SALT AND PEPPER - ACTUAL STORY OF LIFE IN A CALL CENTRE

 

“Salt and pepper are traditionally paired set of condiments, having opposite characters and doesn’t taste good if consumed separately, but when mixed with food, it changes the taste, just like fresh and experienced workforce working together”

An inside story of life inside BPO.  The writer who has first-hand experience with working in BPO tells why we are using separate yardstick to gauge workforce in BPO.

It was a bright Saturday morning, around 6 AM, and I stood on the footpath before a usually bustling junction. The city was still asleep, patiently awaiting the arrival of more sunlight. A few people wandered by—some in their nightclothes, clutching small bags for their morning purchases of milk and bread; others were out for their morning walks.

Some well-dressed gentlemen were standing as a group probably waiting for the cab to pick them up to the office like me, waiting for my cab to take us to my BPO call center.

The morning weather was pleasantly fresh and filled with charm. I was truly enjoying this rare early morning after such a long time. This wasn't due to waking up late; rather, I sleep late, just before the sun rises in the east. Our mornings and nights are not decided by the sun or the moon rising above your rooftop but by the sunrise and sunset of our English-speaking clients. We eat, sleep, and spend our time with family based on their convenience. 

But why am I up this morning? Typically, Saturday is a holiday for night shift employees, but wise management chooses Saturdays for all off-production activities, such as training sessions, seminars, or workshops. This has a double benefit: they can proudly claim that they operate under a five-day work calendar while still providing skill development activities without compromising work hours. In short, even though it’s supposed to be a nice napping time, I find myself waiting for the cab to pick me up. 

Today, we will have a training session on improving our services to customers. This training will include sessions on personality development, language proficiency, and tone of voice. The aim is to enhance our ability to handle customers on the other end of the call and make them super happy. These types of sessions are routine, occurring almost every month.

Sometimes, I wonder if my parents had done the same things to me during my study time, I might have .... Let's bury the past and discuss the training of today right?  it will be better.  why should I scold my parents because I became a failed son?  so let's start again on my training today.

Through this session, the company aims to make us more proactive. You might wonder what I mean by "proactive." It means that when a customer comes to us with a complaint, we not only need to resolve that issue but also anticipate any possible follow-up complaints they might have. It’s similar to how our elders predict the future using horoscopes.  

In fact, if you’re a pundit in India or have a basic understanding of astrology, BPO could be the right domain for you to excel in! Just ask two questions—date of birth and place of birth—and you might find yourself predicting customer needs like a pro

A cab stopped near me and I stepped in.  One of my friend Remya Nair was sitting in the back end of the cab,  seeing me,  she waved her hand with a lovely smile.  I felt the coolness inside the cab is increased.  She just passed her graduation and without waiting for anything joined BPO, straight from the college, along with her six friends.

She is a tall and beautiful girl with long hair, tender fingers lean built.  She wore a blue churidar with a matching nice bhindi in the forehead.  I smiled back and acknowledged her gratitude.  Cab started running and I need to take a decision, should I occupy the empty seat near her or not a chance of chit chat till we reach our office.  I spotted the second bhindi at the top of her forehead indicating she is married.

Though I know she is married but again I felt someone saying to me from behind. "stop scanning and start sitting somewhere".  I obeyed my inner call and choose to sit in the front row itself, ignoring the impulse of sitting near her.  

The time is 6am and her house about 10 km far from here, and the cab might have picked her up between five to five thirty in the morning.  Seeing her makeup,  one could easily estimate she might have spend at least half an hour in front of mirror. Then at what time she might have woke up today?  Anyway that’s none of my business right?

Cab was running fast as the road was empty with no traffic that can slow us.  The speed of the cab, together with the morning breeze fluttering on my hair from the side window was something amazing and refreshing.  Soon I will reach my office.  I had some reservations regarding this training session.  Being working in the same industry for twenty long years without any notable promotions, it hard for a hardworking man like me to go and sit with a very young, energetic and lovely boys and girls and get trained.  It just like asking an adult to sit with children who are younger than his son.  What to do.  Need to forget all these and just concentrate on only one thing, how to find possible concerns of my customer and how to achieve my daily EPO.

