Customer care professional (Current Employee), Denver, CO – April 16, 2012
Pros: working from home, no commute, direct deposit, w2 (legitimate), paid trainings, compensation for technical issues, and an abundance of helpful resources
Cons: overwhelming emails, pay could be better, policies tend to contradict eachother, etc.
A typical day at Alpine Access varies from client to client. Being that I am with the Xbox program, a typical day consists of logging into all software (with my current client being Microsoft, it typically takes about 10-15 minutes to setup your work station and get prepared to start taking calls), greeting your fellow co-workers in the support chatroom, – more... and changing your state to "available." When you train for your client, you are given anywhere from 3-4 weeks to learn all the required material, what the client expects of you (behavior), incentives (if applicable), what to do if you experience technical issues, how to post hours, how to call in, etc. The great thing about training is you are compensated for your time, you are provided breaks (to prevent being/feeling overwhelmed), you are given a lunch break, etc. I personally enjoy training due to the fact that I not only get aquatinted with my fellow co-workers (and also build friendships), but I also have granted time for clarification on things that I am uncertain about. With whatever trainer you have, majority of them are not only very knowledgable, but they are very friendly, patient, and know how to make learning enjoyable! My trainer was AMAZING; not only did she have a bubbly personality, but she was also very knowledgeable about fixing consoles! Even though training can be very time consuming, if your trainer has a great personality, they will always find ways to make learning fun! The most difficult part about working for Alpine is compensation; majority of Alpines' workers have families, a mortgage, an abundance of bills, etc. Sadly, due to the fact that commute is eliminated, the pay is not as much as other employers outside of the "work from home" environment. Other than that, at times, the call volume (depending on your client) can make you feel overwhelmed at times. Because each client is different, your Alpine email can be quite an overwhelming experience. Contrary to what people believe, due to the fact that you work from home, you could receive anywhere from 10-15 emails a day with upcoming events, training material, changes to your schedule, etc. With that being said, when you receive these emails, you are expected to not only read them, but also learn the content and utilize it everyday. Overall, if pay is not an issue, I would recommend Alpine! The staff is very friendly, prompt, helpful, educated, and helpful! – less
CCP (Current Employee), Westminster, Colorado – May 14, 2013
Pros: good part-time job
Cons: money, immaturity, program support
This job at Sykes/Alpine is good for work/life balance only, other than that the only way to advance is to be in a "click." as with any work from home job. One big issue is that on most of the programs you will have to work one weekend day. Not a biggie, but here is the problem with that-- weekend days are the biggest shopping days for most consumers – more... and we don't have many Team Leads working those days on weekends or Coaches. So when there is a problem there is no way to resolve your issue in a timely manger. The customer suffers and so does the client. I would think they would rotate the Team Leads. Most of those Team leads are very immature as well.
So, it a good little part-time job and if you can look past the high school behavior and the lack of support from Team leads on weekends you will do fine. – less
Customer Care Professional (Current Employee), Telecommute – May 10, 2013
I love this job except for the compensation. However, it is typical of the call center industry. Managers are very supportive and great at employee development. Lots of positive feedback and coaching.
Customer Service Representative (Former Employee), Ocala, FL – May 7, 2013
Pros: work at home, flexible when part time
Cons: not enough time with managers and trainers, not enough hours if too slow
When I work part time during busy season for the program I was on, it was wonderful. However, when slow season comes, you wish you were full time as I most recently only got 7-10 hours per week. Management often does not have time to coach, have one on ones, or do follow-up training for their employees. I loved the work at home experience, but it was – more... hard to advance with so much competition between representatives and the metric requirements. – less
Technical support helps (Former Employee), bradenton, fl – May 6, 2013
Alpine access is a work from home company. I was offered a month of training, and after the training, we went live to start taking actual phone calls. We were not offered much support when people had difficulties with things, that we could not help with.
Customer Service Representative (Former Employee), Denver, CO – April 18, 2013
Pros: no commute, no uniform- could seriosly work in your jammies!
