It’s Been a Long Long Time

I was out of work and my unemployment was running out. I had been searching for employment that was not only profitable but challenging and interesting. Even though I am nearly 62 years old I do tend to get into trouble if I am bored. I had been offered a position with a retail chain that was opening a new store in the area but for some reason I decided to look at one more option.

When I arrived for my interview I was not too much impressed with the little call center stuck in between the storage facility office and corporate headquarters. But they seemed like a friendly bunch. Everyone seemed clean and decently dressed but there was none of the expensive “business dress”. I noted that it was a plus to be able to work in comfortable and less expensive clothing.

Then they sort of grabbed me. They asked me to take a seat in the break room. There were no couches and not much in the way of “extras” but something really wonderful happened. Staff members wandered into the kitchen area and smiled at me. I struck up a conversation with most of them and found them to be a reasonably well adjusted and friendly group. Little did I know that this was a plot and plan. Employees were asked to come through the area to judge my openness and attitude. It is a good thing that I am a fearless talker!

The interview was held in an abandoned room that was being renovated but the interviewer’s style was relaxed and I was comfortable. I liked the feel of the place and the fact that I would not be on my feet for hours at a time. The deal was clinched when I met the call center manager, the lead supervisor and the director of operations. I was very impressed by the kindness and friendliness of these administrative people.

A few hours later I received a call that they had a spot for me and wanted to start training. I called the Human Resources department at the other job and declined their offer. I thought I would stay here for a little while and if it did not work out I could look for something else while I worked here.

That was 3 and ½ years ago. I am still here enjoying the companionship and friendship of many college students and a wide spectrum of younger adults. I am the old lady of the place and while I do plan to start Social Security next spring I hope to continue to work here. It will be easy as the scheduling is flexible and the work is not as hard as running a retail sales floor.

I feel that I have had excellent training for my job and many opportunities to earn and to grow. Call center work is often maligned by people who do not understand the joys of the extensive range of experiences you experience in a call center serving more than 400 stores nationwide and in Canada.

Boring is simply not on the agenda. When the phone rings it could be from anywhere in the US or Canada. The people who call in are either stressed, worried, rude, panic stricken, in a bind, rude, uncertain of what they need, late on payments and upset that the office closed 3 hours ago and I cannot take a payment to avoid the late fee, polite, well mannered, belligerent, silly, trapped on the lot because they followed someone in and the gate won’t let them out, locked in because they stayed past gate closing, and sometimes they are a mind bending combination of all of the above.

Before I answer any call I take a deep breath and smile. The first thing that I notice on the call is the background sound. If there is someone cursing or a child crying loudly I take another breath and a voice in my head says “Focus”!

Mental dexterity, strength of will, and computer skills are job requirements. It is always imperative to be in control of the call whether you are listing store amenities or attempting to defuse an angry caller. Night shift is especially challenging as when the store office is closed we are not able to meet the caller’s requests to speak with the local manager or to help them get in or out of the gated area. It is often my considered opinion that the caller has brought this situation upon themselves however it would be very unprofessional and lacking in courtesy to point that out.

This evening I did have an opportunity to be of real assistance to a caller. The first thing I noticed about the call was the small child crying in the background. The caller was nearly in tears herself as she explained that she was in side her storage facility the facility is one that has all of the storage units inside the building and there is a computer controlled locking system for security. She had lost track of time and when she noticed it was time to close she rushed to the door and sent her 5 year old son out through the door. The gate closed and locked down leaving her trapped inside the building and her child outside the door. By the time the call came to me they were both in tears and her cell phone batteries were low. Normally we would recommend that she call the fire department no emergency number but with the small child on the outside I deemed it prudent and worthy to try to contact our non emergency number. The manager who lives on the site was happy to go down and help them out. It was a judgment call that I am allowed to make. Our general rule is to advise callers of business hours and not call after hours for overlooked payments, tenant’s who are locked out for non pay who have followed someone else in or people just angry with the manager about store policy but it is very satisfying to be able to aid a family in this situation.

The next 3 or 4 calls were requests for office hours, truck rentals and balance dues. I answered what I could with the information that I had. Just when things were getting a bit routine a very young voice asked how much we charged to store a baby elephant. These calls come in quite often, tender youth with nothing better to do. We have been asked the price to store almost any animal you can name and dead bodies, black plastic bags filled with marbles, and the occasional request to live in the space. I usually tolerate the giggling for a call or two but then I have my own fun by telling them that we have caller ID and the calls are recorded and that if they call again I will send the recordings to local law enforcement. This usually puts an end to the prank.

There is also the occasional request for a band rehearsal space. Most facilities do not permit this. Perhaps they will be able to find another guitar player with a garage.

Phone Smart Call Center Director of Operations, Tron Jordheim told me that someone asked for the demographics of storage customers. His knowledgeable response was “There are none, sooner or later everyone needs a storage unit”. There was a time when I thought that there would be very limited segment of our population who would actually pay to keep things in storage. I reasoned that people would sell off or give away what would not fit but I soon found out how very wrong that I was. There are as many reasons for someone to rent a storage unit as there are people.

There are military families needing to move for a deployment, homeowners trying to sell the home and needing to put some things away to make it look less cluttered, homeowners who have sold a home but cannot move into the next one due to problems with the closing on the new property. There are breakups and marriages with the couple needing to consolidate into one household. Elderly family members may need to go into a care facility for a time and do not wish to lose all possessions or memorabilia. College students go home for vacation and do not wish to haul semester necessities home or some go to spend the season out of the country but will need to have furniture for the next term. Store inventory for seasonal items and document storage also bring business customers to our call center.

The amenities offered by the storage facilities are also varied. Some have business centers and offer document management. There is RV parking with dump stations and wash bays and drive up access storage units for storing automobiles. Many vintage car owners have these valuable vehicles in storage.

So, my interim employment until something better comes along has become my permanent employment. I like it here. I think I will stay. What would I ever do without self-storage calls to answer?