We reached office and entered the training room.  I sit in the back row, possibly my school days habit of sitting in the back or to avoid visibility and to reduce chance of trainer speaking to me.  Trainer was also a very young MBA graduate, just joined the company. She is a fresh face without any prior experience.  The irony is that she also got to clear the target.  She needs to conduct a fixed number of training sessions otherwise her appraisal will get spoiled.  She has to convince the production manager and advise him to send his team.  Sending a team for training means waste of production time for the manager.  So she really needs to work hard to get a training session approved by the management.

The training started, she came to the training room with a huge smile in her lips.  She spoke of many things, about positive attitude, about sincere working, about understanding customer’s state of mind.  Her address to the team was clear.  She had done all the proper homework before coming to office today morning.  Next she invited us to make a self introduction.  You can say anything about yourself.  Even if you speak 30 minutes about you or even if you speak all along the session,  I will be happy only thing is that you should mention three mandatory points, your name,  the project you work for and your years of experience with the organization.  So the team started introducing about themselves.  Sad part is that no one is taking the challenge of speaking at least 30 minutes but all are just answering the three questions and passing the buck to the next man in waiting. 

Self introduction was going very fast.  No one is wasting any time or dragging too much.  Very soon I will have to stand up and give my introduction.  Some panic in my heart, I felt thirsty and sweating a little.  First two points, easy to say, my name and project name, next one; panic inside me grow.  How can I say that I am staying in this office for twenty years and too without any promotions?  I thought of an idea, I can’t lie and say that I joined the company two years back but surely low my voice so that no one is hearing the year of service I am telling.  My turn came and I stood up, trainer was looking at me with huge smile in her face as if to make the team comfortable.  I told her my name and project name, stopped a little making sure my voice is very low, I told her I am working here for the last twenty years.  I don’t know whether she heard my name or project name clearly, but she correctly spotted my year of occupation in this company.  Twenty years?  huge exclamation mark blown by the trainer echoed the training room.  My worst fear became a reality.  Everyone turned their face to me smiling with curiosity as like they are seeing me for the first name.  Some even started clapping and some waving a thumps up sign in air, as if I have done something great or extra ordinary.  Trainer stood up and congratulated me.  In this world of heavy competition, when many even are struggling to complete even one year of service,  you had done a marvelous job here Padmanabhan, it is showing the level of commitment you have towards your job and company and the level of confidence our company has against you.  It’s a wonderful feat you have achieved.  Her words was like cool water pouring on my head in the scotching heat.  Still today I am confused whether that’s a true appreciation or a bit of sarcasm? I don’t know.

I do not have many friends to name.  My friendship circle was limited.  Its very difficult for me to maintain and built new friendship circle but honestly saying the limited friendship which I have is a strong and long lasted one.  Of them two are from my own work place; one just joined the company and the other working with me for two or three years.  One is very ambitious, modern, fast thinking and fast doing.  Never mind what’s the outcome.  He wants to do many things in life, speaks a lot about attire and has up to date knowledge about latest trends in fashion and technology.  Uses latest phones, makes online purchases, almost every day one representative from flipkart or amazon will be knocking our door in search of him.  A perfect example of modern India, a typical urban youth.  Other one seems to be a little sadist, finds fault in everything and advocates everything around him including me needs to change so we call him Mr. Perfect.  As a third member of this gang, I pretend myself to be more mature, and has no dearth in showering advise.  I believed everyone is valuing my advises considering my seniority in the company and also as the oldest in the gang.  Later only I got to know that I am wasting my time and energy.

We used to assemble on every Sundays, have some chats, whether its in beach, park or in a bar and will discuss everything under the sun, about politics, religion,  about crimes in the city etc but sooner or later the whole conversation will slowly slip into the life inside the company.

As usual, we assembled, this time in a bar and started our round table.  As our first bottle was served, we took a light subject of why trump failed in America; Modi and Trump who’s better etc, then to the slightly complicated subject of India and China relations, about smart cities, Monorails and India’s GDP growth rate.  With the spirit of Beer rising, we lost no time in slipping to the most complicated topic of politics in the workplace, about the managers and company gossips.  As the latest news was my training itself, we had some interesting conversations regarding this as well.

