Everyone in the country has an image of what the Philippine call center must be like. But this idea that most people have is general stereotypical images that may have some truth but are rash generalizations on an industry that gets a bad rap most of the time and the truth or reason behind these stereotypes are ignored. Also, these stereotypes are applied to the very contact center agents and employees working in a call center company. So what are the most popular stereotypical ideas on Philippine call center businesses?

Call Center Agents are Unhealthy Smokers
What people think: Call center agents are all unhealthy people with generally bad health habits. If a call center exists in a building, there are surely some call center agents at the entrance of the building smoking cigarettes.

Truth behind the stereotype: Those who smoke at the entrance of the building are not all call center agents. It just so happens that there are so many call center businesses and call center businesses out there and that employees of such businesses are also many. Thus, during breaks, they are more noticeable since they tend to gather together. The fact is there is no connection between call centers and smoking. They are just more noticeable since they are so many.

Call Centers Overwork their Employees
What people think: Call center businesses are slave drivers. They overwork their employees. This is why call center agents get ill most of the time. And this is also why they seem stressed out all the time.

Truth behind the stereotype: Getting a job in this industry is no picnic. But really, one can get a lot of rest in a call center. There is definitely stress involved in the job, but this is a different kind of stress. Talking to people who are mostly complaining or angry about a product all the time can be very stressful to people who are not emotionally equipped to handle such things. Also, some people cannot handle the nightshift well. But the truth is, there are a lot of people who do not find this that stressful since they are able to fix their schedules in such a way that they can get enough good sleep even if they work at night.

Philippine Call Center Businesses are Bad for the Country’s Economy
This is just not true. The call center industry is creating a lot of revenue and jobs for the country. The thing that people think is that this is just another form of third world exploitation. While there is that kind of process going on, the winner is still the Philippines since the revenue and jobs contribute a lot to the economy and does not damage it at all.

“Tony Meloto has intelligence and passion, traits which he surely put to good use. A true modern Filipino hero, he has helped so many poverty-stricken citizens, and has bridged the gap between the haves and the have-nots in the Philippines through championing the humanitarian goals of Gawad Kalinga.”

          -From the article, Tony Meloto –championing the plights of the poor through gawad kalinga foundation

For a man who was born with intelligence and wealth, he could have taken another path in life.  He could be a businessman, a politician, go abroad, and enjoy his life as an ordinary citizen. Instead, he has chosen the road less traveled, the way of altruism. He has been a catalyst in slowly paving the road for a dream of having a slum-free Philippines by serving the plight of thousands of poor Filipino people, building shelter for the homeless, and following the path of Christ by putting others before himself.

His work of emblazoning the hearts of Filipinos with the spirit of massive volunteerism has been very inspiring. It created a ripple effect in the society. His vision and mission translated into Gawad Kalinga has served as an inspiration for many, not only to those who have benefited from GK villages and programs, but also to those who volunteered to help build the communities.

Tony Meloto has embarked on a very difficult mission, but the fact that it seemed impossible to achieve the GK humanitarian goal never ceased him from working towards social transformation. Through his efforts as translated into Gawad Kalinga’s programs, he has gone beyond giving shelter to the homeless. He and his championed organization are already the prime movers of positive change in the Philippines. If only all Filipinos would heed the call to build the nation, the goal of Gawad Kalinga Foundation to build a better Philippines would soon be an outstanding reality.

What is the internet coming to? There are scams everywhere. The latest scam comes in the form of loan modification leads that arose due to the popularity of loan modification programs.

Here’s the bitter pill that you have to swallow about the internet, around 70% of the content in the internet is unreliable. Texts just proliferate in the internet ad infinitum and are unreliable. This is because ownership of the text in the internet is not as apparent as say an author publishing a book. The author or the source of the texts are unknown and are relatively far from the text they publish in the net. There is a saying that if you post something in the internet, it’s not yours anymore. Anyone can access it and use it in other places. There is also little moderation in the internet as compared to publishing. Anyone can easily just get a free Blog and write things anonymously. Because of the nature of the internet, the relative anonymity and the distance of a post from the person that posted it, the internet is a scammer’s paradise.

The newest scam to hit the net is loan modification scams and these people operate by buying loan modification leads. Though there are legitimate companies that also buy loan modification leads, their reputation is tarnished because of the sheer number of scammers out there that operate with similar techniques.

This new scam is of course due to the current economic recession that has hit so many Americans right now. Banks started giving loans to everyone, and real estate development grew because the demand was increased due to the accessibility of loans. Then this debt started to balloon. It was a void, a bubble in the economy that suddenly popped. Apparently the rich economy that people enjoyed in the past few years was based on the illusion that debt has created. And now that the people are getting more and more desperate, scammers can smell a buffet and gather life vultures. Both scammers and legitimate loan modification program companies will look for loan modification leads anywhere they can find them

Do not be one of those people who are victimized by scams and read up on as many loan modification tips as you can. Your contact number may have been bought through companies buying loan modification leads, but that does not automatically make this company a scammer.

Here are a few simple things you can check out to know if something is a scam or not:

1.    Trust in non profit organizations. They are more than likely more trustable than other organizations.
2.    Look at the quality of the website. If the web design looks expensive, then this is a sign that these people are not scammers because they can invest enough money for quality.
3.    Look at how old the company is (the older, the better), research its background, and look in other places such as forums for real testimonials of people who have used their services before.