Tag-Archive for » Sutherland «

Time to Say Bye Bye… to Sutherland

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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!

My First Call

Tuesday, September 02nd, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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! :D

A Lady called in with a Fax Problem! (Hey… Whats this! :-o 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!

Call from India!

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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?! :o 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

My First Paycheck

Thursday, August 07th, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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! :) I am not going to disclose how much it is (Company Guidelines :P ) 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 to it!

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 don’t have to ask money from my parents anymore cause now I have my own money. 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! :)

DELL PnP Training @ Sutherland

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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! :D

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!!! :-o

DELL Tech Training @ Sutherland

Saturday, July 12th, 2008 | Author: Vivek

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! :D

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 :D 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!!!” :D

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!

The Versant Experience!

Saturday, July 05th, 2008 | Author: Vivek

I had joined Sutherland recently. They put me in the DELL Process. We were given a 15 Day Comm Training, after which, we were to be shortlisted based on our performance in Two Tests.
1.Comm Check (a mock call and a one on one interview)
2.Versant Test
For the uninitiated, Versant is an automated test of spoken English. It evaluates the ability to understand, be understood and general English language proficiency.

This Monday i gave my Versant Test. I had been to Tirupati the previous day. I had very little sleep coz we had returned only by midnight. I woke up late and started to get ready in a hurry, when I got a call frm Sakthivel, my frnd in Sutherland who came with me in the same cab. He told me that my name was not in the list that day and that the cab driver refused to come to my place. So perfect in cancelling the cab(coz our 15 days of training was over), did they show this sincerity while providing us cab for the first time!~! Anyways, i had more time now. I can relax and eat properly.
I then took my Bike and went on to pick up ma frnd Sripadharajan. We reached the Perungudi Office on time. We were asked to wait in the Conference room. Then, the H(aitch)R Sangeetha came and we practised the pronounciation with her.

The first one to give the Versant Test was Krithika (She’s the one who’s very much into this Accent and Pronounciation thing, in my class. In Velammal language, Topppperrrrr! :D ) She cleared the Test with 64points.

Actually we were told that we had to be loud and clear so that the machine can understand us properly. Since girls usually have a low pitched voice, they were asked to be a bit louder than normal. So, Swapna, the next girl who went in, started screaming! She got too much excited and worried about the whole thing, which made her shout! Poor Girl! She got only 42 and failed in the Test. 60 out of 80, was what one had to get to clear Versant.

It was almost 1pm and so we were asked to have our lunch. I too was getting excited and wanted to get done with it. Ah, How I hate Exams! So, myself and Pawan went in as soon as we finished our lunch.

I went into the Versant Test Room… There was a Telephone and a Headphone. The Lady in-charge dialled the ordinate system and put me on line.

Voice over the Phone(VoP): Thank you for calling the Ordinate testing system.

Me: {My Pleasure!!!} :( ( (Ma heart started beating faster! I dont know why, whenever i go for an Interview or an Exam it happens like that)

VoP: Please enter your Test Identification Number on the telephone keypad.

Me: Dialled my Versant TIN(Test Identifaication Number) – 12345678

VoP: Now, please say your name.

Me: {Ah, My Name! Now wat was that!} Shanmugam

VoP: Now, please follow the instructions for Parts A through E.

Me: {Ok Ok! I’ll Try to!}

And then, I gave the Test! Part A was Reading. Part B – Repeat. Part C – One Word Answers. Part D – Sentence Builds. Part E – Open Questions.

I actually didnt listen to the voice properly. {I was thinking how loud i was? After giving a wrong answer for a question, i would remember its correct answer after sometime! And when i am thinking abt the correct answer, i would miss the next question! And like this my concentration was not at all on the voice most of the time! I had done better than this in all my practise files!}

And i finished the Test. Pawan also came out at the same time. We waited for the Results.

The other guys who were waiting for their turn asked me what were the Questions. I didnt remember any questions! Only one Question that i remembered was this one in Part C! VoP: To chill it, what do you add to water? Me: Sugar. (But, said that with perfect accent and pronounciation! lolz!) Its always like that… As soon as i come out of the Exam Hall, i would forget everything! Absolutely Everything!

And soon the Lady in-charge saw ma results in the ordinate website and told me that i had scored 71!

71! :O That was a Surprise! :D

But whatever, i dont care. We guys have finished engineering, without even once worrying about the percentage et al, ithenna jujuppi matter!!! The Only thing that Matters is whether you are IN or OUT!

And thankfully, am IN! :) One Month Salary vaangama poratha illa! :D

I’m at home since then… Havent got my Tech Training scheduled yet!

Sutherland Interview Day!

Monday, June 30th, 2008 | Author: Vivek

It was 18th of June 2008… I woke up as usual in the Morning and Got Ready etc… I took jus that offer letter they mailed to ma home and a Resume… I was asked to be there at 10am! The Office is diagonally opposite the Santhome Church… I went there at 11am… When i reached back home, it was around 7pm! Now, lets see what i did there all day!

