by Stephen Owens

Created on: October 05, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Its Monday morning at nearly eight o'clock and the traffic is gridlocked at the junction with the dual- carriageway, which surrounds the little industrial estate wherein lies my Utopian workplace. In reality, I hate working in a call centre. Unfortunately, there are limited options for employment near where I live, as I choose to live in the countryside. This is just the thing I need! For some unknown reason getting up on a Monday is harder than any other day of the week; I guess that everyone feels the same and that is why everyone is running a little later and that is why the traffic is a little heavier than usual.

I eventually get across and drive to the gate into my call centre, and wouldn't you know it, the electronic barrier is down and I was in such a rush out of the house that I forgot to get my pass out. After a quick rummage around the handbag, I get swiped through the barrier into the car park, which seems fuller than usual and I have to drive around looking for a parking space.

Lock the car and a quick glance at the watch says I have three minutes to get inside and log in, so it's a quicker than usual stroll between and across the rows of parked cars to get me to the door. Another swipe of the pass lets me through the locked door and then it's a quick dash along the corridor and into the actual call centre where there is already a murmur of conversation from those of my colleagues who are already ensconced into their geometrically arranged workstations.

Sit down, switch on computer and login to the phone, put on my headset and look up at the wallboard to confirm that I just made it. Now I need to login to the systems that I may need to access during my shift, to answer the varied enquiries I will doubtless get.

"Beep".

Here we go. The first call and I haven't even got logged into the computer yet. I could scream, but what good would it do? I hate working in a call centre.

Anyway, the morning goes quickly as it is always busy on Mondays. My break time comes and goes and one call morphs into another and the constant conversation with the customers becomes like one endless call. Why is it I always get the Mr Angry? How come nobody told me about the new promotion where the customer has a chance to win a luxury spa weekend break? How come the poor old call agent never gets a chance to win the same prize as the customer?

At lunchtime it's a quick escape to the gossip area to catch up on how everyone's weekend was, but before I get a chance to get relaxed at

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