Cons: pay, lack of compassionate management staff, lack of ability to comment on any unfair work practices
i was hired for a new program launch. Many promises were made and right up front we were told to expect frequent policy changes until management found a system that worked. Many problems were immediately blamed on the calls originally being routed overseas, however that wasn't an issue. Constantly being logged out(clocked out), being told to take many – more... unpaid breaks, and having to sit your ENTIRE shift to see if you would be allowed to log in to work. Coaches were rude, and pretty much tell you to solve problems yourself because you have the exact same tools as they do. Honestly, if the rules and policies hadn't changed pretty much hourly, things would be greatly improved. Not being able to work the hours you are scheduled was a complete joke. Supposed to have a weekly 1:1 with your teamlead, yet in the 7 months I worked there, I didnt receive 1 until my last week. I hate that I had to leave because I do know other programs were much better. Pay raises were non existent as you have to work 3000 hours to be eligible, yet with the constant jump offs it would take YEARS to bank that many hours for a .25 raise. The companies that they are contracted to take calls for are paying a decent wage to Sykes at Home, yet they are just pocketing it. Makes it feel like you work for a staffing agency, where they get say, $15 an hour yet pay you $9 to do the job the client feels is worth $15. Also, if you ever try to use the open door policy to express your concerns over the labor law violations of them logging you out from the phone system(being logged in is how you show you are *on the clock*), you in essence paint a target on your back. Honestly, for the investment you have to put in, the commute to work may be worth it! – less
Customer Service - Non-profit Organization (Current Employee), Work from Home – April 17, 2013
Pros: no commute, flexible hours, plenty of support, good 2nd job
Cons: low pay, no benefits, difficult to advance, constantly changing expectations
I've worked for AA for about 1 1/2 years doing customer service for a large non-profit organization. I've had great experience with a great Supervisor and terrible experience with a lousy Supervisor. Most of my coworkers are amazing and wonderfully friendly and helpful. The job has proven to be steady and a nice 2nd job. Expectations change often as – more... the client requests. Seems very disorganized at times. AA is a great stay at home job. – less
Customer care professional xbox (Former Employee), North Carolina – March 24, 2013
Pros: work from home
Cons: short breaks, low pay, horrible training, unorganized, rude management
My friend recommended this job to me and I was very skeptical. I got in on CCP for xbox.. I paid for my background, 2 headsets, keypad, added phone service.. alot of headache just to work from home. But when I started it was pretty fun..then training just sort of flew by and I realized it wasn't as easy as I thought. After finally gettin in production. – more... The calls seemed so fake. The Team Leads were very rude. And if u made negative remarks you would get criticized by your so called callers. Half way through they say they need to get rid of billing and move some people to universal. They told ALOT of lies. Policies, rules, statements kept changing. It began to be a mess and very unorganized. Everything seemed so superficial. My Team Lead well pretty much all if them were jerks..purposely ignored me. The job I started off loving began to be a nughtmare! During a meeting I was told to stay on and was accused of accessing an account.. while in training so I had yo be let go. It was ridiculous. The story they made up was BS obviously and I was never even contacted by HR about my termination. Ive never been fired in my life. Its probably going to affect my ability to work some where else. I would just stay away from this company, they seem fishy and only about getting their money. My Team Lead was a liar. I hate him now. The pay was eh, benefits are horrible, long hours on some days, back to back calls, or jump offs. I was missing alot of hours. – less
Assisting customers (Former Employee), Denver, CO – February 28, 2013
i thought i was going to enjoy working from home but it turned out to be a nightmare.between tech issues on their side that they will blame you for you dont get paid.. i have not been paid for many many hours of time that i actually worked. Horrible..stay away.. they are now known as sykes
Customer Care Professional (Former Employee), Denver, CO – February 27, 2013
Pros: working from home
Cons: compensation
It is a great place to work part time especially since it is from home. You will learn a lot about the industry that you will be assigned. Alpine does a great job training. Although you never see your co-workers everyone supports you in your growth.
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Pros: spending more time at home means less cost associated with travel and food expenses.
Cons: spending more time at home also means sometimes feeling less motivated to maintain a social life.
