Every time I go to work a small piece of me dies.. forever. For those who are unaware of the joys of my job-I (try) to sell insurance to middle aged people who live in Surrey and drive Ford Mondeos. The workplace is made made up of managers, (all of whom are roughly my age) and college/school leavers, all of which are extremely arrogant. At first the idea of working in a car-orientated place would be good as it would convince me just how pathetic the car is and all the nonsense that surrounds it, but after a full month I leave the office feeling depressed and dirty.
Around 80% of the customers are middle class First Direct customers* who live in Surrey/Kent/Oxfordshire/
Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire, who's main aim is to receive some cheap car insurance as well as talk to anyone and everyone like they are a piece of shit whilst pouring out in as much detail how bloody well rich they are. So what your ultimately left with is a bunch of toffs who have 3-4 cars per household (one for the gardener of course) and think that David Cameron is jolly nice chap who will save this country from the filthy dogs of Europe. Add this to the remaining 20% of customers who wish they were the other 80% and your left with a solid 100% daily barrage of snobs. Here's a list of some of the questions I have to answer on a more or less daily basis:
-I hope you don't have any of those bloody Indian call centres, i cant understand any of them.
-Will my insurance cover my golf equipment?
-Could you tell me what vehicle group a BMW Alpina Coupe is in?
-Will my son who is currently at Cambridge studying Law be covered in this policy?
-Our nanny is from Porto Rico, is it ok if she drives without a licence?
So after a while it becomes more than the average 'I dont like cars very much' stance, and more of a constant biting your lip/i want to shoot you, you stupid f***ing snob syndrome. Overall the the constant snobbery overshadows my desire to feel disgusted about cars and people who drive them.
Apart from my job i have had more time to think about my PhD future and what I will do. I know that deep down I should go to Kent as they will offer more for me, and all that is required from me is to test the water when I visit there. i think that somewhere amongst all this is last minute sentimentalism about colchester and having to leave a town that I have learned to (almost)love.
*first direct customers must have at least £1,500 in there current account at all times, which makes them not really rich but rich enough to tell everyone that they always have £1,500 in their bank account. Therefore theyre not exactly millionaires, just debenham/Marks and Spencer's shopping snobs who dream of a house in the South of France where theres no (delete as appropriate) crime/black People/Tony Blair/nanny state/hippies/speeding cameras/parking tickets/
For more info see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6148776.stm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Im probably one of those who complain about service call centers. It's C for Charlie, O for Oscar, 2, 8, L for Lima, and E for Echo. And this 4 times in a row. Anyhow. I think its now trendy to have only call centers no matter for what. the good old small electric appliances store (and all others where there is some customer service needed) is gone and replaced by some tesco, argos or whatever. and i dont go back to tesco if something is broken. i rather call a number and speak to a person miles away or even on another continent. Also with buying something in the internet, most things i would have done in person before i do over phone now. And people there probably just do what the computer tells them to do without any flexibility. And if it comes to tv sets or so they cant do anything except yeah, press this or that button, put it upside down and if this doesnt help send it in. while in the good old store the assisstant just looks at it and knows what to do and does it outright.
But maybe its all what we want in a consumer society. fast, impersonal and cheap. i dont know.
Post a Comment