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Two different job offers...

sk1wbw

sk1wbw

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May 28, 2011
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Williamsburg, Virginia
So I've gotten two different job offers in the last two days. Both doing customer service. One is doing customer service for AT&T Business Care Wireless customers, paying $9 hourly, working from home.

The other was providing customer service for American Express Membership Rewards. This one is paying $10 hourly, but it is at a call center not far away from the house. This one sounds like a better and more prestigious company to work for.

I'm just not sure of the benefits of each company. I know they both have the standard blah blah medical and stuff, but I am wondering what other benefits you might get. The one for AT&T might give you a free account with a new phone or something, since it's a combination of minor tech support and other customer service issues, but they haven't said anything about that yet.

Working at home would be cool as I've done that before, and not having to fork out money for gas is great, but there are other things about the AT&T position that I'm just not sure about. This company is all virtual, the training and human resources and the whole thing. I'm not sure about upward mobility there. I would rarely, if ever, have face to face contact with the people I work with, which is what I'm used to doing.

The AMEX position sounds like it has more upward mobility as I would be able to interact more with the company since it's in a secure call center.

What you guys think?
 
espiritujo

espiritujo

macrumors member
Sep 19, 2011
95
0
columbia, sc
AMEX. Personally for me I'm all for the social interaction with other people too. It'll keep you sane.

My mom does medical consulting from home. It requires physicians to look at charts of other patients nationwide, and they call and give their input on it. Benefits are great for her, but she literally just sits on her butt all day in her pajamas and eats food and has since become really lazy. If you do decide to work from home, make sure you still keep a regular schedule with your daily life.

Also, the AT&T benefits kinda sound lame. They give you a free phone, but I hate their service. Talk about dropped calls... lol
 
sk1wbw

sk1wbw

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May 28, 2011
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espiritujo said:
AMEX. Personally for me I'm all for the social interaction with other people too. It'll keep you sane.

My mom does medical consulting from home. It requires physicians to look at charts of other patients nationwide, and they call and give their input on it. Benefits are great for her, but she literally just sits on her butt all day in her pajamas and eats food and has since become really lazy. If you do decide to work from home, make sure you still keep a regular schedule with your daily life.

Also, the AT&T benefits kinda sound lame. They give you a free phone, but I hate their service. Talk about dropped calls... lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm just making an assumption there about getting a free line with ATT. They haven't even discussed that. And yeah, the one for AMEX seems better. I like both working at home and being in the office, but the visibility at AMEX and the upward mobility there sounds just as promising.

One thing I did really like about the ATT job was that recruiter actually said that I was the kind of tech geek with the level customer service that they were looking for and she actually sped up my hiring process to get me the last opening for training at the end of the month. She asked quite a few technical questions about cellular technology and smart phones and stuff and I think I made her silent while she tried to decipher my tech geek speak. Haha!
 
mscriv

mscriv

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2008
4,923
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Dallas, Texas
It sounds like you are still kind of guessing about how the two jobs compare as you don't have all the details yet. Ask the recruiter or whoever you are working with at the comapanies to give you detailed information on the compensation packages, including benefits (medical, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance, etc), company discounts (third party vendor discounts for being an employee), perks (cell phone stipend, etc), etc.. This kind of stuff can add up a lot especially when it comes to medical benefits. Two companies can have drastically different plans which could end up being major differences in cost to you.

If you are concerned about upward mobility then ask about it now. Is there a plan for it (employee mentoring and training), what's it based on (seniority, job performance), etc. etc..

Get all the facts before you make a decision. Obviously you already know that the At&t job will have to make up the difference in the salary somewhere. Best wishes and let us know what you eventually decide.
 
smithrh

smithrh

macrumors 68030
Feb 28, 2009
2,722
1,730
Amex.

They've got the best CS around and they'll train you well.

I know that my interactions with AMEX have all been good. Citibank, my Credit Union, AT&T Wireless, DirecTV, Comcast, all pretty useless.
 
sk1wbw

sk1wbw

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May 28, 2011
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Williamsburg, Virginia
mscriv said:
It sounds like you are still kind of guessing about how the two jobs compare as you don't have all the details yet. Ask the recruiter or whoever you are working with at the comapanies to give you detailed information on the compensation packages, including benefits (medical, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance, etc), company discounts (third party vendor discounts for being an employee), perks (cell phone stipend, etc), etc.. This kind of stuff can add up a lot especially when it comes to medical benefits. Two companies can have drastically different plans which could end up being major differences in cost to you.

