Gig: Response

Telemarketing Supervisor

Jason Groth is a telemarketing supervisor, meaning he hires and supervises a group of telemarketers who sell products for various companies.  His job is to keep people inspired and prepare them for the ugly responses that are awaiting them on the receiving side of the call. 

This article interested me because I was once a sort of telemarketer during my freshman year in college; but instead of calling on the behalf of a company or product I was calling on behalf of school departments who were soliciting donations from alumni to help support scholarship programs.  And despite the more noble cause, people were still as rude to my co-workers and I as they would be to someone selling magazine scholarships.  It was a job I sincerely hated, simply because I would leave work feeling rejected and downtrodden after everyone’s rude comments.  Occasionally, I would get an alumni who would let me get through my script then calmly tell me that they did not desire to participate, respecting the fact that I was calling because it was my job to.

Upon reflection, this experience was a reminder to not confuse people with their work.  The meter maid who gives parking tickets is just doing her job, as is the cook who makes our food.  Sometimes I feel it is easy to assume that people are in a certain field because they enjoy their work or like having power over others, which could very well be true, but from my experience most people do what they do because they get paid for it and it helps them live a certain lifestyle.  This is not a crime or a justification for bad treatment, which is something I often forget myself.  However, I do feel there are certain ways people can abuse their positions or become corrupt, and then it is appropriate to dislike them.  Abuse of power might be especially tempting in positions where one IS treated horribly by co-workers, bosses, or the people one is serving.  Maybe we can all help reduce the amount of corruption and negativity by treating everyone and their work more respectfully, but maybe that’s just a little too idealistic for the world today.