the system, all the while you are doing that, you are receiving occurrences. Very stressful because after 4 occurrences in a month, was grounds for dismissal. If you had a doctor's appointment you had to have all kinds of documentation that you had an appointment or was actually sick, and then you were only given half an occurrence. It was a BIG no-no to even receive 1 occurrence. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Except for the occurrences, it is a great work from home agency. I loved working for them and would go back in a heartbeat if I was allowed to return to work for them. Have not checked to see if I am re-hirable though. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clocked in at exactly 5 minutes before start of shift. I would go thru the messaging, check my weekly schedule to see nothing had changed. Lisen to and respond to QR's or anything else that might have happened during the evening or on my day off. Once shift started, the phones rang non-stop until the end of my shift. Sometimes I had to put someone on mute, just so I could take a swallow of water, but it did make the day go faster.

NO pens/pencils allowed at all

NO cell phone use allowed in the building at all - not even in the break room

NO bags or purses allowed in the building unless it's in your locker with a lock THEY provide

NO leaving your desk unless it's your scheduled break time

NO phone calls in or out to/from your family on their phone lines. So if a loved one is dead and somebody is trying to get a hold of you on your cell (which must be OFF and in your locker) oh well.

EVERYthing is considered a security risk. Breathing is a security risk. 

All you're allowed to do is sit at your desk and read hundreds of scripts for companies you've never even heard of (many of which sound like legit SCAMS) like a robot BUT you have to read it as if you actually work for those companies and know all about what they offer. Some of the scripts are poorly worded and arranged, so good luck with that 

Many callers catch on pretty quickly that they're being led on and jump ship after a few stupid questions they made us ask. I don't blame them.

You'll get quite a few prank callers. They were my only source of entertainment to be honest.

You'll get a LOT of confused, hard of hearing old people who will make you want to shoot yourself.

You'll get a lot of angry callers. Again, can't blame them.

You'll get a lot of callers who sound like they're setting off firecrackers at an airport but will get angry at you for not being able to hear them.

You'll get some mumblers and thick accents who also get angry at you for not understanding them.

And last, you will receive VERY little training on a FRACTION of what you need to know and then quickly thrown to the wolves to figure the rest out on your own. Good luck.

On a typical day I am excited to go to work, I truly enjoy my job.    I get to help customers and clients problem solve all day long.   Our call center is a top rated call center, that provides an level of customer service that most companies have lost.   The customer comes first and the the employees feel comfortable doing that because the managers are ideal.
   From the most minute to the most serious of problems it never seems like it is a hassle to approach the management.   They are open to discussing the job for ways of improvement on both sides of the line; either management or subordinates.
   It is a pleasure to go to a company where the employees are actually able to provide customer service and "put out fires" for clients.   For that reason of satisfaction co-workers generally are friendly with one another, leaning towards a family environment.  
   But there are some downfalls,  for example there is a glass ceiling and I have gone as far as I can. Also the pay is sub par for the work, there are bonuses but the company itself has been over expending the last few years so they haven't given raises in a very long time.   Also there are typical political moves amongst management that lead to rigorous changes that do not necessarily ever need to be implemented.   But for the most part is an enjoyable job.

I worked at this company for 4 years as a CSR. Dealing with rude customers all day, you need to make sure you have patience. The calls are being recorded and listened to and then graded for our evaluations each month, once at the beginning and then again at the end. During COVID, I had to work from home and I would receive complaints from management about my dog barking in the background which I tried to keep to a minimum or me taking too many breaks (to let dog out). On 4/2/21 everything went downhill even more for this company! We didn’t get our direct deposit that day, and no one from upper management would answer phone calls, emails or text message. I decided to leave early especially since I didn’t get paid that day like I was supposed to. Apparently word got around to me and fellow co workers stating upper management would be LAYING OFF EVERYONE WHO IS IN CALIFORNIA REGARDLESS OF POSITION due to the company wanting to hire OUT OF STATE SINCE IT IS CHEAPER FOR THEM. I received a call from upper management and all I and everyone else received was, “We want to thank you for your hard work and dedication to our company, but unfortunately your position here is no longer needed. The company is moving in a different direction.. Please stop by next week to drop off all the equipment and pick up your last check.” They gave us NO type of warning in advance to make arrangements. 

