Suspended with Pay.

dartboardio

Would you just never return and start looking for more jobs? Or have the balls to go in and do the outcome meeting?

PS. I was there two years

asteroids over berlin

Well deserved!

dartboardio wrote: »

Hi,

No judgement please. I know what I've done is ridiculous

Yesterday I got suspended from work for the week with pay because they noticed I had been disconnecting calls (I work in a call centre) I had been doing this for a few week/months every few days. They only know about six or seven occasions but suspended me so they could look further into it.

Obviously I admitted it straight away, and I'm embarrassed and ashamed.

They are having me back for a meeting next week to discuss the 'outcome' but in my eyes I'm just like, ah that's the job gone, I'm not going back to be told oh yeah we found you done that another 150 times heres your p45

Would you just never return and start looking for more jobs? Or have the balls to go in and do the outcome meeting?

PS. I was there two years

punisher5112

You can get your p45 online now on revenue or Ros.ie

You will most likely be let go especially if or when they find the rest.

Peatys

Go in and face the music. You never know, they may be of a mind to give you a final written warning seeing that you are the lesser of two evils in that you're trained and very very sorry.

If they shift you on, they'll have to go out to recruitment agents, interview someone and train them.. hassle.

dartboardio

punisher5112 wrote: »

You can get your p45 online now on revenue or Ros.ie

You will most likely be let go especially if or when they find the rest.

Ah I know yeah, I know they don't technically issue them anymore but what I meant was,

dartboardio

asteroids over berlin wrote: »

Well deserved!

Well yeah but that isn't really the idea of this thread.

Batgurl

Do you actually want the job?

Are you just going to do it again?

Answer to those two questions should dictate your reaction.

antodeco

I would go back. Worst case scenario you are let go. If you don't go back, best case scenario is you're no longer employed.

jarvis

Stick it out. You don’t know how it’ll go. Do you have a union representative. Did they specifically train you and have it in record to say that doing what you did was punishable up to dismissal? In order to fire you they have to have absolutely every duck in a row.

Out of interest why were you doing it?

Do you not like the job? Are you planning on moving on anyway?
Have you personal issues that effected your judgment/performance?
What has you performance in general been? Attendance and punctuality? These may all effect how your employer looks upon you.

Are they a large company or smaller?

If you just walk out what will you tell figure potential employers you were doing for the previous two years? You can’t say you have experience in call center working because you won’t have a reference. Traveling? Caring for a relative? Neither of those options make you a candidate with amazing experience.

punisher5112

Just be aware of you leave you are suspended from welfare payment....

Up.to you really whether you go back or not.

Maybe it's a good thing and give you the kick to move onto something better.

Princess Calla

Could be talking sh1te as often happens But can you claim the dole straight away if fired? Think you have to wait if you leave.

Tbh I'd go in and have the meeting, you may not be fired. Though probably considered gross misconduct?

Plenty of retail places looking for Christmas staff so you'll pick up something to get you over the festive season.

Good luck.

Ghetofarmulous

Go in with your resignation letter. That way you can tell next employer you resigned

jarvis

Ghetofarmulous wrote: »

Go in with your resignation letter. That way you can tell next employer you resigned

With no reference?

BDI

A thread like this has popped up a few times. Is this a thing in call centres? All you have to do is answer the phone and speak. It’s actually heroic levels of laziness.

What is the company doing wrong that staff feel they can’t keep a headset on and speak to somebody about something they are trained to fix. Can you go to the meeting and help them understand what is going wrong with the place where staff are so demotivated. Could you ask for a change in role.

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

You should go to the meeting to help them help the other employees. You could come in in your dressing gown and do that job like. Slippers on and coffee.

banie01

In a call centre environment you have commited gross misconduct.
Expect your call history to be trawled and every transfer and disconnect to be reviewed.

You will be fired, the entire functioning of the floor and the moral of staff in what can be an often oppressive environment is that we are all in it together, pulling the same way and facing the same shít.

