Beth Labonte's Blog, page 14

There are quite a few things I dislike about my office job: filing, cubicle neighbors who have megaphones strapped to their lips like a duck-billed platypus, and the feminine hygiene receptacle in the ladies room that is eternally left open. But nothing can quite compare to the joys of answering the telephone. Best case scenario, it's a wrong number. Worst case scenario, it's an 85 year old man who's pissed off about the Walmart being constructed outside his bedroom window, has no clue who he needs to speak to, and wants to tell you his life story. Oh, and he clearly hates you.

It's for these reasons that I can't fathom the idea of working at a call center. These rugged souls brave the office each and every day, speaking to customer after customer, and they do it all with a "please" and a "thank you" and a "sir" and a "ma'am." I must tell you, I admire these call center employees the same way I admire people who know how to do math. They were born with something that I wasn't. Maybe it's patience, or empathy, or just a general desire to speak to other humans. Whatever it is, it's commendable work. Nobody would want to call customer service and speak with me. First of all, they wouldn't be able to hear me over the sound of my eyes rolling. Second of all, they would have to be put 
on hold while I got fired.




"Yes sir, A squared plus B squared equals C squared"



No, when you call customer service you want to get a pro.  You want to get someone who works for a place like the Global Response Call Center. Large companies like Lord & Taylor, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Toyota outsource their customer service to Global Response who spend a lot of time training their employees on the specific brands. As a result, the employees are highly knowledgeable, helpful, and (aahh!) pleasant to speak with! These are people who actually want to talk on the phone. 





I don't know how they do it day in and day out, but we should all be glad that they do. And if I ever meet one of these people, maybe they can help me with my Algebra.

"From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go." - Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

"From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go." - Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

Thank you to @cube_girl for alerting me to the existence of these cute Copy/Paste t-shirts for twins.  I'm sure they've been around for years, but this is the first I've heard of them:



Riverstone Goods Twins Copy & Paste 2-Pack Short Sleeve Lap T-Shirts (Newborn, 7-14 Pounds)



Almost makes me want to have twins.  Or, you know, cats that wear clothes.

Who can't sympathize with this poor librarian? Some people, *cough* coworkers, *cough, cough* clients, just can't get simple ideas through their heads. Love this skit (particularly when he trips over the wastebasket, but that's just because I'm four):

To quote a coworker, "I can't believe Burger King still exists."



I think that if I started a second blog it would feature pictures of sad and decrepit Burger King signs. Nine times out of ten a BK sign will be missing letters, letters will be dangling off, letters will be inexplicably too far apart, and M's will be used as W's. Today I saw this one for Free WiFi. That's cute. Unfortunately the chances that the WiFi will ever be working properly are about as good as the chances that your Whopper won't give you diarrhea.





BK signs should always come with storm clouds

For some strange reason, there is a huge difference between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. when you're at the office.  Take today for example (and yes, my example involves food).

Me at 3:30:  "Oh man, it's only 3:30?  I'm starving!  I'm never going to make it until 5:00! 5:00 is so far away!" 

 Shuffles into the kitchen.  Shoves 2 quarters into the vending machine.  Clutches Snickers bar in paw.

Me at 3:48 after finishing Snickers bar:  "Shit!  It's almost 4:00! I just ruined my dinner!"

What the heck happens in that span of 30 minutes?  3:30 is like the middle of the afternoon with absolutely no hope of ever seeing the outside world again.  Then 30 piddly minutes tick by and suddenly you're in the homestretch?  "Oh it's 4:00?  Pffft, I'll answer those emails tomorrow!"  




And today the turning point was at 3:48 -  only eighteen stinking minutes after I felt like all hope was lost.  It's interesting, and I'm just going to chock it up to the fact that our entire existence is probably some kind of messed up psychological experiment. 




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Another of the world's mysteries

For some strange reason, there is a huge difference between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. when you're at the office.  Take today for example (and yes, my example involves food).  

Me at 3:30:  "Oh man, it's only 3:30?  I'm starving!  I'm never going to make it until 5:00! 5:00 is so far away!" 

 Shuffles into the kitchen.  Shoves 2 quarters into the vending machine.  Clutches Snickers bar in paw.

Me at 3:48 after finishing Snickers bar:  "Shit!  It's almost 4:00! I just ruined my dinner!"

What the heck happens in that span of 30 minutes?  3:30 is like the middle of the afternoon with absolutely no hope of ever seeing the outside world ever again.  Then 30 piddly minutes tick by and suddenly you're in the homestretch?  "Oh it's 4:00?  Pffft, I'll answer those emails tomorrow!"  




And today the turning point was at 3:48 -  only eighteen stinking minutes after I felt like all hope was lost.  It's interesting, and I'm just going to chock it up to the fact that our entire existence is probably some kind of messed up psychological experiment. 




[image error]
Another of the world's mysteries



 

"So the hours are pretty good then?" he resumed.

The Vogon stared down at him as sluggish thoughts moiled around in the murky depths.

"Yeah," he said, "but now you come to mention it, most of the actual minutes are pretty lousy."



- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Check it out.  There are quite a few entertainingly depressing shots on this blog, here are a few favorites:










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