Call Center Food Is Usually Unhealthy

Lately I’ve been noticing the meals that my call center co-workers are eating at the pantry. And it’s quite alarming. Do you know why? It’s because most of their food items are very unhealthy.

Burgers and fries. Pizzas. Chips. Chocolate Bars.

Seldom do I see fruits and vegetables. The people that I usually see eating salads are those diet fanatics, girls who are already very thin yet still want to get thinner. That too, is unhealthy.

Here in our office’s pantry there are food providers who offer both healthy meals and also the usual fare that you can find in most canteens. Food items such as lasagna, pancit canton or bihon, siopao, rice meals, sandwiches and others.

I am also guilty of eating unhealthy food because these meals are usually the easiest to prepare or the cheapest or quickest to buy at the nearby fast food or convenience store. But I am trying my best to always think ‘healthy food’ each time I eat.

Eating healthy food is very important especially to us call center workers who have to work in the ungodly hours. I believe working night shift requires a steady supply of nutrients for our bodies to keep us safe from sickness.

Photo credit: pink fish13

There was a time that whenever I encounter the words disposable diapers, I only think about diapers for babies. Because babies are the main users of diapers, right? But then I was surprised when one day I came across an ad for adult disposable diapers. My first thought was, “That’s out of the ordinary.”

Later on I realized that it’s on the contrary. Adult disposable diapers are a necessity for some senior citizens because of certain bladder problems that are prevalent to old people. Now I don’t laugh when people joke about others using those diapers.

The first line of this BlogThings quiz result is correct. I love to buy things as cheaply as possible. Who isn’t, right?

But just because a stuff is cheap, it doesn’t mean I would quickly grab it. I put quality first every time. So sometimes I also buy branded stuff, especially when it comes to electronics and gadgets. I don’t really trust obscure brands. You know, those brands that don’t really ring a bell and really sound and look cheap.

You Are a Discount Shopper

You love to get things as cheaply as possible. You live for sales. It’s partially because you like to save money, but it’s also because you like the thrill of finding a fabulous deal. Of all the types, you tend to shop frequently but rarely by. You keep an eye on prices. Brand names are not that important to you. You know how to have style without collecting designer tags.

Call Center Job Security Amidst U.S. Recession

The last time I had a conversation with some of my friends from other call center companies, our talk was kind of gloomy. Why? Because it was about the job security in the BPO industry, particularly in the call centers, especially since the United States is experiencing heavy financial problems.

It is a known fact that the majority of the clients or businesses of the call centers here in the Philippines are U.S. companies. Everyday we hear about news of massive layoffs, of companies filing for bankruptcies that such news are starting to be a normal occurrence. But to us who are working in the call center industry, these news really hit close to home. Our source of income relies heavily to the health of these U.S. companies who hire us to do back end office jobs for them, to man their customer support services, and other vital company operations.

A friend of mine even said, “Is it time for us to change course? Is it time to start looking for work?”

I thought to myself that it doesn’t have to be that way. I am quite optimistic that I always think that this is just a phase that will pass by.

How I wish I am right.

Missouri is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. It is also one of the richest, if only because a percentage of the companies in Forbes 1000 list have their headquarters located in Missouri. But the state is not only rich economically; it is also rich in entertainment. And that is thanks to the beautiful city of Branson where visitors can experience high class entertainment of live music, dancing, comedy acts, acrobatics and even drama. You will find that everything worth your while is in Branson.

Should you be interested in visiting this exciting and fun city, go over to www.BransonGetaways.com where they make sure that visitors will have a grand time in their beautiful city, experience world class entertainment and stay in the best inns and hotels there. They offer a variety of vacation packages for two people ranging from:

They also have a Family Package good for 2 adults and 2 kids from ages 4 to 11 years old. The company can arrange for you to view 70 shows and attractions including museum tours, go kart racing, mini golf courses, theme parks, the Baldknobbers, Amazing Pets, the prince of magic Kirby VanBurch, the Hamner Barber Variety Show and many more!