You deliberately avoided that shít, disconnected a call and left a colleague facing a call where a customer is starting off with an additional issue of your making.

Niallof9

Same in my place but my employers system constantly don’t work and it affects our bonus. What’s the pay like, culture etc. ours is so unfair and toxic I’m thinking of being a case against mine. Consider all those angles. They can’t just sack you here in Ireland

the_syco

jarvis wrote: »

With no reference?

No reference regardless, tbh. Or not a very good one. If they were asked would they rehire the OP, the reference could just say no, as they had fired OP for dropping calls.

=-=

If you like the job, go into the meeting. The worst that can happen is that they fire you. Otherwise they put you on a Performance Improvement Plan, and check your progress every week or two.

If you're good at your job, they'll probably keep you.

Brian?

dartboardio wrote: »

Well yeah but that isn't really the idea of this thread.

Go in for the meeting. You’re about to be sacked though.

jarvis

Another option is start looking for a new job straight away. Try stay on paid suspension as long as possible. Be sick for a meeting or two etc. only get the letter on the day of the meeting. Play the game while you try find something you might like better.

the_syco

BDI wrote: »

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

If dealing with the public, the public can be c***s who take out their grievance with the company on the person who answers the phone. This can wear most people down after a while.

Batgurl

BDI wrote: »

A thread like this has popped up a few times. Is this a thing in call centres? All you have to do is answer the phone and speak. It’s actually heroic levels of laziness.

What is the company doing wrong that staff feel they can’t keep a headset on and speak to somebody about something they are trained to fix. Can you go to the meeting and help them understand what is going wrong with the place where staff are so demotivated. Could you ask for a change in role.

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

You should go to the meeting to help them help the other employees. You could come in in your dressing gown and do that job like. Slippers on and coffee.

Having sat beside the customer service rep in a previous company, the abuse they can get is something shocking.

It’s not just the passive aggressive assholes who use words like heroic and Dickensian, but the ones who scream abuse and swear at you are just as bad.

And then there is the ones with the sob stories... I saw the poor girl taking the calls reduced to tears on more than one occasion.

Maybe don’t judge someone til you’ve walked a mile in their shoes???

Sardonicat

jarvis wrote: »

Stick it out. You don’t know how it’ll go. Do you have a union representative. Did they specifically train you and have it in record to say that doing what you did was punishable up to dismissal? In order to fire you they have to have absolutely every duck in a row.

Out of interest what were you doing it?

Do you not like the job? Are you planning on moving on anyway?
Have you personal issues that effected your judgment/performance?
What has you performance in general been? Attendance and punctuality? These may all effect how your employer looks upon you.

Are they a large company or smaller?

If you just walk out what will you tell figure potential employers you were doing for the previous two years? You can’t say you have experience in call center working because you won’t have a reference. Traveling? Caring for a relative? Neither of those options make you a candidate with amazing experience.

This.

If you are otherwise a good employee and get results (be that sales /customer retention /complaints resolution ) it could be that a less difficult role may suit you (depending on the scope of the call centre and it's client mix) . I've worked in a call centre and know how difficult it can be dealing get with furious complainants who have got through to you having been messed around for hours not being listened to until now. Compare that to the time I was dealing with callers regarding grant applications who were generally delighted to be talking to someone explaining to them how they could get some free money!

Go in and explain your case honestly and apologetically and take whatever is coming your way on the chin and with grace. Something positive may well come out of the meeting, even if it's just knowing they will give you a reference that reflects your good qualities as an employee (attendance record, punctuality etc) whilst glossing over the negative.

HorrorScope

asteroids over berlin wrote: »

Well deserved!

Go work in a call centre before you pass judgment, but judging by this post you’re exactly the type of person this is used for

Op, start looking for something else. There are plenty of jobs out there for call centre experience, even something like workforce planning is a step up. Life is too short to be dealing with the ****heads known as the public.

