Would you take this job?

[Shugardrawers]

I interviewed today for a job and I'm not sure if I want it or not. It's working in a call center for a large chain of car dealerships. The job entails taking both in and outbound calls for all dealerships and includes the mundane things like taking messages, transferring calls and making service appointments. About 75% of the job though is contacting customers to set sales appointments. Now, the guy says it's NOT telemarketing. These are all calls to people who've requested information or who visited the lot in the past few days. It's finding out if they were happy with their visit, why they did or did not purchase etc. You know the kind where you have your oil changed then they call the next day to ask your opinion of their service? That kind of thing. To me this borders on telemarketing and I HATE telemarketers. He keeps stressing there is NO sales involved though. The base pay is $7 per hour and there is a "bonus" for setting sales appointments. Most people he says make $10 per hour. I'm really on the fence about this one. Help me out here.

PRO'S:
Better pay than I'm making now and more hours
They'll work around my medical appointment and treatment schedule
Good opportunities for advancement
My current job is a little too physical for my health right now and this one is a desk job
I've worked in an answering service for years and am comfortable on the phone with strangers
Boss seems like quite a nice guy

CON'S:
Borders on telemarketing, not sure if I'd like it
All evening hours but not past 9pm. Also, Dh works the day shift so we'd be on opposite shifts
Not as flexible as my current job. If I'm just too sick DSis is my co worker and she goes in for me. It's real easy to switch and take off when I want

I don't know whether to give up my "bird in the hand" job for something I'm not sure I'd enjoy or take the chance and see if it's really not sales like he claims. He actually said he doesn't think I'm a sales kind of personality and wouldn't hire me for that anyway. I don't really want to work 2 weeks and find out I hate it then be jobless. I'm kind of annoyed by those "survey" type calls but how does everyone else feel about it? Am I overlooking the real deciding factor here? I just can't decide. Dh says it's my decision though he thinks I should take it. Whatever I decide he'll be cool with it though. I just dunno

 

[crz4mm2]

nope.

 

[Dana49]

Go with your "gut" instinct. If it doesn't feel good, don't do it. Trust your instinct! aw:

 

[Shugardrawers]

why not?

 

[luv2nascar]

I dont want to work in a call center unless I'll lose my house if I don't get a job. Call centers are that bad. Lots of pressure and stress. Not the job for me.

 

[crz4mm2]

I wouldn't take it because it is not as flexible as you have now. It is not guaranteed, and it DOES border (or more than border) on telemarketing..... If you don't make the appt, you won't get paid..... DS works at a car dealership. I know it will be appts for people who have already requested info etc, BUT, it is NOT guaranteed.

You already have a 'bird in the hand' job.... I think you already have an answer.

Ask why the last person left (see if you can TALK to that person).

 

[DisnyMama]

This is going to end up being a stressful job in the long run unless you are able to transfer to another position and yes-it is telemarketing because you are making the calls to these potential customers. The reason for the stress is there will probably either be a call or sales quota and these types of jobs usually have a very high turn over. I would not recommend it if you are looking for a long term position.

All the best of luck to you.

 

[Martha7]

I just interviewed for a job like that right before the holidays. It was at a local Ford dealership. The ad in the paper called the position, "Sales Development Coordinator," but when I went in, it was the same crappy job you're describing. The work environment left much to be desired. There were three or four desks, in a tiny room, and most of the people smoked there. The manager asked me if I also smoked. When I replied that I didn't, he joked around about turning me into a smoker too. The pay was eight bucks per hour, plus some paltry amount if the customer "showed" for their appointment, (I think it was two dollars). I noticed that for the entire month of December, the department had only 72 successful appointments kept, which would have been for all of the people in the call area, so how much could one person have made from their share? The hours were going to be bad, (having to work some nights until 9, and every other Saturday), and the culture just didn't seem like a good fit for me. The boss wanted to set up an appointment to have me go through the "script" for the calls, to see if I could do it. I ended up sending him an email a few days after my appointment, asking him to withdraw my name from the running. Then, he called me back a week later, (as though he had never gotten my email), telling me that they had decided to "hire from within." The manager told me that Ford Motor Company has told all of their dealers that they have to put this program into effect. You also have to report to management whenever a customer isn't happy, so I could imagine that you wouldn't be very popular with the other dealership employees! Every time I drive by the dealer's location now, I thank my lucky stars that I didn't have to take that job!

 

[Skywalker]

If you hate telemarketers, then don't take this job because that is exactly what this is. You may not be trying to sell them a physical "thing" but you are still calling them in their homes and trying to get them to come in and spend their money. And with bonusus for setting appointments, you can bet you will be expected to try your hardest to hustle these people in the door.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Personally, I wouldn't. I wouldn't work in a call center and I would never get to see my husband. That alone would make it a "nay" for me.