It’s a fact Chottu,  (he used to call me like that) twenty years of survival in BPO is not very easy;  it’s a fact that you survived twenty years in an environment which has cat and rat race.  I am not saying you have overstayed but you failed to grow with the company.  You failed to constantly update your skills, you failed to highlight your presence and in short, you failed to grow with the company. Here competency and skillsets matters most.  You should have either shape in or ship out otherwise you will be out of the race.  Within two years you should at least reach a level of grade two and within 5 – 6 years, you should grade six or manager level.  Otherwise you’re gone.  Mr Perfect was very much in argument.

I was in a deep silence and in deep thought, what Mr. Perfect saying was the rule of the day.  Here in IT companies, the recruitment was mainly from college students.  They are tough, strong , energytic and ready to go even to moon.  The only issue is that they will leave as like they came.  One fine morning, his manager will get a WhatsApp message that as my mother is calling, I am leaving your job.  Its as simple as that.  So in order to get them onboard, companies offer them job promotions, they never mind how much headache he or she is going to make to the team but end of the day,  they need to finish the targets.  But my take is that job promotion should never be considered as a reward for hard work you are doing.  Its completely two different spheres.  Hard working should be rewarded monetarily.  Because grade six means managing people.  Here the skillset is totally different.  I would say promotions within office is good provided he has people managing skills.  Sachin Tendulkar was a good batsman but a failed captain.  So creating a concept that if you’re not reaching grade six within six years, you’re gone is very dangerous. I believe I will never qualify for the post of grade six even if I work 15 hours a day, achieving 200 % EPU or not taken leave for the last 5 years because I lack the skill of managing people.  I cannot manage my wife, my mother says “don’t lecture on us what we need to do” my sister says “don’t even come to me with your stupid ideas anymore, I will kill you”  what to say, even my little son looking at me, sings loudly,   “ rain rain go to spain, do not show your face again” in the midst of scotching summer and the sun is glowing like a fireball overhead.  In this scenario, how can I impart my ideas on my colleagues and make them believe that my ideas will be better for the team.  Most important, how can I expect my employer to respond to my ideas positively and pay for that?  Very difficult task indeed.  Why shouldn’t I remain as a sacha praja, go to office everyday, do my tasks and return like a good boy for the whole of my life? Good thought but few takers.

My other friend picked up a cigar and lighted it.  If he started smoking, he will become  Socrates, his philosophical thoughts will increase.  Personally I don’t like smoking but the smell it produces is good for me.  He took a puff, punched it back to air and said loudly waving both his hands and punching the air as if he is addressing a big audience.  “To excel in our office, you do not require high intelligence bro, Learn English, polish it and use frequently, Learn some excel reports and send some reports regularly.  Never stop sending reports no matter how it matters, slowly but steadily you will be noticed and everyone will start to believe that you are doing something great.  You are blessed if you have a godfather to promote and protect.

That sound vibrating again and again in my ears… you are blessed if you have a godfather to promote… suppose even I do have a godfather to help and suppose I gave him regular drink and dinner and became grade six manager, but when a problem arises, I will fly like Luttapi with fire on the tail, instead of solving the problem, I will point my fingers to my left and right, against my managers and colleagues and argue that they are the reason for the problems.  Am I exaggerating the issues out of proportion, the answer is no, I have through my twenty years of service can categorically say all that said was right, I have seen many incapable managers running in all directions, to get a problem solved, increasing their blood pressure, temperature of his colleagues, and eventually after three or four years leaving the office and start agriculture saying IT sector is not good for India.

This sector is very much good for India.  Then why this much issues buzzing around IT sector, the answer is probably because the sector is very new to Indian society.  Both society and the companies need to get stable.  Reading our social fabric, can anyone in 1980’s could have imagined girls going to office and too in night shifts in heavy numbers?  Answer is no so the society is adopting themselves now it’s the company to shape themselves in order.  They have to change themselves or ship out.

Mr perfect came up with an argument.  Why should the companies change?.  They won’t change unless our system is strong enough to control it.  But its not going to happen.

“It will change” I protested, they are not changing now is because they are getting excess work force.  They have in stock more than their required workforce, ready to get into the firm at any time so they has the liberty to make mistakes, but when India attracts more players into this sector, competition deepens and these same corporate will start to give more importance to those who will stay for long and view with suspicion, on those who jump ships regularly.  Sooner or later, reliability will become key factor.  If you check any other sector, it is the experienced and reliable people who get the edge.  So this is a wait and see scenario, how long it will take?  God only knows.