HorrorScope

BDI wrote: »

A thread like this has popped up a few times. Is this a thing in call centres? All you have to do is answer the phone and speak. It’s actually heroic levels of laziness.

What is the company doing wrong that staff feel they can’t keep a headset on and speak to somebody about something they are trained to fix. Can you go to the meeting and help them understand what is going wrong with the place where staff are so demotivated. Could you ask for a change in role.

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

You should go to the meeting to help them help the other employees. You could come in in your dressing gown and do that job like. Slippers on and coffee.

Clearly another person who has never worked in a call centre.. go try it with your “slippers and coffee” and let us know how you get on

Sardonicat

BDI wrote: »

A thread like this has popped up a few times. Is this a thing in call centres? All you have to do is answer the phone and speak. It’s actually heroic levels of laziness.

What is the company doing wrong that staff feel they can’t keep a headset on and speak to somebody about something they are trained to fix. Can you go to the meeting and help them understand what is going wrong with the place where staff are so demotivated. Could you ask for a change in role.

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

You should go to the meeting to help them help the other employees. You could come in in your dressing gown and do that job like. Slippers on and coffee.

It IS Dickensian! You are timed on your calls, you often have to stick to a script that is so badly written that it actually works against making a sale/resolving an issue and infuriates the caller. You are being listened to on the call by management. You get mystery callers to test that you're sticking to the script. No one gives a **** about any feedback regarding how bad the scripts are or how the time limit is inadequate. It's really not just chatting to someone.

Samuel T. Cogley

Personally I'd negotiate handing my notice for a standard form reference. It's all most companies give anyway. They'd be wise to accept that rather than you potentially raising a nuisance unfair dismissal claim. Get out of customer facing / call centre roles they're soul destroying. Keep an eye on publicjobs.ie for Clerical Officer roles, it pays about the same as a call centre but the working enviroment is much better. Unless you end up in a call centre on or a customer facing desk that is :pac:

dartboardio

Thanks for all the info.

BDI

Batgurl wrote: »

Having sat beside the customer service rep in a previous company, the abuse they can get is something shocking.

It’s not just the passive aggressive assholes who use words like heroic and Dickensian, but the ones who scream abuse and swear at you are just as bad.

And then there is the ones with the sob stories... I saw the poor girl taking the calls reduced to tears on more than one occasion.

Maybe don’t judge someone til you’ve walked a mile in their shoes???

I’m not judging I’m asking. You are calling names. That’s ok though I can see it’s a topic you care passionately about. I’m asking what can the job do to help the staff not feel the need to disconnect calls. If the op can come to the meeting armed with these suggestions she may keep her job.

You are more likely to walk out of there with your job and a planned path to promotion if you go in with the right attitude. Do you think they have these meetings for the craic?

Saying after two years you feel like the job isn’t challenging you and maybe some more responsibility might push you on abit might get you laughed at or might not. Nothing to lose.

Saying you just feel the job broke you and you are struggling to get out of bed to be shouted at and it’s wearing you down. Say you feel like you served your time and just can’t do it anymore. Say you think it was a cry for help or something along them lines and ask for a reference based on the two years and not the month where you couldn’t handle it any more. Apologise.

See what they offer you.

Not judging you OP- pretty strange thing to do though- you had options, and in full employment right now, leaving was one of them.

You will have huge difficulty if you ignore this and just depart- 2 years missing on a CV is hard to justify unless you're returning to full time college to get retrained in something else, where it will matter less, 3-4 years from now and it will just be an item listing on your CV.

I'd face the music but i don't get from your post that you're in any way remorseful for what you've done - so whatever way you wish to plead in front of them is up to you at this stage. You've created a bit of a mess for yourself which will be hard to ignore at your next interview, assuming you'll be looking for another job.

dartboardio

Maybe I should just move on, moving jobs was on my mind over the last two months, and last week I actually didn't go in because I had said to myself I was done.. But ended up going back.


