Enjoying Life In Malaysia

It's been a while that I have not updated my blog. I have been so busy because things happened so fast.

On January 3, 2013, I received a call that my working permit was approved and I needed to go to the Malaysian embassy to get my passport stamped. The process took 3 business days. On the same day, I had to attend the Pre-departure Orientation Seminar which is a must for all Filipino Overseas Workers. Then,I went back to work at Sutherland. I barely had enough rest.

On January 8, 2013, I got back my passport from the embassy and at 12 noon attended the final briefing before leaving at the Ikon office. Then in the afternoon, we all went to the airport because it was time for us to go.

At 12:55 AM on January 9, 2013, the plane landed in Malaysia and somebody picked us up at the Kuala Lumpur airport. We arrived at One Avenue Hotel at about 4 AM. And at 6:30 AM we had to wake up because it was time for us to attend the training.

From then on, I have been so busy. I barely had enough rest as I need to learn new things. I don't have any experience with IT help desk. But, it doesn't intimidate me, because I know how to troubleshoot hardware, software and networking issues. And currently, I am figuring out how to fix a VPN plug in issue. I haven't tried it yet but I think I know how to fix it. I just need to get a go signal from the Level 2 team lead if I can go ahead and do it.

I am also glad that one of the SME's, my TL and Level 2 TL recognize my contribution for the team especially when it comes to troubleshooting and my stats. TL Maika just told me that I am part of the top 4 with the highest stat. I also passed my QA with flying colors which did not happen when I was in the Philippines. And Kuya Vanie, one of the SME's told me that he can recommend me as one of them. I have to think about it first because I wanna make sure that I am ready in a new battle. I have to know the ins and outs of the account before I accept any post. Last month, I received a commendation from Upendra the Level 2 team lead regarding my performance. I was so happy.

And just today, April 3, 2013, I just got a 100% survey from one of our customers. Everyday, I am learning and getting better. I really want to show them my best. And I know I can be more. I will prove to my new family that I will be their asset.

I do not want to compare but the recognition they are giving me is driving me to bring out the best in me. Unlike when I was "down there". For many years, I have been contributing a lot of things. I only received a rock star certificate but they delayed my promotion until I resigned. Here, I don't feel any politics and favoritism. And my job is so laid back. I noticed that my hair is not falling anymore. Sounds funny but it's true. I don't feel stress anymore. And if only I knew 3 years ago that this job is so easy, I should have grabbed the opportunity when Mommy Brenz told me about this. And maybe or maybe not, I married him.

Batu Caves, Malaysia

I Hope They Understand The Meaning Of Pity Or Mercy

     I just chatted with my previous office mates asking them how they were doing. Seems like I have not seen them online much unlike before that we had much time talking about anything work or non work related. One of my office mates and friend, she told me that she was sick. I commented that she has been sick for weeks now. Well, even before I resigned she was already sick. I advised her to take a week of leave of absence since she does not have any vacation or sick leave credits. She told me that LOA for a week or a few days is no longer allowed. (our old policy was we can take LOA with a minimum of 7 days) The new rule is that they have to be on LOA for a month and they won't be paid and their pay will be held. I told her to be absent instead. She said she would do.
     She is already tired and the stress that they have right now is too much. It does not have anything to do with the account or the service provider that they are working for. We have mastered all the troubleshooting steps. We do the same thing every day. But the rules and policies that they are imposing are a little bit unreasonable. Like the scorecard. The account itself has its own scorecard and easy to meet. But the company has its own scorecard that includes conformance to their scripts. Hello, we are talking to human beings on the phone. There are things that are irrelevant and you don't need to ask our customers. Customers might think we don't know what we are doing.
     I remember when I was still with them, I kept arguing with the people listening to my calls about why there were certain steps or questions that I didn't do or ask or I just asked 3 questions and I proceeded with troubleshooting. I never passed my QA, which is the form/tool they use to check whether we are following call flow/scripts or not. I told them being spontaneous was my secret why I have the best customer service survey returns from my customers. True I was not conforming but I was not failing my satisfaction surveys.
    I wish they will learn from this mistake. Every day people just leave their doors. I wish they open their eyes and understand that the workers are human. The reason why they are failing right now has nothing to do with the service which they are catering nor with the skills of the workers. It has something to do with how they are treating their people. Imagine going on overtime for more than 2 years, not being able to take your vacation leave, reading from scripts, people listening to you just to find faults but never praise you for a job well done, having no nurse to accompany you when you had a baby miscarriage, your house is far and you can't adjust your schedule, your baby is sick but you can't be absent, you have pay discrepancy, losing your bonus after being hospitalized, some hospitals not taking your health care card and all you do is make money for them.
     I just wish that they will grant the request of my friend to change her schedule to 6AM so she will not go to work late; that she will be allowed to take her leave because her youngest son is sick, that one of my team mates will be well because she has been sick or at least she will be allowed to go on unpaid leave at least 1 week, and that my male office mate will be allowed to work 2 weeks after the appendectomy. How I wish I was still there so I could complain. It was not like before that I can bring things up and have actions taken. What I can do right now is cheer them up, it's only a few days more because after they receive their bonuses on January 31st they will be resigning. And sooner, they will lose the account if they will not change for improvement.