I went in and gave ma Profile to the Receptionist… She got ma Profile, after seeing me pick it out frm the Sutherland Envelope along with the Offer Letter, she asked me whether i had a campus offer… I said yes… She wrote it down and asked me to wait outside… Seems that those who had a campus offer letter need to attend one interview less… Big Deal…! I thought that they would directly take me in!!!
I was the waiting waiting waiting! After some more waiting i was called and asked to wait in the lobby! God, again waiting eh! Hmmm… Then, i was called into a cabin and a middle aged HR interviewed me… All those basic questions… Temme about yourself… And picking frm what i say… Ithuku paer thaan pottu vaanguratha!!! Namma enna solromo athu la irunthe namaku thirumba questions ketu kudaivaanga! Then, she gave me a paragraph and asked me to read it… It was some story aboput a cunning fox… I read it.. She then asked me to summarize it… Enna da ithu, ithuku enna summarizing ellam… Hmmm… I said, the moral of the story is “Beware of Cunning Foxes!” Is that Okay?! I dont know… I came out and i was given a personal data sheet to fill up, i was selected in that personal interview… Then, they asked me to take a break and come back again…

After finishing ma lunch there, i went in and gave an online test… Analytical and Listening… I scored a 90 in listening and 70 in Analytical… Pass Mark was some 50 and 60 respectively… I cleared that round and then was asked to go down and meet another HR, Emmy Wilson…
Again i waited waited waited…
After some more waiting, she came and took three of us to another board room or something, me and some 2 other guys, 1 of whom happened to become ma frnd at Sutherland and the other was rejected due to loads of backlogs…
It was supposed to be a final interview, she told… She asked us to speak for 2 minutes about something… She asked me abt ma College… The Other Guy talked about Racing at ECR in which his frnd lost his hand! And the third Guy, Nishant talked about paragliding at Air Force Quarters… This is the reason he was nicknamed Military at Sutherland…
And after that, she told that Nishant and Me had been selected and were put in DELL Process… Here, we have a 15 Day Training and other details…

We then met one Stephen who was the head of the HRs… Again after waiting we met him and he signed the final selection papers… We were then given our Training ID Cards… We joined the Training frm Day 2, the next Day(19th June 2008)…

Thus after getting our ID Cards, i introduced ma self to this Guy Nishant who was supposed to attend the training along with me and we exchanged Numbers… Then, we got the seal in the ID frm the Security… He was frm Tambaram and had to catch a bus/train… So, i said i’ll drop him at Guindy coz it was near ma Place… And so we went together till Guindy frm where he took a train to his place…

And it was nearly 7pm when i went back home that day!
This is all that happened, in short!I believed this was the last elemination round and hereafter we are permanent employees! But i was wrong!!!

What made me join Sutherland!

Saturday, June 21st, 2008 | Author: Vivek

After finishing ma Final (ah… at last!) Semester Exams, i heaved a sigh of relief! At last… No more Subjects to Study, Exams to write, Results to worry about! Writing Exams, ah Not a Big Deal! Combined studies a few days before the exam… Listening out to all those ma frnds have studied(this is combined study!) And the Final Semester, it was very very easy, coz the exams were during the afternoons! It was only during the Mornings that we studied… Everyone will study 1 unit a day b4 the exam… And teach that unit to others next day… Thus all 5 Units are covered… We even did revision 2-3 times!

But, Every Semester, i dread one thing… Thats checking out the Results! Anna University Results… Eppa varum ne theriyathu… Exam Mudicha annai la irunthu itho varuthu atho varuthu nu bayamuruthite irupaanga! Thidirnu oru naal expect eh pannaama irukum botha Damaal nu vituduvaanga! Jolly ah engayaavathu suthikitu irukum both, Results Announced, Announced nu inbox nirambi valiyum… Its a sign of the impending bad/good news! Konja nerathula varusaya calls ah varum! Anna University Results eppvume ippadi thaan varum!

Website open panurathuku munnadi enaku therincha saami paatu ellam paaduven… And i pray to God(all the Gods that i can remember of at that time!) And lo, the Results r for me to see!!! This time around i was a bit relaxed, hoping to clear… Coz, it was said that No one will fail during last semester and i had done fairly well(thanks to the morning free time)!

So, after exams i roamed around with ma frnds… We went to a Bosch Interview… Thats a different Story, I’ll tell U about it later… And frm Coimbatore i had to leave to ma Native Place to attend a few weddings… But as you all know… Holidays are Enticing only for the First Week or so! After that, it is No Longer such a Novelty to Rise Late and have Little to Do…!

After getting back to Chennai, we shifted our place… It was here that i felt very bored… Sanjay and Naveen were gonna attend an interview at Allsec the next day… So, i thought… Enna da, ellarum velaiku poranga, naan mattum inga veetla vetti ah kuppa kottikitu iruken!!! Infosys la vera kanduka maatengraanga! I got placed in Infosys on March 2007, and they havent called me yet! It looked like they’ll call me after 1-2 months, maybe in August. So, instead of sitting at home and do nothing, i could work in a call centre and improve ma comm! Also, i cud make do with some money! While i was thinking that, i got a call frm Sutherland(i had attended one job fair, jus out of curiosity during my final year, there i got shortlisted in Sutherland… Frm then on they have been bugging me to come to Santhome… I had been saying some silly reasons for not able to come there… Like i have arrear exams, i am going on a world tour, i am sick!) This time around, since i had made up ma mind to join some call centre, i agreed to meet that HR the next day(18th June 2008)!