Call Centers

[redorange]

hi everyone! I am a housewife looking for a job after being dormant from working in an office for quite sometime. Perhaps you could give any feedbacks on this article I came across the net, I am interested in joining the pool of call center agents in our country...or enroll a training center in medical transcription rather..

KMU slaps Philippines Call Center Industry as "Hub for Exploitation"
Even as the contact center industry continues to provide jobs to Filipinos, civil rights group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) is accusing the contact center industry of being a "hub for exploitation" and even blamed the industry for stunting the country’s economic growth. KMU Spokesperson Prestoline Suyat said in a statement that Filipino contact center agents are paid much lower wages than their US counterparts, pointing to exploitation by multinational firms. He noted that entry-level workers have an average salary of 15,000 pesos while their US counterparts earn nearly 40,000 pesos per month. (April 04, 2006 -Inquirer.net)

Even at a conversion of 48PHP to $1 that only comes to $833. I wonder if any of the KMU people know that you can't live on that much money per month in the US. Yes, $833 is alot in the Philippines but unfortunately the people in the US earning that much isn't spending pesos but dollars so they are still below the poverty level. If you are single the poverty level is at $10,210 per year and that doesn't take into the account what cost of living is in your particular city or state. In San Francisco a person earning that amount would be homeless since the average rent is already more than your monthly income. Keep in mind that the $833 would still need to have SS, fed tax and state tax deducted from it. So if your lucky you may take home $650-$750 to pay rent and the other expenses needed to live.
It only seems like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml

[cablespy]

of course there's a career for call center employees.

That's if you're a vampire and only come out at night.





Matrix - Team Excalibur, Swordfish, Moonracer

[tsupermario]

they zeroed in on the salary difference just so they can make a case of exploitation..

[Alpha_One]

Even at a conversion of 48PHP to $1 that only comes to $833. I wonder if any of the KMU people know that you can't live on that much money per month in the US. Yes, $833 is alot in the Philippines but unfortunately the people in the US earning that much isn't spending pesos but dollars so they are still below the poverty level. If you are single the poverty level is at $10,210 per year and that doesn't take into the account what cost of living is in your particular city or state. In San Francisco a person earning that amount would be homeless since the average rent is already more than your monthly income. Keep in mind that the $833 would still need to have SS, fed tax and state tax deducted from it. So if your lucky you may take home $650-$750 to pay rent and the other expenses needed to live.
It only seems like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml

Who cares about the other side of the fence anyway?! Who cares if they earn 2 gazillion dollars per month? Is that really relevant to what's happening here?

If I want to live here, I'd rather live on $833 a month than $0 a month. Which apparently, is quite good enough (at least if you're alone/no kids). Who cares what the SF rent is, I don't live there! It's not relevant!

Heck, if I wanted $10/hour or whatever, I'd be earning nothing. Kaarte ng mga tao eh.

[fireblade]

Given that my company provides training for call center applicants, I do give them both sides of the picture just to be fair. By doing so, they will be in a better position to make a judgement whether to pursue or not.

[redorange]

Who cares about the other side of the fence anyway?! Who cares if they earn 2 gazillion dollars per month? Is that really relevant to what's happening here?

If I want to live here, I'd rather live on $833 a month than $0 a month. Which apparently, is quite good enough (at least if you're alone/no kids). Who cares what the SF rent is, I don't live there! It's not relevant!

Heck, if I wanted $10/hour or whatever, I'd be earning nothing. Kaarte ng mga tao eh.

First, all I was saying is if they are going to compare take into account that you are comparing apples with apples and not with oranges. If they are saying that people here start with 40K equivalent then consider that the 40K will be worth less here than the 15K is in the Philippines in terms cost of living.

Second, I don't give a rats behind if you care or not. I was replying to what somebody posted comparing salary in the Philippines with the US. I was comparing the pay to make it a more realistic comparison but apparently you couldn't comprehend.

Third, your correct what they make here is not relevant to what they pay there but KMU found it to be relevant when they made the comparison.

So what was the point of your post other than to show that you only care about you and yours only.

[empy]

is this the same KMU that set the country's economic development by years when they disrupted the growing semiconductor/high tech manufacturing industry that was attracting FDI, paying unheard-of salaries, and training a base of highly skilled workers? seems like they haven't learned a thing

if a US company had to pay a Filipino, Indian or Chinese agent the same salary as they would back home, then what's the point of leaving the home country? i can personally attest to how difficult it is to run offshore operations, since i do this for my company.

a call center agent is an entry level service job. the skills and qualifications are the same as a hotel front desk clerk, department store clerk, or auto dealership salesman - except for the increased emphasis on good english. the pay of a call center agent is competitive with those types of jobs, and in many cases far exceeds it.

i really hope pinoys are no longer listening to these KMU people anymore. they are appealing to your sense of greed to advance their ulterior motives - destabilizing the labor market to facilitate their own ends.

[astigpo]

Magiging call center capital ata ang RP. Almost lahat pumupunta d2 kc mas mababa bayaran sa sweldo kaysa sa iba. Tsaka madali matutu pinoy sa english at madaling maintindihan ng customer. Hirap nga lang makipagusap sa kanila. Oh well, call center is not for everybody. You have be physically correct and mentally stable. LOL

WFM-MC

[CaRGirL]

of course there's a career for call center employees.

That's if you're a vampire and only come out at night.





