Sick of Healthcare

By Chaz Yorick

Trapped in a job with limited advancement potential, Sick of Healthcare takes the reader inside a health insurance call center where the employees care more about casual day dress code options than work.
Chaz Yorick has been writing and performing poetry for over a decade and has been working soul crushing jobs for longer than that. Sick of Healthcare is his first published non-poetry work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Media Over Moonlight
• Release date: Aug 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301282142

Book preview

Sick

of

Healthcare

Chaz Yorick

Published by Media Over Moonlight

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Chaz Yorick, PMCollins

All rights reserved. Published 2013.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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My Friends Don’t Call Me. . .

. . . but strangers sure do.

At work I get calls from strangers all day long. They ask me questions that I usually can answer, but most of the time wish I didn’t have to answer. Some callers are bright, but you might be surprised at how many people out there just aren’t bright at all. At home I get calls from bill collectors who want my money as well as salesmen who have similar motives. For the record, there’s not enough money to go around. More accurately I have no money for even one of them. At home I can choose not to answer questions whether I know the answer or not.

I feel a strange sense of self-loathing about talking to people on the phone. I suppose it isn’t so bad on the incoming calls since they actually want to talk to a live person, but the feeling is especially strong when I am expected to make outgoing calls. If I don’t want people to call me at home then why should I expect that others will want to get a call from me. Luckily most of the time, they are all incoming calls, Thank you for calling Ringxone. This is Chaz. How can I help you today?

Big Brother is Listening

All of our calls are monitored. I try not to say anything stupid since everything is recorded. It is hard not to say stupid stuff when you are on the phone all day. We can mail information or email information to callers.

With a smile in my voice I offer, I can mail this to you and you’ll get it in 5 to 7 business days. Or I can email it to you and you will get it in 5 to 7 business minutes.

This one always gets a laugh. Most of the time it isn’t just me laughing. Sometimes it is just me laughing.

In the next cubicle over, Ken is arguing with a caller. I’m not sure how he gets away with it. Excuse me sir! No! Sir. No! You are the one not listening to me. No! You don’t need a supervisor. You need to clean out your ears, shut your mouth, and listen. I got all your health insurance information here. You just need to. . . Ken whips off his headset clicks the mute button, and mumbles something under his breath. He then peeks over the wall at me and begins to complain about the caller. I just stare blankly at him as he continues, It’s cool. They can’t record you if the mute button is on. Caller can’t hear you. Mr. Chatters can’t hear you. Only worry is if someone around you is on a call and their mic picks up what you say.

A smile stretches across half my face and stops, Could you hold on a minute Ma’am? I click my mute button, Yeah Ken, about that. Pretty sure my mic picked you up on that one. I’m on a call. Should have been obvious by the blank stare I gave you. My smile finished stretching across my face and then quickly disappeared with the click of my mute button, Sorry about that Ma’am, I have the plan information you’re looking for right here.

The Final Days of the Monitor

The image on my computer screen keeps shaking. The IT department says the monitor is just a little old and not to worry about it. Like the old woman searching for exact change from her purse when I only have a 30 minute timed lunch break, my computer monitor wobbles and shudders. Soon there will no doubt be a grand funeral for this monitor. We will gather around and give speeches on the monitor’s accomplishments and our fond memories of it, or perhaps it will just end up in the dumpster.

Several days passed and my screen is still shivering, but only when the IT people aren’t around. I don’t think they even believe me anymore. I’ve called in the issue several times, but each time they come to check it out my monitor builds up the courage to do what it should. Within minutes of being checked out, the monitor resumes its shivering.

Since the IT department won’t fix my shivering screen, I decided to bring in a blanket today. I’ve wrapped up the monitor. I know that when I start shivering, a nice warm blanket is exactly what is needed to make everything better. After tucking the blanket around all the edges in a snug cozy manner, the shivering stopped. Problem solved.

Ken Should Mind His Business

Ken has been on my case all day about wrapping my monitor in a blanket. He thinks it is a bad idea. I keep telling him that bothering me is a bad idea and he should stay on his side of the cubicle and get back on the phone. My computer screen is shivering again even though the blanket is getting toasty warm.

It Isn’t Christmas Without the Smell of Roasting. . . Computers?

I got into work early today. I