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Showing posts from August, 2009

14 Call Center Interview Questions & Answers

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The call center industry is one of the fastest growing in the country these days. As recently as ten years ago, there were only a few call center agents and the word call center was hardly ever used in the country. Today, almost every family has at least one member working in the call center industry. The reason for this boom is partly economics. In the Philippines, low paying jobs are very notorious and while call centers set up shop here because of the low labor costs, Filipinos decide to work for the call center industry because it pays higher than average wages. Consider this: if you are an average worker with an entry level position, you probably are getting paid seven to ten thousand a month; meanwhile, an average employee in the call center industry with an entry level position will get around fifteen thousand pesos a month, plus free dental and health benefits (HMO). Call centers also will pay your SSS (Social Security), PAGIBIG (home building fund), and PhilHealth (health ins...
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A Salesman Beyond His Years

This Friday, after work, I decided to go to the Great Northern Sale over at SM North EDSA. I was feeling low and empty and decided to drown my sorrows in shopping for around two hours (any longer and I would have to break the bank). I started off by looking at the small outlets standing outside the actual mall establishments. The one that sells air mattresses especially caught my attention particularly because I had been thinking of purchasing one. I was met by a not so eager salesman from Ace Hardware. I started with asking the most basic question these sales people are purposefully designed to answer, 'how much is it?' At 1,800 pesos (down from 2000 pesos), I definitely thought it was something worth buying. While standing there thinking about it, I was caught off guard by the sudden effort of the salesman to inject a sense of urgency in me probably now aware that he just might make a sale from me. He kept on saying, "Isa na lang po 'to. Sayang naman po. Nakadiscount...
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LBC: Hari ng Padala Indeed!

When my brother went home last March, I asked him to bring me back some malongs. The plan was to buy it at dirt cheap prices at home and sell it here (in Manila) for an astronomical profit. It was (to me) a perfect money making scheme. When I got hold of the malongs, I posted advertisements on two popular auction websites. I initially priced the malongs at a hundred and fifty pesos potentially earning me a profit of almost fifty percent. I mistakenly thought that the sour reception my malongs received had to do with the price. I foolishly lowered and lowered the price to the point of just breaking even. After a few weeks, I didn't give any attention to it anymore, content on the fact that the malongs will serve as unique gifts to the people here. But out of nowhere, I received a text message from a certain Steve in Tampa expressing desire to buy the malongs. He has a friend vacationing in the Visayan Islands at that time and he would be buying the malongs for that friend as a p...
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