The consultant, Melissa (not her real name), was a curly blond lady who looked like she's in her forties. She had a gentle, soothing Southern accent which I loved hearing. I usually panic a lot during my calls, but I felt calmer when she was assisting me. Her approach was different in that she didn't give any negative comments about the way I handled the calls. The first thing she asked was if she made me nervous, and I said no. During the calls, she just calmly gave me instructions whenever I needed it. And when she handled one call, I didn't feel like we were pressured by the time. And the way she talked was simple and straight to the point, but polite. She told me to take a deep breath so that I won't panic. But it meant a lot to me when she told me that other than the fact that I panic, I'M JUST DOING FINE.

Later, my coach told me that Melissa suggested that somebody should buddy up with me to help my poor retention. But Coach also said that they cannot guarantee that management will allow this, especially now that it's peak season for calls and we're already shorthanded. So I don't know what's going to happen. In the meantime, I'm trying to list down the length of each and every call that I have for the day, in minutes. That way I am always aware of the time. I also list down the concern of each call, to know the type of calls I'm having a hard time with and go over them with my coach. Coach already made a personal tracker sheet for me. I don't know if this is going to work, but I have to do something. I'm already dragging the team's handle time down. I have to do my share of the load.