KGB Philippines (formerly INFONXX - US & UK Directory Assistance)

[taropuffgirl]

infairness to info/kgb, lahat naman ng company, may pulitika kase nasa tao talaga yan. i worked in cvg alabang, mas matindi dun "hierchy" at ere ng mga tao dun lalo na beterano. lahat talaga ng company may mga kup@l.... what keeps me in this company are the benefits (e.g., medicard: na-confine ang anak ko sa asian, wala akong binayaran, not even a dime. take note, private ang room) and the premiere aka bonus or commission, i prefer to call it that way kase, it's a pay beyond your basic, and somethin really rewarding kase unlike other companies na kailangan mo pang magbenta, at okrayin ng mga callers bago ka maka-commission, kumbaga ang bonus mo, depende kung bibili ang caller. dito ang premiere will really be up to you. of course, it's your own strategy kung pano ka bibilis magtype, naka-depende lahat sayo ang bonus mo, hindi ka naman kikita ng pera kung petiks ka lang, right??) anyways, let me inform you guys as well na 13500(taxable)+2500(non-taxable prod pay) ang basic dito. not as competitive as it may seem, but for me basic pays are "deceiving" kase kung gano kataas ang basic pay ganun din kataas ang tax mo. let's say 18k ang basic then ang tax would be around 1500-2k if you're single, and ang pay-out nila is every 15th&30th. ü sa info/kgb, i forgot to mention, premiere is NOT TAXABLE, and the pay-out is every 10days or every other friday.
it's just that, compared to other companies na nag-increase na, info hasn't increased their basic yet, but i talked to one of the boss, they said, the management is aware of what's happening to the economy, and the increase is still under negotiation, but it will definitely happen (sana) which i believe naman happened na rin before nung nag-increase din ng sweldo ang ibang callcenters.

Anyway, i'm not part of the management group, i proud to be CSR taking around 800 calls in an 8 hr shift kase 30-35 secs lang naman ang isang call. I prefer to be CSR kase mas mataas pa ang sweldo namin sa leads kase wala naman silang premiere eh but they do have a quarterly bonus naman. I prefer to get a bonus every pay out than to wait every quarter. I'm sharing these things to be fair to everyone. 75% i should say are good things and the rest are not so good, like job burnout or magsasawa ka sa work mo just like anyone else do kahit ano pa trabaho mo d ba, but of course if you're responsible enough, you'll think a couple of times, you'll plan your next move before you quit your job. other things are politika which is also present in other companies, iba iba nga lang siguro ang level nila.

My advise to current and future employees, VTO is a habit, but dont forget, you were hired to work 8 hours(just like any other company, unless your a part-timer). VTO is not a company benefit, so bear it mind that it shouldnt be given at all times. so if you dont want to be frustrated, teach yourself to work 8 hrs.

Enjoy your shift guys. ü

[taropuffgirl]

kgb = Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti = russian spy agency yan di ba??? kalaban ng CIA??? pinalitan na yan ng SVR di ba???

well as for kgb/infonxx, KGB is not an acronym of sumthin, those are the letters they prefer, kase INFONXX was the name of the company during those times na directory assistance lang ang account nila, INFONXX kase means fone numbers. since now, meron na silang ibang account like food, non-voice, and other upcoming accounts, they prefer a name na mas versatile.

btw, this info is from an open letter they cascaded to the entire center a couple of months ago.

[taropuffgirl]

as for the people, i don't want to comment about personal matters or attitude matters. it's sumthin subjective, depends on a person's perspective. i'm lookin at kgb as a company as a whole

[hiro_nakamura03]

its ok to work 8 hrs a day... but not to sign OT 3 hrs a week... before it was 5 hrs a week pa nga eh... sabi nila hindi daw mandatory.... pero pag di mo na meet *** 5 hrs... add up un next week sa OT mo... ok di ba? ngayon naman... pag di ka nka 3 hrs... dress up ka.... parang no way out pa rin.... good luck sa mga csr's na anjan pa din....

[hiro_nakamura03]

di pa naman pala kasi kaya ng company.... tinaasan ang volume of calls... tapos csr's nila ang ippressure para di sila ma penalty... WOW!!! at ang bonga ng pa raffle dito pag christmas.... pati hamon pinapa raffle.... hahaha.... at pag nag OT ka... bibigyan ka nila ng chocolates... 2 pcs SERG and CHOC NUT.... sosi.... sisipagin ka tuloy mag OT para makuha mga chocolates na yan...

