The AA call centre job offer

Lenn Brennan

I got a call from the AA today about a job in their call centre.

I'm meeting with them next wednesday for an intelligence test and group assessment.

Does anyone know anything about these positions?

Cheers

ziggy23

Lenn Brennan wrote: »

I got a call from the AA today about a job in their call centre.

I'm meeting with them next wednesday for an intelligence test and group assessment.

Does anyone know anything about these positions?

Cheers

Did that test last year its simple just basic maths and spot the odd word out etc
Best of luck :-)

Lenn Brennan

Cheers for the reply Ziggy,
Did you work there?

ziggy23

Lenn Brennan wrote: »

Cheers for the reply Ziggy,
Did you work there?

I did the training for a few weeks but had to leave because I wanted part time instead of full-time. Any questions pm me

Ray Palmer

I worked in AA but not in the call centre. I have also worked in call centres and was dealing with the AA systems for the call centre.

I found AA to be the worst companies I ever had the misfortune to work for. Some of the people are lovely but ultimately they work on a very old school system of you manager is always right and never question. In the call centre it is very strict and even more about what your role is. This isn't uncommon in call centres as the work is quantified by throughput and they use these figures as key performance indicators.

As such call centre work can be quite soul destroying. After a month or two you will know if you can handle it. The turnover in call centres is quite high as a result.

I would consider it a good learning experience for most people but not an easy one. A bit like working in McDonald's is good o have on your CV because people know it is tough work and quite defined roles.

I suspect AA Ireland will drop it's call centre in Ireland over the next few years. Surprised it hasn't happened already. I have a fair idea why, that I can't discuss, but it will likely happen

Up to you but I wouldn't expect it to be a career making move but fine for a year or two if you can do it. I can not emphasise enough that it is not a job everybody can do due to the repetitive nature of the work.

ziggy23

Would have to agree with Ray I found them to treat their staff like crap. The training program is a joke they expect you to work from 8.45 to 6 pm for peanuts. Did not like the atmosphere in the place at all. But at the end of the day a job is a job

Lenn Brennan

Cheers for all the info guys. Yeah it seems like it's not gonna suit me, especially since it's a patrol driver job I applied for and never mentioned anything about sales!

Ill go along anyway and see what happens!

Ray Palmer

ziggy23 wrote: »

Would have to agree with Ray I found them to treat their staff like crap. The training program is a joke they expect you to work from 8.45 to 6 pm for peanuts. Did not like the atmosphere in the place at all. But at the end of the day a job is a job

I forgot they made people start at 8:45. What is worse is that some staff work till 17:30 and others to 18:00 because when job hunting got difficult the new employees were given an extra 30 minutes a day when they joined but weren't aware of it. Where I worked that meant two guys had to stay while everybody else left.

The reason for the 8:45 start was to stop people being late for 9:00. They truly treat their staff badly. Not just the lowly ones either as they shed a lot of high ups in a shake up by the AA UK.

I am sure they don't talk highly of me either as I didn't fit in with being some snivelling servant.

Lenn Brennan

Sounds like a disaster of a place!

P_1

Used to work there myself, general rule of thumb was that if you were stuck on the phone lines you were treated like you know what but it was slightly better to be out on the road. Not a very nice place to work though in my opinion

flyton5

I worked there for short of two years. Didn't leave out of laziness until finally I had enough of being spoken to like a child and constantly having the goalposts moved when it came to commission.

You'would expected to sell around 30% of calls made (outbound) or calls received (inbound). You're also required to cross sell.

If you hit your sales target but don't achieve a certain level in call evaluations your commission is cut

If you're off sick for any reason (certified or not) it affects your Bradford Scale which affects your commission.

You're also required to stay logged into your phone for the duration of your shift and this is monitored. This includes toilet breaks.

Generally the lower level management are qualified but some can be there so long that they aren't required to have the correct qualifications and have been "grandfathered" in. They're usually the worst to deal with. Sales staff are required to meet with their supervisor on at least a monthly basis. Depending on your supervisors people skills this can be a nightmare.

If you do take the job the best way to get a feel for the atmosphere is to go on a work night out. You'll get all latest news from every area of tje company along with all the latest gripes.

Best of luck if you do go for it. You'll probably need it.

Liam McPoyle

Just to echo the sentiments above. I know 5 people that all worked in the AA call centre and everyone of them say it was a horrible place to work and that on more than one occasion the managers asked them not to take a toilet break saying "can you not hold it" :eek: I kid you not!

There are lots of call centre jobs out there if you want to break into insurance but Id avoid AA like the plague.

Lenn Brennan

Cheers for all the info folks!