Much of my day is spent browsing the web in search of new information. I usually dedicate an hour or so to trying to catch up on the latest scams in order to better educate myself to pass the knowledge on to you, my lovely readers. Usually when you come across a blog post or forum thread giving astounding praise to a program, they’re almost always promoting a scam. Even though it’s deceitful, it’s just smart business.
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I came across my first ‘West at Home’ discussion in a forum a few days ago and I didn’t think much of it. The original poster had asked if it was a scam, and the follow-up response denied that claim. There wasn’t any substance there so I carried on about my business. A few days later, I discovered an entire subsection of WAHM.com dedicated to West at Home and that’s when I realized that maybe this is something we should be looking at.
The Program
West at Home hires people as customer service representatives to take inbound calls from home. Those working for West at Home are considered independent contractors and are thus not technically employed by the company, but rather you pick up outsourced work. Essentially, you will be running a customer support call center from your home. There are no start-up fees associated with West at Home other than the required equipment. West at Home requires either a VoIP or landline phone and a broadband internet connection in order to work for them. You probably already have both of these items.
West at Home employs people to do a variety of tasks from their home. These tasks range from customer care, live chat and email, and incoming sales calls. You’ll be assisting a number of companies by handling their customer support. An average day could include assisting an individual with resolving a billing inquiry, helping another customer purchase an accessory for their new wireless phone, or providing assistance/troubleshooting on a non-working product. West at Home offers paid training and claims that if you are qualified, you could be assisting your first customer within days of applying.
If you choose to work with West at Home here are some companies you may be dealing with. Technically, you aren’t supposed to talk about West at Home clients, but this is IveTriedThat.com not FollowTheRules.com.
- HSN
- H&R Block
- Office Depot
- ProFlowers
- Sears Home Repair
- ShopNBC
- Toys “R” Us
- Virgin Mobile
- Walgreens
- Whirlpool
- And more…
Getting Paid
In terms of payment, there doesn’t appear to be a set $/hour number anywhere. I’m assuming you’ll be paid more on the quality and quantity of work that you do. After browsing around for a little I’ve seen some people saying they were receiving anywhere between $0.12 and $0.30 per minute. That sounds incredibly low in terms of cents per minute, but that works out to be anywhere between $7.20 and $18.00 an hour. Again, these are just ballpark figures.
There you have it. West at Home is another legitimate way to make money at home in your spare time. Now I know some of you reading this are currently West at Home contractors. I want to hear your comments below. Let us know, first-hand, what it’s like working for West at Home.
If you work from your home, and you get paid by the phone call not hourly, then why the drug test. I am in my house, not driving, and not smoking pot while working. Can anyone tell me why any company can tell you what to do in your own home? I can understand if your on there property. Just curious
Hello Everyone-
I applied for West at Home in Sept. 2010. They sent me an email on Nov. 2010 with an offer letter. I accepted the offered and filled out all of my new hire info. & I got my I-9 forms notorized & I faxed them back. I haven’t received the info. on paying the $29.95 for the background check yet. Do anyone know how long it normally takes to complete the process for new hire & to receive a start date?
They are ok with some jobs you do for them…I did HSN and the ppl are mostly elderly which I loved because they are so sweet. but the pay sucked and the applications they had me download were always messing my computer up. Then they have an expectation of how long it should take you to talk on a call, and then wrap it up. they can be extremely picky with how you do on schedule adherance and with HSN there was never enough hours everyone was scrambling for hours and some installed bots to automatically get their hours.
I worked Toys R US as well and I was so tired of the middle aged women who called in being rude about their issues and then I was sad at the fact that Toy’s R Us’s customer service , return policies and overall reality of how much they showed they cared for customers sucked…. THE ONLY THING I LIKED IS THAT THEY PAID PER HOUR. but you constantly had tech issues.
Im glad I dont work there any more…
I went to find something different.