And of course, don’t worry about lodging because www.BransonGetaways.com can book you in a comfortable and lovely place with their more than a dozen partner inns and hotels such as the Settle Inn, Grand Country Inn, Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Grand Oaks Hotel and others.

At Branson, entertainment is a way of life making every visit truly grand and memorable.

This call center blog will always be grateful to all of you who frequent this blog to drop, read and comment on my posts.

With that, let me acknowledge the top droppers for December 08:

Couple’s Footprints
Boleh! Boleh!
Tuition Place
Slow Streamyx
Dunia soer
Look around
Hit-or-Miss
Army Soldier Info
Money Online Guides
My note’s

Thank you very much!

I know that up to this time, a lot of call centers are still celebrating their Post Christmas / Year End party. So let me share some tips so you can make the most out of your holiday party.

1.) Register to confirm your attendance.

Whether you’ll attend or not make sure to let the registration committee know about it.

2.) Ask for options if you’ll change your mind.

Will you need to pay as a walk-in attendee? If that is one of the consequence then it’s better to know it ahead of time.

3.) Get your ticket and keep it until you hand it over to the registration committee (on the venue itself).

Most of the call center parties have raffle activities in between performances. Make sure to keep the portion of the ticket to present if you win in the raffle.

4.) Bring your IDs for proper identification.

It’s better not to take too much time waiting for a supervisor or a team mate to vouch for you. Make sure to bring your company ID or any government issued ID.

5.) Check out the theme.

You don’t want to wear a gown if you’re going to an open field party right? Nuff said.

6.) Inquire about the ‘ride’.

It will be both convenient and safe for you if your company will have their own service vehicle. If not, then you can join one or two of your colleagues as you go to the venue and/or to the office. You can also split the fare and talk about the fun party afterwards.

7.) Say no to allergic reaction.

Allergic to smoke, liquor and some food? Bring that pill inside your pouch if you need to pop one.

8.) If you’re going to take calls after the party, don’t drink alcohol.

Yes. A simple rule that’s violated by some. Don’t think that you can easily get away with that violation. Better be safe than sorry.

9.) Enjoy the party while it lasts.

Eat, dance and laugh if you want to. Just make sure that if its a company sponsored event, you still need to adhere to the rules of conduct. I believe this is self-explanatory.

10.) Add one to this list.

I know that I only covered some, I wanted to know some tips that I missed so other readers can also benefit from your tips.

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While I am not a baseball fan, the sport of baseball always brings much wonder to me. I mean, in my opinion basketball is more exciting but in the United States, it’s their national sports.

I see all the stadiums almost always jampacked with people shouting, cheering and eating hotdogs and popcorns. All of them there just to watch guys play on this big diamond on the field. Baseball really is America’s sport. It is almost a normal thing to hear about New York Yankees tickets selling out especially during the big games. You know what? When I get my chance to go to the U.S., one of the first things I would do there is watch a baseball game. Get to know the game as they say. Who knows, it might grow on me.

This is a quick post to call on the winners of Serrandinho’s contest. Please check out my regular call center blog post below. Thanks.

Congratulations to the Winners! Let me post here the giveaways from Call Center Gal:

As per Serrandinho’s announcement, the EC credits will be transferred by Entrecard staff so I don’t need to worry about this.

For the Banner winners, leave a message here together with your 125×125 banner html code so I can have your banners up here ASAP.

Themelib
Erickson Home

What would you do if your co-worker did more personal web surfing on his office computer than actual work?

While I do surf the web for personal purposes but only at times when I need to make a quick check on something. That wouldn’t amount to more than 30 minutes in a week. But this former co-worker of mine is different. He did it almost all the time.

I didn’t want to tell our former manager about it. I’m not that kind of person. What I did was I once kidded him about it. I told him straight to his face but in a humorous way. Sadly, I don’t think he took me seriously. What could I expect? I used humor.

I sometimes wished that our (former) manager would catch him in the act. I wasn’t wishing him any harm, I just wanted what’s good for him and the company, too. He’s not being productive in his job because of all those wasted time surfing non-work related stuff. He has a job to do and I just wanted him to do it right because it would affect all of us in the long run considering that we were a team at that time.

How about you? What would you do?

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk