APX, data entry.... First off, A-P-X doesn't actually stand for anything. It is a friendly atmosphere where fun and making friends with others in the company is encouraged. We are divided into teams of about 16 with a team leader. Our team lead meets with us all together for trainings and for doing fun things, like watching random funny ads or playing games like tag outside. He also helps us track our individual progress and helps us to make goals of how we can do better on the calls. Everyone is really friendly and in between calls people talk to each other and/or send and play games on the computer. They have weekly contests for employees to win cool stuff. On Fridays they have a crazy dress up day where they take pictures and reward those who win. They also have challenges and opportunities to do service in the community.When we are not busy, our team lead takes us aside and we all just chat or are "trained" in some way until it gets busy so we are not sent home early. Being trained in a flexible term in my team leads point of view. We just play games or chat most of the time in the trainings or "coaching" as they are called. However, now that it is getting busier, we are not playing around so much. APX has big parties at the beginning and end of the summer and they form teams of dodgeball, basketball, and volleyball. Some people got a free helicopter ride at the party they had a couple weeks ago. The food was amazing, too. I got a free amazing backpack from them, too.
As much as it is kind of a relaxed atmosphere, they are strict about everything else. I have to go to a shift briefing at the beginning of each of my shifts to be updated on things we have to be doing because things are always changing. They are strict about being on time from breaks and lunches and for bad attendance or forgetting to do something on a call, or doing something I shouldn't on a call. I can get what are called occurrences for any of these things. If I get 10 for attendance or 10 for the calls, I am terminated.
APX is an alarm company. Most people only work for APX during the summer, but it is a year round thing. They sell alarm systems (duh). So what I do is I receive three different calls. Two are from the salesman and one is from the tech who installs the system. APX installs the systems all on the same day as the sale, which is kind of neat. The first phone call is called the qualify call. Basically, I get the potential customers basic information and I run a credit check for the saleman who decides if they can have a system and what they will charge. That call is the shortest of all of them at about 2 mins or less. And no, I can't just run anyone's credit... someone already asked that.
The second call is called Rep Set Up. This is the rep calling in to tell me how much they are charging the customer, how the custumer will be paying, and how many points they approved for the customer's system. Each part of the alarm system is worth a number of points. At the end of this call, I do a survey with the customer confirming the info from the last call and the terms of their agreement. I've heard some really funny things on this phone call. The reps are usually in the same room as the customer when they call so they use all the flowery salesman language to make it sound like they are getting a good deal when really it is the same, or maybe even more expensive than others might get. I've had some funny things happen during the survey, too. It's fun hearing the accents of different customers. The southern customers are the best!
The next call is called the tech call. This can be the longest and hardest call. Now that I've been working for a couple of weeks, I look forward to these calls because they are always different and it breaks the monotony of taking calls. One part of this call is techs calling in to link a cell unit, which is a part of the system that either serves as an alternate number for the home for apx to contact, or just as the main number that is used. Normally tech's call to give the information about where the main panel is, what type it is, and all the parts of the system. I have to put all the different parts of the system in and say what their zones and functions are. This is also hard to explain in writing, so I will go on. Then I check to see if all the signals from the system are being sent clearly and correctly to the main hub of apx. This is the most important part of the call becaues this is how APX is contacted when there is an emergency. If something doesn't work when there is a break in, it's because a signal was either not sent or it was wrong. Very, very, very bad if I mess up here. I have only missed one signal so far, so that is really good. After that we just get other emergency contacts and do a final survey. Then we get their payment information so we can charge them.
Before a call comes in I hear a beep, then what type of call, then another beep. That is nice so I can at least know what to expect and so I have time to think about it before talking to anyone. When I was volunteering in the mtc referral center my freshman year, I would just hear them say hello and have to just start talking because by then they had already said hello two or three times. It's not like that fortunately.
The last couple of days I haven't had much down time at all between phone calls. Last week though, I would have numerous minutes between phone calls I receive. Luckily the time goes by really fast and it has gotten easier for me to do everything. I thought I would never get to be so comfortable and as good as I am already. I took calls for 3 hours straight without a break and had not problem. I then only took a ten minute break and started again because time goes faster when I just work and not stand around on my break. But it does get pretty tiring. By the end of the shift, I just want to go home and not talk on the phone or really be on a computer, although I still do it as you can see.
So really, it's not bad. Yesterday they changed everyone's schedules so they can meet the call demands better, so I am now working in the mornings during the week and the evening on Saturdays. This schedule works better for me because then I can pick up others' shifts when they want off in the afternoon. I am really sad that I won't be on the same team anymore, but we will still see each other and I will make more friends. :)