Legit company. worked for them for a month. I moved to NY – they dont hire here. no problems and training is paid.
hi, I just received a offer letter from west at home they are asking me to pay 29.95 for a background check is this normal or is this a scam comapny trying to be west at home someone please help Im a stay home mom so I dont want to get scam because that money can go to diapers
I agree with rubyrose54 she said it all perfect down to a t. I worked for them for 2 years, and they just got more picky about how i did my job. I would ask them of I could train in something differant, and then I would get all kinds of pins. and the only people that say yes to the APO’s is little old people that live on SSI and don’t know what they are saying yes to.Yes if you have thick skin, or born with out a heart. This job is perfect for you.
I just recently found out about WAH. I did the application today and did the assessments. I then had to follow a link from my e-mail to install an ActiveX or ActiveControlX or something like that. Then I had to click a button for it to check my system. I installed the ActiveX and then clicked the check button. It didnt do anything but said I could close the window. Now what? Does that mean it checked it or not? Anyone recently applied that can tell me what I do from here? E-mail me a whatawaist at yahoo dot com. Thanks so much!
I would like to know if west take taxes out on their employees and how do I request to change to another work group such as HALO.
would like to talk to a current or former westathome person in regard to PAL or training issue.e-mail me back asap please…..carolynj16@yahoo.com
I started working for West@home in November 2009, This company was a ” JOKE ” from day one. But I needed some income, so I stuck with it, Until I received a call on 07/13/2010, telling me that I was terminated because I didn’t handle a call in a professional manner. More on that later !, As a home agent, you are required to answer incoming calls for products ( i.e. Ab Doers, Rosetta Stone, Redi, Set, Go food Processor, Ninja Food Items, H2O & Shark Mops..UGlue, LipOzene, Time Life CD collections, etc..etc ) and services ( AARP, Health & Life Insurance Companies, Medical Supplies, etc..etc ) most of these are as advertised on TV….for the products, so in other words YOU MUST be a SALES Person, after getting all the pertinent information form the caller, you are then ” required ” to sell UPSELLS ( items to add to the original product that caller called in for. ” This is REQUIRED to be read to caller VERBATIUM to the script, If caller says NO, then there is the “REBUTTALS “..ok after all that, then there are the APO ( Additional Product Offers ), these range from Monthly Entertainment Programs starting @ 24.95 PER Month, Insurance, and Magazines, these ” MUST BE READ VERBATIUM or you will get DINGED and receive a written warning OR a PIN. ( not sure what PIN stands for ) Keep in mind these are ALL added at the end of the call and sometimes there are as many as 5-6 UPSELLS and then 3-5 APO’s. These are all long written and long winded SCRIPTS that must be READ VERBATIUM, by this time the caller is frustrated and confused, But I believe that is what the companies are counting on. If the caller accepts any of these APO’s then there is the additional “LEAGAL ” scripts that must be READ Verbatium..or Once again You will get written up. As far as Hours, this is the BIGGEST JOKE, Good luck IF you can grab any hours to work, They use a Program called SPECTRUM, the company post the available hours when ever, NO set day or time, So you never know when a schedule will be available, Most of the hours I got was from ” TRADE ” other agents posting the hours they decided they did not want or could not work, Apparently there were some agents that had a ” BOT ” working for them to get the hours when posted. Anyways the work time slots are in 30 minute increments. SO IF you get any hours, you may work only 30 mins at a time. I ended up working sporadically through out a day, anywhere from 1 – 7 hours a day. Also, you are paid MINIUM WAGE for your state, If you do get lucky to get a call that might be paying a commission, this is taken into consideration with your weekly quota and is counted as part of your minimum wage rate. In the 9 months I worked I got 2 calls where I received a commission, what a ” joke ” Then there are the DAILY STATS that IF you don’t keep Up with, you again will receive a DING and PIN or be DE-Graded. I was fortunate enough to keep my status as a # 1, and then they keep stats on everything, time, conversations, sells, calls..etc and OH yea, ALL the calls are “Monitored and Listened “. If a PAL listens to a call and doesn’t like the way you handled it or didn’t read a script Verbatim, you get dinged ! Speaking of PALS, another ” Joke ” if you have ” any issues and need help, you are suppose to call a PAL, ” Good Luck ” with that, most don’t know their ass from their elbow and blow you off anyway they