So maybe for the best I don't go back. Its kinda like a 'be careful what you wish for' scenario!

saabsaab

Call centre work can be very tough on people it sounds like you were under stress? Have you any other issues in your life? Perhaps a call to your doctor is in order before any meeting to see their opinion. They may give you a sick note.

Salary Negotiator

I’d brazen it out and see where the cards fall.

Call centre work is horrible and 2 years is a good stint at it.

For what it’s worth I walked out of a betting call centre after after telling a customer “it’s no wonder you got cancer” and was only fired because I stopped turning up not for what I said which was a sackable offence and also just a dickish thing to say.

punisher5112

Dealing with the public is draining and soul destroying.

LimeFruitGum

I’d fire you, unless there was some serious gold star reason not to. (Like, are you outstanding at upselling, or advanced tech support queries) The best you can hope for is a PIP, but you may as well start looking.

In customer service & tech support, the department is typically measured by call response times, did you resolve the issue in one go etc, how long was the wait time etc. Then the client will probably be asked to complete a little survey about their experience. That’ll generally feed into your annual targets as well. Call center management take these stats very seriously, it’s how they measure the health of the business. You dropping calls is skewing that right up.

I did call center work in college, I grew to hate being on the phones, so I do get why you are acting up, but it isn’t professional. Were you job hunting anyway? You will probably be asked why you didn’t bring it up with the supervisor.

So between client feedback, the call logs, and let’s face it, your colleagues’ feedback, there’s no reason to keep you if you’re not bringing value in some way to the business.

Sardonicat

dartboardio wrote: »

Thanks for all the info.

I've already applied for lots of jobs today, I'm not worried about 'not getting a reference' or any of that, I'm more worried about going back into that meeting and it being extremely awkward, that's why I don't want to go back..

The reason I did it was usually in scenarios where you knew somebody was about to crack up on you, and you didn't have any facility to do anything about it, and those days where you really just weren't in the mood to have someone screaming.


I dont care about social welfare payment as I'd be looking to get straight back into employment, some promo or cafe work, and know I may be exempt for up to nine weeks for SW.

I suppose I'm simply just seeing if the majority would go back and stick it out until the meeting, or just leave it off now and continue searching.

I realize it was a ridiculous thing to do. Performance was generally OK attendance wasn't great, but there were some personal issues going on affecting attendance which I feel they may take into account when making their decision.

Tell them all of this. The call recordings should back you up re the difficult calls. Just go and see what happens. Don't worry about awkwardness. It'll be over you in a few minutes and you might have salvaged something to work with in the future. If you don't go it will be a black market against you and you never know when you might come across someone from management and HR in the future. Not going to that meeting could make the difference between getting a job or not getting an interview elsewhere a few years down the line.

Hoboo

saabsaab wrote: »

Call centre work can be very tough on people it sounds like you were under stress? Have you any other issues in your life? Perhaps a call to your doctor is in order before any meeting to see their opinion. They may give you a sick note.

Exactly this. Stress. Mental health is a minefield no employer wants to touch. Check your employee handbook,.look for EAP, tell them you would like to avail of this if they have one. If not, ask them if they have any support, you love the job etc etc but it all became too much.

That's if you actually want the job. If you don't, follow the same process, milk a month, leave.

BDI

What would happen if I got one of these jobs.

Answered the phone hey buddy how can I help ye.


If they became irate said , come on pal chill out, let’s fix this problem together, I want you to have a good service even if my boss doesn’t care.

Would I get sacked or retrained or just left alone if I was getting results?

dartboardio

dartboardio wrote: »

Maybe I should just move on, moving jobs was on my mind over the last two months, and last week I actually didn't go in because I had said to myself I was done.. But ended up going back.


So maybe for the best I don't go back. Its kinda like a 'be careful what you wish for' scenario!

