Long Call

Our AHT is 30 minutes and for us, a long call is more than an hour. Sometimes I really get unlucky and I get a long call that last for more than an hour.

Just recently, I received a call that lasted more than 5 hours! The call started around 2:00 AM and lasted until the end of my shift. I even went for an hour overtime because of that call.

The customer doesn't want me to leave the phone. She's willing to stay on the phone so long as her accounting software is installed.

I was confident at the beginning of the call that she doesn't need an IT guy to install her software on 4 computers and have it network to each other. I provided customer assurance that I can install the software for her.

So installation of the software on the 3 computers was normal. It was her 3rd computer that was a pain in the butt. It's one of the slowest PC I've ever remotely accessed.
I checked the specs of the PC and I was a bit disappointed.

HDD 20 GB
RAM 1GB
Windows XP

She has an AVG anti-virus (which I can't shutdown totally). I was able to shutdown only the firewall. I guess it added to the slowness of the PC.

I've checked the task manager. No suspicious program running. No other programs running except for the remote session tool.

Well, I ended up escalating the call to a Tier 2 agent. That’s one of the advantages of being a Tier 1 agent – you can always transfer the call to someone else.

Photo source

BuzzNet Tags: Long Call,Call Center Life

Homecoming

I saw this video today and it made me cry a bit. Photographer Ian Felix Alquiros posted this on his Facebook page and it reminded me of the video made by Get Up!

I just wish that gay marriage would be allowed in the Philippines in my lifetime.

This video by the way, is made for the introduction of same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. Kudos to the Coalition For Equal Marriage.

BuzzNet Tags: Gay Marriage,Homecoming

My Own Website

I'm planning to have my own website since Glenn's business is creating and hosting websites. Being the supportive boyfriend that I am, I should be one of his clients as well.
I'm still thinking of things to post on my own website. Should I go anonymous or reveal myself? Should I include my family and relatives to my audience?

Should I set it up as a personal blog or a photo blog? What are the things that my audience could do on my website?

Since this website is a paid website (well, Glenn will be giving me huge discount), I should think of ways of generating money out of it, through Nuffnang, Google AdSense, Black Label Ads or Infolinks.

Another question would be if I'll go wholesome (GP), not-so-wholesome (PG-13) or XXX (R-18). Right now, I have blogs that falls into these categories and I'm still thinking which one of these I should continue as a website (to eliminate the “blogspot” on the URL).

It would be great if my website would just be www.eltorobumingo.com or www.badingnakolboy.com. Since this website that I'm planning right now will be designed by Glenn and his staff, I'll probably name it like www.elmerlovesglenn.com. Sounds cheesy?

For now, I'll probably convert one of my blogs as a website and let's find out how it would go from there.

Photo source.

BuzzNet Tags: My Own Website,Web Hosting,PHILWEBPLANS

Nesting Agents

(Picture taken from Call Center in the Philippines)

A new wave of agents just came in on our floor -- welcome Wave 26!
​
It's almost 6 months since I became a newbie agent (a.k.a. nesting agent). I was surprised with the tools and the way the tenured agents (back then) are seamlessly navigating through those tools. I am also very surprised on how the tenured agents are taking calls which are very different from what the trainer taught us. I believe it's true with most accounts. The training environment is very different with the production environment.

The call flow is somehow similar to what was taught in training. This is the first thing that the new nesting agents should focus on. I'm glad our call flow is easy and our opening spiel is simple. It just have to contain a greeting, our department and asking for the caller's information. We have different opening spiels on the floor but mine is:

"Thank you for calling ____ customer care. My name is Elmer. Can I please have your first and last name?"

"How may I help today?"

The next thing that these nesting agents should learn is navigating the tools which serve only one purpose: to document everything that happened on the call. Documentation of the call is very important in every account. It's a make or break in every call center and there are a lot of agents that were terminated because of not documenting the call or incomplete documentation. Typing speed will help in documentation thus lowering the need for After Call Work (ACW), the time between 2 calls.

I love the look on these newbie agents’ faces. They appear to be clueless on the things that are going on with the tenured agent's screen. It's nice to see how I looked like the first time that I barged during my nesting period. Their faces are totally clueless.

After mastering how to document the call, a nesting agent's next task would be to master where to get the troubleshooting steps to resolve a customer's concern. This is usually in the form of a database where in an agent can type in keywords to get the article number for a specific issue. Well, most nesting agents would simply ask the floorwalker

After about a week or two of barging with a tenured agent and taking calls for half day, a nesting agent would face the Quality Assurance (QA) Certification. Once the nesting agent got a go signal from the QA, he'll be thrown to the production floor to take more calls. Then, the journey to become a regular employee begins.