can, so you are pretty much left on your own and to figure it out.As a home agent, there are NO BENEIFITS..health, 401k..vacation..etc.Ok, back to my ” TERMANATION ” some “old lady” called in to get information on BCBS Health Insurance, we are required to follow the script and to get, name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, what kind of insurance they are interested in and then ” Transfer the call to a BCBS agent and required to wait for them to pick up the call, so you can sit on hold for up to 5 mins, once they answer, you are then required to give the BCBS agent all the caller’s information. Well, this ” lady ” did not want to furnish any information at all, no first name, no telephone #, no DOB…I was following the scripts and she started ” Screaming and Yelling ” at me, that she didn’t want to give all this personal information and she didn’t want to talk to anyone, just wanted the information to be sent to her in the mail.. as I was trying to explain to her that the information is required, she states to me to ” SHOVE IT UP MY ASS ” this woman was extremely abusive and loud. I had it with her and Yelled back at her, then hung up. Next day I received a call from a PAL and was terminated because I didn’t handle the call in a professional manner. …..G’ grief ” after NINE months on this job and ALL the GOOD CALLS, and GREAT STATS , after One bad call, I was Terminated, I could go on with other trails and trivia about this JOB. But My only advise would be, Unless you are THICK SKINNED, A GOOD SALES PERSON, NEED TO WORK FROM HOME, OR JUST NEED THE $$, PASS ON THIS COMPANY
You can use cable high-speed connection, it is actually the most preferred as satellite can have major issues during episodes of bad weather. Voip is highly discouraged because of its compatibility with West software and various connection issues. You don’t want to be disconnected randomly from both your West connection and phone at the same time or it will look as if you have hung up on the customer – big no no! If you lose your west connect & still have phone line you can instruct them to call back or assist them another way if possible.
Does anyone know whether WestAtHome will let you use the High-Speed Internet that the cable company provides? My wireless internet is the same speed as DSL.
I know West says not to use VoIP and wireless interenet but is there any penalty if you do? I know for me VoIP and wireless are all I have available at this time.
I have been employed with West for the last 3 months. Other than finding it difficult to secure hours sometimes (yes, they do suspect that bots are being used, and have assured me that when they discover one, the employee is automatically terminated, no questions asked) I have had no problems with either the work, or getting paid on time. While some may consider working for their state minimum wage as an insult, I feel as tho the ability for me to work from home, schedule my own hours, and wear my pajamas to work, among other perks, to make my state minimum wage more than acceptable.
West at Home is indeed a legitimate work at home opportunity. The only issues I saw with your original post were,
1.) You are most certainly an employee and furnishing personal information is necessary in order for them to pay you, just like any other company you would work for.
2.) Base pay is what ever your state’s minimum wage is. There are chances to add to that amount through various incentives offered by the client company
3.) Using a VioP is HIGHLY discouraged, as is using any type of wireless connection, as these have to potential to allow the information you gather during the course of a call to be hijacked and compromise the security of said information.
I have been working at west for a few years off and on, I am doing dr right now and I can’t get any hours to work. I wish they would offer another skill like they used to. I love working for them. they are a great company but I am starting to wonder if maybe they’re being outsourced too. I am searching for more work at home opportunities. Anyone have any other options besides West?
I have been hired by WAH for over a month now but have been unable to set up their software in my comp. I have the baisc setup as stated in their , tech requirements but I keep having difficulty w/ the WAH Assistant- it says I need certain apps that I already have. I keep contacting Tech support but they keep giving me the same advice that doesn’t work. I’m really frustrated about this. Any similar experiences or advice out there?
I’ve just trained for the Direct Response, was running out of time and rushed through the last module=FAILED. I hope that I get reconsidered and offered another skill soon. I was so looking forward to coming on board with West; and is now so down and dissappointed. I scored VERY HIGH on most of the training.
Has anyone had this “failed training” experierence, and how long before West sends another skill to train for, other than the six months wait??
