The unspoken Bond

Ever wondered why the companies especially BPOs force people to sign up bonds. I personally have one such experience where I was left with no other choice but to break it.


The companies that were into this business spend lots to train people who do not have any idea about a BPO until they get into it. Not that blaming it, I have personally seen people from various walks of life into the profession by compulsion, others by choice.


The criteria set for entering into the profession is liberal. Anyone who can handle a computer, has any bachelor's degree and who has a good fluency in English are welcome. I knew one person who had her bachelors in 'Nutrition and Dietetics', a widow with an adopted son to look after, a married woman who was away from her home for work, a new married lady, a rich girl who had a boy friend (they were sneaking because of her father who spied on them), so many others like me who just completed their college and waiting for a break through.


Good part about being in a BPO is that you get a job instantly, provided you fulfil the eligibility criteria. We learn neutral accent and get to know English better, we are taught how to put correct english in use. Gain confidence, when we communicate full time and when that was our profession. Good social recognition as people really can't distinguish between a BPO and an IT job though you explain to them, ultimately it is the company with which people recognize you. Learn american accent at the cost of the company and good perks to keep you going.


Let's look at the other side of the coin. I was very comfortable in the general shifts but when I had my evening shifts, I started deviating from the normal life. I wanted to sleep during the day but I had to break up for breakfast, lunch and that's it my sleep is disrupted and the next day starts from the very  evening. I go on like this with a disrupted sleep everyday and the routine goes on, finally one day I was totally fed up with what I was doing. I was depressed, easily irritated and wanted the normal life badly. I made up my mind to quit what I was doing, I wanted to get into a job just like every one else that does not demand me to work late hours. There was one thing that stopped me from quitting, yes it was the 'Bond' that I had signed with them.


Though I broke the bond and reasoned that I cannot be forced into shifts just because I attend a walk-in one fine day and they offer me a letter which stated a thousand rules, then asked me sign so as to not break the rules for one full year? They got to be kidding me, I was strong at my point and did not give up, I called it quits, it was hardly 2 months that made me realise I should have got into an IT profession. It is still a nightmare when I recall about the BPO, I joined first. I know so many who quitted sooner than they have really thought.


I have been into the IT profession for more than 6 years and there have never been a bond in the place I work. When people get really comfortable with the work culture, there is nothing stopping them. Its up to the individual who makes a choice between money and a balanced life. I am happy that I have an unspoken bond with my current employer and there has been no compulsion ever. 

Learning - comes with a hefty package

We learn from our mistakes. I have had so many learnings, some were out of embarrassment, few out of sympathy and others might have been due to the experience of it. 

I love to travel in the City buses, the most important reason being safety and it comes very cheap. On one such day after a hectic schedule at office, i was on my way back home. I got into the bus at Mount Road with one of my friend. As you are aware, Mount road is at the center of the city and the bus was heavily crowded. My friend and I managed to get some space in the bus, it is a known fact that if you manage to travel in a city bus (never mind how you get some breathing space, push others here and there, stamp their feet intentionally or unintentionally, be so rude to people standing next to you, this will scare the hell out of them and they will keep a safe distance) and get used to it, you have already learned to adapt to the city life.

We did not try any of stunts stated above, but still managed to get into the bus and got two tickets to 'parrys corner'. Trust me it was only 2 rupees to travel from Mount Road to Parrys corner, didn't i say safety and travel comes with a very cheap package. We were chatting and smiling about something, that i was totally lost in the conversation when suddenly I  remembered that i had promised to get a book my sister had requested. So I told my friend that I had to get down at the Central bus stop, that being my top priority the other day. Before getting down I handed over one of the tickets to my friend instructing her to keep it safe. Before I got down she thanked me for being with the 'presence of mind', if not she would have been in real trouble. 

I got down from the bus and headed towards the Central Station where there were numerous shops with all sorts of books ranging from kinder garden to competitive examinations at a very cheap price. I was walking really fast to get there before it becomes too late, I have heard that place was not so safe to hang around in the evening especially when there is no company. I was hurrying towards one book shop when I heard someone shouting. I turned back and saw my bus was still held up and was puzzled, later I figured out that the 'Checker' (auditor for transport) was calling me. He asked me for the ticket and I found that I did not have it. I told them I threw it away just a couple of seconds before even they called me.  I was searching it among the tickets that were torn at the bus stop, but in vain. 

The bus had already left by the time I came, so nobody came to my rescue except for a few audiences who enjoyed watching the scene. I was not surprised that they did not believe me, I thought maybe they would have come across so many real fraudsters. They had a suspicious look and whenever I gave a reason, they gave a nod of rejection. I had to wind it up soon because I was so embarrassed being questioned like an accused. I did not want to waste my time and energy and then went straight to the point, 'How much is the fine?'. They did not expect this question from me and was quite astonished. If truth be known, I was almost in the verge of crying, but did ensure that I was quite bold before them. I took out a '500' rupee note and gave it straight to the team and they gave me another ticket for 100 which was supposed to be the fine. 

This was a learning at the cost of my dignity. I still love to travel in the buses and I make it a point to keep the ticket safe, not until I get down from the bus, but for a few minutes until the bus leaves and ensuring that there are no one to check it. After all, I can't face such an embarrassment again.

