The problem came with higher management: both HR and upper management seemed to be disconnected with the lower corporate culture, neither participating nor sympathizing with issues that swept across the floor (across all agents). They only look at your stats (which is why they would okay promotions), but in the end, if you didn't get your stats up, they would demean you. Coaches that have low stats would be told "You can sign this agreement to say you'll bring your stats up, or you can fill out this McDonald's application." That was the kind of approach upper management had to pretty much anything.
They also have low pay ($9/hr for a customer service position; the same job with another company could earn you $15/hr) and a poor excuse for a health insurance program. Thus, a lot of people get sick, but they're not forgiving on illness either. Sometimes a doctor's note isn't enough, and they won't let you back into work until your doctor finds enough time to fill out paperwork.
Finally, front-end support is extremely lacking for some departments (called "campaigns"). Some of them have only 1-2 weeks of training without any introduction to the information systems they'll be using, while others have a complete 1.5 month training course with presentations, speakers, visitors and more. If you're going to get a job there, do your research (talk to the smokers outside on break), and get into the right campaign if you can help it.