I love working for West….just need to get more hours
West is the best! I have been working for them for a few weeks. They have already sent us information about when we will receive our W2s and they offer bonuses and incentives. I started as a DR. But over time, you get the ability to train for other skills. PALS are very helpful and the work is fun! This is a REAL, WAH position and I am very pleased.
I have been employed by West at Home for a few years and I have never had any issues with them. Currently you can only work on projects they invite you on. If you are reliable and dependable and work the hours you sign up for and work really hard, your chances of being picked for a project are really high. As long as the company maintains the relationship with West and offer hours you will be guranteed work. However, keep in mind that sometimes companys pull their contract and often with very little notice so you may be left with periods of time when there is no work to do until you are invited again for the next project. They usually an hourly wage that is at least equal to your state’s minimum wage, but often it’s more and there are always incentives like bonus for signing up hours and for meeting certain service level stats. If you are considering West at Home, you will not regret working there.
Yes, $8 is the standard pay, but on certain nights, they are busier than others, and not a lot of people pick up hours. So they’ll send out a urgent message saying hours may range from $12-16/hr. But it wouldn’t be a everyday thing. Mainly on nights and weekends, It really is a good line group, just wish, I hadn’t of gave up and stuck with it. Because that money could suelr come in handy. Also, ask about a recurring schedule. Those our usually set hours that you pick, and they usually bump your pay up to $10/hr standard.
Certain lines in West@Home are bad some are good. Some pay by the hour (like a normal job) and others pay by the minute (determined by the amount of time you are actually on the phone. The by the hour lines are, of course, a bit higher in demand and harder to get onto. When you start out you’ll be placed onto a basic line that pays by the minute, but you are able to begin applying for newer, more challenging, higher paying, and more satisfying jobs almost immediately. There are lines that are customer service driven such as verizon wireless, whirlpool, and other but there are also lines where you will sell items such as Shop NBC and ProFlowers. Some of the higher paying jobs are also the most challenging and the harder to be accepted to such as H.A.L.O. H.A.L.O agents work through a company called Intercall assisting with corporate conference calls. You’ll take calls where you will have to ask the person for various pieces of information and be expected to maintain a nearly perfect level of professionalism and quality. All lines have a set of PALs that assist you. PAL stands for Performance Assessment Liaison and they do just that. They help you out with any questions you may have but they also evaluate you as you grow as West At Home agent.
Thanks Sam!! How did you make 16 an hour? They told me 8???
I worked for West at Home Citi Cardmember Services. And that line group was awfully hard. I worked in a bank for 2 years, but it is different being on the phone. It was frustrating with the calls because even though I passed all training, it is still hard helping the customers. So I just got fed up and quit scheduling hours. But I wish I hadn’t of done that and just stuck with it. Because the paid very well… Some nights you would work and get $16.25/ hr…. That was great… I didn’t receive another skill for a few months, but I kept bugging then saying I would like another one, and now I am training for Toy R Us, so I am sticking with this one…. Just take my advice, and don’t give up on a skill even if it’s hard. Because they never really bugged me about my performance, it was just frustrating, not being able to help a customer, like i know they deserved to be helped….
Is there anyone out there working for Citibank CLG thru West?
I have been working for west for a year now and love it !!! I get paid by the hour weather im on a call or not so its great for a stay at home mom like me.
I worked for West and thought it was a big waste of my time. They pay for “talk minutes” not for the time you are logged on and ready to take calls. While I was able to secure as many hours as I wanted – about 25 hours per week, they always had to round up my pay to the level of minimum wage. I typically saw about $40 on a pay check and I still believe that was not adequate compensation for the time that I sat at my computer waiting for or actually taking a call.
Hello I received an email stating that West wanted to talk with me about a “touchpoint interview” Could someone advise me on what to look for?
i CURRENTLY WORK FOR wesT AND I LOVE IT. bEEN WITH THEM SINCE JAN. AND I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM GETTING HOURS. TRAINING WAS VERY HELPFUL FOR THE SKILL THAT YOU CHOOSE. SO I GIVE THEM A 10 OUT OF 10.