If you are concerned about upward mobility then ask about it now. Is there a plan for it (employee mentoring and training), what's it based on (seniority, job performance), etc. etc..

Get all the facts before you make a decision. Obviously you already know that the At&t job will have to make up the difference in the salary somewhere. Best wishes and let us know what you eventually decide.
Click to expand...


As the ATT job is at home, the upward mobility would be based on your performance, but I still wonder if the old saying comes to mind here... out of out, out of mind.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,481
43,407
I'd go with AMEX, being in the office you can work moving up in the company. Being completely remote could fall into the category of out of site out of mind.

It will be harder to impress management and work on moving up in the company if you are not there in the office.

for instance, if a co-worker who is in the office frequently puts in extra hours and is noticed for his working late, but you're in at home (putting in those same hours) who do you expect to receive a favorable consideration if both of you go for a new position within the company?
 
rdowns

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,521
I'd recommend you take the Amex job. As you said, you're not likely to get much recognition or upward mobility from a work from home job. With an entry level position, getting to know others in the company is important fo moving up.
 
S

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
Amex. AT&T is downloading their infrastructure costs onto you. They will have to set up a communications link for you, obviously... but I'll bet that there is no allowance in their pay structure for the use of your home.

You become the janitor (remember that while you are home you are making more mess than when you are at an office. You cleaning up that mess, even if slight.) You are paying to heat and cool the office... you can't turn the heat and the AC down like you could if you were leaving the house for 9 hours. You may also need insurance (for instance if AT&T provides a computer for your work - find out what happens if it gets stolen or damaged.)

Etc Etc.... think of all the functions that happen in an office to support a worker, and then see how many of those you are picking up at your own cost. The benefit of working from home (and there are some for sure) may or may not counter those extra costs.

Fair disclosure.... both my wife and I work from home. But I am a self-employed photographer and my wife holds a senior policy position with a non-profit on the other side of the country. They wanted her badly enough that working from home was a benefit she negotiated for. In your case, working from home is probably a benefit to the company since they don't need to pay to maintain a cubicle for you.

------

Of course, you could ask for part-time hours from each and work both jobs to get something more than one full-time job.
 
4

416049

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2010
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2
sk1wbw said:
No, not really. Makes no difference to me, actually. I am thinking more and more that the Amex job would work out better.
Click to expand...

I would take the AMEX one, seems more personal. However as already mentioned before ask about everything medical insurances etc. in advance to aid your decision.
 
sk1wbw

sk1wbw

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Right now I'm in training for the ATT position, but I'll most likely go with the AMEX position. It's actually at the call center. I feel cut off from the company by working at home. I felt the same way working at Hilton. I really enjoyed working for Hilton, but working at home you are out of sight and out of mind. Nobody knows you.
 
Les Kern

Les Kern

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2002
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sk1wbw said:
....but working at home you are out of sight and out of mind. Nobody knows you.
Click to expand...

One reason why I would take the AT&T job.
Expect that in neither job will you be noticed. No gas however little that is helps. Easier to look for better and long-term career. If you're stuck in an office complex all day, that's where you will stay. These companies want drones. Might as well be a comfortable drone.
 
sk1wbw

sk1wbw

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Williamsburg, Virginia
Les Kern said:
One reason why I would take the AT&T job.
Expect that in neither job will you be noticed. No gas however little that is helps. Easier to look for better and long-term career. If you're stuck in an office complex all day, that's where you will stay. These companies want drones. Might as well be a comfortable drone.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's true but after being in the Navy for 20 years, I have learned that I like working around people and not being at home alone with no interaction.
 
noisycats

noisycats

macrumors 6502a
Jun 1, 2010
772
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The 'ham. Alabama.
Are there positive tax implications for working from home? Can you deduct the expenses ofyour "corner office"? I don't know the answer to that, maybe someone here can chime in with better experience.

But based on the tone of your responses, I believe your heart is already set for AMEX.
 
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