Opportunity - how well could you say it

"Opportunity knocks the door only once" - someone said

Guess we are very well aware of all possible proverbs, idioms and phrases on Opportunity. 

There are certain situations or circumstances that reminds us of good or bad experiences from our memories past. Though we try to avoid it, our subconscious mind constantly tries to pull these memories back. I have experiences of memories flashing whenever I encounter specific scenarios, words, sentences and even food. It might seem strange but I have always wondered how could the brain process so much data and retrieve it when it finds a correlation.

We know we were all practising Brits way of living life right from our childhood days, be it the education system, car driving rules, water tap design or the way how the lights hung from the ceiling, I had learned that there were differences between the Brits and the Americans only when I was in a BPO. 'Lift' is what we say because the Brits 'said so', Americans wanted their own style and called them 'elevators' while technically they were the same. 

Whilst in the BPO, we were asked to pretend like the Americans well at least over the phone. We had pseudo names and I had an alias name that sounded like my name, Susan Morris. The Clients whoever was calling always thought we were an american (while greeting) and we had a common script to use during the initial days. We tried really hard to bring on the accent, however if at any point they realise we had a fake accent (sometimes people mess it up), they used to enquire about the location. We were advised not to reveal the location or any other information unless we were compelled to. We had a lots of protocols to follow that were fed to us right from the day we joined the process.

Training schedule included 50% of technical stuff and the remaining 50% amounted to the communication and most importantly the American accent. On one such accent training class, we were taught about syllables and the stress given to them. The meaning of a sentence differs based on the stress given to the words underlying. My trainer was explaining the types of syllables and gave us samples of words and taught us how the americans pronounce it rolling the 'R' and 'L' out of every other alphabet.

'Opportunity' is not just a word as i remember but something flashes in my mind every time i encounter it. We were asked to repeat the word 'Opportunity' in an american way until we get it correct. The trainer was noticing how perfect we were when delivering the sound and was correcting whenever someone made a mistake. We were to repeat the word until everyone pronounces with no flaw and we were trying hard to impress her. When we were repeating this exercise, she stopped us and looked at everyone, we in turn looked at each other anticipating who would get the next correction. But the trainer seemed confused and asked us to repeat it again. A few minutes passed by, when she asked someone to stand up and told that she heard what he had said. We were all puzzled while he was shocked. She then broke the silence and laughed in a loud voice, saying the guy was simply repeating:

'AAPPA CHUTNEY' for opportunity without the trainer's knowledge, however she had heard it. What made us wonder was that the guy seemed very quiet and was not one of those mischievous types. He was made to repeat the word, oh not 'opportunity' but 'Aappa chutney' 20 times at the stretch as a little penalty. We were laughing  insanely with the trainer when this guy was repeating the word 'appachutney' continously.


Note: For those of you who do not know about 'Aappa chutney', here is a little explanation. Aapam+Chutney is a part of the famous south-indian food items.  APPAM belongs to the Dosa family and Chutney is the spicy sauce :o)

Pick up point

Way back in 2004, i was fresh out of college and was desperate to get into a job (IT was prestigious those days). I however cracked most of the BPO interviews with no great effort, seemed it was my cup of tea. We were out on training for about 45 days and it all started very well. New friends, new office experiences, an awesome feeling of being one of them. Why not, it felt great to be a part of an IT giant.


Fun part about training was playing all sorts of interesting games that enabled us to communicate with each other, movies to grasp the accent as part of 'Voice and accent' training, we were totally on the so-called 'honeymoon period', well that's how they actually call a training period.  I thought i was going to be way too far in the industry. I was wrong, though i had all qualities to get in to the BPO sector i was not used to the grave yard shifts. I was put into shifts whilst in training to get used to it. I leave at 6 pm for work and come back by 4 am in the morning, it was exciting at first but gradually i realised that all nice things were nice only for a few days. 


I am not going to explain what happened in the BPO or how well the training went on etc (I can hear you already mumbling), this blog isn't about that. Just when the training in the evening shifts were about to start from the very next day, one of the trainers came into the room and started calling out the employee ids asking for details of where each one of us stay and where are we comfortable getting into a cab.


I was staying in the heart of the city, Royapettah. As you know, it is the place where you have Satyam Cinemas, Government hospital, the post office and especially Mount road just around the corner. We had access to everything and our favourite places were the famous Ponnusamy hotel and the beach nearby.


Ok, back to the point where was i? ok the cab thing. My turn came and i was rehearsing it in my mind for a few times so as to not mess it up, you know it was about 3 in the morning. I was not sleepy but kind of drowsy, imagine the time of the night, i was totally out of control, just wanted to sleep right off. My id was called out and i said in a not so loud voice, but everyone could hear me. Suddenly there was a roar of laughter that i was totally shocked and felt embarrassed. The trainer himself was laughing and i was beginning to smile realizing what would have made them laugh.


I had uttered 'Royapettah Police Station' :)


Guys, i was serious i stayed close to a school but i do have to get a bus only from the 'not just any bus stop' but the police station bus stop. 

My first blog

I have just figured out that i could create blogs... this in itself seems very exciting... miles to go... see you soon in the next blog...