Star Book Review: Confessions of a Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim

I was very excited to read the new release and debut from Lisa Lim, Confessions of a Call Center Gal. Having worked on a community phone line for a corporation with a large customer base for the past 5 year, I could relate to the setting of the novel and the job of the main character.

Madison (Maddy) Lee is just out of college and living in Pocatello, Idaho. With the economy in shambles and everyone fighting for jobs, she and her best friend Karsynn (Kars) have had no luck finding a job. When an advertisement comes out for phone service work at Lightning Speed Calling Center, the two girls jump at the opportunity and both are hired.

The working conditions at the Lightning Speed Call Center in Idaho are trying, to say the least. First, Maddy and Kars must undergo a month long training program in order to become qualified to assist customers calling in about everything from billing questions to Internet connection problems. At the training, they meet Mika, a gorgeous Russian about their same age, who becomes Maddy’s major crush. Unfortunately, Mika is already tied to the gorgeous Bulgarian, Ingeborg, who is just too nice to hate and they, too, quickly become friends. After the four friends complete training, they have a little graduation ceremony and are ready to begin work.

Work at the Lightning Speed Call Center is definitely not your typical office job. The callers seem to be a breed all their own. One such character calls in to seek assistance with his Internet service and instead of directly asking for help, he spells everything out – literally. Other callers are so irate by the time they get through to Maddy that they are not even willing to go through the mandated verification process and a manager must get involved. Other callers are more chipper, more upbeat and in general, nice to deal with, but they are almost completely computer illiterate, making for a challenging exchange. All in all, Maddy must learn to deal with a difficult boss, frustrated customers and of course, the normal day-to-day, life stuff, relationship issues, and family drama.

Confessions of a Call Center Gal was a fun chick lit book that I would categorize as part of a subgenre of “working girl” books, as it mainly focused on Maddy’s job  and the rest of the story, characters, relationships and events revolved around it. Aside from her job, however, prevalent themes include friendship, love and growing up. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has worked in any customer service field before. I think you’ll really get a kick out of some of the incidents and humor. Also, I’d recommend it to anyone not in the customer service industry because I think they will get a taste for how it is on the other side of the phone.   

3 STARS

**Thank you so much to Lisa Lim who provided me with a review e-copy of Confessions of a Call Center Gal. I really appreciated the opportunity and hope to read more books by her in the future. For more information on Lisa Lim, her books, love of Anthropologie or just find out what else she’s been up to, visit her blog, http://confessionsofacallcentergal.blogspot.com/, where you will find all things loved by her, from fashion to food, fiction and more!**