Pinoy Call Center Agents Jobs Blog

Good news for the Visayas!

Hit Rate Solutions, a US based Business Process Outsourcing company, officially opened a 160 seat call center in Bacolod City, Philippines. This call center will house the company’s core telemarketing, customer service, and data entry outsourcing functions.

Hit Rate Solutions expects its rapid growth to continue despite the sluggish economy in the U.S and Great Britain. The Company believes that the challenging economy is leading many businesses discover the benefits of outsourcing. Hit Rate expects the call center to reach capacity sometime in the third quarter.

This means some more work for our fellow Filipinos in Bacolod.

Hot Sex Scandals in Philippine Call Centers, is it really true?  Is financial independence making the young men and women working at call centers in the Philippines promiscuous?  Or did the “exciting graveyard shift” offered a license for a ‘life of sin’ now even being boldly recorded in pornography-capable cellphones?

Honestly, I hate to tackle this topic.  Not only that it is a very sensitive issue but it is also something that most of the call center agent population will not be happy to discuss with.

But I would tackle it anyway as it is now a major folklore amongst the call center community.  The question I would like to pose is “Is it true or is it a myth?”.

To answer this question, we decided to ask not the call center agents per se but those who are around them.  (We will reserve that response from the agents themselves on another post later.)

To start, we asked 2 HR Managers from a call center company in Makati and in Ortigas Center, two of the most busiest and progressive cities in the Philippines and the favorite business districts of call center companies.  Both HR practitioners preferred to be anonymously cited in this post. (But for the sake of clarity, I will just call these them as coming from “Makati Call Center” or “MCC” and “Ortigas Call Center” or “OCC”).

What we did is to prepare a set of questions to these HR Managers and ask them face to face and record their response.  (They really preferred to answer via email by the way but we insisted to meet them live so we can witness their awkward but honest reactions to this sensitive issue.)  We interviewed them separately on separate dates and location.

Here is the blow by blow account of the question and answer portion we did purposely for this hot post:

Question No 1. Do you believe that there are really sex scandals or sexual encounters happening in the call center offices?

MCC Answer: Yes I believe so.  Anything like this personal issue is hard to avoid in an environment such as the call centers.  I know this because our guards caught some people doing the act in the call center I used to work for.

OCC Answer: Sadly yes.  There are even evidences of sex scandals caught on cellphone of known people from the call center industry.  Although this is very awkward for me, I even confirmed the identities of some of those in the 3GP video that came to me one day.  I know they can now be downloaded freely on the internet.

Question No 2. Do you have first hand experience of catching these people by yourself?

MCC Answer: Actually no.  Not yet but it would be an interesting experience.

OCC Answer: No but I have seen people that I know are working with our call center in one of the videos I watched on a cellphone.  I won’t say whose cellphone and what is person’s name.  But she resigned already from our company.

Question No 3.  Where is this scandal typically happening in the call centers?

MCC Answer:  Hmmm.  That’s a tough one.  Should I divulge this to you?  Oh well, OK. Based on the guards that I have talked to, they caught lovers in the act mostly at snooze boxes a.k.a. sleeping areas.  Many are also caught at fire exits, toilets and vacant rooms.  I also heard from another call center friend of mine in another company that they caught a couple under the meeting room table.  These guys are just so adventurous.

OCC Answer: At the site you mean?  If at the call center premises, they are normally caught in sleeping quarters even if these quarters are separate for boys and girls.  Others are caught in areas where people are not often going such as fire exits, vacant offices and hidden nooks and corners.

Sometimes, you will even get them caught on surveillance cameras.  They seem to know it but they do it just the same.  I especially am surprised by how the ladies nowadays are very brave and bold about their sexuality. I think, based on the video scandals I have seen so far, that these women are the main drivers of the sexual scandal to happen.

Question No 4. Do you believe that the call center industry is promoting promiscuity in the society?

