I Quit my Job with Dell (Sutherland) on the 19th of November. I had already informed my TL that i would have to quit around this date. And then my Group Leader spoke to me, trying to persuade me to stay. But finally he had to give in to my wishes. I submitted an Online Resignation during the first week of November. And November 15th onwards i informed my TL that i had some important work and stopped going to Office. That weekend i went on Trip to Mahabalipuram with my College Friends(will post abt it soon). After a few days, on November 19th i went to Office. I was not able to login as my account has been locked. I talked to my GL and he said he will in turn talk to the Program Manager and approve the Resignation. Meanwhile i contacted Ask Allen(Admin) and reactivated my user ids and took a print out of my past salary certificates. Our CCOD helped me take the print outs and while he was doing this my resignation was approved. I bid adieu to my Friends/Colleagues, TLs, GLs, everyone there and came back home. I had worked there for 5 months and it was really a great learning experience and i enjoyed it. I was told by many that just take the money from the bank as soon as they credit the salary and stop coming to office from the next day. I didnt want to just come out like that. And its against my ethical standards! So, even though i might not get the last month’s salary as was rumored before, i decided to resign the job officially. It gave me immense gratification. And Surprisingly(coz i didnt expect this), today Sutherland credited around 15k as a final settlement!

Yea… Its Time to Say Bye Bye to Sutherland… I’ve decided to Quit this week… Have submitted a formal resignation and will be relieved by the end of this week. Had a Real Good Experience with Sutherland which is my First Job!

The Only negative Factor i found was the change in timings and offs every week and obv the night shift. But working at night shifts proved to be quite useful(a blessing in disguise perhaps, for me) because i was able to carry out my other works in the mornings and sleep after that. But it was okay since it was a temporary job for me, kind of parking space for the 6 odd months between my undergraduation and Permanent Job/Graduation. Dont know how i would feel if this is supposed to be my Permanent Job or something like that.

It has been nearly 5 months since i started working at Sutherland. It had been a very good learning experience. The 15 Days of Versant Training was really interesting with a whole new bunch of Friends/Colleagues! The Training part was almost like college with a lot more freedom. The Trainer Chandini was not exactly that Good in Teaching but was Okay coz she didnt disturb us. We got a lot of Interesting Insights into the American Life Language and Culture.

And then there was the Technical Training which helped us again learn more about computers! And it was the first time we worked in the 12am-8am shift, something new for us at that time. And a very Amusing Trainer Vengat who had us in splits during those night shifts.

Then we were given the Process Training for Printers for nearly a month. During which we learnt a little about printers and more about the different ways of sleeping/doing something else in class. A Comm Trainer Shyam who had funny piercings on  his face but was really cool and a Process Trainer Ramji who seemed to be strict at the beginning but later on became friendly. And that too his Terror experiences on floor had us in splits most of the time. After a little bit of learning here we went on to the floor.

At the Floor we had a “Mr.Cool and Calm” Trainer Deepak Patel and two L2’s Suceendran Meganathan and Chandra Doss. And GLs Satish and Narikot Nair. All of them were really Good and made my first Job into a Good Experience which i can remember for all Good Reasons than the Bad Ones. The Call Taking experience was really new and amusing for me. Its been more than 3 months since we started taking calls. A Day used to be Good at one point and Really Bad at an other point. Depending on the customer. But later on after getting used to the calls and getting matured enough to understand the life at call centre, it doesnt matter if a customer is Good or Irritating.  We starting finding the amusing and interesting things about the calls and customers. Doss my L2 who’s really good at taking escalation calls helped me understand the importance of keeping cool and handling the irate customers - That would be really useful for real life as well. Suceendran my other L2 and his antics keeps us laughing all the time. And Deepak had been a real inspiration of being a Good Team Leader for all of us. Same of Satish who’s our GL - Dell 4 in one. And recently, that is, for the last two weeks our teams have been shuffled and my New TL is ParamaGuru, who also has been Good.

In all, it was a Really Enjoyable and Learning Experience at Sutherland. My first work experience… A cherishable part of my life indeed!