[hiro_nakamura03]

mataas nga premier dito pag magaling ka na csr...pero mas ok kung tataasan din nila *** basic di ba? csr's jan deserves it naman sa sobrang dami ng calls sa isang shift...

[hiro_nakamura03]

taropuffgirl = good thing medicard lang ginamit mo... kasi i know lots of people na kelangan iprocess something about sss ata or philhealth nila....inabot ng almost a year bago nila ma reimburse... kung di pa nila follow up sa HR di niya malalaman na may kulang pala sa papers nila... di man lang ininform ng HR *** TM nung csr para maasikaso kagad *** kulang na papers.... pano tong mga HR (benefits) walang ginawa kundi mag tsismisan kung pano pumayat and gumanda ang hair nila...tagalog pa mag usap yang nga yan in front of a csr...

[taropuffgirl]

fyi, mabilis lang sa philhelath as in pag nagpunta ka makukuha mo agad kase hindi naman iaapprove ng medicard yun kung walang philhealth. have you tried using your medicard? as for sss, nag-file din ako jan ng sickness benefit, yeah matagal nga like 2-3 months i guess, kase sira ang photocapture system ng sss nationwide matagal na, taon na yata, 5 main branches lang ang gumagana which are mostly sa manila tapos since na hindi ka makakakuha nun, idedelay ng sss ang benefit mo since kulang ka nga sa requirement na sss naman mismo ang may kasalanan. and i doubt kung na hindi iniinform ang TM, probably *** sila sa office, baka PROA or on maternity kase sick nga sila eh that's why they're availing of the sickness or maternity benefit. you try it yourself para malaman mo real story ü ako kase i've experienced it. sa pagtatagalog na, no comment (lolz)

'bout the OT, 2 hours pa lang naging OT ko eversince i started @ info/kgb and that was christmas 2006 or 07 i think, yun mandatory ang at least 2 hrs OT pero laki kinita ko nun infairness kahit 2 hrs lang. but anyways, kung ayaw mo talagang mag-OT then don't sign up, wag kang pumayag kahit anong pilit ng lead or kung sino pa, tell them kesa naman mag-ABOT (ABsent OT) ka. eh di mag-dress up na lang, dress up naman nila eh basta lang hindi maong. i havent heard of the 5 hrs mandatory OT though, ang nakikita ko ngayun is yung 3 hrs OT required for dress up pero hindi mandatory.

yung ibang call center nga (convergys sprint account) pag closer ka, hanggat di nauubos ang calls on queue, hindi kayo pala-log outin kahit end na ng shift mo, as in talagang sisigaw ang TMs and workforce na dont log out yet, pero hindi sha bayad ha, after pa nun may courtesy meeting pa na sandali lang daw pero inaabot ng 2 hrs, pero hindi bayad. at least sa info everything beyond your time eh bayad.

[taropuffgirl]

well for those people hunting for jobs, it's really up to you guys, kanyang kanyang gusto yan. walang perfect company, lahat may flaws. other people might say sumthin bad others will praise it, but you can't really please everyone. just be wise in choosing a company, don't just listen to hearsays, like what i've said be wise, you might end up losing a chance to work in a job you might then enjoy just because you listened to underrated fictional stories, after all, it will be your second home.

i've been to quite a few call centers and i could say that infonxx/kgb is just one of so many good call centers i am comfortable with. ü

[hiro_nakamura03]

haha... sabi nila hindi mandatory... pero binago nila rules for dress up dress down... ginigipit nila csr's... hehe... i really don't sign up for OT... coz i know my rights...tska kuha ko naman yan sa premier ko... nakakaawa lang *** ibang shushunga shunga na csr's na nafinal warning iba na term pa dahil sa OT...what do you think is der reason kung bat pinalitan *** rules na yan? its bcoz para mag OT *** mga csr's... obvious naman na madaming may ayaw... even some TM's nga daw eh... wala lang sila magawa dahil *****... lam mo naman mgt jan...*** mga TM's na yan *** home grown ika nga...alam nila kung gano kahirap *** account dahil ngng csr's din sila jan...about naman dun sa philhealt or sss...kagaya nga ng sinulat ko...di me sure kung philhealth or sss...at hindi ksalanan nung sss un...dahil hindi man lang nag exert ng effort yang mga HR benefits na yan na tawagan *** csr na may kulang pa sa papers niya na dapat niya asikasuhin para ma process na *** reimburse...aba...ang sisipag tumunganga sa opisina...fyi nasubukan ko na gamitin din yan...mabilis ko nakuha *** money ko...kasi i make sure na ginagawa ng mga HR na yan *** job nila...der getting paid to do der job... not to talk about beauty tips the whole day...

