picture source: http://beyond-the-norms.org
If you type the name Shan Cruz Rivera in any search engine, the name auto completes! Right then and there you will be routed to websites such as YouTube, AllVoices, etc. The man became an instant star overnight. The first time I saw his picture was on my Facebook's home page. There was someone asking everyone to track him down. There was this brand of being a SHAME for all call center agents in the Philippines. I have to admit that it did not immediately catch my attention, at that time! I let it pass until now. Obviously when I checked YouTube's hits numbering to 9, 154 I can say that it did lit some spark or even a flame since its upload last December 18. Now I discovered that there is even a Facebook Fan Page. Well, it starts with the word hate, etc!
Let me give some insights and comments about all of this. This has become a serious matter since the headline in AllVoices says that the man could endanger the BPO industry in the country. I mean, come on! Let us not conclude and reach that point of discussion. Please consider this, Wikipedia reports that in 2006 there were 160, 000 people that were employed by BPO or call centers companies here in the country. So the talk about an action done by one man affecting the whole industry is something that is shocking. I think the manpower involved here is close to a million. Shan Rivera is a drop of water in the ocean. What I am trying to say here is, he is only one and does not reflect all call center agent!
WNS is obviously the company that he works for based on his ID sling. The company is locally headquartered in Citibank center, Makati Philippines. It has 350,000 employees. That is the information that I got from a website. The center is clearly big. Well, however big they are right now. They have a thorn that's pricking them - Shan Rivera. If anyone in WNS is reading this please correct me if I have some wrong information. But the guy is wearing your ID sling and obviously he was on the production floor when he was filming his glorious moment. The first thing that did not look well was Shan's cellphone. I think that's what he used. I have been with a lot of call centers and it is always the POLICY for people not to bring a cellphone on the production floor. I mean, who knows what they will do with the information. Now, we know what happens! It gets uploaded in YouTube. If security was tight or if WNS had this policy then there no way that people like Shan could've filmed the whole fiasco. So what happened WNS? Do you have such policies of no cellphones on the production floor? If you do have and this person eluded you then you certainly have a problem. I suggest you contact our company and hire our security guard. Man, they are tight! I can't even bring my phone inside even if I am a supervisor!
To call center agents like me. Stop the witch hunt! Shan Rivera is one of us. And like us he has great ideas like filming his call. You must admit that you dreamed of such thing to happen. To videotape a conversation between you and you customer so that you can share the humor. But thankfully you did not! Because you or WE are all professionals. Let us maintain that perception! Filipino call center agents are professionals. I know I am. Shan Rivera's incident is an isolated matter. Or would I say, let us isolate it
Call centers in the Philippines are doing their best to protect their clients. This event does not reflect the attitude nor the culture of a Filipino call center agent. As far as I am concerned we are hardworking people. This incident as I said, is very isolated. I don't blame anyone not even WNS. But they must keep their security tight. If they think its tight then tighter! The industry has fed a lot of families including mine. It has made the country's economy flourished. Realizing the role of it then, WE MUST ALWAYS BE PROFESSIONAL.
here is the link if you want to see the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnX2pY67Izo
here is the link if you want to see the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnX2pY67Izo
13 comments:
taya bitaw ani niya oi. daghan kaayo cyag gi breach...
unsa bi about?so sorry wla ko update lge ani.
you got that right bud, this is an isolated case. but his actions are not tolerable. sure it will not hurt our country's reputation as a BPO resource. But who knows what those business tyrants are thinking..
funny thing is, we are becoming an instrument for his fame though it's not our intention.
naku, kabastusan kaya ginawa niya sa customer.. lalo niyang pinababa ang tingin sa call centers...
Bading ba yang kolokoy na yan! apir!
one of the few siguro. they should do better in filtering out this type of employees.
do you wanna see the vid that went viral? 94k hits in less that 24 hours... I took it down because it's causing havoc already :)
I hate to tell you but this agent's behavior is the fault of every superior above him, for many reasons, First, what is the environment the leaders created in which this individual felt it both possible and appropriate to behave in this manner? If as a leader, you create an environment in which there are hostile or negative opinions of you, the company or any part of the organization, people will be motivated to respond in kind with poor behavior, Secondly, where are your floor supervisors and your QA's who easily would have heard this live going on if they were paying attention? I have personally stopped a call mid-conversation when I knew an agent had crossed the line by taking the headset and offering my apologies for the situation and I am an executive leader. As leaders we are solely and completely responsible for our agent's choices and the ramifications these choices have for our customers, to deny that is not to understand the responsibility of leadership in the first place.
I consider the Philippines my second home in the world and I am confident this incident has no relevance to the entire call center industry or to Philippinos specifically, but this is an issue all leaders must be aware of and take responsibility for in a collective sense. It is something that could have taken place anywhere.
Why do you need to post this pa? I really don't get it.. This is linkedIn. If you really would like to do something about it do the right way many businesses can read this and could cost the Philippines so much.I hope you don't mind..
@ P.A. Decena
I don't mind at all. If you read the article... And still feels the same way then I don't blame you!
I've already read the email and I know your sentiments but what you did is not as professional as what you should have done. You are a TL and you should act and think like one. You posted something in linkedin and many people can read it and have read it. It could cost "us" bigtime. I'm not saying what you did is wrong but you could have done it on a different way.
@ Courtney Bissett
noted Courtney. But the agent does not belong to our center. I heard it from the news. I reacted because it was as if they were blaming the whole country. It was the fault of one and the word Filipino was used. My point was that, each center has their responsibility. One's fault must not be cascaded as the fault of other's too. So HIS fault not the whole call center industry here in the country.
I am glad to say that my center does not have this incident and we do live monitoring so this is not even possible.
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