BuzzNet Tags: Call Center Life,Nesting Agents,Tenured Agents

TV Series I've Been Watching Lately

I hardly watch TV lately. Not to mention that I'm not a big fan of our local tele-novela whether it's Kapuso, Kapatid or Kapamilya. I'm a fan of US TV shows and although I don't have cable subscription, I can still watch these favorite TV shows of mine via torrents:

1. The Vampire Diaries -- I have read the novels where this TV series is based and I love the story of Stefan, Damon and Elena. The TV series has evolved on a new storyline and maintaining only the names of the original character but it's a great story nonetheless.

2. Young Justice -- This is actually a continuation of Justice League. I love the way the characters are drawn and it gives new insights to DC characters. I love the eternal struggle between the Justice League of America and Legion of Doom.

3. Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes -- The style of animation of this Marvel series is inferior to ​Young Justice but I love the storyline as well. Right now, it incorporates the Kree and Skrull conflict into the series (based on the Secret Invasion comics).

4. The Amazing Race -- Now on its 20th season, The Amazing Race for me is the best reality show. It has the drama of Big Brother, the competition of Survivor, plus the travel aspect of National Geographic.

5. The Legend of Korra -- I've watched the entire episodes of the first Avatar TV series and this is definitely one of the best animated series ever produced. The story is very Oriental and unique.

I've also tried other TV shows like Grimm and One Tree Hill but these 5 shows are currently the ones that I'm very interested with. Thanks to torrents, I can still watch these shows even if I'm not a US citizen.

Right now, the great uploaders of these videos are Cool Release and AFG. Go check their upload on torrents.to 

What are the TV shows that you’re watching?

BuzzNet Tags: TV Shows,The Vampire Diaries,The Legend of Korra,Young Justice

Movie Marathon With Glenn

Last Saturday, Glenn spent the night with me at my room for a movie marathon. It was his second time at my room. He arrives late in the afternoon, do some online work stuff on my laptop, video surfing on YouTube and update his Facebook status. After that, we’ll have dinner and then start a movie marathon.

The pattern so far is 3 movies per movie marathon session. The choice of movies so far is random but I noticed that Glenn is not into romantic movies (Nicholas Sparks-inspired movies). Glenn seems to love comedy and science fiction movies.

We usually sleep around 2 or 3 in the morning after doing the things that couples do.

So far, the movies that we have seen so far in our movie marathon are:

• Immortals
• Darkest Hour
• Spy Kids: All The Time In The World
• Puss in Boots
• Johnny English Reborn
• Abduction
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

I’m definitely looking forward for the weekends! I should buy microwaveable pop-corns for a more pleasurable movie marathon with Glenn.

Thank you very much Glenn for spending your weekends with me. I love you so much!

Picture source.

BuzzNet Tags: Glenn,Movie Marathon With Glenn,Puss in Boots

Happy 1st Monthsary Glenn!

Today is our 1st monthsary and I just want to thank my lover, Glenn, for a wonderful first month of our relationship. I’ve enjoyed his company and his love for the past 1 month and I’m looking forward to spend the rest of my life with him.

I would also like to thank Glenn for meeting my parents last Saturday and sleeping over. He was the first boyfriend that met my parents and the first person who slept with me, on my bed. Glenn has been giving me a lot of my “first” like being my first boyfriend to have an endearment ring.

I have so many things to thank Glenn for. The most important thing is simply loving me for what I am, accepting my flaws and helping me improve and be a better person.  That’s why I fondly call him my better half.

Glenn, I promise to love you for the rest of my life. I promise to keep my commitment to you and settle our arguments like grown-ups. I love you very much!

Picture source.

BuzzNet Tags: Glenn,1st Monthsary,I Love You

Araneta Center, Cubao

Since Glenn and I became a couple, I’ve been to Araneta Center, Cubao more often. Glenn works in E. Rodriguez, Q.C. and he’s just 1 ride away from Cubao. I’m from Pasig City and I’m the one adjusting to our current situation. Well, Cubao is still accessible from Pasig City. It’s just an MRT ride from Shaw Boulevard.

The last time I was visiting Cubao frequently was when I was a member of Men’s Labyrinth, a Globe gay clan. That was two years ago. Our meeting place is Gayway, I mean Gateway, and our hang-out place is Starlites. We’ll spend the night chitchatting while some of our members are singing via the videoke. Then I got busy with work and I haven’t been to Cubao in months.

This changed recently, when Glenn became my better-half a.k.a. lover, boyfriend, partner. We usually meet at Wendy's Shopwise. I have a very nice experience with that restaurant that is why I always meet Glenn there. We usually stroll at SM Cubao, Ali Mall, Gateway and ended up twice in Eurotel Cubao. We usually watch movies at Ali Mall Cineplex.

Here are my most recent pictures of Araneta Center, Cubao. A few years from now, it will reclaim its former glory as the center of entertainment once all those proposed condominiums are completed.

BuzzNet Tags: Araneta Center,Cubao,Wendy's Shopwise,Eurotel,Ali Mall

My Lover, The CEO

(Picture source)

I envy Glenn. He's the CEO of his own company that's been in the business for more than 2 years now. Their company, PHILWEBPLANS, is a service-oriented company that provides hosting, web design, and SEO services among others.