[hiro_nakamura03]

*** mga (most) comments dito sa thread na 2 eh tottoo....hehe..its a fact...not fiction...obvious naman...mas maraming negative comments than positive...etong KGB pwedeng stepping stone kumbaga...hehe...may nasagap akong balita...2 leads ang umalis nanaman....3 leads na ata nalagas for this month ah....hmmmm...bakit kaya? bka *** mga lead na un ang my prob kaya umalis...hindi *** company ah....nyehehe...

[blackdragon]

info/kgb is still one of the good call centers. it was good to hear from a former colleague (former hr here) that the company changed its name because it is expanding... not downsizing or escaping labor cases, unlike other companies

[hiro_nakamura03]

kanya kanya namang point of view yan eh...hehe...maganda sana ang account kaso *** nagpapatakbo at *** mga ibang taong nasa posisyon...hehe...ang alam ko...ang reason kaya nagpalit ng name is because hindi na sila directory assistance lang...may iba ng account kaya nagpalit ng name...

[comassistant]

hey there maybe you are considering working as ip relay agent with 23 thousand basic pay plus life and health insurance i ll help you in your application especially tips to easily pass their exams we re into a referral program im now actively working as an agent thanks

[soo_sexy]

'bout the OT, 2 hours pa lang naging OT ko eversince i started @ info/kgb and that was christmas 2006 or 07 i think, yun mandatory ang at least 2 hrs OT pero laki kinita ko nun infairness kahit 2 hrs lang. but anyways, kung ayaw mo talagang mag-OT then don't sign up, wag kang pumayag kahit anong pilit ng lead or kung sino pa, tell them kesa naman mag-ABOT (ABsent OT) ka. eh di mag-dress up na lang, dress up naman nila eh basta lang hindi maong. i havent heard of the 5 hrs mandatory OT though, ang nakikita ko ngayun is yung 3 hrs OT required for dress up pero hindi mandatory.

yes, hindi nga ** mandatory? coz they can't... its against the labor code. but don't you get the logic? thats y they use a different strategy...not mandatory in a way...but almost the same thing... it's pretty obvious that their changing their policy coz they cant force you to go on on OT so dadalihin nila sa ibang policy...like the dress down policy na dati once you got 100% QA and perfect attendance you can go on dress down...but now you have to render OT first no less than 3 hours for you to go on dress down...and your telling me na ang dress up basta hindi lang nakamaong? so you mean pwde nakarubber shoes? And one more thing i remember...kapag nagOT ka madalas may discrepancy pa. hahaha! i could even testify for this dahil i've experience a lot of discrepancies. well no wonder, coz yung nirender mo nga regular hours of work nagkakaron ng discrepancy yung magOT ka pa kaya...and what's more worse? kapag nagrender ka ng OT...at nagVTO ka regardless kung ilang percentage yung OT mo during that time...dun nila ibabawas yung hours n nagVTO ka.

[hiro_nakamura03]

info/kgb is still one of the good call centers. it was good to hear from a former colleague (former hr here) that the company changed its name because it is expanding... not downsizing or escaping labor cases, unlike other companies

***** mga 2 years ago...i could say na ok talaga...ngayon? sa rcbc *****...pero sa branch nila sa mountain...hehe...good luck...i heard lots of stories nga eh sa mga csr's na galing kGB na nasa northgate na ngayon...mababa tingin daw ng iba pag sinabi mo na galing ka KGB... kaya *** iba di nlng daw sinasabi na may call center exp. sila at may isang lead daw na nahurt dahil lumipat sa northgate at nagdaramdam dahil di daw niya magain *** respect nung mga colleagues niya.. ***** akala niya lead pa din ** na pwede umasta na parang may ari ng company.... wala pa nga ** napapatunayan eh...