You take calls from a bunch of companies many of them are very shady and seem like scams to get money from people. You have to lie to customers when representing these companies and say that you will elevate their call to a manager for the company when in reality you have no idea if their issue will get resolved. 

There are absolutely no phones allowed inside not even in the break room if you get caught even if if not intentional ie forgot to put phone away you get fired. No pens or pencils or notepads allowed. Internet is not allowed unless on site for conmpany. You can’t even use google to spell check. 

Attendance is very strict if you get sick and miss more than one day you are put on a final attendance probation in which missing one more day or even being late will get you fired. They work on an occurrence system clocking in even 1 minute late will get you 0.25 of an occurrence anything up to missing half of your shift gets you half an occurrence. If you are late from lunch you also get a full occurrence. Leaving 6 minutes early or more gets you an occurrence. They also are strict with break minutes so if you have to use the bathroom but have already used both 15 minutes of break time up you’ll get in trouble for having over 30 minutes of break time.

I love working here.  It's easy, relaxed, self-trainable on most things.  At first if you've never worked from home it can be stressful because you feel like you have no communication, your mouth hurts from talking over 8 hours a day, you can take up to 177 calls a day, however you are self driven, know how to guide yourself, you can really make this work for you.  Schedules are not all mandatory usually you get to select what you want when off a two week training period, which isn't much but if you're a quick learner, don't need much help learning computer systems, have a pretty decent typing and customer service skill setting you'll sore here!  Good beginning job and filler job for finding your bigger occupation. Pay isn't amazing but it pays bills,  but atmosphere as a remote agent is obviously what you make it but you don't deal with noisy neighbors and background noise, it depends and how much you can be responsible for your own time as well as keeping a track of training you need to do, there are constant incentives, and constant moral boosters, everyone is really nice and professional.  You can't really promote as a remote agent but you can qualify for bi-lingual pay.  All computer items sent to you before training and set up quick and easy.  All you need is a good internet connection and a good attitude!

If youre looking for an honest review here it goes. This job is a good job for those who are good at multitasking fast Learners and very flexible. At the beginning of you working here you're presented with a one-week training class for which they give you the basics to the calls that you'll be taking while you are a specific entry level. After you pass your training you are thrown onto the floor and expected to do phenomenal taking live calls. 

Now the downfall is despite the Good Vibes you may receive from co-workers and those in upper management trying to get things done trying to talk to someone about a certain matter it can be very stressful. There's a lot of favoritism there are a lot of people who don't follow the rules and do not get in trouble. The worst part about working here is not just all of the responsibilities you are expected to take on but the fact that you are expected to go above and beyond to help the company and yet when it comes to family emergencies, health emergencies or anything involving you not being 101% available - you are punished by a demerit like system that can easily mean you have no job with the company. 

Some people can work here for years some people only last a month it all depends on your drive and what you're willing to put up with. Not the worst, but definitely not the best.

We have back to back inbound calls and I take close to 200 calls a day. I really enjoy the work. It's one of the easiest work at home jobs I've done since 2009. I enjoy the call environment. The only down side for me is the pay. I value myself at a higher pay level and it's hard to make ends meet with $9 hour. They do offer bonuses if you do not miss any time in a month but I've never been told what that bonus is. The team leads are great and you have a support line you can call for any help that you need on any of  the calls. You read scripts and take down messages for a large variety of companies. They have one of the largest client bases I've ever seen for a work at home company. They are supportive and nice. I love the work but wish the pay was a little higher. I've learned a lot while working here, mostly how to deal with irate callers. We are never allowed to hang up on anyone, no matter what. That can be difficult at times. There's a lot of growth that can help you for other jobs though with this company. Unfortunately, there is not much ability to move up within the company and they have a high turn over rate. Right now, they are hiring new people every week and growing. I'm hoping they don't bring in too many agents to lessen are chances of work and making money. I've seen other companies make that mistake.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Customer service representative 10 salaries reported	$12.05 per hour
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