People in the office are suddenly starting to get into this weird craze of uplifting the program’s spirits. Paano kasi, those bastards became too lax and disappointing that suddenly there was this huge attrition scare that took almost 10-20% of the work force. All the other programs tried getting the buzz, but no real reason was found. Hell, we’re in the same program but nobody really found out what the main reason was. Up until recently when everybody patched up things together.

After the inevitable move of our waves to the Member Services Department to follow the older waves after leaving the Pharmacy Services where everbody started from, there was this sudden influx of again, batches of waves from the former department to the new department. For orientation, Pharmacy Services handles calls from Pharmacists and techs from all around the US territories, while Member Services handles the angst of all americans, educated and rude, who are under the insurance policy of Medco. That, according to statistics, would be the estimated 55 Million americans who are in dire need of their medicines. Obviously, you see the weight of the job there. When we used to only guide Pharmacists how to process the insurance under their systems, Member services asks us to help process the callers’ requests for mail in medication, for replacements for lost meds, information on their plan, limitations of their coverage, explanations of reasons, transfers to our own pharmacists when they have questions, transfers to supervisors when need be. Sounds tacky? Not quite. The tension comes in when they insinuate that we’re trying to extort money from them, because they are the direct consumers, and they have to pay for their medications even if they don’t want to. So when they do something they didn’t know was not covered by their plan, or there was a bad charge to their credit card, or they have to be charged again for the wrong medications, they forget that Medco, like all things around us, meant business, and in as much as we wanted to help them, we can’t do everything. Because Medco would then kill us if they go bankrupt.

Obviously, these consumers do not realize those sometimes.

So they scream at the phone.

Above right: The TLs of MEDCO both Pharmacy Services and Member Services in a kenkoy effort. Above: The wave two agents. Some of them misquoted.

When people got transferred over even if they didn’t want to, the department suddenly had a hard time hitting the required handle time which is supposedly around less thatn 4 minutes or so. Some of us try hard, and most people try harder, but soon, an ultimatum came which gave a bad jolt to agents on the third floor, right wing: meet the requirements or you’d get terminated.

So obviously, they’d rather just pack up and leave.

It was so easy. Scare people then they just go and leave. Who the hell is the management trying to scare? They’re not offering the best incentives, and agents always feel harrassed. Bakit hindi aalis?

Oo nga naman. Bakit hindi.

So, with this “ingenious” plan of uplifting the spirits, they’re suddenly printing banners displaying either the management, or the distinguished agents. Well, no, not really. But they started printing the faces (pangit posters, not to mention) of the older two waves who have been around for two years. Like, “They’re happy, they’re not leaving, maybe so should you.” Then they printed the faces of the Team Leaders on a separate banner, parading them like they’re happy and fulfilled. Sabi ni Ger parang in memory of.

Keyword is like.

Of course, your resident blogger and her significant other have also been thinking about leaving. Why not? Or maybe transfer to a different account. And maybe we should. But while planning that, we’re also deliberating on why we must.

Dahil hindi nila kami inaalagaan?

HAPPY @ MEDCO: Are you still happy?

There are some people around who have exceeded the expectations of the management and yet they’re still not doing anything to give them the things they need. Incentives na lang, nilalagyan pa ng tax. Or kinakaltasan. Nakakapikon tuloy.

So while looking at the posters this Tuesday, I thought, why not do a poster displaying the sides of the abused people and tell the management what they need to know? Maybe by then they’d know their faults.

Except of course, that’s a stupid idea. So I’ll let it start with me.

O, di ba?