Here’s the next installment in our side hustle case study series, where real people share how they make extra money in their spare time!
In this interview, Claire Roach from Daily Deals UK shares her experience working part time from home as a customer service rep.
I’ve seen many home based customer service jobs advertised online, so it was great to finally get the insider scoop from someone who’s worked this job!
Read on to see if this side hustle could be right for you.
How to make money as a home based customer service representative
Please tell us a little about yourself and your side hustle.
My side hustle was working as a ‘home based’ customer services representative for very.co.uk via Arise Virtual Solutions, via Callcatcherz LTD (not as complicated as it sounds).
Arise provide the training, tech support and your pay will come directly from them. So you can consider Arise as a sort of middleman between you and the companies you may be working for. With callcatcherz being your own LTD company without actually having to register one.
How long have you been doing your side hustle? How did you get into it?
I found an advert on the Money Saving Expert work at home boards for home based customer service reps and within 2 months I was all set up and working from home. I started with Arise in 2010 and worked for 7 years. I quit in November 2016 to concentrate on my new project (Daily Deals UK) but I would definitely go back if I needed a 9-5 job again.
What does the work actually involve? What does a typical day/work session look like for you?
You schedule in your hours when they’re released. Usually on a Sunday night, ready for the coming week. You are expected to work a minimum amount per week, which varies from client to client. Certain hours are harder to get hold of such as 6-10pm. Obviously a lot of people who work from home want the shifts when their children are in bed, so you need to snap these up fast.
I worked 16 hours per week and I tried to do around 3 hours per night and then a few on the weekends before we got started for the day, because my children were very little at the time.
How much can you make doing this side hustle?
On average, you can expect to make anywhere from £9 – £12 per hour, depending on how fast you work. I personally earned around £15 per hour. There’s also loads of opportunities to earn more with frequent bonuses and sales incentives!
Are there any start-up costs and/or ongoing expenses with this side hustle?
You must provide your own laptop/PC, a VOIP headset and a non disclosure certificate (£25) you will also have to have a UK LTD company or join one that deals exclusively with Arise. I chose Callcatcherz LTD, they do charge £15 per month, but it’s taken directly from your earnings and their experience and advice is invaluable – particularly for starting up. You also have to pay Arise a £20 fee per month.
Arise also charge for training to be able to join your chosen opportunity. These training courses are all tutor-led, online and cost between £40 and £200.
So, there are quite a lot of fees, no doubt about it but while the startup cost may be a lot, I personally recouped all these costs in my first month’s pay.
The two monthly outgoings of about £35 to Arise and Callcatcherz are tax deductible and still enabled me to earn way above the minimum wage.
What advice would you give to somebody who wants to get started?
Go for it! I was dubious at first with this opportunity, due to the outlay and the unknown, but after a few weeks of researching, I finally took the plunge. I stayed with Arise for 7 years with no regrets! The only reason I quit was to concentrate on my blog, and because 7 years of trying to be nice to people, who were constantly complaining finally took its toll.
There’s plenty of different UK based companies you can apply to join, such as energy providers, catalogue companies and online travel agents.
In summary it’s a fantastic ‘work at home’ job opportunity, the pay’s good, the work is interesting and steady and it’s all done from the comfort of your own home.
Any recommended websites or resources?
http://www.callcatcherz.co.uk/
Where can we find you?
Daily Deals UK – https://www.dailydealsblog.co.uk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/dailydealsblog
Twitter – https://twitter.com/dailydeals_blog
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/dailydeals_blog
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/dailydeals_blog
Thank you Claire for sharing your experience!
£15 per hour is a great rate of pay for a part time job, especially since you can do this from home around your children!
Home based customer service jobs seem to be ideal for work at home mums. There are a few set up costs, so it’s worth doing your research to make sure any opportunities you come across are legit. But it’s great to hear that Claire had a good experience and stayed with her company for several years.
Want more work from home ideas? You can find the other posts in the side hustle case studies series here.
I’m currently looking for more contributions to this series! If you have a unique side hustle you’d like to share, please contact me and let me know what it is!
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Well done Claire for providing that information and to Becca for posting it. I would never even of thought about this as a side hustle but it does have me intrigued. I have a full-time job it is comforting to know there are opportunities out there should the worst happen. My problem would be that I dont have an awful lot of patience so I’m not sure how irate customers would go down with me. Still, it sounds like a great job role all the same, Great post ladies!
Thanks Lee! Yes, it’s great to learn about how many different types of work there are that we can do from home 🙂
Interesting, but I still don’t understand what the job entails. Typing? Replying to emails? Telephone calls? Are you reimbursed for costs? Do they send you a brief each day?
Hi K! the job is customer support by phone. Good question about the costs – Claire mentioned that she had to pay around £35 per month to be a member of the relevant agencies, which is not reimbursed (although it is tax deductible), but I’m not sure about phone costs – I imagine it is just incoming calls so there is no cost to you, but perhaps Claire can confirm!