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Have you ever sat in your customer service call center cubicle and said to yourself, ” Hey, I could easily do this at home!” Well you were right. The internet and innovative companies like Alpine Access have made it possible to work a regular, legitimate job like customer service or technical support from home. Alpine Access is not a scam at all. I know because I worked for them briefly and this article will share about my experience: the application process, pros, cons and why I’m no longer working there.

The Application Process

I will discuss the application process briefly because you can find all the minute details on the company website. The first thing to know is that there is an application process and a competitive one at that! Their site says they get 100,000 applications per year! The key to get through this process is to approach it like applying for any other job. Tailor your resumé to show your customer service experience, if you speak another language well then tell them.

After submitting your resumé you’ll go through a training which ensures you understand the role of a Customer Service Professional with Alpine Access along with their expectations. Their training format is the best in the industry and the application training gives you a taste of it.

Once you finish the training module you will need to write an essay. In this essay you should demonstrate that you were paying attention during the training and that you understand that although you are working from home, it is a real job and should be treated like one.

If this goes well you will be scheduled for a phone interview. Prior to this phone interview you will need to have your office set up which includes a land line, a headset and computer with the certain specifications that can be found on the website. At some point in this process you will need to pay for a background check. The fee when I worked there was $45 and it’s non-refundable, but you don’t need to pay it until you are closer to getting the job.

Once you get to the phone interview you are doing well and you need to just not blow it at this point. Make sure you sound professional and that you can speak English. Alpine Access is an American company that takes pride in leading the home-shoring movement!

Now if you’ve made it through the rigorous application process let’s talk about the pros on what happens once you are on the inside.

Pros of Working at Alpine Access

1. Regular Paychecks: First and foremost Alpine Access is a real company that pays real pay checks via direct deposit every other week. So for those of you that love regularity,there it is.
2. Paid Training: In the online world this can be tough to find but Alpine Access offers it, no questions asked, just like a job in the brick and mortar world. The training is set up like a class and there are rigorous exams that you can lose your job if you fail, but there is so much help it’s practically impossible to fail, unless you just want to.
3. Health Benefits : After 30 days of employment you are eligible for employee health benefits. I forget but I think you do have to pay for them but the costs aren’t prohibitive.
4. Work with Fortune 500 companies: When I was there, I worked on the Xbox campaign as a Technical Support person. Other opportunities included J. Crew,Sprint and more.
5. Having Coworkers: A lot of times working from home can be lonely but there is chat available and a social networking hub so you can feel connected. There is also a supervisor on hand to answer questions.

Cons of Working at Alpine Access

1. A set schedule: This can be a pro if you like this kind of thing, but I felt it was restrictive. You choose your shift during the application process and you are committed to that time for a while, at least a few months I think. You also can’t miss any days for the first 30 days. Which is true of a regular job as well. Also part time was considered 30 hours per week. So either way this job requires a big time commitment. You may get stuck working holidays if the holiday falls on your scheduled shift.
2. Low Pay: Yes the checks are regular but the exchange is that the pay is low. The training pay is minimum wage for your state and then after that it might go up a couple of dollars depending on which job you are on and your time with the company.
3. Zero Noise Tolerance: This one is obvious for a call center position, but for me as a mother of 2 really young children at the time, it was nearly impossible to keep them quiet when they were supposed to.
4. It’s just like a regular job: If this is your thing then it’s a pro. But as a con that means sometimes you get bored, there’s office politics, you might feel underpaid and under-appreciated and you may start to feel like a prisoner in your own home.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a legitimate work at home call center position then Alpine Access is definitely the way to go. They really are the best in this arena and even announced that recognition on the Times Square big screen. The training is solid and thorough and you have a chance to work with big name companies even at home.

It wasn’t for me personally because I am a stay at home mom and my children were really young at the time. That meant I had and still have tons of background noise. I also needed more flexibility in the times I could and I also needed to do something that could be disrupted often but still allowed me to make money. Thankfully, I have found a business that really is conducive to stay at home motherhood. Later I will talk about other work at home companies such as Arise and West at Home.