MCC Answer: No. And I don’t think that is a fair question.  There are some sex scandals that I know of but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is rampant in the call center industry.  Besides, it is not the only office setup where sex scandals can happen.  Even on broad daylight, on those 9-6 jobs, sexual encounters can happen with co-workers.  So I would say that people like you pick on call centers like us because we are a boom industry.  And where there is boom, controversies abound but it doesn’t mean that the whole basket is rotten.

OCC Answer: No, I don’t think so.  Sex scandals are personal choices these agents are taking on for themselves either for personal pleasures or whatever.  We do not condone them and in fact we will ask people to resign if they get caught.  To blame the industry is like saying this is happening everytime and anytime in our offices which is not true.  Sexual acts in call centers are rare and this should not be taken as if the call center companies are allowing it to happen.

Question No. 5.  Do you honestly believe that the good salary in call centers has something to do with the increasing incidence of sex scandals in call centers?

MCC Answer: Wait wait wait!  You have to correct your line of questioning.  I only know that call center scandals happen but I never told you or insinuated even that there is an increase occurrence.  I believe the scandals are rare and have been controlled by most call center companies.  It just puts a bad light to the industry which prevents people or those who love them from entering the call center industry.

To answer your question, I believe it is partly to blame but not the root cause of the problem.  I know that many call center agents now live apart from their parents as soon as they graduate.  They can afford to do that because they are financially stable.  This often gives them the right to do whatever they want in life and without guidance they, especially the young folks who has worked straight out of college and who are hot as hell in sex, will easily succumb to such temptations.

OCC Answer: Yes, I think so.  However, this is just one part of the problem.  I think it has something to do with agent maturity and age as most of the agents average age is from 20-30 years old who are very excited still about their sexuality and are trying to find the right mate for them.  In this process, they do a lot of experimentation with different partners, sexual encounters included, which they can easily find in the call centers especially big ones like ours.

The huge money they earned makes them feel independent which often leads them to decide on their own and with haste without thinking of the consequences. Also, young minds have already been polluted by sensual publications we have on magazine stands today as well as the internet. I think those two are more than to blame than the money that brings forth a feeling of freedom to do what the call center agents wants in their lives.

Question No 6. What do you think then are other factors that excite these agents to do adventurous sexual acts in call centers?  In other words, why do call center agents do that nasty thing?

MCC Answer: Adrenalin rush! Hahaha!  No, seriously I don’t really understand why people do it except probably the thrill of getting caught in that situation.  Remember they work night time and I think people have the the tendency to do sensual things at night wherever they are.  There are a lot of people in call centers and it’s very hard not to meet someone you like there even if you are engaged or married.

OCC Answer: I think it’s because of a sexual revolution happening nowadays in the country.  The sensual Filipina has finally arrived with the proliferation of sensuous publications and ideas they see in sensual books and the internet.  I am not blaming the ladies here but what I am saying is that these scandals are most likely not gonna happen if it’s not consensual.  And mostly, as we know, men are the initiators and women succumbed to such invites.  Lately, we heard and see that women are the ones initiating it over the internet where they express themselves more willingly than face to face encounters.  The times have changed.  The Maria Clara we all know has evolved.  We should all realize it and these call center scandals are just a manifestation of what we cannot avoid.

Question No 7.  I once read that the sexual promiscuity acts on call centers are first invented by separated employees in the US and Europe who lost their jobs to Asians and later spread on the internet to ruin the Asian call center’s reputation.  Do you believe this?

MCC Answer:  I think this is possible but I am not sure if this actually happened. Besides I don’t think they will get their jobs back by bad mouthing around and saying nasty things about the Asian call center industry particularly the Philippines.  The only thing I would like to point out is this is probably a lot of people speculated that sex scandals really happen in Asian call centers given that we are doing their daytime work here during the night.  But I would say again that this is not as rampant as you think it is.

OCC Answer: Oh yes.  I think I read about that article too on the internet.  But what can we do.  We, Asians, did not decide to rob them of jobs.  It is their call center employers whom they should blame.  These call center companies mean business and the only thing that matters to investors is their money and its growth.  They save more money by outsourcing call center work in Asia so this is a natural tendency for any business. So even if they do this, we have nothing to be guilty of.  They should be guilty for putting a bad light to Asian call centers.

