I have worked in a few different insurance agencies as a CSR and it’s always the same thing. Give us more work every time we even look like we’re starting to get caught up. Meanwhile bosses and sales seem to have all the time in the world to just chit chat, or come and go from work as they please.
I’m living this right now in my current job. My two colleagues are sales. They spend the first hour to two hours each day chit chatting and gossiping while I’m desperately trying to get the last of the previous day’s work done, plus as much of the current day as possible before the phones start. I’m first on phones. As soon as that thing rings, I pick it up. If it rings 30 seconds after hanging up the last call, I pick it up. If it rings while I’m already on a call, half the time my colleagues won’t bother answering and let it go to voicemail for me check it and follow up with people.
I have a seemingly endless to-do list. I reach out to all late bill pays, I take in all mortgage requests sent by phone/email/mail, I follow up with clients on changes and billing questions, I set appointments, I cross sell, close out all activities done in the office (even ones that aren’t mine) and on and on. Now my boss wants me reaching out to a list of about 300 clients to set up appointments for just this month. This is while I’m answering 90% of all the phone calls coming in, calling people back who left voicemails, doing changes, quoting, making sure people pay their bills so they don’t cancel, making sure mortgage companies get people’s policy documents so they don’t force place insurance on our clients, and so on.
Meanwhile my coworkers have time to literally chit chat on and off all day. And one of them randomly leaves 30 early just about every day because she can.
This is not the first time bein in insurance I’ve dealt with this. I’ve always had this happen. It’s like I’m being set up for failure. I’m grinding away, desperate to keep up. And “here’s some more work for you. And here are some more goals you have to achieve.”
I get that I am here to do a job. But I am one freaking person. There is NO way I can complete every little thing put on me. Unless I stay late. Which I refuse to do.
*Oh, and then on top of that, I’m made to feel like absolute shit by one of my colleagues if I make any mistakes. When you have hundreds of things on your plate, mistakes are bound to be made. I’m doing the best I can here…