Love in the time of call centres

Working long, odd hours at a BPO, sleeping away the days and travelling some 30 km to work and back had 23-year-old Pranjul Dogra declaring, "I have no time for love." But then Cupid struck, and Dogra was soon seeing her cab companion - another call centre employee - still working long hours, but with love as a convenient side effect.

Cab romances are now a common trend in the BPO industry. When five to seven people are confined to the seats of a Qualis/ Tavera/ Innova for an average of two hours a day, bonds will invariably emerge, says Dogra.

In a cab is where Himani Bahadur, 28, often dated her now ex-boyfriend. They even changed BPO jobs to be able to work - and go to work - together.

She says their relationship was very much out in the open, with their friends in the cab often teasing them about their constant handholding. The couple's cab driver would even offer good-natured advice to the two - who come from different religious backgrounds and whose families are opposed to the alliance.

Laughs Himani, "Our cab driver would tell us ma-baap toh man jayenge, maine bhi bhaag ke shaadi ki thi; meri biwi bhi toh alag jaat ki thi, par bacche ho kar sab maan jaate hain (parents always come around, even I eloped with a girl from a different caste, but once the kids come on the scene, all's well) "In my Thursday-Friday cabs, a couple started seeing each other based solely on their cab interaction," says Sarthak Bhatt, 23-year-old Am Ex employee. While working at Convergys, Pritika Bajaj was witness to a few cases of puppy love.

"People change shifts to be in the same cab with the person they're seeing. Sometimes they even get off at each other's houses," which, she adds, "gives the rest of us stuff to gossip about.
" Himanshu Dhyani, who worked in the BPO sector for over 7 years before shifting to KPOs, says with about 500 call centres in the NCR, cab friends are something of an obvious consequence.

"Take GE for example; with the 12,000 people they employ, there is bound to be at least a handful you're more than just acquainted with.

" When it comes to bonding with the cabbie, there are mixed responses. "My chap used to call my mother at 4.

30 am to wake me up. I used to be the first pick, and generally always late, so while I got ready, he'd wait and have chai," says Sudhanshu Tripathi, who works with Vertex.

Of course it isn't everyone's cup of tea to chat up fellow commuters. Rajesh Khatri, a team leader at Daksh, is most comfortable keeping small talk to the bare minimum.

Other than reminding the driver to slow down or stay awake, he says he'd rather sleep or listen to music. Himanshu says conversation in a cab is restricted to gossip and b*tching about colleagues.

"There are instances when a team leader plans (with subordinates) to go partying or drinking, but the next morning the cab friend is back to being the boss, so excuses don't go down well," he adds.

Credits : http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080125/r_t_ht_nl_features/tnl-love-in-the-time-of-call-centres-6b6720b_1.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com