They have their own office at E. Rodriguez and he has his own workstation. He has his own schedule, he can log-off anytime, he can play loud music and he has absolute freedom in his office.

I actually envy him for having his own company. I really envied seeing his name in their DTI permit. That's how independent my partner is.

We usually chat via Skype in the afternoon. He uses their CCTV camera as his Skype camera! I can see how he works in their office. He also calls me at home frequently. Glenn is a bit obsessed at chatting with me all the time!

One time, I brought my laptop in their office so that he could have an idea on the contents of my laptop. I also explored his desktop computer. It's very clean! No adult videos or pictures. It's purely a work PC in contrast to my laptop.

My lover Glenn is very handsome – at least to my naked eyes.

Glenn also meets with potential clients outside of their office. It gives him the much needed atmosphere outside of the office. Unlike me who's confine in the office 9 hours a day!

Due to the nature of his work (i.e. meeting clients) he seldom wears t-shirt. In contrast to my wardrobe which is 90% t-shirt and jeans! Glenn is more on polo, slacks and polo-shirt. He prefers the brand Oxygen while I'm into No Fear.

I am hoping that one of these days, he'll train me to be a SEO specialist as well and be able to work as a part-time employee of my lover, the CEO.

By the way, they were recently featured on GMA 7’s Saksi. Watch the video.

BuzzNet Tags: PHILWEBPLANS,My Lover,The CEO,Web Hosting

Sharing My Facebook Password

(Picture taken from Mizwhiz)

I'm the type of person that doesn't mind sharing my cellphone and FB username and password with my lover. I always believe in transparency.

So when Glenn and I became a couple last March 18, 2012, I've surrendered my FB username and password and he borrowed by cellphone for more than a week.
A few days after I surrendered my online freedom to Glenn, I happen to chat with Sef. We talked about the things that have been happening to our lives. I talked about Glenn. Since my Sef is a close friend right now, I divulged some of my comments about Glenn in a friendly manner.

The next day, when I chatted with Glenn, he's a bit pissed off that Sef and I have been talking about him. I totally forgot that Glenn logs in to my FB account once in a while! Glenn was very upset that I prefer to share my comments of him to Sef than confront him about it. Thank God, Glenn forgave me for my shortcomings and we agreed to talk about our comments to each other first, before sharing it with our own best friends.

Regarding my cellphone, it's good to know that no one is texting me about meet-ups! Glenn is a very jealous guy and he would surely be furious if I receive a text message regarding meet-ups.

Well, the reason why I surrendered my FB username and password as well as my cellphone access to Glenn is because I'm very confident that I won't be receiving such text or messages. My entire attention is focused on Glenn and I have no needs whatsoever to meet up with someone else. Glenn fulfills my needs very well, physically and emotionally. I couldn't ask for more.

Today, when I said goodbye to Glenn earlier to go to work, he surprised me by saying that he chatted with Sef. I can't wait to read their conversation.

BuzzNet Tags: Sharing My Facebook Password,Glenn,Sef

John Lloyd Cruz for Biogesic (Videos)

It’s better late than never. I took these videos using my Canon EOS 1100D during the Thanksgiving Lunch that John Lloyd Cruz and Biogesic prepared for us. My gratitude to Nuffnang Philippines for inviting me to this event.

The original format of the video (straight from the DSLR) was a QuickTime Movie type which are 388 MB and 405 MB respectively. I used Any Video Converter Professional to convert these files to MPEGII format which significantly reduced the size of the videos to 24 MB and 25 MB. I then uploaded these videos on YouTube, added these to my Favorites list before attaching it via Windows Live Writer.

I don’t have a tripod when I took these pictures but you can see and hear the quality of the video. I love my Canon EOS 1100D because it can also took videos.

Here’s another one.

BuzzNet Tags: John Lloyd Cruz,Biogesic,Nuffnang Philippines

Banchetto at SM Cubao

Yesterday, during my date with my better-half Glenn, we saw that there is a Banchetto at SM Cubao. Banchetto is a famous open-air food festival. It’s the ukay-ukay of anything related to food. You’ll find most of the foods that you crave for at Banchetto, from street foods like isaw, to restaurant foods like spare ribs, steaks, pasta and cakes.

The last time I ate at Banchetto was ages ago, at Emerald Avenue in Ortigas Center. I’ve heard that it was already moved to Meralco Avenue. I haven’t been to other Banchetto location. The foods available at Banchetto are very popular among call center agents like me and it’s definitely an alternative venue to fast food chain during the weekends.

I took the opportunity to practice food photography. Check out some of the foods available at Banchetto, SM Cubao.

When was the last time that you dined at Banchetto?

BuzzNet Tags: Banchetto,SM Cubao,Food Photography,Food Festival