Nine-to-five hours for customer service have become a thing of the past. Taking its place is the call centre, which need not even have an actual physical location to be successful. These ubiquitous modern service and information systems function as invaluable customer information hubs, allowing people to speak with a live representative regarding all facets of a particular product or service.

Many of these virtual positions can be filled by stay-at-home employees. Depending upon the kind of services being sold or promoted, workers in many cases are able to choose their own hours, and experience none of the traditional costs of commuting. Salaries may often be lower, based on the number of calls taken or time spent on line, but there are no other common work expense requirements such as clothing.

The primary rule common to all these systems is to always remember that the customer is basic reason a business even exists. Incoming calls really are important, as the recorded on-hold message may say. Workers in this general service field need to be people-oriented, knowledgeable, and able to cheerfully answer product or technical questions.

Patience is the key personality requirement, but a wide range of knowledge is also very important. Workers usually deal with customers seeking problem solutions, new product innovations, billing problems, and a variety of other subjects related to a specific business. Calls must be taken as they arrive, and cannot be ignored when inconvenient.

Working at home as a representative in a virtual network requires a personal computer in excellent working condition, and a wired high-speed Internet source. Surprisingly, this is another area of employment that often requires a college degree. For many jobs, a a basic college degree has become the modern equivalent of the old-fashioned high-school diploma.

While there are some obvious advantages to this type of work, there are also unique pressures. In businesses with a worldwide presence there is no day or night, and that time-clock also may apply to employees. The employer dictates periods when workers are needed, and that can mean working during normal off-hours, or during rotational shifts not necessarily synchronized to your own inner clock.

Workers in some centers are subjected to many stress factors. Calls may be recorded and analyzed by supervisors, who may also be listening in the background. Additionally, sitting still for hours at a time may cause physical problems due to inactivity, and constant pressure may lead to symptoms of stress-related depression. Becoming overweight, or smoking and drinking in excess are common examples.

These issues, however, may be all overcome by certain simple actions such as taking sufficient breaks, and having a good personal support system. One key to success in this area is to never take angry or upset callers personally. Calmly solving one person\’s issue, and then going on to the next is the key to success.

As the Internet continues to expand, so will call centre businesses. Today, physical location of a helpful and committed staff has become secondary to knowledge and customer service. As more and more companies seek to expand their ability for customer care without creating a brick-and-mortar location, these centres will continue to grow, and provide non-tradition employment opportunities.

Author Bio: We are the industry leader in call answering services. Our inbound call centre is on the cutting edge of call answering service with extensive experience in handling inbound calls.

Category: Business
Keywords: services,business,industry,customer service,work,employment,career,jobs,call centres,finance