Yea… This is what i was thinking about all these days…

At least now, i have found an answer! Am Not Quitting this Job until i change my mind again!

After thinking over it Day In and Day Out, i found that my reasons for Not Quitting out weighed the reasons for Quitting. I was actually thinking of quitting last week. Well, it cud have been because i had fever last week and was very tired and exhausted. I found the job to be too tiring. And that maybe because i was new to everything. Now, that i got used to it, i have a different view on all that. I feel like how stupid i was to think of quitting all those silly reasons.

These days its so cool to take calls. I have got used to the tools and softwares that i am supposed to use on calls and the irate customers no longer bother me. I jus’ escalate the call to my supervisor and enjoy them listening to whatever dash the customers say. I look at my supervisor when he’s taking the sup call and say “Why Blood?! Yea… Same Blood!”

If i Quit i will be Happy for a Week or two and again i start getting bored of doing nothing or tired of roaming out with friends. And it does not sound good or even worse |very much embarrassing| to say ‘I am sitting at home after finishing my BE/Waiting for DoJ’ when someone asks me ‘What U doin’ these days?!’

And i feel that it will give you some kind of secured feeling. That you belong to some group. And i sure can do something with the Money i earn rather than being at home and asking for money from my parents every time i go out of house.

After considering all these things, i have decided to stay put for some more time…! Until i change my mind again!

We started taking Calls right from Day 1…!

I didnt expect that!!! I thought they were joking! Come on man… Do U mean, Real US Customers?! And we are going to solve their issues?! What about the Quality Parameters? Quality of Support?! And all other Parameters?! But No… They werent Joking! Our TL said, dont worry guys, this is a kinda practice for you… Dont worry about quality parameters, just go on and take calls… Wel, Okay! I rehearsed my script and then i went on to take my first real call… Poor Customer!

A Lady called in with a Fax Problem! (Hey… Whats this! They didnt teach us about any Fax issues in Training!!!) After Greeting the customer exactly as in the Opening Script! I went on to collect the details like First Name/Last Name, Phone Number and Service Tag of the Printer! We had to Alpha Verify the Name for Spelling Errors! I started… Lemme verify ur Name ma’am… (read this slowly) A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo, C as in Charlie and so on… I didnt memorize that at that time! I was searching my empty brain for the correct word! As soon as i finished Alpha Verifying her name… She asked me, “Are you in Training?!” Me: Hey, How did she find that out? Again Me: By the way U spoke to her, dumbo!!! U shud’ve been more confident! She: “I want to speak to someone who is not in Training or to a Supervisor.”

I called in my TL and gave the phone to him! He went on and solved the Problem for her. It took him 45mins for him! I wondered, if that issue took 45minutes for an expert, guess how much time i wud have taken!

And then, i took another Call… That was a transfer Call and i had to Transfer it to another Department… This time, the Customer didnt find out that i was in Training…! Thank Goodness! And i transferred it successfully… Well, actually I Though So! Until i found out that i didnt get any details from the customer or log a case in the DELL Tool!! That was again a failed call!

After some time, our TL called all of us and asked us to pair up with someone and take calls. One person will speak to the customer, and other will help him/her find a solution and log a case in DELL Tools! This time around i was more confident and the remaining calls i took that day were kinda okay!

Now… Don’t get angry on me that i am always writing about calls! Since i am working at a Call Centre, right now my life revolves around calls and thats the reason majority of my posts are about calls…! Will try to write about some other topics as well…

Now this post is about Amusing US Customers…

The US Customers are so very Amusing to us and i think that they think likewise about us!

Its all about the kind of reaction that we get when we tell the customer that we’re calling from India. Many of the customers would be surprised that we were speaking to them from India.

They would tell me, ‘Its really amazing to that you could take control of your computer from that far and resolve the issue in minutes!’ And if i solve their issue, they would jump with joy and pour out praises on me! And my reaction ‘Ah! That was Nothing!’ Trying to be Modest!!