Matrix - Team Excalibur, Swordfish, Moonracer

hmmm... familiar team names... Matrix Wave 39 here

[Alpha_One]

First, all I was saying is if they are going to compare take into account that you are comparing apples with apples and not with oranges. If they are saying that people here start with 40K equivalent then consider that the 40K will be worth less here than the 15K is in the Philippines in terms cost of living.

Second, I don't give a rats behind if you care or not. I was replying to what somebody posted comparing salary in the Philippines with the US. I was comparing the pay to make it a more realistic comparison but apparently you couldn't comprehend.

Third, your correct what they make here is not relevant to what they pay there but KMU found it to be relevant when they made the comparison.

So what was the point of your post other than to show that you only care about you and yours only.

My apologies. I should have made it clear that my post wasn't directed at you. It's just that yours was the most convenient post to quote just for contrast. No offense meant, I'm sorry.

My post was neither a reaction to you, or your post, or the post before that. I hope that's clear now.

[chris_d]

Ibang call center madali lang ginagawa, sa iba mahirap. Kami technical support handle namin, everything from installing windows to troubleshooting of hardware failures. Its not exactly easly like the job of a desk clerk, sa iba cguro mas madali gawa nila, pero sa amin mahirap. It takes good analytical skills and troubleshooting skills to fix the problems we get daily.

[sarah-gsky]

I'm currently working in a call center. Its pretty hard if you don't know how to handle pressure but its fun though.. Regarding salary it depend on your experience and skills. There's a lot of call center in Ortigas area.

Visit: www.global-sky.com

[fourtheboys96]

[B]KMU Spokesperson Prestoline Suyat said in a statement that Filipino contact center agents are paid much lower wages than their US counterparts, pointing to exploitation by multinational firms. He noted that entry-level workers have an average salary of 15,000 pesos while their US counterparts earn nearly 40,000 pesos per month. (April 04, 2006 -Inquirer.net)[/QUOTE]

bopols talaga etong mga militanteng taong ito. panay ata sama sa rally nung bata pa sila kaya ndi nakapagtapos kasi lagi absent sa klase.

40K is definitely higher than 15K in terms of nominal value. but if we consider the cost of living here and in the US, i think its a good salary for Filipinos. Php40K is less than US$ 1K.

[ineedmorehp]

^ that's true. that's why the call centers are moving here in PH...

[uls]

The KMU has only 1 agenda... they want to see the collapse of private enterprise.

Labor is just a tool to them. They convince workers na inaapi sila. Workers go on strike and paralyze businesses.

Businesses shut down, workers lose their jobs.

KMU succeeds. KMU doesnt care about labor.

KMU doesnt care about call center employees.

They wanna see call center companies go out of business.

[AnuVaYan]

Para sa akin isang malaking disadvantage kapag call center agent ka... kung close ka sa family mo, madalas hindi ka makaka attend ng mga family gatherings. Ganun yung 2 sisters ko e, parating absent sa mga lakaran. Pati yung 2 cousins ko ganun din. Kasi madalas mga pang gabi sila, tapos weekday pa ang day off.

[red07]

Para sa akin isang malaking disadvantage kapag call center agent ka... kung close ka sa family mo, madalas hindi ka makaka attend ng mga family gatherings. Ganun yung 2 sisters ko e, parating absent sa mga lakaran. Pati yung 2 cousins ko ganun din. Kasi madalas mga pang gabi sila, tapos weekday pa ang day off.

This is true, pero madalas maka experience nito is yung mga nasa inbound account (compared dun sa mga nasa outbound) since rotational ang sched plus yung iba 24/7 ang operation (customer service).

Almost 4 years nako sa call center industry. 10 mos ako sa outbound then the rest as QA na.

Financially rewarding pero lahat ng pera na natatanggap mo may katumbas na trabaho talaga.

Kung tatamad tamad ka sa call center, hanggang dun ka na lang.
Mahirap yung mentality na "ang dami namang centers jan", ang resulta, palipat lipat ka lang, wala kang growth. Just like any profession, kailangan ng dedication sa trabaho dito.

[ineedmorehp]

^ tama! dati tingin ko sa call center last option for job employment. now its already a profession wherein you can start as an agent and soon handling agents already.

[badsekktor]

hmmm... familiar team names... Matrix Wave 39 here

nauna ka pa pala sa kin! matrix team polaris here! wave 75 yata kami

To the thread starter, If fresh grad ka, maganda mag-try sa call center. Competitive salary, ok ang trainings and benefits. I really advise fresh grads to try working sa call center.

medyo di ko lang talaga kaya matulog sa umaga at gising ng gabi. the shifting sched will really hurt your health. after 6 months lahat kami sa team highblood na!

there is a career sa call center pero same thing with other industries, kelangan competitive ang skills mo para umangat ka. and also you would need to consider your goals in your life meaning ganun klaseng lifestyle ba ang gusto mo(working while others are asleep)

isa pang ok when working in a call center is you are spared from traffic(rush hour)

[Galant_VR_94]

Im currently employed by a call center ngayon. 3rd year ko na ngayon dito. I started out as an agent then after 2 months na-promote as QA.

Financially ok naman sa ganitong industry. Very fast ang upward mobility basta ipapakita mong deserving ka sa position.

Just remember that this industry is quick hire/quick fire. Meaning, if you dont perform chances are matatanggal ka talaga.

Working in a call center may be a good experience since makakaharap mo lahat ng klase ng tao dito. Matututo ka talagang makisama. All you need is the right motivation.....malayo ang mararating mo.