I absolutely loved working with Alpine Access. There are great opportunities for growth with this company and it is great for those who would like to get some additional experience working from home in a virtual call center. A day at Alpine Access was essentially no different than any call center job. There are some notable differences though, the amount – more... of trust this companies has in it's employees is unparalleled. I took a lot from my time with Alpine Access most importantly being self discipline. There is no one there to make sure you report to work or hound you when you don't come in, for the most part you have to be responsible for doing the job you were hired for and taking that position seriously. That being said the hardest part of working with this company was creating a work/life balance. Since you are always at home working it can be increasingly difficult to find that happy place to decompress after a stressful shift, but you have to actively carve out time to do just that. I loved this job, I was able to work autonomously from home with little to no actual supervision. The team leads typically do not use a system of micro managing the subordinate employees, and that can not be said too commonly about positions like this in brick and mortar locations. – less
Supervisor Call Requests (Current Employee), Various – February 19, 2013
Pros: no commute, good culture
Cons: low pay, insurance isn't very good
This is a good job for when you need one badly. The issues are, it can take years to get promoted to higher level jobs, they constantly change your job requirements and the best jobs require you to relocate.
Some of this might change this year, with Sykes having merged last year
Customer Service Representative (Former Employee), Denver, CO – February 16, 2013
Pros: working from home.
Cons: communication with managers.
Fast paced position, but grew tired of the routine tasks and I felt I would have fit a different position better, but my managers did not listen. Also constant boss changes in my year of working there made it hard to communicate with managers. In a typical day I would take inbound calls and help mostly angry customers solve their issues in a professional – more... manner. – less
Customer Service Representative (Current Employee), Denver, CO – February 16, 2013
Pros: legit and constant work from home
Cons: 10 min breaks, insulting pay and benefits, little support
Your typical call center environment, back to back calls with screaming customers, managers desperate to meet your numbers, empty promises of advancement but at the lowest hourly rate I've ever heard of (9.50/hr? a half way decent waitress could do better and without the education requirements).
The benefits are insulting: Alpine flat out states the – more... insurance is meant to be suplimental: meaning it covers check ups and very minor work, no surgery. No vacation time (paid or otherwise), and constant threats of being replaced for even the occasional sick day.
The only reason I give a 2 star rating is because it is work from home. – less
Customer Care Professional (Current Employee), Atlanta, GA – February 11, 2013
Pros: opportunity to grow!
Cons: none...
I love working for Alpine Acess!! The coaches and team leaders are all great, and so helpful! They really want to ensure you are the best CCP agent! The only downfall for me, was having to deal with angry customers, but that comes with the territory, and you learn to become more comfortable dealing with so different issues. The best part is knowing – more... that you will never be alone, because your coach is only a text away! So if you forget something, just ask, they are always so very happy to help you! Alpine Access is so worth it!!! The pay is 9.00 an hour, you are given different schedules to choose from, and can take more hours if available. You are also given paid training for the program you are being hired for, so that way you feel well enough prepared prior taking calls. After 6 months or a year, you are allowed to transfer to another program, if your team lead sees you have done a great job. There is room to grow, and expand within the Alpine Access team! I say go for it! – less
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Alpine Access
Salary/Benefits
Management
Job Security/Advancement
Job Culture
Job Work/Life Balance
management not too honest
customer service rep (Current Employee), Canada – February 1, 2013
Pros: flexible hours, work from home
Cons: poor pay, minimum breaks, not very trust worthy management
Was hired full time for a new program but as soon as they got more people trained they cut hours. At the end of a month they stated that the hours given for the next month would be based on sales the previous month, the couldn't mention that before the fact ? lacks integrity as far as I'm concerned. Nice people on the team, flexible hours but everything – more... is minimum, i.e. minimum wage, minimum breaks, they give as much as the law dictates and nothing more. Many problems with their systems and you don't get paid if you don't work even if the problem is on their end. – less
– June 4, 2013
Your work environment was your home...so was there instability there?? I mean a month of training is more than sufficient.