Arise.com is a well known name in the home based call center business. Their representatives are required to create their own business entities (S Corp or LLC) to work for the firm. That makes it absolutely clear that the call center reps are not “employees”.
It’s nice to hear about real people who work for the firm and in this industry so I thought I’d pass along this story from New Jersey:
The Arise business plan is simple: The company will train and certify people who are looking to work for themselves from home for a fee of about $100. It then connects those agents with large companies, like Walgreens and Home Depot, that are looking to outsource their customer service, IT or sales operations.
With an initial investment of a few hundred dollars, which includes the training and some materials, just about anyone with a computer and desire to set their own work schedule can become an “Arise certified professional.” Essentially, it means incorporating on your own and getting work through Arise’s pipeline of organizations that seek independents to handle customer service, sales or technology jobs. For an hourly wage and no benefits, trained agents can make their own hours and work from home.
Clifton’s Jasmin Pirkl, at the urging of a friend, became an Arise agent last year to supplement her full-time work as a customer service agent for Delta Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport. These days, when she’s not dealing with complaints about lost luggage or late arrivals, she’s often talking from home with Walgreens customers who need help using automated prescription services or digital photo software.
Pirkl works from home for the drugstore chain for somewhere between 20 and 30 hours each week, usually earning about $400 weekly before taxes.
“I love it,” says Pirkl. “I get to make my own hours and make some money from my own home.”
Related Links: One of the problems with many work at home call center positions is “down time” when you’re not earning income. Check out Legit Online Jobs for ways to earn money from home during this “downtime”.
Arise.com - Real Stories About Their Workers on August 17th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
[...] post by Chuck and software by Elliott [...]
David on March 12th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
NOT as great as it sounds. After spending a ton of cash to start a corporation and pay for their “Training” I have yet to earn a single dime. This is after 4 months. What they don’t tell you when you sign up is that they are also signing up hundreds and probably thousands of other people that you will have to compete with to get accepted to to service a client, which usually only have a few open spots, and these spots are usually gone within 5 seconds of opening. Then if by some miracle you do grab one of the spots you still have to pass the screening for the client, and if you don’t pass they tell you that you didn’t meet the requirements but won’t tell you which requirements you didn’t meet.
Also the only responses you ever get are the same canned responses that everyone gets. “There are limited spots and lots of people trying”
If you are looking to make any income within 6 months of starting look elsewhere.
Oh and you also have to pay for the training that you take for every new client that you want to work for which are in the $200-$250 range.
Waste of money if you ask me.
Suzette on August 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Arise is a good work from home opportunity. It is crucial to understand that your individual success will depend on how hard you work- nothing will be handed to you. As an agent with Arise, you are considered self employed. The biggest perk is that you get to choose the clients to work for and when you work. This is especially helpful when you are trying to find that work / life balance.
You will see many companies when you search work from home. However, Arise was the first and they have proven longevity. They also pay better than the competitors