At 17 years old, I got my first job. My dad worked for a utility company where teenage relatives of employees could get summer jobs in the company offices. I was placed in the "consumer affairs" building. My dad assured me my boss was nice and easy to work for. I was making $6 an hour, but would get a raise each summer I went back. Good enough for me.

I ended up working in the credit and collections department. The people that worked there dealt with customers who were behind on their heating bills. Some of them may have been several months behind or owed upwards of over $1,000. They all had different reasons for it. Some of them were unemployed, others were single parents, and others had other bills to keep up with; with no money left for their heating bill. These customers were in danger of having their heat shut off and would have to pay a fee plus some of their balance to get the heat turned back on.

My job was calling customers from a list my boss gave to me each day. When I got the customer on the phone, I told them I was calling regarding the past due balance on their bill. Sometimes, I also had to issue termination notices and tell them to speak to a representative to see what they needed to do to avoid termination of their heating service. The customers were often upset, angry, and confused. I could tell them information such as what their balance was, when they had last made a payment and for how much, and where to get more information they had.

When the customers got hostile, it took everything I had not to curse back. They would accuse me lying and coming after them when they were already in dire situations. Unfortunately, we were only speaking the truth about what they owed. They'd demand a supervisor, who really wouldn't tell them anything different. Some of them even swore they had "just made a payment" when no such thing showed up on the computer.

After four summers, I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired of being yelled at over the phone and people lying about their gas accounts. My boss was also becoming impossible to work for; noting it if you even came back a minute late from break or lunch and got upset if you were logged out too long to go to the bathroom. I didn't want to be like the representatives who had been around long term because there was no other work for them. Many of them didn't go to college or started but didn't finish. They were only there for the money and the benefits.

Before I left the credit department

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