[soo_sexy]

info/kgb is still one of the good call centers. it was good to hear from a former colleague (former hr here) that the company changed its name because it is expanding... not downsizing or escaping labor cases, unlike other companies

one of the good call center? in what sense? coz i haven't heard that...i agree with hiro_nakamura i guess i could say that the company is good during first 2 years but now... i dont think so...lol. nagboycott nga mga leads to resign last year... kasi bulok ang managament. Right now i guess, 75% working @ kgb are almost newbies or lets say less than a year... konti na lang ang mga tenured at masasabing professional (even the good ones) sa kgb coz they dont know how to take care of their people. Most of them says that they are just using kgb just a stepping stone but no any long term goal to stay @ kgb. Panu ang increase nila every year P500 lang tapos once you reached 2years wala ka ng increase. Harsh!!! After 2 years...nothing to look forward anymore.

[taropuffgirl]

yes, hindi nga ** mandatory? coz they can't... its against the labor code. but don't you get the logic? thats y they use a different strategy...not mandatory in a way...but almost the same thing... it's pretty obvious that their changing their policy coz they cant force you to go on on OT so dadalihin nila sa ibang policy...like the dress down policy na dati once you got 100% QA and perfect attendance you can go on dress down...but now you have to render OT first no less than 3 hours for you to go on dress down...and your telling me na ang dress up basta hindi lang nakamaong? so you mean pwde nakarubber shoes? And one more thing i remember...kapag nagOT ka madalas may discrepancy pa. hahaha! i could even testify for this dahil i've experience a lot of discrepancies. well no wonder, coz yung nirender mo nga regular hours of work nagkakaron ng discrepancy yung magOT ka pa kaya...and what's more worse? kapag nagrender ka ng OT...at nagVTO ka regardless kung ilang percentage yung OT mo during that time...dun nila ibabawas yung hours n nagVTO ka.

i'm pretty sure alam mo naman siguro kung ano ang dress up. maong pertains to pants and denims. hindi naman nagmamaong ang paa. have you tried it? anways, i cant blame you if you're rich na mas can afford mo ang rubbershoes, kesa at least sandals na nabibili sa target. kaya siguro himutok na himutok ka with that.... still the point there is, hindi mandatory ang OT.

as for discrep, yeah it's true. major issue yan, kaya nga di ako nag-oOT eh, kase nga di naman mandatory. nasasayo na lang kung magpapauto ka sa strategies nila which is theor right naman as *** as they're not violating the labor code.

[taropuffgirl]

to former employees most of your comments refers to people/management, again, kanya kanyang perspective yan. if you feel that way towards your superior and so be it, good luck sa new CALL CENTER job nyo, sana wag kayong mapasama sa long list ng mga former employees na gustong bumalik pero di makabalik kase pasaway, of course tataas ang kilay nyo, but it's too early to laugh at it. madami na kong kilalang ganyan ... ü

for job hunters i tell the same thing, about the people and the management kanya kanyang perspective yan, iba-iba naman din kase tayo ng attitudes. lahat ng company may ganyang issue. about the numbers and figures as well as the benefits regarding kgb, i guess most have been mentioned already like the salary and stuff. if you have any other concerns, don't hesitate to raise you questions.

ako as an employee, kebs sa management,i dont let my life clash with theirs. i do my own stuff, i dont like OT so i dont sign up for any. meron naman akong pang-dress up, nabili ko sa tiangge, di mabigat sa bulsa... pag sinabi na nila bibigyan nila ako ng Corrective Action pag di ako nag-OT, definitely magreresign ako, ibang usapan na yun eh pero hindi pa naman eh, bawal kase, that's why they have a new strategy like OT for dress up na hindi naman mandatory. you still have a choice. right now, 2 and half years na ko sa info, and i feel comfortable, i get to choose my preferred sked, i get what i want. i plan to leave the company as well, probably next year kase gusto ko mag-settle abroad with my family. but not because i want to try other call centers, im contented naman with kgb. you can have the same fate like me. you'll never know unless you try. be wise and dont just listen to hearsays di nyo rin naman alam kung anong attitude nung nagsasabi nun, baka pasaway, baka na-termed kaya naghahanap ng vengeance.... in the end, it would still be up to you ü

[blackdragon]

to hiro_nakamura03 and sooo_sexy - are your present employers downsizing or escaping labor cases? bato bato sa langit.....