On the wire

Natasha is probably echoing the thoughts of most people,but then what about the telemarketeer who is just doing his job? How does he deal with every rude disconnection? Aseem Merchant,who works at the call centre of an investment company,says,“This is my bread and butter and though I’m not ashamed of it,I do feel bad when people are unnecessarily rude. See,we are paid as per the number of people we sell the scheme to. Thus,we have to be persistent.” Has he ever thought of quitting his job out of frustration? “So many people come and go because they can’t take the frustration. I have been working for one year now. Deals are hard to make,but I have managed quite a few. See,if we want the client to respect us,then we too have to respect them. If they say,’I’m busy,call me tomorrow’,I do so. I pursue them till they have free time. And it’s not that we’re selling something illegal. In fact,so many of the schemes are beneficial to people,which they realise only after taking them,” he says.

Not all employees of such call centres are as optimistic as Merchant. Urvashi Olkar,employed by a bank to sell credit cards,laments,“It’s a tough job. The most common answers I receive are: ‘Not interested’,’I’m in a meeting’,’Please stop calling me’.” Her frustration spills over into her personal life too. She says,“I’m always very stressed out. I get very irritable when people are rude to me. At times,certain men even pass unnecessary comments. Women too yell and ask us to stop bothering them. But then,this is my job and I have to do it.” On a brighter note,she adds,“If someone has to learn perseverance and patience,then this is the perfect job!”

Ajay Sathe,a telemarketing professional who introduces various insurance schemes to people,feels that his is a thankless job. “I work with a prominent bank and they have various interesting insurance schemes and future savings plans. We have a database of customers,so we first begin with the names listed on it. Then,if customers are willing,we also contact their friends and other people,” he says. But what he feels bad about is that people usually insult them and slam their telephones down. “Or they are plain curt and just stop us midway as we are explaining the proposals and say that they don’t need the scheme. But it’s our job so we never give up,” he adds.

Sonia Jadhav is lucky that people give her a chance to talk about the scheme. “Since I deal with home loans,people usually hear me out before saying that they are not interested. It is exasperating,but it also gives a faint glimmer of hope that with a little bit of convincing,the customer can actually take a loan,” she says. Ask her about the most common excuses she hears and pat comes the reply: “Customers always say that they are busy in a meeting or that they are driving.”

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