Flashbacks: Stellar Chapter

After I received such fantastic email last Friday, mukhang relieved na ko. For now. Hahahaha I’ll explain that later. Anyway…

Time was fast this year, of course.. I won’t forget yun previous work ko which was very unexpected of it. Kinda liked it perhaps kung di lang talagang mababa ang pay. Hehe Anyhow, where do I start.

Around Oct 2012, I applied sa Stellar, hoping to pass sa Jetstar account, which is an Aussie Airline company, or even the big bucks sa IP Relay nila. Unfortunately, mahigpit sila from accent, diction and the likes, so they offered me a back office work na lang at this kinda low rate. I told to myself, since that time eh kailangan ko cash temporarily, I accepted the work. One of the lowest rates since ePLDT days. Hahaha It was low that I did not receive an allowance sa work na to.

I planned na nga pag palpak to, hahanap na agad ako ng iba. It turns out na I stayed for one and a half years, quite fast ha at it was a fun work. Interesting too, lalo na yun mga last months that seems time really flies fast at maraming nagagawa after.

I started sa Midshift handling simple billing then up to 5am shift handling well, first time in my vocabulary, middle of house. Or better yet, escalation request. Kung baga, kahit simple or complicated yun request, kailangan tapusin asap. Mabuti na lang may account reconciliation na kasama. Hehe Never done that before.

A first handling an utility account, what’s more shocking eh kung gaano kaluwag at regulate sa Australia ang power industry. Sana talaga ganito sa atin. Hehe San ka naman makakakita na 3 months ang billing ng kuryente at may discount pa pag maaga nag bayad. Pumapatak as an average eh 7k-8k ang charge nila per quarter. Mas mura kaysa dito na umaabot kami at least 8500 in 3 months. Pwede pa madelay yun bayad na hanggang 6 months, lalo na pag di nakuha yun billing. Although sa system billing siya pero di siya automatic generated. Kung na auto generate na agad yun bill, malamang may mali. Hehe Kami ang umaayos nun.

Grabe at may solar offer pa sila na minsan eh yun company pa nagbabayad sa customer para sa excess credits. Gagawin carry over or kung buenas, refund! Grabe. Hahaha Well, di gaya dito na di nagoffer ang Meralco ng solar feed in, or kahit off peak rates, what more sa delay payment ng bills. Isang linggo lang ang delay dito, putol na tayo. Nakakatawa nga, pumunta yun CEO ng client dito to offer the same gaya sa Australia kaso mukhang mahihirapan niya gawin dito. Pero sana in our lifetime, eh ganun din dito ang billing ng kuryente, tubig or well gas. Nakalimutan ko yun gas ha. Mas mura din di hawak sa quarter billing.

Tama na yun client. Haha As Stellar naman, hmmmmm First of all, ayos ang location, I mean, sana sa Cubao lang sila, kaso bus terminal na kasi yun location nila, lumipat sa bagong MDC 100. Ok yun location, kahit 5 mins na lang, nahahabol pa. hahaha Di naman ako nalate lagi. Benefits, hmmm masaya kasi VL is not cancelled, SL eh madali lang kaso may bonus kasi pag di nagamit ang SL eh convert lahat! Ginawa ko LOA, pero di naman kadami. Kaya SL conversion ko sulit! Hahaha Madali lang magrequest ng documents pero may allowance ka dapat at least 1 week which is ok lang.

Gamit na gamit ko yun sleeping room. Hehe Sarap matulog. Saka Eastwood lang so dalawang sakay bahay na ko, basta maaga na umalis. Maraming kainan from mezzanine, to brown paper bag at kalburger. Hehe At yun masarap na manok na may gravy! Intrepid pala yun place tapos may ministop pa. Kung mayaman, Tropical Hut or Mcdo. Hehe

Dito ko din naranasan na pag holiday sa Aussie eh holiday din dito, although di lahat, pero pag major holidays, diyos ko, sure na! hehe Yun medical benefit gamit na gamit din, dalawang salamin kaya nakakuha ako libre. Hehe Reimburse kung baga. Saka vitamins pa! Kaya yun mercury at watsons, ayun.. hehe Resibo lang kailangan.. Medicard ang gamit namin, although papalit palit every year which is kinda weird, eh sulit din.

