Stress is a factor on the job. Television monitors show employees the number of calls coming in and how long customers are waiting to talk to a representative. One department listens in on the calls and monitors how well employees answer questions. Shelby took 60 calls in one day last week. The relatively high number of calls came in after the company had an outage in several communities.
Calls bubble up like popping corn whenever lines are down.
They come in fast and furious, then settle down once the problem is resolved. This job is nice. John Beach handles some of the more difficult calls in Shelby's department. But Beach is willing to spend at least two hours a day commuting from Bremerton to Fife because he likes his job.