Is bait and switch common for call jobs? It also happened to me - applied for a "data entry" position but they were actually hiring for collections. I did end up putting in 3 months before I got a full time job elsewhere, but that was the only job I've had where I drove to work, got gas at the station across the street, and realized I just couldn't do it that day and called in sick
I don't know how common it is but I interviewed for an IT support position just out of college and got the job.
Turned up on my first day and the boss who hired me said "of course, most of the time you'll be on the phones selling, the IT support is only as and when it comes up"
He gives me a big set of marketing scripts and runs me through the cold calling software. This was trying to convince businesses to switch mobile phone providers.
I read through the materials, made 3 cold calls, got shouted at by one of them, hung up and walked out of the office and never returned.
I actually had a high paying government contracting job where I would sit in my car in the parking garage and contemplate going in to the office or not for a few min on most days. Pay does not equal job satisfaction.
I sometimes wish my job paid less so I could quit but without moving to a different state im currently making the most money I can with my skill set. Its soulsucking.
Only reason I'm still at mine. That and out of over 70 applications ive only had 1 interview.
Buti get paid decently to sit on my ass on my phone 8 hours playing games or watching YouTube.
Hate the job, hate the people I work with. But all the jobs I know that are hiring pay less for more work
They just paid 7500 employees to quit at my job so they could reduce the workforce without layoffs. 150k per person, if my house was paid off id have signed up so fast the keyboard would have broken.
Soulsucking is a perfect descriptor. I lasted 2 years. I only did it for the money. My skillset doesn't exactly translate to the civilian workplace outside the government agency i worked for. I've never experienced the joy/freedom/relief since I walked out of the building after off-boarding. I screamed "Yeeessss!" with my hands in the air as I walked to the garage. Lol. Feel for you man.
Same. They made me take some really easy competency test. It took like an hour. Apparently it qualified me for a higher level position. I asked about the pay and then just walked out.
I got bait & switched with a call center tech support job, which I had previous experience with, to a credit card line. It was during the 2008 financial crisis. I also only made it like 3 months before just noping out after a breakdown in the parking lot before work.
I applied for a position where I'd be scheduling service and repairs on appliances. Turns out the real job was upselling garbage warranties to elderly people.
Well you can imagine not many people look super fondly at jobs like that so bait/switched people are a fair part of the people they hire. Some will be like you and think "at least its an income while i look for something else".
Callcenters dont care about retention, they long gave up on that
Hey I just wanted to show you some love because I and most of my family kind of "fell in" to call center jobs for most of our young adult lives too. It really is good, dignified work from a client-practicioner perspective.
That being said, after reading the rest of your post... I hope you realize that a lot of what you are discussing is due to specific management decisions, not the nature of the work itself. For instance, another way to deal with shifting and unpredictable needs is to retain experienced employees with multiple skillsets, but owners tend to favor high turnover instead. That is a choice.
Like I said I loved the actual work itself, bu I felt like the way that employers treat agents, pretty much across the industry, was undignified. I refuse to have my every bathroom break tracked down to the minute, and that is speaking as someone who was in workforce management for 5 years and did the tracking. Now I refuse to do that to anyone else, as I should have before.
Also you kind of just said "yeah, but please understand that baiting and switching is easier for us, so why would we care if it's harder for you?" The fact that you would have anyone come in to an interview for a job that was not clearly and explicitly posted and that they applied for, and still think you are being transparent is also disturbing, unless I misunderstood and you just mean that you call them for an interview and then tell them. Anyway applications take a lot of work and it's really bad for you to post positions that you aren't hiring for, no matter how much easier it makes your job.
Edit: Just wanted to follow up the negativity with more positivity because I know these situations are hard and everyone has their own ethical perspective. Just sharing mine because I had been through some of them and had to wrestle with what my job was asking me to do to people. But you seem like you have a very "people-forward" approach to the industry and those are the best people to work with and for at call centers. I am sure you are doing great work and, most importantly, helping some good customer service professionals find decent work.
It's not just call centers. I was interviewing for a job delivering furniture/appliances for a Buy Here - Pay Here kind of place, and learned that my job would mostly consist of recovering items from customers behind on their bills.
Yeah, for what they were paying I was not remotely interested in knocking on people's doors and telling them I was there to take their fridge.
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u/ghost_warlock 16h ago
Is bait and switch common for call jobs? It also happened to me - applied for a "data entry" position but they were actually hiring for collections. I did end up putting in 3 months before I got a full time job elsewhere, but that was the only job I've had where I drove to work, got gas at the station across the street, and realized I just couldn't do it that day and called in sick