Tales from a Team Lead

I ask myself "Why am I not chained to my desk?" The clock is ticking and we haven't met the quota with Project A yet and Project B's numbers aren't pretty as well.

The problem is, I need to constantly man the floor and walk around to catch agents who are slacking off, agents who cannot control their droopy eyes and do not pursue their calls.

Most of them feel the pressure, but I must admit, not everyone has the same level of dedication. Motivation is one factor but it is not the Only key.

I also need to give them the leads they need, and the ones that came from the client has to be cleaned thoroughly.

The overtime last weekend made me realize that when the client gives me a set of leads, it needs to be COUNTIF'ed with the leads given by my boss or else, there would be a major dupe dilemma! And who would want to call people who were already somebody else's SALE?! Never assume that the bosses check everything with the client, even if that is their job!

I was asked by a colleague, How do I "keep my composure and smile despite of all the stress?"

By being positive!

Honestly, I like this kinda pressure. Especially if tons of excel sheets are spread in front of me. It livens me up and the rush is just great! I know it sounds weird but I would rather have this than to have nothing else to do. This is beneficial to the brain too! LMAO!

And the best part is, once the outcome makes the client and bosses happy, there's a great sense of accomplishment and thrill that envelopes your being. Sometimes though, even if there were no compliments, just the thought and feeling of doing something nobody else can, or attempted, or did without whining, is simply satisfying!

This week, I lack sleep. And I was looking forward to this weekend to catch up with the hours that my body needed to rejuvenate. Unfortunately, that is not possible.

Yesterday, after our 2-hour overtime, I just got home to take a quick shower and went straight to meet my sister. We met near her work and ate lunch in a Japanese resto. I was not in the mood for raw fish (was I ever though?) so I just went for a tempura and asparagus wrapped in bacon. It was a fine lunch that ended up with a blizzard ice cream from DQ. Then we went to met her doctor.

It was a nice day with my sis, but my left arm is still heavy from the vaccine yesterday afternoon. My sister's doctor is offering a discount on the HPV (Cervical Cancer). So we got our shots and the next will be a month from now then the last one will be on January of next year.

Last night my team had to work but I was required to come in today with them. Good thing coz I don't wanna work while my arm is aching. But when I got home the night passed by so quickly that the sleep I had felt it was not enough. We woke up early to help out with my brother's party.

Today was a busy day and I wanted to skip the party and sleep, but my family requested me to help out. I had no choice but to go. And I was only able to sleep at 5:00 to 7:30pm.

Wow, 2 and a half hours and I do not feel sleepy at all! I really wonder how I survived this for the past 4 years and if I can still in the coming years.

If you live in Manila, you would know what "traffic" really means. Traffic is part of my everyday life. But since I work at night, I do not experience traffic, I see it on the other lane.


While everyone else goes to work, I am on the other side, in a fast cab looking at how the cars are moving like turtles. And when everyone else are heading home, I am on the faster lane going to where they have been.

But it's on holidays like Father's Day that you experience "human traffic". And if you were out yesterday with the family to celebrate Father's Day, you would know what I mean.

It was my first time to visit SM Marikina. And since my job asks me to sleep during the day, the only time I can go to malls and other recreational facilities are during weekends.

We first went to Burgoo, but it was impossible to get a seat. Then we went to Max's and I tried to reserve a table for us but we were given the 10th place. At Gerry's was no big difference as we were in line too at 11th. Old Spaghetti House was just across Max's and we were at 3rd. I voted for that but my siblings protested and said the place was too small. I wondered, we are only gonna take up one table so what if its small, the food is great anyway? But of course, majority wins! And we ended up waiting the first 9 tables to be given at Max's.

It's always nice to spend time with my family as I seldom see them. I arrive home when most of them have left or about to leave then I leave home when either they aren't home yet or are already asleep. They never really complain but I know I have been missing alot because of this. I guess being the only one in the family who works at night isolates me sometimes. But it's not all disadvantage though. The good thing is... hmm... well.. hmm... uhh... what? let me think and post about it later. LOL

...God created the heavens and the earth... And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day. ~ Genesis 1:1&3

But on this side of the planet, in this very place, this city, this building, this room, in this very seat, we make days into nights and nights into day.

We base the time when we should go to sleep and should wake up on the time Americans wake up and go to sleep. We force ourselves to hide under the sheets while everyone else in the family are preparing to go out in a weekend or watching loud TV. And while the sun beams through our windows in the peak of the afternoon, we had no choice but to shut our eyes and ears.

If we do not sleep in the afternoon, we won't stand being awake all night way past midnight til the sun rises. This is where we can testify that coffee is not really effective in keeping people awake. And falling sleep means trouble!

Yes, this is the life of those who work in a call center. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So, sit back on your cozy chair and grab a popcorn, or your favorite chips (a bottle of beer would be fine too) and prepare to read the boring yet exciting, monotonous yet unpredictable, funny yet stressful life of working in a Call Center here in the Philippines.

Okay, now time for me to take my break and eat lunch. Err, midnight snack? Ugh. Whatever...