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pennie_dreadful) wrote2008-05-28 08:36 pm
pennie_dreadful) wrote2008-05-28 08:36 pm
Entry tags:
stupid executive decisions
This rant is brought to you executive officials who make decisions about how their employees will do their jobs without first consulting their employees about whether or not it is in fact, a good decision. Basically, they're cheap bastards who are trying to cut corners.
All this is behind an lj cut, because I really don't want to shove this in anyone's face who doesn't care. I try to not put a lot of stuff about work in this journal, because it really doesn't matter to anyone but me, and aside from some very notable, idiotic callers I have to deal with, nothing rant worthy ever really happens.
Um, for anyone who doesn't already know, I'm a receptionist for a pretty big real estate company. So, phones are a very big part of my job. And when they don't work it is not good (well, actually for me it is, because then I get paid to just sit at my desk and read, because of course, I always have a book with me--but pretend you didn't see me write that ;)). The old phone system we were using was twenty-five years old. It had no tech support. And it crashed a lot. So finally the brokers caved and bought a new phone system. Overall, it's better, although there are some things about it I think are stupid and make no sense, but at least they work consistently, so I can handle that.
The first thing that pisses me off, is that we were told to come up with a list of the people that get the most calls, so that the phone guys can program them into a speed dial thing, which can only accomadate 48 numbers (the old system could handle most of the 180 agents we have to keep track off). Which, when I have to deal with three calls at once, is great. I don't have to look up an extension # (which are listed on three sheets of legal size paper), I just look for their name on the display and press the button. Presto! The thing is, this morning, a week and a half after we got the phones, they finally programmed the speed dial, and they completely disregarded our suggestions. Oh, all the brokers were on there, the accountant, the office manager. Two or three of the agents we get a lot of calls for. But there were a lot of people programmed that just had no business being there. And of course, there were those that needed to be there and weren't. We were all like, okay, we gave you people a fucking list, for Christ's sake. So naturally we call the tech guy and he says, okay give us a new list. Well what happened to the old one?!
Second issue is, the floor phone. We always have a designated agent to be on floor duty, which means they get all the lovely calls about, "Well, I want to know about that house. I don't know the address. I don't know the agent's name. But it's a brick house. And it's across the street from the church." It's not always like that, but obviously, it's a very important job and when someone who's supposed to do it doesn't show up, it's a huge deal. Now, there was a cordless phone that they used that had it's own extension. That way, if they want to go to the kitchen and make some lunch or get a cup of coffee, or had to leave their office for some reason, they take it with them and it's all good. Well, the new system isn't compatable with the old phone, so what do the brokers decide? Get a new phone? Outrageous! (and oh, by the way, we were only just today informed we weren't getting a new phone. We've been having to send calls to the agent's office) which really wouldn't be so terrible, except for one thing. The floor duty people are constantly switching with another agent. Before it was no problem because I always knew that someone was going to answer the phone, and none of us especially cared who it was. Only now, they switch, and forget to tell us they've switched. Which hello, we need to know who to send calls to! So we then get a lot of calls like "it just rang and rang!", and those can vary from mildy confused, to tolerant, to pissed.
So now the brokers tell us that from now on we're to forward calls to agent's cell phones instead of their office. Now, this may sound like the solution, because that means that they'll be able to answer calls anywhere and can roam the office. But no one consulted US, the people who answer the phones, to see if it was a good idea. And it's not a good idea. Because first of all, agents will be on floor duty and forget to turn on their phones, if they had been in a meeting or something. Not everyone gets service in the building. And, (I can think of several agents who would do this) some people would just not come in the office at all, which means if we have a walk-in, we have to scramble to find some one who is there and can help them. It's not easy, either, because everyone's meeting with a client, or has an open house, or is showing a property. Plus, when we forward calls to outside line, it ties up two lines, and if we get two or three floor calls back to back (and it happens) and we do as we're supposed to and send them to cell phones, then that ties up all our lines! And when someone finally gets through, they're all mad because they think we've been sleeping on the job or something. "I've been trying to call for thirty minutes! No one answered! I want to talk to so and so!"
