May 2003
You’re the angel in disguise!
It was a sunny day; well actually really hot as it was about mid summer and the month of May. We all hurriedly got to our workstations to start a new day of what we’d say ‘calling’. I took my gear from the floor supervisor and went to my seat which was one among three at the extreme end of the floor overlooking the garden below in the front. Our floor was on the first and from where I sat; I had a clear view of the road below and the beautifully manicured garden which we were not allowed to walk on nor sit on. It’s a funny thing to have grassy green lawns on which you can’t sit or lie down and enjoy God’s wonders.
I put my gear on and settled myself in my chair and pinned the cross sale item sheet for the day on the soft board on the work station partitions; we had to try and pitch and sell these promotional items to customers. It sure had a menu of terrible options but nonetheless it all did for selling. Garland a friend of mine sat facing me and Josh sat behind me with his back towards me. So, I mostly spoke with Garland and sometimes turned my back when I’d get a breather between those incessant calls to chat up with Josh. The heat was coming on outside and the rays were penetrating through the thick glass windows almost making it feel like you were enclosed in a glass bottle with the heat turned on. Garland didn’t like the outdoors much so he more often than not would have the blinds out but on such hot sunny days you might as well dislike it outside for the cruel heat could fry an egg on a man’s bald head.
We drew the blinds and organized a little comfort pretty fast and just about when we could settle in for a little chit chat before the incessant calls started barging our ears with the account name and codes we thought we’d might be able to sneak out some time to catch up on our favorite topic doing the rounds. Now none of us were really the kind to think much of things we just did what we came across and never complained because there wasn’t time for it and when there was we’d just spend it on something’s more valuable. The important thing on our minds was this beautiful girl who had joined the organization a few days back. We were not the only ones preoccupied with this spice but the entire floor. I mean; you could literally over hear conversations across the floor on just one topic. ‘The girl who joined us recently…’.
I’ll tell you what was on my mind. When I saw her for the first time pass my bay and go towards the washroom – I could have been dead cold and frozen for that moment for she wasn’t anything that I’d seeing in my entire life. It was so frightening to see something almost so perfect that it blows your mind and you just give a stare like you’ve caught your eye staring into a lion right in front of you. It almost seems like a deathly moment. You’re so scared your system stops working; frightened so much that you couldn’t haven even peed to let it out.
How could something be so enigmatically perfect that it is frightening?
And as luck would have it; after a barrage of calls that kept pounding our ears for half an hour the IPLC went down and we got to know of it a few minutes after. We were told that the expected time for a resolution was indefinite for some fiber optic cable somewhere in the ocean snapped. Well whatever that is.
I took my gear (headset) off and rested in my chair. Garland did the same and so did Josh. I pushed my seat back as I was in the middle and Josh turned around so that we could now face each other and chit chat in a more comfortable fashion.
Garland had something on his mind and I knew what it was –
“Hey Dave, did you hear about that new girl who’s joined us”
“Yeah I did, what about it”
“Nothing really, just that everybody’s talking about her”
“And so are we” I said.
We continued chatting for the next hour or so and I’ll tell you we’d never spoken about anything for that long with such passion and fanfare as we did about her. We were talking like some die hard movie star fans and we kept gushing and gushing. We were so engrossed that we forgot the IPLC was up and we’d had to get our gears back on start pushing those calls. One after another, every hour till it was our scheduled break time. You couldn’t just walk out of your chair and go for a leak. You had to stand up and call for your supervisor who saw the queue and if he could do with one less for a few minutes you could then go and relieve yourself. It almost felt like jail sometimes but then they’d say something about customer service and holding out till you’ve got them all lined up on your cross sale sheet at the end of the day. I couldn’t tell the difference between economic slavery and a white collar job but I sure could tell you the difference between piddling when you want to and when you get to.
It was close to lunch and we three normally waited till about the end of the queue so that we could go together. We’d keep up with the rats in our stomach and sometimes even stomach hunger pains but we kept it up till we three got to go together and it would often be at the fag end of the queue. Just about then a batch of new hires were coming onto the floor for a little live orientation on how things go and what one does to try and push those terrible offers to customers. Even a donkey wouldn’t want it but we had to sell it to them anyway and either way. We were kind of not-welcoming to such activities as our private space and the little private chit chats we had would normally become non existent and we’d have to wait till we were alone again. Free from the dumb questions these new hires kept asking.
Sample this for intelligence –
“How do you take calls?”
“How do you disconnect calls?”
And stuff like that – lord I tell you, you take calls over a headset and that’s exactly what we did, but a lot of folks out there would go a step further and put there heart into it only to be disappointed by someone across the line saying –
“Can you get me someone who speaks in English Please?” –
Now that’s a bomb and most of them would take the next 10 – 15 calls to recover from this disaster and emotional gripe but Garland, Josh and I never once thought about it and the moment we’d hear that, we’d say –
“Here you go whitey!”
And disconnect the call – as easy as that.
The new hires found their partners or buddies to sit by and waste the day with; things seemed calmer and settled. I turned towards the window to take a peak at the screaming sun as we were a few minutes away from lunch and I wanted to get out and get the breather a bit for that was the most awaited and desired of times we looked forward to; away from those incessant whiteys calling in and better together than going out in pairs with someone unknown or as boring as dumb ass new hire ….when I was called by a girl.
“Dave”. (she called out to me very softy)
“Dave”..(she called out to me a little louder)
“DAVE”…(LOUD) screamed Garland right near my ear –
I turned around and I saw her, if there’d be anything more sinful it would have to be her perfect beauty. She was everything I had dreamed of –
She was so refreshing and cool I could almost feel the sun hiding in shame.
“I’ve learnt that you are the best” she said.
“May I sit beside you and listen into what and how you say what you say”
Could I ever say No –
This moment I must have dreamed of a million times where a beautiful lady walks up to me and says these fine beautiful lines almost seemed like it wasn’t real.
I was staring at her right in the eyes and I could see through and through –
I was trying to mentally get myself together and be where she’d want me to be and focus on what she said but I was so dazed up and blown I couldn’t see myself coming out of that daze and I can tell you Garland and Josh were looking at me wondering if I’d say that she most certainly may sit and listen into my calls.
“Dave, you can go for lunch” screamed the floor supervisor.
That was what I really wanted at that point in time. I had no words I could remember, not anything that I could have possibly articulated but I sure said this.
You’re the angel in disguise!
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