Some customers have the impression of the Old India with Elephants, Kohinoor Diamonds or Beggars, Poverty etc. One of the cx asked me, ‘I’ve heard that you have lots of Diamond Mines there!’ Me:‘I guess so’. And Some of the customers dont even know where India is! One of them asked me, ‘Is it near Brazil?!’

Our Ops Manager(Short for Operations Manager) told us that, these days the surprise element has gone down, because many of the customers would know that the call centres are in India, Philipines, etc. During the Days when he took calls(That would be 3-4years back), if the customer comes to know that he’s speaking from in India, they would literally jump with astonishment and surprise. You are talking to me from India?! He said some customers even disconnect the call immediately after hearing that he’s from India thinking that they’re on an International Call and that they’ll be charged! Or else, the customer would call everybody in the family near the phone, like for example their son/daughter, grandson/granddaughterand tell them, Hey Jim/Mary(any name!) I am talking to a Technical Support Person who is from INDIA!!! Can you believe that! He’s from India and he is able to access our computer so fast. And One by one each of the family member will have a word with him. Say Hi to that Uncle from India! lol

I wish i could name this post as Sleepless in Seattle or Sleepless in Singapore!

But since i am from Chennai and i am Sleepless here… I had to name the Post like this! Maybe i could have named it as Sleepless in Singara Chennai… Title nalla illa… So, rejected!

Well, i am not actually sleepless… Its just that i am awake when most of you are sleeping… Yes, thats because i’ve been working in the Night Shift for the past 2 months… My sleep pattern has been changed topsy-turvy! So much that i am not able to sleep during the nights even when i am in a holiday… See i am here posting an useless post at around 2.30am! Thats the worst part of working in a night shift… You never know when is the right time to sleep or eat! And if at all you get a day or two off, you would be sleeping all day! You sleep in the day because you got used to it and in the night because you have nothing better to do, with everyone around you Sleeping!

For everyone who works, one significant day of their life is the day of the first salary. I got mine on 31st of July 2008, when i was 21yrs and 49days old! I am not going to disclose how much it is (Company Guidelines ) but it was a great moment for me. The whole of the money, my own money, much awaited money. I was expecting to get my first salary from Infosys, but Sutherland beat them!

Our salary account was with ICICI Bank. All of us were eagerly awaiting our first salary. We were told that we’ll get the money only by 6pm on the 31st! We were working at that time and so we cudnt go to the ATM! But, we got the message thro’ the Mobile Banking service that the salary has been credited!

I’m too broke and finally i have money again. haha. soo hooray! money! $_$ yes. I Luv Money! (Well, Who doesnt?!)

But, i havent decided how to spend it yet! Any suggestions?!

Update: I invested my entire Salary in an Equity Fund!

My Love/Hate Relationship with taking calls… One day I Enjoy taking Calls and on another day i Hate it so much that i feel like quitting that day itself!

When the Customers are very nice and pleasant to talk to, I enjoy talking to them and helping them out with their issue.

And when the customers are rude and impolite i speak to them in a kind of similar way. just talk to them in a professional manner! Wud never go out of the way to help him out.

There are another set of customers who doesnt know anything, cant understand anything, cant co-operate, but want their problem to be resolved. Dumbest Customers! That is when i feel like Abusing the Cust with all the bad words i can think of. And that is what makes me hate Calls. But, if a very good cust comes online after that call, that feeling disappears after sometime! And i start to love taking calls and talking to customers!

So, everyday is a kind of Love-Hate Relationship with Calls!

After Clearing the MSV, we then went on to do our PnP Training. Thats the Product and Process Training for DELL! We were put into Printers 4 in 1 batch! This training was for 22days!

4 in 1 Printers deals with DELL Branded Printers, Projectors, Axims, TVs and MP3 Players! We had a Process Trainer and a Professional Skills Trainer! We had this training from 4pm to 12am! This Shift was kinda cool! The initial few days were very Boring! But later on it picked up speed and the entire training was over in No Time!

