Waiting for Telstra Workers Telstra call center staff wanting to use the toilet are being forced to raise their hands and seek management permission first, according to a stinging report into the agencies' practices. The CPSU submission to the Telecommunications Service Inquiry is based on the experiences of hundreds of Telstra staff including call centre employees, IT specialists, engineers, researchers and administrators. It shows Telstra staff are regularly disciplined for putting the customer before sales targets.
Sick leave is queried as a matter of course.
There are strictly enforced time limits on handling calls which mean staff are often forced to 'flick' troublesome or unprofitable calls by transferring the customer or hanging up. In one call centre, staff even have to raise their hand to go to the toilet. One Telstra call-centre employee reckons staff spends too much of their day saying sorry. Complaints to Telstra have grown rapidly in recent years, yet people are increasing under pressure to get rid of 'whingeing' customers. The CPSU says the rapid decline in service standards was directly due to massive staff losses the corporation has endured since preparing for part-privatisation.