Sheaf Saint

Yep. All except BT who seem to be moving their entire operation to India, which is really annoying for those of us that have to deal with them on a daily basis. The training their staff get in these places is shockingly bad and we always end up having to tell them how to do their own jobs and demand to speak to their supervisors when they can't offer a decent solution (which is more often than not). Up until last week, there was one department left that we dealt with (responsible for porting numbers across from other service providers) who were UK-based and actually knew what they were talking about. We could phone them up with a problem, they would get on to the previous provider and it would all be sorted out really quickly - no hassle at all. Now they've moved it offshore and not one of the agents there actually knows what they are doing, so we end up having to tell them exactly what they need to do and they have to put us on hold for 10-15 minutes while they clarify it with their supervisors.

You've got a very valid point here. The main problem, I believe, is that most companies who are large enough to need a call centre in the first place are often large multinational companies, and this generally means that they will have strict targets that need to be met. When I worked for British Gas many years ago, all they actually cared about was how many calls I was taking in an hour and actually providing a decent service to the customer came a very poor second in their list of priorities. The pressure of hitting these targets can make life really stressful. Management is also a key point. Most call centre staff will have their quality and targets strictly monitored by someone with whom they have little or no daily interaction, and this can be pretty demoralising because it feels like you are being micro-managed by somebody who doesn't appreciate the actual effort you put in and is only scoring you based on some figures on a computer screen. For these and plenty of other reasons (bad working conditions, short breaks, dealing with angry customers) staff turnover is pretty high in these kind of jobs. It seems like every week I will walk past the training rooms and there will be a full intake of new staff. I know we are expanding a lot at the moment, but even so there must be a fair few people leaving every week as well.

This is very true dune, a lot of companies are using the UK-based call centre in their advertising these days. I know from first hand experience how annoyed people can get with off-shore call centres. I work for an ISP and we had a call centre in Durban, and we used to get loads of complaints from customers that the service they offered was awful. Best thing we ever did was close it down and move everything back to Sheffield (obviously not for the staff of the Durban office though). The amount of shoddy ticket responses and generally p1ss-poor information being given out by these people was shocking and it was always left to us in the UK to mop up their mess most of the time. I'm so glad we have closed it now - it's made my job so much easier when dealing with customers.

Yeah, it was the same night we beat Brizzle Rovers 5-1

Firstly, it looks like they have ripped off the design from the F-22. Secondly, just because they've developed a supposedly good fighter, it doesn't mean they are going to start attacking other countries left, right and centre, so I don't see what difference it really makes. It is designed for air-to-air combat, meaning its primary purpose is for defense rather than attack. If they had suddenly started building lots of stealth bombers with nuclear capability, then I would be a teeny bit more concerned. But then, the US already has that capability and has never actually used it in anger, so there is no reason to believe the chinese would either.

Isn't that the club we signed him from? Best of luck anyway Marian. Once of my favourite ever players at Saints. A joy to watch and such a shame that his injury record deprived us of even more. Will never forget that magical goal against the Skates, and getting out of his sick bed to play - and score - in the final game against Everton in the great escape season.

Interesting reading a lot of the comments on that video - mostly from dumb americans who think that it is a propaganda video. Sadly though, if the world doesn't drastically improve the efficiency of renewable energy and the global population keeps going as it is (estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050 at the current growth rate) then it is entirely possible that this way of life will be almost compulsory.

Brilliant result. Even though they fielded a weakened team it's got to be a great confidence booster for the lads. So dune, Chamberlain came on on 84 minutes. Care to retract your statement that we will never see him in a saints shirt again?

So dune, Chamberlain came on on 84 minutes. Care to retract your statement that we will never see him in a saints shirt again?

Are you???

Yeah, but we're not in the EPL, and if WE are still in the cup, then WE will still have a game regardless. Either way, we get a game on a saturday, so I still don't understand your logic.

But if we win, then we'll have a cup game on a saturday instead of a league game. I don't get your logic at all.

Completely agree. You could see that that cup run gave the team more confidence and togetherness. I still don't understand why people are so certain that a good cup run will have a negative affect on our chances of promotion.

I actually feel sorry for the guy. He was in an impossible situation. He was hired by the previous owners so there was always a possibility that the new team would want to bring in their own man, and he had little hope of setting the world alight with the squad he inherited from Benitez. Having said that, I do think it was a ridiculous decision to give him the job in the first place on the back of one good season at Fulham. He probably took it knowing that he would probably get sacked but that his contract would be paid up if that was the case.

Sh1t! I met him once. He was doing a sponsors appearance on behalf of Troop at Top Trainers in the East Street shopping centre in about 1989. There was a queue of people waiting for his autograph and the lad in front of me asked Gary if he wanted to fight Lennox Lewis (who was just making a name for himself as a pro) and his reply was "No. I want to be world champion." RIP Gary.

I've really never understood why people get so offended by the F word. Really, what's so bad about it? It's just a word for f***'s sake! People don't get offended at hearing the word duck, or luck, or muck, so clearly it isn't the sound or cadence of the word that offends. Neither do the same people get offended by hearing ****, or make love to, or have sex with, so it isn't the connotation of it either. So what exactly is it about that one particular word that people get so uppity about? I guess it comes down to social conditioning or just plain snobbery.

http://newsthump.com/2011/01/05/hmv-urged-to-try-selling-things-that-people-still-give-a-****-about/ :lol:

There was a lawyer.... Kobayashi RIP Pete. A true great among British actors, you will be sadly missed.

I got one of those Addidas toiletry box-sets from my step-dad. I'm bloody sure it's the same one I gave him last year!

So, as we thought, they have only completed this transfer to make a quick profit. I really, really hope that FIFA shaft them and refuse to sanction it, meaning they will be stuck with the extra liability of his wages that they can't afford. I won't hold my breath though, as they seem to have a knack of squirming out of these things.

Yep. She's nothing but an uneducated, untalented, disgusting slag, but she isn't quite as contemptible as the utter morons who actually pay money to read about her antics in pathetic rags such as Heat magazine. The fact that these kinds of magazines take up half the bloody displays in most newsagents is indicative of just what is wrong with British society today.

One thing that bugs me is the trend of putting ex-reality TV contestants in on the 'celebrity' special version of the show. Seriously WTF!?!?

I'll be making my annual pilgrimage to Beatherder - a little gem of a festival hidden away in the Lancashire countryside that I have been to for the last 3 years running. Other than that, not sure. Some mates of mine usually go to The Big Chill every year so I might go to that depending on the line-up.

Is life all that? No, I've found it to be a series of one disappointment after another. Don't get me wrong - I'm not depressed at all (I've been there and done that thanks) - I've just come to accept the realisation that things are never as exciting or fulfilling as they are made out to be. Everyday life is just sh1t really - go to work, take abuse from some knobheads about things that aren't your fault, get no recognition for your efforts, get home and you're too tired to do anything other than sit in front of a computer or watch the brainless drivel that passes for TV entertainment these days. If this becomes a routine over a prolonged period then it's only a matter of time before you start wondering why you bother.

To put dune on my ignore list