Little White Lie (202 hits)
Category: UberMadness! EntryRating: 1 on 5 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Crystle (View user info) at 2006-10-09 17:17:04 EDT
This post was an official UberMadness! entry. Click here to view the original matchup.
Life is a funny thing. Growing up, I certainly never saw myself being a...well, let's just say I'm a "friendly phone operator." I used to despise people in this "career." How could anyone with self respect be constantly lowering themselves to any sort of whoredom?
Morals aside, I landed here. I started the job like so many do - I answered an ad in the paper looking for "a friendly people person." I was looking for a job trying to get away from the grind of waitressing at the all night diner. My son needed me home, awake, while he grew up, and double shifts were wearing me out, just barely paying the bills. In a sense, a waitress sells a bit of herself to every table, trying to get that one additional tip dollar. So it really wasn't a huge step from there.
I was most attracted to the job because I could work from home, and I could set my own hours - all I needed was a dedicated phone line. Simple, really. I choose to work days while my baby is at school. He'd hate to hear me say that. He's not a baby, hasn't been for years. But he'll always be MY baby.
I have the dedicated phone line set up in the walk in closet in my room. I've even put a small desk and a computer in there. The computer - that's because I get bored during calls, and waiting for the next call. The closet makes a nice low-rent office, and I like to think of it as my own little joke. I'm "in the closet" when I work, and I'm not sure I'll ever "come out of the closet." But I don't need to worry about how people will judge me in there, and no one will ever walk in on me unexpectedly. I don't know how I would ever explain this career to my family. Being a single mother is more than enough shame.
The money is good - not great, but it beats waitressing, and I can buy blue box macaroni dinners, so we get by. If this gig ever ends, I don't know how I'm going to transition back into a "real" more traditional job.
You know, before I answered that ad, I had assumed that computers and the internet had made this kind of thing obsolete. I mean, people can find ANYTHING they want to on the internet, and in complete anonymity too. But apparently, sometimes only a "friendly" live voice will do.
I had thought that there would be an obvious gender base in my clientele, but I'm finding that there really isn't. Oh sure, more men call, but it's not 90% men, or even 75% men. As far as I can tell, it's pretty even, maybe 60/40. I guess everyone needs a little personal attention now and then.
I suppose one of the most interesting things about this job is the similarities in most people. Some have unique "needs," and the booklet the company mailed out to me helps me get through those calls, but for most people it's the same. They want someone to listen, to hear them, someone to tell their secrets to. I am finding out so much about people - and I don't mean the "secrets" they tell me, those are so commonplace that I usually forget them right after I hang up - I mean about people in general.
T
hey all want comfort, they all need a bit of direction, they're "looking for answers," but they don't even want to hear the answers, really. They just want to hear a little white lie, to be comforted, to make the day or the hour go by a little easier.
That's my phone ringing again. Can you wait just a few minutes while I'm with this client?
"Thank you for calling 1-800-Dentist. This is Jill, how can I help you today?"
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Submitted by ArnieGeddon (user info) at 2008-04-08 19:55:23 EDT (#)
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