You might get a company who couldn't cares less who they get, because there's such choice right now and plenty of vacancies in a call centre environment for low paid employment- but don't expect the next job to be any different, so you'll be right in the same situation.

Any company worth working for, will want references- and on that front, you're in trouble- so I'd stick it out. If medical/personal issues have affected your work, that could go in mitigation- but only if- you'd have to prove that in some way so again, that's up to you.

dartboardio

If i was me I would fire me too tbh. When I started there my performance was brilliant and my attendance was OK.

The last six months things have gone downhill in terms of my performance, and of course now this.

Maybe I should move on!

I obviously take full responsibility for what I've done
On paper there wouldn't be any reason for them to keep me on, in fact, my friend said she's surprised they suspended me with pay rather than without, considering they don't owe me anything, as disconnecting calls is deemed gross misconduct.

Thats the strange thing, besides everything I was pretty good at the job. Never got thick with a customer or even cared too much if they got angry with me. Never gave cheek etc. But for some reason got into the habit of hanging up early on an about to get angry customer, or even if I got someone who had no idea what I was saying or couldn't understand anything...

Febreeze

jarvis wrote: »

With no reference?

Not all employees have to give references. Where I work, they don't give references. Probably a letter to state when you started and when you left, but that's not even a line on a page. Companies aren't obliged to give references

Sardonicat

BDI wrote: »

What would happen if I got one of these jobs.

Answered the phone hey buddy how can I help ye.


If they became irate said , come on pal chill out, let’s fix this problem together, I want you to have a good service even if my boss doesn’t care.

Would I get sacked or retrained or just left alone if I was getting results?

You would be called up on it and if you persisted you'd be out the door. You've got to get the callers name and contact details before you do anything else and then it's stick to the script or out the door.

dartboardio

dartboardio wrote: »

If i was me I would fire me too tbh. When I started there my performance was brilliant and my attendance was OK.

The last six months things have gone downhill in terms of my performance, and of course now this.

Maybe I should move on!

I obviously take full responsibility for what I've done
On paper there wouldn't be any reason for them to keep me on, in fact, my friend said she's surprised they suspended me with pay rather than without, considering they don't owe me anything, as disconnecting calls is deemed gross misconduct.

I don't know you from adam, but if you are experiencing personal/medical/mental health related issues, then i would bring that to the company's attention- I certainly wouldn't just walk- only you know why you did what you did- the fact that the company didn't fire you right away means it's likely going through due-process- unlike some companies who ignore employee rights and obligations- so you will likely have a chance to put your case forward- if you don't, you've missed the last chance saloon- going may be your only option still, but how you go- that's what may make the difference in you getting your next job. WAKE UP!!!

punisher5112

Op if you were ever in such a position again and it becomes too much, go to your GP and seek help or some time off.

LimeFruitGum

dartboardio wrote: »

Maybe I should just move on, moving jobs was on my mind over the last two months, and last week I actually didn't go in because I had said to myself I was done.. But ended up going back.


So maybe for the best I don't go back. Its kinda like a 'be careful what you wish for' scenario!

If you were only there a couple of weeks, I would skip.
But 2 years can’t always be explained away, especially if you are relatively new to the workforce. At least try to negotiate an ok reference as part of the deal. In a few years, you can drop it off the CV.

Sardonicat

dartboardio wrote: »

If i was me I would fire me too tbh. When I started there my performance was brilliant and my attendance was OK.

The last six months things have gone downhill in terms of my performance, and of course now this.

Maybe I should move on!

I obviously take full responsibility for what I've done
On paper there wouldn't be any reason for them to keep me on, in fact, my friend said she's surprised they suspended me with pay rather than without, considering they don't owe me anything, as disconnecting calls is deemed gross misconduct.

