Tristam Vivian Adams - The Psychopath Factory: How Capitalism Organises Empathy

The Psychopath Factory

Tristam Vivian Adams

The Psychopath Factory

How
Capitalism
Organises
Empathy

Each day millions and millions of calls, emails and letters flood into the Red Tower Novelties Ltd Customer Service Department. It is a call centre that also deals with written correspondence. Employees are expected to be flexible and good at multitasking. The purpose of the call centre is, of course, customer service: caring about and listening to customers and solving their problems. In a way the Customer Service Department the call centre offers relationships, empathy, sympathy and understanding. But this is all it can offer. This is because the company that owns and operates the call centre, Red Tower Novelties Ltd, has not provided good service or satisfactory products. Many of its products are defective and do not operate as they should. In fact, the products of Red Tower Novelties Ltd are dangerous. On many occasions the products of Red Tower Novelties Ltd have been known to malfunction, causing injury or harm. So as you can imagine, the call centre needs to offer its customer services to the millions and millions of customers that call or write letters detailing their distress, injury, loss or bereavement. The predicament for the workers inside the call centre is that Red Tower Novelties Ltd will not allow full refunds, replacements, compensation or likewise. The company has accepted that it cannot fulfil the promises made by them, and expected by their customers. Red Tower Novelties Ltd knows its products are dangerous but cannot do anything about it. Hence, the large call centre, the Customer Service Department of Red Tower Novelties Ltd, is very busy. Some of the more cynical managers in the call centre refer to the situation as fire-fighting, but most are more positive and describe the task at hand as a reactive management of consumer expectations.

For the people that work there, a large part of the job is looking at photos of injuries that customers may have experienced as a result of the failed products as well as listening to the customers grievances on the phone. Many newbies get a little upset at first. They panic or collapse in tears. In fact, many of the staff experience some form of mental and emotional breakdown. A common complaint is that the working conditions are stressful, but this isnt really the case. The working conditions are only the way they are so that employees can work in the most efficient and productive manner. Being organised and managing ones workload is the best way to combat stress.

Each time a new case arrives the photographic evidence pops up on the employees computers not dissimilar to a pop-up advert you see on the Internet. As you can imagine, the customer complaints come in thick and fast and employees may see a lot of images showing various injuries that result from faulty products. When a particularly important case, a high level case, comes in, alarms sound to alert employees. Of course, only the most serious of cases warrant this. Naturally, this alarm is different to the fire alarm that sounds each week in accordance with the current health and safety regulations. The headsets of each employee also beep when their cases receive follow up emails. This helps each employee manage their workload and operate efficiently; it helps them plan their time.

Visibility and knowledge sharing are key values at Red Tower Novelties Ltd. The employees often pin photographs and printouts of various mishaps and accidents on notice boards. These activities are important. The more intensive the knowledge sharing (and the greater the experience base) the better employees are at offering customers the good service and support they need. The managers all help too. Fun music is played to boost energy levels and encourage team spirit. When targets are hit, or when an employee closes a particularly troublesome case, they announce the employees success in bulletin emails and write the employees name in big letters on notice boards. Recognising success is important. It ensures members of the team are aware of each others achievements. The managers are very friendly. Red Tower Novelties Ltd is a very relaxed place to work. No one would call anyone Boss or Sir. It is like we are one big team, all on the same level, rather than a hierarchical company. Not like school where you had to watch what you said all the time. No, it is not like that here. At Red Tower Novelties Ltd the managers are on first name terms with everyone just like we are with them. They banter and joke and so do we. The managers often arrange team-building exercises. Occasionally a manager will vanish, just like that. Without a goodbye or anything. No one knows why. And anyway, the other managers are always there to offer support. Occasionally managers ask for favours of course everyone is happy to help, because they are so friendly and help so much too. It is not uncommon to see managers silently mouthing helpful advice to the call centre employees whilst they are tackling a particularly challenging phone call with an upset customer.

The newbies who panic and collapse really have no reason to. They are just too sensitive, highly strung or not cut out for the job. Panicking doesnt help anyone and these newbies certainly arent helping anyone if they cant keep a lid on it. The best way to stay relaxed is to keep on top of the work. It is best to just keep calm and carry on with the task at hand. Red Tower Novelties Ltd has certainly implemented robust and transparent measures that ensure their employees work in the most productive and efficient manner possible. By giving employees the help they need, by enabling knowledge sharing and encouraging team spirit, they can work well. Being in control of ones workload and being able to successfully manage expectations is key to morale. The only criticism one could have for the Customer Service Department at Red Tower Novelties Ltd would be that the lighting isnt always perfect. You see, up on the ceiling, in between the large grey tiles, there are long halogen lights. Many of these lights flicker. Not all the time, but intermittently. Every now and then they would start flickering for a few minutes then stop. You probably wont be surprised to hear that the call centre is quite large, and that because of this there is always a flickering light in sight. This isnt the fault of Red Tower Novelties Ltd but perhaps that of the contractor that Business Space Solutions Department of Maintenance and Servicing has employed to provide the lighting. Also, by coincidence, the Red Tower Novelties Ltd Customer Service Department happens to be located in a region prone to intense lightning storms. Of course, you cant blame them for that. Red Tower Novelties Ltd are not responsible for the weather!

Norman Bates from Hitchcocks Psycho (1960); Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris novels (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising); Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmiths The Ripley Omnibus; Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov from Fyodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment (1993 [1866]), or perhaps Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov from The Brothers Karamazov (1997 [1880]). There is Patrick Bateman from Bret Easton Elliss American Psycho (2000), Dr Jed Hill from Harold Beckers Malice (1993), Simon from Antonio Camposs Simon Killer (2012), Asami from Takashi Miikes Audition (1999), Rhoda Penmark from The Bad Seed (1956), Kevin from