The Results Are In....

A few items to consider...
My learning curve at SCEA was nearly vertical. For instance, I don't own nor have I ever owned a PlayStation console. Sure, I enjoy playing video games- in an arcade environment. Home-based systems, though, not much interest. Friends of mine have owned PS2 systems. I being the bear that I am, just couldn't manipulate the awkward controllers with any finesse whatsoever.

The call-tracking software (CRM app) is a very robust application made by that German company, Siebel. The app is named LUCID which is an acronym, that I rather not get into right now. Suffice to say it is very robust. Asset information, service record information, addresses phone numbers, the works. Yeah, it's a database. Gee, I wonder why Uncle Larry hasn't attempted to scoop up Siebel, because LUCID kicks major ass! (DUH! Me bad.)

So there you have it the major players in this learning curve of mine. No real experience with the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable) and no working knowledge of LUCID. I place that learning curve at 89 degrees. Why 89? Well, I haven't been living under a rock, so at least I already knew what the hell a PSP was and that was about it.

The other aspects of performing custo-, er, CONSUMER support are the soft skills. Of which I have in great supply. Past experiences within call center atmospheres include two alarm company central stations and one web-based application company. The latter was at that time a start-up and the former were ADT Security Systems (back when it was a reputable security company) and RFI Communications and Security.

The training at SCEA was three weeks in length. The learning about LUCID and the PSP were computer-based and self guided. The Training Facilitator(s) made one thing crystal clear- Don't attempt to learn everything that there is to know, instead learn where to go on the corporate intranet to find the information you need. I had a professor in college that had said nearly the same thing- Don't try to know it all, just know where to find it.

At first, I was trippin' hard. Information overload. I was thinking PSP. I was dreaming PSP. I had "consumers" talking to me in my dreams. As anyone whom works in a technical call center will tell you, the smart people do not call you. The folks whom read their respective owners/users manuals- do not call you. The only people whom call tech support are the clueless and the ones that ought not be attempting to operate anything, let alone attempt to set the time on their VCRs.

The "semi-final" was a database navigation, coding test. A passing score was 90, my score was 83. Most of my class required a re-test. My score on the re-test was a huge improvement- 100.

The three call final was THE big one. "Nobody fails this course" so stated the facilitator, named Wes. (Oh and a few choice words about him: Cute, mid-20's, korean/european mixed straight married daddy) Anyways , he dropped a not-so-tactful bomb on the class, you fail- you're gone. No worries here, in the adult world THAT is a given. Yet , I was amongst the few whom were beyond their 30s- Kids today, I tell you...

The three call final had a pair of grading categories- Call Quality and Database Knowledge. It was here that I was trippin' a bit. I knew I had the call quality down pat. But, I still had a little bit of difficulty with app navigation. I was shocked to learn that the two for me would get perplexingly reversed. The required score to pass the Call Quality segment was 80 or better. The Database segment was tighter at a minimum score level of 90.

The Results Are In...

Call Quality: 85
Database: 100

I start my shift bright and squirrely at 0700 and leave at 15:30. This is the first technical call center gig where I work Monday through Friday. Yes, that means weekends off like normal workers! As my friend Tony T had observed, I am no longer working in the Klingon Empire for I have now rejoined the Federation!

hells yeah!

So Sayeth Das Behr