Thats the strange thing, besides everything I was pretty good at the job. Never got thick with a customer or even cared too much if they got angry with me. Never gave cheek etc. But for some reason got into the habit of hanging up early on an about to get angry customer, or even if I got someone who had no idea what I was saying or couldn't understand anything...

Sounds like burn out. The fact you've been suspended with pay I'd view as a hopefully sign. Go to the meeting and plead your case. If you don't go you are doing yourself a disservice in the long term.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't know you from adam, but if you are experiencing personal/medical/mental health related issues, then i would bring that to the company's attention- I certainly wouldn't just walk- only you know why you did what you did- the fact that the company didn't fire you right away means it's likely going through due-process- unlike some companies who ignore employee rights and obligations- so you will likely have a chance to put your case forward- if you don't, you've missed the last chance saloon- going may be your only option still, but how you go- that's what may make the difference in you getting your next job. WAKE UP!!!

“Mental health” needs to stop being a get-out for everything.

dartboardio

BDI wrote: »

A thread like this has popped up a few times. Is this a thing in call centres? All you have to do is answer the phone and speak. It’s actually heroic levels of laziness.

What is the company doing wrong that staff feel they can’t keep a headset on and speak to somebody about something they are trained to fix. Can you go to the meeting and help them understand what is going wrong with the place where staff are so demotivated. Could you ask for a change in role.

It sounds absolutely Dickensian that somebody would be so demotivated they couldn’t be arsed speaking on the phone. Are you lashing out?

You should go to the meeting to help them help the other employees. You could come in in your dressing gown and do that job like. Slippers on and coffee.

You make it sound like I said the job was hard, did you read at all? The job itself is pxss easy. To be honest it's the job itself that makes you lazy. Makes you want to hang up on people or not answer calls.

But anyway, thanks for the slippers and coffee comment.. Pity it doesn't fit the bill.

Think I just need to go back to a more active job rather than sitting down staring at a computer all day having people who can barely read or write cry down the phone to me and tell me I'm in the wrong for telling them guidelines.


Anyways..sure look.

HorrorScope

BDI wrote: »

What would happen if I got one of these jobs.

Answered the phone hey buddy how can I help ye.


If they became irate said , come on pal chill out, let’s fix this problem together, I want you to have a good service even if my boss doesn’t care.

Would I get sacked or retrained or just left alone if I was getting results?

Well calling a customer “buddy” and “pal” will probably get you an instant fail in your 3 x weekly call monitoring. Then you’ll do it one day to some absolutely colossal self important dick on the phone and he’ll blow a fuse and escalate the situation until your manager has to take over the call....and then you’ll probably be fired for repeatedly ignoring instructions. All for minimum wage. Living the dream eh?

jippo nolan

dartboardio wrote: »

Hi,

No judgement please. I know what I've done is ridiculous

Yesterday I got suspended from work for the week with pay because they noticed I had been disconnecting calls (I work in a call centre) I had been doing this for a few week/months every few days. They only know about six or seven occasions but suspended me so they could look further into it.

Obviously I admitted it straight away, and I'm embarrassed and ashamed.

They are having me back for a meeting next week to discuss the 'outcome' but in my eyes I'm just like, ah that's the job gone, I'm not going back to be told oh yeah we found you done that another 150 times heres your p45

Would you just never return and start looking for more jobs? Or have the balls to go in and do the outcome meeting?

PS. I was there two years

Never admit to anything!

ReginaldSmythV

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

“Mental health” needs to stop being a get-out for everything.

I did say "if"- I'm not saying it's the case in this situation, but considering the OP is an established boards user for the last few years, I was willing to give them, the benefit of the doubt, considering I don't know them.

however, by the OP's own admittance in subsequent posts such as above- "it's the job that makes you lazy" - I've lost total interest in this thread now.

punisher5112

jippo nolan wrote: »

Never admit to anything!

No comment, best advice anyone could ever be given, used it myself.
It's great because it can confuse them and it leaves it harder as they must prove beyond reasonable doubt.