I started working as a call center agent at a company that does outsourced customer service for a major restaurant chain in March. I was hired as a contractor, not employee. At this job, you get paid per order you place, so if the customer just mouths off and complains without ordering, you get paid nothing for the call. At the time I was working the phones I made ~$7.00/hr doing this. Two months ago I was promoted to a supervisory position and now make an hourly flat rate of 11.50/hr. But around the time I got promoted, the call center dynamics changed dramatically (they added a bunch of new stores and hired a bunch of new agents) and a much higher % of the calls are now complaints. When a customer calls, they are given 2 autodialer options, press 1 to place a new order and 2 to bitch and complain about an existing one. The complaints are supposed to be routed to in-house agents (employees) who get paid an hourly rate to take these complaint calls. The problem is most people are stupid and press 1 regardless of their reason for calling, so a huge percentage of the calls the contractors get are complaints. If the company were homest, they would either find a way to filter out the complainers and hire fewer order entry agents or pay the order entry agents something to take the complaint calls, buy they are doing neither, using the order entry contractors as unpaid complaint takers and hiring fewer hourly in-house agents. The average contractor is now making 4-5 bucks an hour. Sux, but I'm glad I make more. I get paid $11.50/hr to just answer questions in a chat room and don't have to take calls at all. Thanks for reading.