West is great I have been working for West for almost 10 months now and I have yet to have any problems. The upsells suck because you might feel like you are suckering a customer into buying extra crap but if the customer doesn’t want it then they should say no. Pay is minimal… but if you are a say at home mom it is great shopping money. I have had checks as high as $350 for just sitting there during the holiday season because agents are not working and customers are not calling.
The hiring process with WAH is very long, especially nowadays. They are very backlogged with so many people out of work and the economy a lot of people looking to pick up extra money. I applied in Nov. 08 and didn’t get hired until Jun 09. I have a question for current and prior WAH agents…..
I am just about to finish up training. I saw someone else post here that she got to select which company she wanted to work for? She suggested Verizon? Well, WAH didn’t give me a choice, they selected a company for me. The company I’m working for requires the minimum # of hours as 25. I only wanted to work 20 hours/week, but opted to go along with because I need the money. WAH also put me with a mortgage company and the training is very tedious. Loads of mortgage terms, I’m very nervous about going live as there is so much to remember and know. Anyway, my question is; Do I have to stay with with this a client once we’re trained? After I’ve been a WAH agent for a while can I train and switch to another client?
When I asked my WAH moderator she indicated “no” as this client needs very proficient agents. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed as once we start working live, the pay is only $8.00/hr. Seems awfully low considering everything we need to know. I take it other clients pay more. I’d feel more comfortable with a catalog sales company I think.
West is a legit company. I know this bc I worked in one of their call centers for over half a year. I was making 11.50 an hour. I’m confident that anything West hires for is not a scam.
I haven’t worked at home but from what I’ve heard is that the pay will vary greatly. If there was a fixed pay of 10 per hour or more than that would interest me considering that working in call centers usually suck.
Regular in-building csrs-
The shifts are very manageable even for a regular employee. There is a website where you can offer to give your time away to other CSRS if something comes up or you can even pick up extra time.
(I’m not sure if WAH employees are granted the same thing.)
Training is paid for around 9 bucks an hour and lasts a few weeks or so.
Ok, I just read everyones post, my question is I applied online, then they sent me an email link to a certification module, where I had to do 7 units and pass with 80% or higher and only had two chances to pass. I passed all of these modules and I recieved a certificate, and in the email it said “Please wait for further communication from West at Home as to the next steps in the application process.” Is this the process you guys got? Is this when it takes a while for them to send something form of communication?
I’m excited to start working for them, but how do I know if I will beable to?
I started working at west from home over a year ago then damage to my home from hurricane ike let me no choice but to resign since you can’t use wireless that isn’t dsl. I hear they currently have a waiting list but if you have applied you can return to the same apply link and click I’m returning which gives you the status of your application if it is your first time working for them. I’ve been trying to get back in since march and have been unsuccessful. which is crazy because the first time I got my hire e-mail within two days. But I never had problems getting hours it just depends on what company you pick virgin mobile always has hours. They pay 7.50 for activations and if you do good for 3 months or even if not they will offer you a 9.00 AYS position. So keep trying just have to catch them when they need people for all questions on applications call Randy at Human Resources 402-571-3200
I also applied with WAH over a month ago,recieved the email about if I speak Spanish also.. I have emailed several times have yet to hear anything else from them either.
I applied in Dec 08. I got no reply to my first 2 emails got a auto reply to yesterdays email. Than things started looking up called 877 # left a message got a call back within 1/2 hr got info I needed to resend to them. I will be faxing tomorrow. Hope this works out need a little extra grocery money.
i work for w*st and its well worth it i payed fot the equipment i had to have A 1OOO TIMES OVER i been with them sense january. and i agree someone is using a bot program to grab hrs but i have also been told when caught using s bot u will no longer be employed by w*st. so maybe theyll be caught soon cause it sure does mess up the spec causeing denial of services to the rest of us. udp flood is what u need to watch for on the spec when ur hitting the hrs just monitor ur firewall ull see the same.