Despite walang allowance, the best part eh over profit, so kung sobra kita ng LOB namin which nangyayari lagi at maganda stats, expect mo na jackpot sa end of month. Yun nga lang taxable. Hahaha The management wise, hmmmm yun open book policy nila, it is great. I mean I’ve never seen or very rare for a company that every process or money we make is monitored every week. What’s more eh sinasabi sa team meetings or kahit one on one na ganito lagay ng LOB, saka malalaman na kung may makukuha ka sa Over profit incentive. I worked with wonderful people. Kakatawa nga yun batch namin, despite sa mga trouble sa training at ehem pagdating sa floor eh magulo pa sa mga TL, ayos naman pagtagal. I’m blessed na napunta naman ako sa magagaling na TL. At marami din skils na tinuro kasi pag maraming split or queue, kulang na lang pati transfers at disconnection, kami na. hehe

Kakatuwa, although I failed, I had a chance to apply for QA kaso lintek na araw na yun, OT, walang kain. Test agad at mahirap ang excel exam! Bwisit.. Ubos oras kaya yun.. Di pinalad. Pero ok lang. Sarap lang ng feeling na irefer ka ng TL mo na magapply at motivate kang try mo. First time yun. What’s more, never join sa clubs before pero dito lang ako nainvite na magayos ng blog kaso di natuloy. Hahaha Sayang, paalis kasi ako nun, di naman umandar yun newsletter nila. Sayang. Maganda pa naman sa resume or skills ko yun. Hahaha

I had worked with fun team mates, although may mga nakakaasar pero di naman bad trip. I get along naman sa mga ganun. Nakakatawa everyday at kasama mo pa sa kalokohan minsan ang TL. haha First time, I’ve worked, ehem… Sobrang gandang TL! Hahahaha Kakainspire pumasok. Hehe Pag hirap ako sa tasks, makita nga si TL kung nasan, biglang alam ko na gagawin. Hehe Anyway, I miss yun events lalo na sa company events na as usual, Stellar is an Aussie company so drinking is required but I did not drink naman. It was very fun but abrupt.. =(

Of course, it’s not perfect. First one was despite mga efforts namin, the reason kaya naman di naman mareach yun maximize profit eh mas maraming fault yun client. I mean, despite numerous reminders and even memo to them, aba pasaway, wala lang. At worse, mabagal pa yun ibang party, gaya na lang ng distributors! Reads na lang di pa mabigay na actual! Bwisit! Hehe Alam na mga agents to kung ano pinagsasabi ko. Hehe Pahamak ang client, lalo na yun mga salesman na akalain mo, door to door pa pala. Gulatan kung baga sa customer na may bill sila. Hehe Basta, sana in the future, umayos sila. Sabihin na namin may fault kami, pero di naman dadami yun kung di dahil sa kapalpakan nila. Another thing, thank Lord na dati nung nasa Dell Libis pa ko, I dreamed or hope na magwork sa back office na umaga. Nabigay nga! Hahaha Actually Eastwood dati eh less traffic, around 5 years ago. Kung traffic, eh Friday to Saturday kasi gimikan. Pero these past years, dagdag mo pa ang higpit ng sakayan ng jeep, grabe ang trapik! Walang pinipili oras. Mapa punta ng Cubao or puntang C5/Pasig, diyos miyo.. Napaka tindi ng trapik! Lalo na pag holidays, araw araw na ang chaotic trapik. Parang Makati na nga siya, kaya mabuti ang sked ko di rush hour. Kung rush hour, naku po, mahirap na magwork. Lalo na ngayon, may stop light na sa Citibank. Patrapik lalo. Kaya di ako nagigimik diyan, sa Cubao na lang or North ave. hehe