 

[Doctor P]

This is not telemarketing if the dealership is reputable. We get these calls from dealers all the time and they are not that unpleasant. Generally it is, "you recently had your car in for service at our dealership and wanted to make sure everything went OK. could we ask you a few questions?" For sales related calls it goes something like this: "I'm calling from such and such a dealership and we understand you worked with one of our sales staff last week. We wanted to make sure that you were satisfied with your experience and that there is nothing else that we could do for you." The questions then deal with whether you need more information, whether you have already bought a vehicle, and whether you were treated OK by the sales people. Quite non-offensive in my experience. It's much worse when you get the call back from a sales person--those are clearly telemarketing calls. So, if the dealership is reputable, I would not think twice about that aspect of your concern.

 

[Martha7]

The way it was explained to me, is that the person is calling in order to get the customer back into the showroom, so that they can buy a new car. The script is designed to keep steering the conversation back to the appointment that the person is trying to set. They focus on anyone who calls as a result of seeing an ad in the newspaper, and call people who may be trading in their leased cars soon. The idea of calling to see how their service went is a different department. This function is there to support sales. If the customer starts to discuss how much they could get for their trade, etc., the script shows you how to get back to the appointment. There's very little creativity in the job, from what I saw. I think it would be very mundane and boring.The manager said that you also have to deal with quite a few irate customers, since you're calling them, and therefore are treated as a telemarketer, or you may be talking to someone who has had a bad experience with their car.

 

[mickeyfan2]

You seem to have reservations about the job, so don't take it.

 

[NMAmy]

I used to work at a car dealership not in that position but as a service advisor. Most dealerships either have someone make these phone calls or pay an outside call service to make them.

With service calls, you're making sure that the customer is satisfied with the service, the necessary repairs were done, they were kept informed, etc. etc. Yes, you'll get complaints but you'll also get people who were happy with their service. Someone said that you wouldn't be popular with your fellow employees but that's not true. Bonuses are based on these scores--we could've cared less who was making the calls--we get scored one way or another--sometimes by survey cards sent through the mail. Some customers are going to be upset--it's not the caller's fault.

I'd be a little concerned with making service appointments--you do need to have a basic knowledge of car repairs to set up appointments and it doesn't sound like you've ever worked in a dealership before so that might be an issue to think about that won't come up with just making sales appointments.

I've also been on the receiving end of these phone calls--it's not like sales. It's more a survey that isn't high pressure at all.

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The job is a telemarketing/sales job, don't care what he says. 75% is to set appointments?
If you do not want to do sales, I suggest you do not take it.

I have worked as a Directory Assitance Operator, very interesting. Most of my calls were bill collectors getting names.

My brother works as the "collector" for phones. Now there is a job I would not want. He gets yelled at constantly, every name in the book!!!

 

[SC Minnie]

The job you have now may be less in base pay but from what you have described the benefits outweigh the increase in base pay at the new job. If you have a job at a co that is willing to be flexible and work with you on your illness you may be better off to stay where you are. To me that would be worth more than an extra $40/week.

 

[Martha7]

I agree with the poster who said it would be a good idea to know something about the cars, if you'll be making service appointments. The people in the service department of our dealership are wonderful!
The job I was interviewing forat the local Ford dealership had nothing to do with setting service departments, nor did it involve the folks who call to make sure that you're satisfied with your car's recent service. This was strictly to get customers in the door to look at buying another car from the dealership.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[jbdreamer]

Sounds like telemarketing to me. If you called and asked how my oil change was, I'd tell you "I am not intrested, thanks" and hang up.

I wouldn't take a job where I had to be on the phone all day. I personally hate talking on the phone. I dread when I have to order a pizza.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

This is not telemarketing if the dealership is reputable. We get these calls from dealers all the time and they are not that unpleasant. Generally it is, "you recently had your car in for service at our dealership and wanted to make sure everything went OK. could we ask you a few questions?" For sales related calls it goes something like this: "I'm calling from such and such a dealership and we understand you worked with one of our sales staff last week. We wanted to make sure that you were satisfied with your experience and that there is nothing else that we could do for you." The questions then deal with whether you need more information, whether you have already bought a vehicle, and whether you were treated OK by the sales people. Quite non-offensive in my experience. It's much worse when you get the call back from a sales person--those are clearly telemarketing calls. So, if the dealership is reputable, I would not think twice about that aspect of your concern.

I agree. We get these kinds of calls from the Volvo dealership and they are very pleasant, not telemarketing-like at all (and I despise telemarketers!) Our dealership does such a great job for us in the first place and they always mention after servicing that car that we'll be getting a follow-up call asking opinions. They very politely ask us to rate them well, which we do, because they do.

So, I'm going against the grain and saying, yes, I'd likely take the job. You said they'd work around your medical treatment, right? So even if you can't trade hours with your sis, it sounds like they are flexible too, and maybe with it being less physically demanding, you wouldn't need to call in sick as often in the first place? (I'm guessing.)

It's true, you may end up not liking it, but that can happen even with a job that seems perfect on an interview, and if it does you can always keep looking. You must not be 100% satisfied with your current job if you went on the interview for this one.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Ziva]

I'd pass.