Need help making a decision? E-mail me at sincerelykimmie@hotmail.com for a free opinion because sometimes, strangers give the best advice.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Caller With a Conscience!

Dear Kimmie,
 I work at a political call center that works with conservative political action committees. We call registered voters across the country and try to get them to donate $10-250 to the campaign. The owners of the call center give us no campaign specifics or where the money goes, so we just give a very vague overview of what the money does to the potential donor.
However, a quick google search will show what a legal scam these campaigns are. When we tell donors their money will help elect more conservative candidates in November, and then finance reports show that the campaign has donated only $5,000 to a total of 2 candidates in the last election cycle. Should a God fearing employee feel comfortable working in this environment?
What should I do?
Signed, Caller with a conscience



Dear Caller with a Conscience,
Quit right now! I know that sounds rash, but I'm a shoot from the hip kinda girl.
 However, if you're more of a two weeks notice kinda guy/gal, then I would have a serious talk with your employer, asking him directly what percentage actually goes where you're telling people it goes. If he can't or won't give you an explanation, you should tell him that you don't feel comfortable misleading people and tender your resignation immediately.
 I will share my telemarketing experience with you to give you courage... I too worked at a call center once. (I've had like 20+ jobs.) My friend and I worked there together, and we felt like the services we were offering over the phone were not always worth the money we were charging, and I felt like we were being told how to talk elderly people into paying for things they didn't need. After 4 days of this, my friend and I quit, but not before I made a very dramatic "how do you people sleep at night" exit speech. I don't think it was very effective. The only people that followed us out of the building were the ones on their way to their smoke break, but I felt a lot better because I was no longer part of a company that I felt was taking advantage of people.
 I realize it's important to make a living, but it's far more important to make an honest living. You can find a way to justify anything if you try hard enough, but selling your soul is one telemarketing gig you should steer clear of! So, quit, asap! Problem solved!
Sincerely, Kimmie

1 comment:

  1. It’s a shame that these types of call centers exist, and even worse that even the employees are being duped. You’re right – I think the sender of this letter should move on to a different job. There are plenty of other call centers out there that pay just as well, maybe even better, but are more honest. It sounds to me like this particular person would do well as an inbound sales representative.

    Sonia Roody

    ReplyDelete