Lastly, ah yun lang. Great benefits, yun rate lang talaga, mababa. I can’t believe I survived that long with that one simple rate. Hahaha Although I researched sa ibang BPO na outsource third party eh yun na daw highest. Hmmmmm so no choice kung hindi mag inhouse na pagkatapos. I tried pero wala eh, 2 years experience. Cut short. Pero ok lang… hehehe Minsan may buenas pa. Sana kung umabot or kung plus 2-3k lang, aba tatagal pa ko dito. Sayang yun ibang benefits and conversions. Hehe Saka eto lang pala pag mga first month mo parang contruction worker kung baga, very low rate, mukhang abono pa at every Friday pa sweldo. Talagang cost cutting sa training ha. Walang night diff or holiday. Hehe Mautak! I also survived that.

Well, I worked with a great company despite some setbacks but I enjoyed working. Definitely, as I approach the end of this searching for a stable career, eh malaki natulong nila even in that short time improving my analytical and other account reconciliation skills. Nakakatawa, dahil nandun ang ANZ eh may mga nakikita pa ko mga taga 24/7. haha

After I left them, there was a sudden shocking turn of events!

To be continued.. Delivered. =)

A Stellar Year!

Ang bilis ng one year, the fastest one in my BPO career. I can't even imagine staying in this company despite it has a quite complicated backoffice work and the lowest salary I had.

Still... 

I was able to buy a lot, new shoes, pants, or even some things I want. hehe O kahit may nababayaran na ko, may natitira pa naman sa kin to buy things. Nakakapahinga ako ng maigi except some months this year kasi sa sobrang busy sa mga inuutos sa kin. Pero masarap magpahinga sa hapon. hehe 

I haven't experienced burnout pa naman unlike sa mga dating work or endeavor. Paano ba naman, pag mahirap ang task eh pahinga muna.. Punta dito o doon! hehe Chismax muna o kung mahirap ang task, tanong din sa support. hehe Stress oo, nakaexperience pero pagpatak ng uwian.. Uwian na, bukas na lang yan task na yan. 

How beautiful magwork sa eastwood ng umaga, malapit na, madali nang pumasok. Mabuti na lang wala pang rush hour ang pasok ko kung hindi, grabe parang Makati na pala ang trapik dito! Kaya ok paguwian na. hehe Kahit medyo matrapik sa Cubao. Mura pa pamasahe.

I'm not tired of getting up, yun parang ba looking forward to just finish the day kasi alam mo di naman matagal. Lalo na pag 5am ang pasok kasi napabilis matapos ang shift, pati yun off. hehe Meaning ni isang araw, walang sakit na katam.. Eh pag may calls to, panay gamit ko siguro ng SL/VL. hehe Eh VL lang nagamit ko dito.

Meaning I had a great year here because sa mga nabanggit ko. Akalain mo na tatagal ako dito. Naisip ko nga sana di na lang ako nagteletech at deretcho na ko dito. Kaso ganun talaga, minsan may dadaanan ka na di mo expected. 

I am happy here, kasama siyempre yun natitira sa batch 12. hehe Siyempre sa team ko din na napakasupportive kahit mabaliw na kami lahat. We have a TL pa na inside and out, maganda ugali. First time in my career. hahaha With other great set of TL's, at dahil sa LOB ko, di routinary pero sana routinary kasi ang hirap ng tasks namin, tapos yun napakadali. Daya! hehe With fun team mates at supportive naman ang upper management despite high targets.. We still work as a team pa din kahit may disagreements or conflicts.. Sa huli basta gawin ang trabaho, malaki ang uwi. hehe

Malaki din pala ang tulong noong over profit, lalo na sa kalagitnaan ng taon, aba, naramdaman ko ang profit!! hehe Kaya nakakabayad na, tapos nakakabili pa. Reward talaga pag may hard work na kasama. hehe 

