Last but not least: Wallraff at the call center
Industry experts in Germany are incensed by an undercover story by the well-known investigative journalist Günter Wallraff. For the book "Ganz Unten," he worked for years on construction sites as Ali the Turk, and now he has been doing research in a call center.
Industry experts in Germany are incensed by an undercover story by the well-known investigative journalist Günter Wallraff. For the book "Ganz Unten," he worked for years on construction sites as Ali the Turk, and now he has been doing research in a call center.
It's the growth industry par excellence - this year, the number of call center agents in Germany alone will grow to around half a million. To get an idea of what it's like, Wallraff applied to CallOn and completed a ten-hour trial day. He didn't get the job, but he already has one: He published his research findings in "Die Zeit," concluding that call centers are the mines of the modern age: "Thousands work in secret, becoming invisible - and so do their working conditions." No secret is the poor pay, often far below 10 euros an hour, a rate that is also cut in many companies for poor performance.
Some call centers require certificates from health insurance companies about the time lost over the past two years. No wonder: call center agents have to be extremely stress-resistant; it is not uncommon for them to have up to 90 customer contacts per day. In addition, so-called outbound calls, i.e. sales transactions, are on the rise. Agents sell lottery tickets and magazine subscriptions, but also insurance contracts and hedge funds, often overpriced. Almost always, he says, the customer is the one being cheated. "The call centers call people day in and day out - usually uninvited," Wallraff says.
His report drew harsh criticism from the industry. Wallraff is accused of blatant research mishaps, and of having chosen a black sheep from the outset in the call center he inspected - and there are black sheep everywhere. Compared to mines, call centers do not harbor health risks and accident hazards. Lobby associations point to the complaints office and the code of ethics, which clearly regulates that it is unfair to call consumers for advertising purposes without their consent. - The Süddeutsche Lotterie should definitely be informed of this, or does the code not apply to Swiss consumers?
It's the growth industry par excellence - this year, the number of call center agents in Germany alone will grow to around half a million. To get an idea of what it's like, Wallraff applied to CallOn and completed a ten-hour trial day. He didn't get the job, but he already has one: He published his research findings in "Die Zeit," concluding that call centers are the mines of the modern age: "Thousands work in secret, becoming invisible - and so do their working conditions." No secret is the poor pay, often far below 10 euros an hour, a rate that is also cut in many companies for poor performance.
Some call centers require certificates from health insurance companies about the time lost over the past two years. No wonder: call center agents have to be extremely stress-resistant; it is not uncommon for them to have up to 90 customer contacts per day. In addition, so-called outbound calls, i.e. sales transactions, are on the rise. Agents sell lottery tickets and magazine subscriptions, but also insurance contracts and hedge funds, often overpriced. Almost always, he says, the customer is the one being cheated. "The call centers call people day in and day out - usually uninvited," Wallraff says.
His report drew harsh criticism from the industry. Wallraff is accused of blatant research mishaps, and of having chosen a black sheep from the outset in the call center he inspected - and there are black sheep everywhere. Compared to mines, call centers do not harbor health risks and accident hazards. Lobby associations point to the complaints office and the code of ethics, which clearly regulates that it is unfair to call consumers for advertising purposes without their consent. - The Süddeutsche Lotterie should definitely be informed of this, or does the code not apply to Swiss consumers?
