I just had a very interesting phone conversation with a CC company customer specialist.
The specialist said it is horrible right now and definitely getting MUCH worse very quickly as far as credit card delinquencies and defaults. Just by the tone of voice, her seriousness on the issue was definite and very sobering.
The credit card collectors do not make small talk with customers. They especially do not talk about how horrible the supposed credit crunch is.
For a couple of years, I worked for a large company which operated inbound and outbound call centers throughout the country. I helped develop the pricing packages that we used to attract potential new clients. Very complicated process, but kind of interesting.
I visited a couple of our call centers and got to listen in on some of the calls. At the inbound centers, the supervisors monitor how quickly the people take orders, handle questions, etc. Everything is timed and time is maximized to reduce call waiting time and facilitate customer care quickly. Outbound call centers are obviously a totally different animal. Click on the auto-dialer, and the CCR's speak to maybe two people an hour. In both the inbound & outbound model, there is no small talk allowed. It is all about maximizing the efficient use of time. If a CCR (Customer Care Representative) was caught by a supervisor making small talk such as mentioned by the DUmmy, they would be severly reprimanded.
This was in the late 90's, and while some things have probably changed in the industry there are several startling statistics that I'll share.
For any proposal, we budgeted in a 250-300% employee turnover ratio per year in the outbound call centers. For the inbound sites, depending on the product/service, the turnover was between 50-100% per year.
I still see lots of jobs available for working at call centers, DUmmies, for those of you who are chronically unemployed.