I admit, eto lang ang center, before 1 year, I received a lot of souvenirs. Most na ito. hehe 3 shirts, 1 lineyard, a bag and lunch box na hanggang ngayon di ko pa binubuksan. Well Dell has really a lot of quality souvenirs pero itong Stellar, mararmi na nabigay. Yun iba diyan, ehem.. Jacket lang binigay kahit matagal na. hehe

They have a good HR, kung anong request, bigay agad. Great sana kaso well, may some chismax. hehe Bad ones, but in my experience, ok lang. Yun iba kasi medyo alat sa HR. Clinic has some problems, not sa kin kasi bihira lang ako pumunta. Pero may magandang puntahan sa clinic pag nandun siya. hehe 

I mean, the clinic has some lack of meds. Lalo na yun ibang cases na mefanamic acid lang ang binibigay nila which is it shouldn't be. Although yun maxicare and medicard coverage is good, kaso mahal pag may dependent. Mabuti tapos na ko sa ganun. hehe Payroll, well, ok naman I just don't like BDO sa payroll at yun time ng payroll nila, gabi na! Ang hirap minsan. I hope they can just switch sa BPI at maaga ang sweldo. hehe At ang tax, grabe, sana may refund!! Yun isang cut off ko, record, ngayon ko lang nakakita na 3K ang awas sa kin tapos mapupunta lang kay Jeane Napoles!! Ok lang. hehe Hindi ok, kung kay Janet Napoles lang, wag na!! Pesteng tax to, parang kung kailan lumiit sahod at makakuha na ok na bonus, dun tumaas! Bwisit na gobyernong ito. hehe 

Nakakatuwa naman dito, now lang sila nagstart to put some RnR events! hahaha Old skul pa.. Unlike sa mga dating companies na nagwork ako, welcome talaga ang employees at maraming events. Dito, medyo budgeted. hehe Pero I understand because sa management style nila which is Open Book Management. 

Sa lahat ng naging work ko eh eto yun pinakatransparent. Lalo na sa targets, eh san ka naman nakakita, araw araw ang monitor ng kita ng LOB. Yun ibang center, walang ganito tapos gulatan pa pag wala na ang LOB. hehe Here we know and confident that we hit targets, keep the client stay and kung may profit, edi alam na.. Saka may time sila to get the points from reps. May say kung baga.

QA here, well, sa simula hirap ako pero nung nagtagal, ayos pala. I mean basta halos lahat ng task ginawa mo tama, papasa ka sa month. Kaso may time talagang may kasamang malas, sa sobrang pagmamadali eh yun may itlog na task. Pero mabuti papalitan nila kasi at least wala na auto fail no. Grabe kasi. hehe 

At first, I thought and I admit naghanap din ako nang lilipatan kasi ang liit ng sahod and weird work. Pero as months goes by, and learned the ropes, aba ayos naman pala dito. Sana ganito yun mga unang work ko. Nice sked, people, bonus and work. Plus environment. =) No wonder, kahit may mga umaalis pero di yun lahat umaalis everyday. It's worth working and staying for a while. 

Thank God, natupad yun wish ko dati pa.. While working pa sa Dell noon, naisip ko sana I can work dito din sa eastwood but in a great morning regular shift.

4 years later with a lot happened in my life, he gave it to me! Despite long tests sa HR and grueling interview and actually I applied sa airline account which turns out high attrition pala..

He put me here. No voice that coming through in my ears everyday.  No irritating voice, accents or even reasons why customer calls. Nothing for a year and it's so pleasing in my ears. = )

At least, may pace na pwedeng pahinga tapos todo ulit.. May sariling sked ng breaks.. At iba pa.. 

Damn, sana after 24/7, dumeretcho na ko dito, maraming Over profit siguro nakuha ko. Nah sana mas marami pa nagawa noon.

For now, I'm enjoying it and staying here. Thank God. =)

The question, will I go for the record of 2 years or more?

The answer... If I still write about them at the same date next year. 

What I can say, some buried plans/dreams some how.

Comes to life again, and it will go through. From there will see.. 

A new  interesting career path or?

A Stellar path?