Who knows when call center agents burnout first?

My friend Julie has taken call after call as an agent for nearly 10 years.  I have it on good authority that Julie is one of the best agents out there, but it’s been my experience that Julie is the exception and not the rule.  In fact, we recently completed analysis that revealed agent performance to peak and then decline at about 10-months of tenure.  Customer evaluations indicate the service peak and decline is related to tenure of the agent, not time of day, month or year!  This makes me think about the complaints we get from customers about the lack of knowledge and care that they receive from lackadaisical agents.  When customers can voice their opinions about service engagement so quickly and publicly, a positive agent experience is paramount.  Where are these agents on the tenure life cycle?

“I called to ask a simple service question and your agent read me a script that had little to do with my question, like he wasn’t even listening.  How is it that you can sell such a great product but stock your call center with such idiots?”

“I called today to get a replacement part for my product because I started to notice it squeaking when I turned it on. When I was trying to explain the problem, your agent told me to “stop complaining and get a life.”  I don’t know what kind of service you think you’re giving by putting such careless people on the phone.”

“I was surprised to get to one of your agents on the line so quickly.  He was kind and courteous and when we reached a point where he could no longer answer my questions he conference in his supervisor and made sure I was satisfied.  I wish every customer service call I made was like this one!”