Are you a customer service representative working in a large call center? Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if you could work from home? Maybe you’re an at home customer service agent wondering what it would be like in the call center.
In this infographic, we took a look at working in a call center vs. working as a home based customer service agent, and compared the pros and cons for each. Read on to see which side of the fence you would want to be – or work – on!
Home Based Customer Service Job Pros
- You get to work from the comfort of your own home: How many times have you woken up and wished you could stay in bed? While some home based customer service jobs require you to be visible on camera from a designated work space, many work from home agents can work from the comfort of their bed, couch, kitchen table, or wherever they feel most comfortable!
- You don’t have to worry about driving in traffic every day: Getting stuck in the daily traffic jam stinks, and can cause a lot of stress and aggravation, which is not a great start to a day for any employee, let alone a call center representative who needs to have a calm demeanor through rough situations. Not only would you not have to worry about driving, you’ll also save a bunch of gas money.
- You can work in your pajamas: When you work from home, you can kiss “business casual” goodbye. Work from home agents can work in their jammies, their underwear, or whatever they feel most comfortable in, whereas in-house call center reps would have to stick to the status quo. Just be careful of your call center requires you to be on camera during your shift!
- You can hang out with your pets while you work: The worst part of going to work every day is leaving your four legged friends behind. Unless a call center has a bring your pet to work day everyday, remote agents never have to leave their furry family members’ side when working from home.
- It’s quiet: A quiet environment is an essential ingredient to being a productive call center representative, and having a great conversation with the other person on the line. The quiet of your home can allow you to concentrate on assisting customers peacefully, and you won’t have to worry about getting caught up in any call center drama.
- You can listen to music: Whenever remote agents are not on the phone, they can turn on some music and jam out while they work, whereas in-house agents have to be respectful of their peers at all times.
Home Based Customer Service Job Cons
- You may get cabin fever: While working from home sounds ideal, staying in your house all day every day can start to take a toll on your mental, which could wind up affecting the customers you’re assisting. However, if the call center you’re working at is local, they may allow you to pop-in and work from there once and a while to break the monotony!
- You may have a hard time unwinding: If you had a stressful day at work, coming home can often help you unwind. However, if you’re a work at home agent, you may not be able to fully decompress.
- You may get lonely: Working from home means you’re alone all day, and not having anyone to talk to (aside from your callers) could make you go stir crazy.
- You miss out on fun activities: Because you’re not in the call center, you miss out on playing games with your coworkers, gossiping around the office, or participating in fun activities like Employee of the Month.
- It may be harder to stay in the loop: Whenever policies and procedures change within the call center, you may be the last to learn of them since you aren’t there.
Working in a Call Center Pros
- You get to socialize with your peers: One of the best parts of coming into work at a call center is getting to see your fellow support friends, and bonding over common annoyances. If you work in a large call center with hundreds of employees, you’re sure to find a friend with common interests.
- You can take advantage of free snacks in the break room: Often, larger customers will send in treats or catered lunch to keep the customer service reps happy and on brand. So, if you’re in the office, you get access to any free snacks that may be in the break room.
- You can participate in office activities: Coming into work at the call center means you can participate in activities like Employee of the Month or other bonus incentives.
- You can easily reach out to coworkers if you need help: If you have a question or need help, you can simply get up and ask another customer service rep in the cubicle next to you or knock on your team leaders door. Often face to face communication for issues and questions is better than trying to communicate from your house.
- You can customize your desk space: There’s something cool about tricking out your cubicle. While you can definitely still do this at home, making your desk space your own can help alleviate stress, give an added sense of comfort, and show your personality to the rest of the call center agents.
Working in a Call Center Cons
- It’s loud and you may get distracted: With thousands of phone calls being processed every hour, call centers can get pretty loud, so it may be easier to get distracted and make mistakes.
- Your desk chair may be uncomfortable: In a call center environment, you’re going to have the same equipment, like chairs, computers, and headphones, as your coworkers. If the stock chairs aren’t very snuggly, your performance may be affected, which could cause you to skimp on your customer service duties. And, because you’re in a team, you most likely won’t be able to upgrade to a Cesar level chair without causing major office fights.
- There might not be any free snacks: Maybe the call center customers aren’t sending in any freebies and there are no free snacks. So unless you’re raiding your coworkers brown bags, you might be sad.
- There may not be any fun activities to participate in: INot all call centers are created equal and yours may not offer any fun incentives or activities, so you could lose interest in your job quickly.
- You may have to abide by a dress code: Having to wear professional clothes 8 hours a day, every day, might affect your work performance. If you find it’s easier to be friendly on the phone if you’re in sweats, you’re going to suffer in a call center.
- No pets: This one can speak for itself.