Customer service jobs in Egypt have one of the highest turnover rates in business, constantly hiring and providing opportunities for entry level employees. Usually benefitting from one month of paid training, a new employee in customer service has to take the pros with the cons. Islam Ibrahim has worked at two companies in customer service, a company that outsources for others and in the local account of a mobile service provider. “I thought it was a career I could wholeheartedly enter,” Ibrahim said. Beginning the six months he spent at the outsourcing company, he remembers that “they attracted people by saying that it does not matter if you have not graduated. You have the chance to be here anyway,” the 25-year-old recalled. Yet, after working on two projects and being given the salary of one, the company let go of Ibrahim “for not being a graduate.” It was a matter of connections, he said. But “I left with experience and made my CV look better,” he added. Later on, Ibrahim joined the mobile company where he was “paid peanuts” that did not even cover his transport costs. The work environment was awful, he said. The customer service agents had to dress in smart outfits to answer the phone. The pressure of the calls was unbearable, and the shifts were not fixed for men, who were forced to take whatever hours were available. “Customer service is slavery despite its fancy buildings,” Ibrahim said. Sara Hosni, who graduated a couple of years ago, worked in the international accounting department of the same company for four months when she was still an undergraduate and wanted work experience. “However, it did not live up to my expectations,” Hosni said. These kinds of companies are only good for the first couple of months, she said. They give you good experience and the possibility to learn professional skills, but sticking with a customer service post for more than three months is a waste of time, she thinks. You learn nothing new, and it is routine work, she explained. There is nothing to be achieved, even if you are promoted. You feel like you are not really doing anything. But one of the major advantages of the job is the money, Hosni said. “The salary is good enough for entry level employees or undergraduates.” In addition, the work environment at her company was pleasant, and it tried to compensate for the repetitive character of the work by offering travel, vouchers, phone bill coverage, food and transportation. Hosni said she had made lots of friends in the company. “I would do it again if I needed the money,” she claimed. Abeer Ahmed spent six months at the same company as Hosni. “I am currently looking for a job. Anything but customer service,” she said. Ahmed took a customer service post as she wanted to join the HR or marketing team and was told the company only hired such employees internally. The long travel time to the office of six hours on the road coupled with unrealistic shifts made it hard to have a social life or the energy to do anything besides work. “I started to lose my appetite. All I could think of was sleeping,” Ahmed said. Taking holidays was almost impossible, and by time she realised that the probability of shifting departments was small she was more than ready to quit. “They take guys rather than girls, and I had to stay a year before I could find another option,” she said. Nevertheless, Ahmed said that the work environment was good and the managers were also friendly. She believes she got good experience in dealing with a lot of different nationalities and experience in resolving issues and good practice in English. Ahmed Mansour had a slightly longer career in customer service. This new graduate has worked in three different companies, one of which was also the mobile provider's international accounts office. Mansour spent five months in a travel company and a little above a year in a real estate company. “Any new graduate nowadays must go through the customer service experience,” Mansour said, adding that undergraduates from faculties including medicine and political science often work in it. Some people graduate and get married while still taking this same career path without achieving their dreams. “It is unhealthy in the long run, as you have to have earphones on for 10 hours continuously,” the business graduate said. He said the only advantage of this hectic job was the salary. “If the salary is not good, then the post is totally useless,” he said. Local mobile providers and customer service jobs in restaurants and elsewhere pay worse salaries, Mansour said. “No matter how much you may need the job, if it does not match your efforts, and you suffer from it, leave it and try to find something you love,” he said. The writer is a freelance journalist.