COME ON. It costs what, forty of fifty dollars for a new cordless phone? Cheap fuckers. Then again, if they kept using an outdated crappy phone system for this long, should I be surprised?
All this is behind an lj cut, because I really don't want to shove this in anyone's face who doesn't care. I try to not put a lot of stuff about work in this journal, because it really doesn't matter to anyone but me, and aside from some very notable, idiotic callers I have to deal with, nothing rant worthy ever really happens.
Um, for anyone who doesn't already know, I'm a receptionist for a pretty big real estate company. So, phones are a very big part of my job. And when they don't work it is not good (well, actually for me it is, because then I get paid to just sit at my desk and read, because of course, I always have a book with me--but pretend you didn't see me write that ;)). The old phone system we were using was twenty-five years old. It had no tech support. And it crashed a lot. So finally the brokers caved and bought a new phone system. Overall, it's better, although there are some things about it I think are stupid and make no sense, but at least they work consistently, so I can handle that.
The first thing that pisses me off, is that we were told to come up with a list of the people that get the most calls, so that the phone guys can program them into a speed dial thing, which can only accomadate 48 numbers (the old system could handle most of the 180 agents we have to keep track off). Which, when I have to deal with three calls at once, is great. I don't have to look up an extension # (which are listed on three sheets of legal size paper), I just look for their name on the display and press the button. Presto! The thing is, this morning, a week and a half after we got the phones, they finally programmed the speed dial, and they completely disregarded our suggestions. Oh, all the brokers were on there, the accountant, the office manager. Two or three of the agents we get a lot of calls for. But there were a lot of people programmed that just had no business being there. And of course, there were those that needed to be there and weren't. We were all like, okay, we gave you people a fucking list, for Christ's sake. So naturally we call the tech guy and he says, okay give us a new list. Well what happened to the old one?!
Second issue is, the floor phone. We always have a designated agent to be on floor duty, which means they get all the lovely calls about, "Well, I want to know about that house. I don't know the address. I don't know the agent's name. But it's a brick house. And it's across the street from the church." It's not always like that, but obviously, it's a very important job and when someone who's supposed to do it doesn't show up, it's a huge deal. Now, there was a cordless phone that they used that had it's own extension. That way, if they want to go to the kitchen and make some lunch or get a cup of coffee, or had to leave their office for some reason, they take it with them and it's all good. Well, the new system isn't compatable with the old phone, so what do the brokers decide? Get a new phone? Outrageous! (and oh, by the way, we were only just today informed we weren't getting a new phone. We've been having to send calls to the agent's office) which really wouldn't be so terrible, except for one thing. The floor duty people are constantly switching with another agent. Before it was no problem because I always knew that someone was going to answer the phone, and none of us especially cared who it was. Only now, they switch, and forget to tell us they've switched. Which hello, we need to know who to send calls to! So we then get a lot of calls like "it just rang and rang!", and those can vary from mildy confused, to tolerant, to pissed.
So now the brokers tell us that from now on we're to forward calls to agent's cell phones instead of their office. Now, this may sound like the solution, because that means that they'll be able to answer calls anywhere and can roam the office. But no one consulted US, the people who answer the phones, to see if it was a good idea. And it's not a good idea. Because first of all, agents will be on floor duty and forget to turn on their phones, if they had been in a meeting or something. Not everyone gets service in the building. And, (I can think of several agents who would do this) some people would just not come in the office at all, which means if we have a walk-in, we have to scramble to find some one who is there and can help them. It's not easy, either, because everyone's meeting with a client, or has an open house, or is showing a property. Plus, when we forward calls to outside line, it ties up two lines, and if we get two or three floor calls back to back (and it happens) and we do as we're supposed to and send them to cell phones, then that ties up all our lines! And when someone finally gets through, they're all mad because they think we've been sleeping on the job or something. "I've been trying to call for thirty minutes! No one answered! I want to talk to so and so!"
COME ON. It costs what, forty of fifty dollars for a new cordless phone? Cheap fuckers. Then again, if they kept using an outdated crappy phone system for this long, should I be surprised?