I work for west at home also. I agree the work is easy the only things that is diffcult is getting hours. The hours disappear faster then most computers because they have too many reps or some have some program that picks the hours for them. So for some it is really hard to even get 10 hours a week.
I was hired in December and completed my training the end of January. I was told I would receive my passwords to begin taking calls within a few days and I am still waiting. It is now March 16th. I have phoned them at least 6 times and e-mailed them over this problem and it has still not been resolved. Over the phone, I’m told that there is a problem with the company I trained with releasing the passwords. West does not allow you to switch to another company until you have proved yourself with the company you trained on. No one has responded to my e-mail. It’s extremely frustrating when I went out and bought a phone with a head set jack, a headset, a second phone line, and faster internet service. West at Home did say the second line is optional but the phone company said I couldn’t cancel call waiting and put it back on each time I worked. I like the call waiting feature so I got the second line. So far I spent more money than I have made. They did pay me every other week as scheduled with direct deposit. No problems there. If I could actually begin working, I think it might be a good source of income for a SAHM. Friends told me they think West is waiting for hours from the company and keeping employees “on deck” so they are ready. If that is the case it would have been nice to know instead of employees thinking that as soon as they are trained, work is waiting for us!
The only inaccuracy in your report is that West hires EMPLOYEES not independent contractors! You are guaranteed minimum wage for hours chosen to work if the calls don’t come in. Flexible 24/7 shifts.
I work for WAH and I love it!!! I’m not going to get rich doing it but for a SAHM it is exra spending money for my family that is super easy to earn :)
I have been working for West for a few months now. Love the job and its worth the wait for them gettong back to you, all i had to do was buy some phone equipment and the extra money is great !!! I have 2 small kids at home and I am able to work around my schedule !! very happy with West !!
I applied for west they e-mailed me back and i just now finished the “paper”work the sent me a link to.soo i guess if i was signing stuff and my ss number and tax stuff i got the job..idk how the hiring process actually works..iam soo glad i found this site because i was a lil worried bout this..i already got scammed 4 times by work at home jobs. i hope i can do this full time
I work there currently and have liked it. I was worried to a first about sending my information in but it is legit and they need that information to finalize the hiring process. I work about 10-15 hours a week and it is nice to have some extra money coming in during these hard times. I also work a full time job for another work at home program so I already had the items needed and plus I do not have anything but taxes come out of this so it is like I am getting my gross rather than insurance and other things coming out of it. If you are god at customer service and can read verbatim it is a good job. I really like it.
I also applied with WAH back in November 2008 and send all my information to them. Just like you Elizabeth I keep emailing them but I have not heard anything back from them either.
Elizabeth Simmons im like you they took all my info and i never heard back from them except they wanted to know if i spoke spanish and game me a spanish interview after that i heard nothing
I applied to WAH back in April 2008 and have yet to hear anything from them. I keep emailing them but never get a response. I don’t what the hold up is, but they a least let me know something.
I use to work for the West call center in Baton Rouge. They closed the Baton Rouge location. Many of the former employees are now doing the West at Home. It is a good company to work for. I am in the process of trying to get on as a home agent. I am not sure about the pay. As a agent at their call center my base pay was 7.45 but could pick up hours making 12.00. You also set your own schedule which is a plus.
I have applied to west at home and am leary about sending my personal information, ss number etc. I assume it is okay?
West At Home is a pretty good gig. I do it part time, about 5 to 10 hours per week. Some of the client companies pay by the minute and some pay a set wage by the hour. Training is paid and at your own pace. I have a dedicated phone line for WAH (recommended) so that there are no interruptions when I’m providing customer service. The only upfront costs for me were the phone line (optional, because you could technically disable the call waiting, etc., on your main line), a good headset, and a decent phone with a headphone jack. Many folks may already have these things, so the cost is minimal. WAH has a pretty good support system for any questions you have along the way – you get to speak to actual humans. They pay promptly every two weeks by direct deposit.
However, because it is a pretty good company to work for, the positions are pretty competitive. It’s possible that you might wait several weeks before you are contacted for an interview. Don’t let that discourage you, though. It’s worth taking the time to apply.