My strange job

My name is Berlady, and I made this specifically so I could have somewhere to bitch. I work in a call centre (SURPRISE, COULD YOU TELL FROM THE NAME OF THIS BLOG ALSO I LIKE TO RANDOMLY YELL) and I get a lot of ... interesting stories.

I don't make phone calls, so I'm not the one who calls you up when you're eating dinner. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have the general public calling me all day. I take about 1400 calls per week. That's pretty insane, considering I work part time.

I do two different call types.
Call type the first: I answer phones for various companies around the country (and by various, I mean thousands. I take calls for plumbers, doctors, restaurants, mammogram and ultrasound appointments, hobby stores, IT assistance... it goes on and on) when they are unable to answer their phones. I -usually- just take a name and number for a return call, but sometimes I need to take a few more details. The basic name and number call should take about 47 seconds.

Call type the second: Directory assistance. People call me up and say they want this company in this area. Sometimes 'This' company is actually called 'That' company, and 'This' area is actually 'That other' area. It's a bit of a pain. It should take about 50 seconds for each of these calls.

I get fucking crazy callers on both lines. People screaming down the phone because the company they want to talk to isn't calling them back and they are sick of giving their name and number. People screaming down the phone because I can't find a bowling alley fast enough- who needs a bowling alley in an emergency?

People forget that they are talking to a real human. They forget that I have a name, I have an age, I have a life.

It also doesn't help much that I have an accent in this country, and they tell me to 'fuckin' learn how to speak English' when in fact, it's my first language. It's not only my first language, but my country has been speaking English for a good 200 years LONGER than the country I am currently in. Funny that.

So, this blog is going to be dedicated to the crazies, the xenophobic, and also the very kind lovely people that I get the pleasure to speak to every day.

I assume this is going to be largely boring, but I'll try to add cute stories and anecdotes about real life too.

PS. This weirdo is me.