Question No 8.  What steps are being taken by your company to stop these sex scandals from happening in your call centers?

MCC Answer: We have recently implemented a strict dress code.  Revealing and indecent call center agent dresses are out.  To make sure this happens, we set the temperature one or two centigrade lower than the normal dress can take so that they, the call center agents, will have to wear jackets or find something to cover their exposed skin.

Before that, we also have installed closed circuit TVs (CCTVs) on the call center floor and areas which we think there are possibilities of sexual encounters.

OCC Answer: Our Company has installed CCTVs and hidden cameras to some areas of concern.  This move is to record not only all activities within the center but also to identify those who are brave enough to do immoral act in the center so we can expel them out immediately.  The Company has zero tolerance to sexual acts in our call centers and is considered a grave violation.

In addition, we added roving guards who do their rounds 24 hours to put a check on petty thefts and deter plans to do sexual acts where the CCTVs can reach.

We also do not allow the call center agents to take their personal belongings including cellphones.  Some agents are found carrying condoms or contraceptives in their bags.

Question No 9.  What would your company normally do to those who are caught in sexual acts?

MCC Answer: Sexual act in our call centers is prohibited and is considered a violation of the employee code of conduct so we normally expel the perpetrators almost immediately.  But before we do that, we make sure we are covered legally on all fronts as we don’t want it to backfire as illegal dismissal.

OCC Answer: We basically ask these people to resign so they can get a life of their own outside our call centers. But more often than not, they just disappear after the incident and we never heard back from them probably out of shame.

But then there are still those who even confront us to deny our claims even they are caught in the act already by our cameras.  In such cases, we ready ourselves for a legal confrontation as we are determined to terminate such kinds.

Question No 10.  If you are a parent, would you like kids to work in the call center?  And if you have a partner, would you allow him or her to work on a call center?

MCC Answer: Hmmm.  Is that a trick question?  For the kids, yes sure why not.  I think we all have values to live for and choices to make.  I cannot decide for my kids’ lives and where they want to be.  But I will make sure I am always there to guide them and remind them of the values I taught them as they grow up.

As to my wife, I think I would prefer her not to work in a call center not because I think she may do something bad but I think it is because graveyard shift work is bad for her health.

OCC Answer: Sorry I am still single so I don’t have kids yet but even if I have and they want to work in a call center, I think I would allow them only if that is the career they want.  I am in a call center now so how can I say these bad things we discussed with my kids?

As to a partner, I love my work but if he wants me to stop working in a call center and he has other alternatives for me or will allow me not work, I am fine with that.  I will just raise kids and build a happy family.

How about you?  Do you believe that these sex scandals are really happening or can happen in Philippine call centers?  We will wait for your responses.

What is a Call Center?

A Call Center is normally an office environment where company agents conducts typical customer service or support services via phone, email or chat.  A call center is where all the company agents (call center employees) conducts its business to serve the needs of the clients of the company. (Call centers are sometimes called “Call Centres” as well).

Why call centers or call centres exist?

Big companies in developed countries like in the United States, Canada and European Countries are competing not just on products and services but also on satisfying customer demands and needs.  Customer satisfaction is key to repeat business that’s why these companies take call centers very seriously.

The logic is that the more happy the customer feels about the product, the more chances of repeat orders, referrals and customer loyalty.  It is also believed that call centers will lessen chargebacks, returns and dissatisfied customers. Call center thrived ever since the “customer became king”.  From an optional choice, it became a must for businesses to build their own call centers.

In a highly competitive market, call center services are sometimes the differentiator or unique selling proposition (USP) of the company.  If you serve your customers fast enough and resolve their problems good enough, then you are assured of long term customer value coming into your business.

Call centers are core responsibilities of companies to their customers.  It builds and reinforce the company’s brand, reputation, commitment to excellence and quality.