![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
"The Program"
May. 16th, 2010 10:49 amOne of the more interesting things I have found in my basement is a script from when I worked briefly as a telemarketer. In 1994-1996, it seemed like it was so freakin' hard for a young person to find a decent job in Calgary. This was a time when you couldn't even seem to get into McDonald's :-P
My two week stint came between the time The Quilted Bear went bankrupt and before I worked at the public library. The phone centre was located in a top floor in the historic Lougheed Building downtown, which was kind of neat. I was paid minimum wage - $5.20/hour.
My job was to phone residents of a British Columbia city and sell them newspaper subscriptions. I can't remember which city or paper, but I hated the deception involved. We had to tell people we were local, and if they asked questions, put them on hold and then ask a supervisor. Some residents of this town were a little savvy and lived outside of the city limits, but I was told that "Yes, we would deliver there!"
I was supposed to master all the steps by the fifth day, but I didn't manage to do it after ten days. Telemarketing was a truly desperate move for me because I hate phones and can't hear well over them :-P I think I only ever made three sales in 40 hours of calling. My breaking point came when I phoned an elderly lady twice - she was on her way to a funeral. Whether that was true or not, she savaged me twice in a row.
However, the script does have some valid points for doing cold calls.
Thankfully the library hired me and well, sorting books for $11 an hour was quite a step up in the world, even if it was just in the basement.
( The Program )
My two week stint came between the time The Quilted Bear went bankrupt and before I worked at the public library. The phone centre was located in a top floor in the historic Lougheed Building downtown, which was kind of neat. I was paid minimum wage - $5.20/hour.
My job was to phone residents of a British Columbia city and sell them newspaper subscriptions. I can't remember which city or paper, but I hated the deception involved. We had to tell people we were local, and if they asked questions, put them on hold and then ask a supervisor. Some residents of this town were a little savvy and lived outside of the city limits, but I was told that "Yes, we would deliver there!"
I was supposed to master all the steps by the fifth day, but I didn't manage to do it after ten days. Telemarketing was a truly desperate move for me because I hate phones and can't hear well over them :-P I think I only ever made three sales in 40 hours of calling. My breaking point came when I phoned an elderly lady twice - she was on her way to a funeral. Whether that was true or not, she savaged me twice in a row.
However, the script does have some valid points for doing cold calls.
Thankfully the library hired me and well, sorting books for $11 an hour was quite a step up in the world, even if it was just in the basement.
( The Program )
