Thank God for the Internet. No matter what device you are using, you find any information you are looking for with a few keystrokes, can watch movies, listen to music, play games, and so much more. It also provides a bunch of legitimate work from home opportunities, which simply didn't exist before this darn thing came into existence.
I am sure you've seen these little chat boxes, mysteriously appearing when you log on to certain websites, politely greeting you with “Hi, I am Tony. How may I help you today”? Most likely, you were browsing the web to get some info about one of your wireless devices, and the manufacturer of the product chose “Online Chat” to provide customer support.
But did you know that “Tony” is not an employee of the manufacturer, sitting in a small cubicle in some big office building to slave away for 8 hours a day? He is in fact working from the comfort of his home, as an independent contractor, for a company that provides this online chat service to the maker of your product. One of these service providers, Talk2Rep, is the subject of my review today.
What is Talk2Rep?
Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Talk2Rep is a leading call center and contact management services provider with multiple US operations and an international footprint with nearshore facilities in the Dominican Republic.
In 2005, Talk2Rep launched work at home representatives, and became a pioneer in the contact center industry with a highly skilled distributed network of at home agents. For 15 years, Talk2Rep has serviced multiple government agencies and private industries in verticals such as Healthcare, Financial, Retail, Energy, Insurance, Technology, Travel and Telecommunications and more.
Talk2Rep is industry recognized as a top 50 tele-services agency and PCI certified. All Talk2Rep representatives are background checked, tested and screened. Talk2Rep has over 25,000 certified representatives with over 2000 candidates applying monthly. Talk2Rep is not BBB accredited with an A- rating and received ONE complaint in 3 years (At the time of this review)!
One of the services provided by Talk2Rep is “Non-Phone-Sales Chat Agent“, a fancy name for a job that requires customer support for installation, set-up, trouble shooting of devices and apps AND taking orders for new products or upgrades.
What Do You Do As Talk2Rep Chat Agent?
As a Sales Chat Agent, you would be chatting with existing and/or non-existing customers of one of the top telecommunications companies in the nation. You would consult these customers and assist them in trying to see which products are offered that would benefit them.
You'll also be responsible for responding to inbound chat inquiries and effectively consult customers or prospective customers regarding features or wireless phones available.
What Skills Do Talk2Rep Chat Agents Need?
To be a rep you need to have the following skill sets.
- Ability to type at least 50WPM with 0 errors.
- Ability to multi-task (handling 3 chats concurrently).
- Ability to resource product information via tools that are provided to you.
- Ability to independently research information via the Internet.
- Sales experience a plus!
- Chat experience a plus!
- Wireless knowledge a plus!
- Outstanding spelling, grammar, and communication skills a MUST!
Computer Requirements:
- Must be hardwired to the Internet (absolutely no wireless!)
- Upload speed must be minimum of 1.0 mbp/s
- Must have Windows Operating System (MAC not compatible)
- Education and Qualifications:
- High school diploma from an accredited institution
- General Education Degree
How You Become A Talk2Rep Agent.
Fill out the application on their website, take a series of small tests, and a mock chat session. Apparently it's not really that difficult based on what my research team was able to dig up. In case you don't make it the first time around, they let you know right away and you can re-apply again after 60 days.
If all goes as planned and you are accepted, Talk2Rep will schedule you to attend a training class. This training lasts two full weeks and is, unfortunately, UNPAID. In addition, a background check is necessary, and Talk2Rep will have YOU pick up the price tag of $50.
What Is The Work Schedule And Pay?
You set your own schedule and sign up for the hours you want to work. Shifts are available in 4-hour blocks and you are required to work at least ONE weekend day. You can work min/max 32 hours per week; more hours are possible depending on workload and business needs.
The pay is a flat $9.00 per hour PLUS commissions/bonuses on each sale. The busy-bees (my research team) found out that agents make approx. $120 – $140 in commissions/bonuses per week.
Talk2Rep pays every 2 weeks per direct deposit! (sorry, no PayPal)
What Are The Talk2Rep Complaints?
Before June 2014 there were literally hundreds of complaints about the pay structure, which was based solely on sales quotas. When an agent did not reach the quota, they did not get paid AT ALL, not even the commissions for sales they made. However, this all changed, and agents now get a guaranteed pay of $9 + commissions. So, everybody seems to be happy now and there are only a few complaints about low pay from former agents.
Contracts Terminated Without Notice!
This sounds like Talk2Rep arbitrarily terminates contracts out of the blue and with no reason. That's not the case, though. Unfortunately, it can happen that a Talk2Rep client decides not to extend the contract, and the company did not get a notice either. Whatever the reason may be, Talk2Rep has no other choice than to terminate the contracts with the agents. The ‘finger pointing‘, if any, should be directed at the client.
Of course, it's hard to swallow if you lose part of your income without prior notice, but ‘stuff' happens and sometimes can not be avoided.
Two More Issues Of Concern!
Talk2Rep makes YOU pay $50 for the background check, AND you are not getting paid for attending the training. Well, I call that greedy and, obviously, I think this is not right. Most of the similar customer support companies I am aware of, pay for the time in training and won't charge you for whatever tests or checks they require.
Is Talk2Rep a Scam or Legitimate?
Based on what I can see Talk2Rep seems to be legitimate and not a scam especially now they have changed some of their annoying policies. If you're like me and want to avoid ‘putting all your eggs in one nest', you may give Talk2Rep a try to have an additional income stream. I make a large portion of my income because of the skills I acquired with My #1 Free Work At Home Recommendation. It can help you too to earn a full time income, if you are willing to learn and work hard.
I always say ‘don't limit yourself to just one income source, if there are more available'. Having said that, I recommend you check out My Work At Home Courses as well where I teach you some of the other ways I earn money as well. The more options you have, the merrier, and your chances for success will be much better.
Well that's all for me guys. I've done enough yapping but now I want to hear what you think. So please post a comment down below so I know what you feel about this company.
I'll speak to you soon.
Eddy with a y