We were taught how to use DELL tools to retrieve customer information, enter data, notes for each call! There were so many tools to use in each call! And the skills like Empathy, Rapport Building, etc with the Customers while on a call! At the end of this training we practiced Mock Calls! After the Training we had to undergo ACP on the Floor with Quality Control People. Our Office was in DLF IT Park! So, after finishing the training we went there to give our ACP!

We were introduced to our TL’s! who had some 36 odd months of experience at Sutherland! Only after when i started working, I noticed that many guys say that they have so and so many months of experience in the industry! Till then, I had only heard people say their experience in years! There’s this Guy, Vijendran aka Gaja who works with us. He has a total 4 yrs experience! He had worked in Call Centres like Accenture, Barkleys, and 5-6 other Big Names(i dont remember the names!), his max stay in a company being 10-11 odd months! Thats the Trend! My Dad had experience in Banking for 25 odd years! And it was the Same ol’ Bank for all those years! But, it was then! And thats Past! Things change! The trends different now! Who knows, maybe in the future, everyone will say i have so and so many hours of experience in the industry!

Well, coming back to ACP… After finishing the PnP training we then came to DLF Sutherland and had to take an ACP(i think its, Accurate Call Profiling) Test! I somehow managed to clear it! And so we successfully moved on to the the next step! And that was directly into production floor! We were gonna take calls from the day after!!!

My prev blog “The Versant Experience” had the maximum number of views for quite sometime! So, encouraged from the positive response, am writing more about my training!

I forgot to tell you about the Panel Interview (Comm Check) conducted by a H(aitch)R named TONY, before The Versant Test! And the funny incidents related to that! The HR tests our communication and shortlists us thru’ a Mock Call.

For many the HR Tony didnt look like a HR! He was a very Modest Guy! And since everyone said that the comm check is very difficult etcetera etcetera and after hearing the name Tony, we were expecting a lot frm that comm check! Something like… a foreigner sitting on the other side of the table looking at us mockingly and speaking in an unintelligible English!

So one by one everyone went in and came out of the cabin in which he conducted the interview. As i said b4 that we were expecting something and found something else inside the cabin, it was quite fun that day! When Aiyaz went in, he misunderstood the name and called the HR as Hi Tommy!!! lolz Nishant went in to attend the comm check. He’s a cut and right guy, always speaks like a military man. So he was nicknamed military during our comm training. He went in and started speaking to Tony as always, like a military man(also his rate of speech was high) Tony asked Nishant to drink some water and relax. Nishant replied back, “No!!! I don’t want water now!!!” Tony was taken aback by his bossy nature. And so he threw him out! Sathya went in next, and found that a man was sitting there in a t-shirt jean and who didnt look like a HR. So, she started searching the room and tried opening another room which had the entrance thru’ this cabin. But that was locked. She came back to that man and asked him, “i am supposed to go thru’ my comm check with a HR named Tony in this cabin, when’ll he come?!!” He replied back,”I am the HR and I am Tony!!!”

According to me, Tony was quite friendly and spoke well… And after clearing this we took the Versant test. You can read abt it in my blog “The Versant Experience”

After clearning the versant we were inducted into the company. They gave us the Permanent ID card, opened the ICICI Bank account, Pan Card for those who didnt have one, another Offer Letter etc

The we had the Tech Training. It was for 6 days. And our timings were from 12am to 8am! The Graveyard Shift! Our Trainer was Vengat and his classes were never boring. Yep! The way he pokes fun on everyone in class keeps the training sessions alive! And the AC, always in 16degrees(he never alows us to switch it off or increase the temp) during night! It was very difficult for us last row guys to sleep!

We learnt quite a lot abt the computer Hardware, Windows XP and Vista OS, etc… After the 6 days of training we had to attend the MSV test. MSV is Minimum Skill Verification!

It was a 60 minutes test. And many of us finished that in 5-10 minutes! I got 88% in that! Then we had a 1week break during we just went there to mark our attendance.

Now we are in the Process Training. We were put into Printers 4 in 1 batch! This training is for 22days! I was disappointed initially bcoz i was expecting that they would put me in Desktop or Laptop!