The night before Typhoon "Milenyo" hit Metro Manila, call center management was preparing what was needed. Shuttles were being scheduled and ready to be deployed to pick up personnel, some who had a disaster recovery center were on stand-by, and most were expecting a high rate of absenteeism. But, not a lot was prepared for what was the worst typhoon, since it was about 11 years when we had the same magnitude.
It was about 11am, most were traveling back home from their shift, some had just arrived for the next shift and everybody thought it was the usual rain. My phone started ringing, a lot of text messages had been received and I just had about a few hours sleep. The “eye” of the storm is close by and will hit the city soon. Decisions had to be made.
Training classes had to be cut short and all were cancelled. A lot of personnel couldn’t travel because it was flooded in their area, roads were blocked by fallen trees or the wind was too strong, making it unsafe. We started calling clients informing them to route calls elsewhere.
Then, the unthinkable happened --- the whole city’s power was cut off.
Despite of the generators, most had no systems up and the phones were down. Electricity was focused in operations and admin work had to be stopped. People who were in the building were scared to use the elevators, because some were stranded already.
Telecommunications was impacted; even mobile phones received intermittent signals. Those that were stranded in the centers had to wait until the typhoon passed. Management had to keep everyone calm. Games were played, coaching sessions were done, team building activities started and everyone just bonded.
It was just a few hours ago when our power was restored. I spent the night in a hotel and boy, were they booked! Like my other colleagues, we were all exhausted and couldn’t wait to feel the comfort of our beds. But, the sacrifice was worth it because all our personnel were safe and sound and this was what mattered most.
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