Shan Cruz Rivera: His Action not OUR Responsibility!

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