Knowhow- Has anyone worked there recently?

I'm just looking for opinions from people who've worked (or currently work) for Knowhow in customer services? I saw there was a thread on here back in 2013, and the general response was to put it bluntly quite negative! I'm just trying to get a general idea of what it's like today. I'm going for an interview tomorrow but have really been put off by it. So hopefully I can get some responses and find out what it's like working there now.

It's a call centre environment, and that means dealing with customers some of whom don't like being on the phone. That's the same with any call centre though.

You're going for an interview, go in with a more positive and open mind. I don't work there nor have I ever but I know people who have/do. Neither have I looked for the thread from 2013 to see what was said. However, some of the negativity may be that the company/workplace has gone through lots of transitions over the past 10 years or so and some of the employees mightn't like so much change. They used to do support for Freeserve/Wannadoo back in the day before it was bought out by Orange/EE and their support moved to India. A lot of the old freeserve/wannadoo support staff moved over to Plusnet at that time. The call centre was also sub-contracted to be run by Capita for a good while too before Dixons bought the support back in-house as part of quality control/cost savings measures.

Bare in mind that there's currently more change/transitional stuff happening because of them becoming 'Dixons Carphone'. If you're someone who doesn't mind changes and can be flexible enough to roll with it when it happens (and it invariably will!) then you should be okay.

Good luck with your interview.

I'm just looking for opinions from people who've worked (or currently work) for Knowhow in customer services? I saw there was a thread on here back in 2013, and the general response was to put it bluntly quite negative! I'm just trying to get a general idea of what it's like today. I'm going for an interview tomorrow but have really been put off by it. So hopefully I can get some responses and find out what it's like working there now.

Please don't let this put you off but I was a Deputy Manager for ten years with DSG and the way they treat their staff wasn't good. I was happy to get out. I am stiull in touch with ex-colleagues and have a mate who works in the call centre off the Parkway at the moment. Talking to them it doesn't sound like things have changed much.

That said, they are a huge company, pay fair wages and will offer a secure job to anyone who shows promise. Which, in this day and age, isn't a bad position to be in. Preferrably while you look for a nicer job ;c)

These threads are always pointless. As some of you say, it is not the company but the type of job they are offering. If you like high pressure and like earning bonuses they are a great environment (I know, I was the Sales director for a very successful call centre business in Sheffield where operators were regularly earning more than £50K/annum, but it was very high pressure), but if you do not, then don't go for this type of job.

These threads are always pointless. As some of you say, it is not the company but the type of job they are offering. If you like high pressure and like earning bonuses they are a great environment (I know, I was the Sales director for a very successful call centre business in Sheffield where operators were regularly earning more than £50K/annum, but it was very high pressure), but if you do not, then don't go for this type of job.

Not necessarily. DSG have a history of being very reactive to struggling perfomance and tend to target and blame their staff for it. When in reality, it can be the entire market that is struggling - as emphasised by similar retailers such as Comet going completely out of business at the same time. This makes wortking there similar to a high pressure sales environment when they don't pay that kind of money and, in reality, they market themselves as caring and customer focussed. I would say like John Lewis, but never worked for them so can't compare.

All I will say is that many people who go to work for them aren't expecting the job to turn out the way it does. And hence are probably not happy. If you go in aware of this it might be less of a shock, that's all.

These threads are always pointless. As some of you say, it is not the company but the type of job they are offering. If you like high pressure and like earning bonuses they are a great environment (I know, I was the Sales director for a very successful call centre business in Sheffield where operators were regularly earning more than £50K/annum, but it was very high pressure), but if you do not, then don't go for this type of job.

Maybe with some call centres but not with DSG. Working hard just equated to working hard, no real financial reward for it. You could earn vouchers if you hit certain targets but no where near the value of £50k! Maybe a few hundred a year at best. And the salary was above minimum wage but not by much.

However I haven't worked there for a few years but my husband still does and it doesn't seemed to have changed that much from he says. But he no longer works on the phones - I ask him if he would ever go back to working on customer service - the answer is only if it was the only job he could get to pay the bills.

The thing that you might not like about the job, even if you find the job itself OK, is the annualised hours - can mean working 4 hours one day and 11 hours the next. However, you may well get used to it.

As long as you do an OK job you are unlikely to lose it, they can't afford to lose staff even ones that aren't top performers because the staff turn over is so high.

My own experience is the job itself - talking to customer is OK most of the time its just sometimes the management can be a bit crazy like:

- Failing me on quality control for something I did not know I had to do, the manager admitted that I didn't know I should do it because I and the rest of the department had not been told to do it - he admit that we should have been told the previous month but hadn't yet I still failed quality checking because of it.

- Due to work overtime but it wasn't in my schedule so I asked my manager what to do, he said work it. I wasn't paid for it and when queried it I was told that HR hadn't authorised me to work overtime so I wouldn't be getting paid.

- A female member of staff need to go to the loo (time of the month) was told she could not because she had used up her 10 min personal allowance - the manager was adamant that she could not leave to go to the loo - in the end he booked in a 3/5 min holiday for her so she could go.

Also saw a few people lose it whilst on the phones (customers sometimes can be hard to deal with and you have to bite your tongue) - finely snapped, swore a bit, threw their head set on the floor and walk out.

Then again a few crazy customers can bright up the day.

I could go on, however, it really depends on your manager. Some seemed to be from another planet, while others had their heads screwed on!

You need a cool head working in a call centre and need to let things bounce off you. Some people have the ability to let abuse not phase them all all yet others it gets to them, even if it takes a few years and then one day they just can't take anymore. But there are some people who have worked at DSG on the phones since the call centre opened (1o years ish), I think either you have the personality for it or you don't.