Country Support Specialist: Bash

by | Jun 7, 2019

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We are continuing our global workforce spotlight series (which includes our country support specialists (CSS’s) and country managers) with Bash.

Our global workforce plays a huge role in our ability to manage hundreds of networks and thousands of Contributors across the globe. We asked Bash a few questions so that you can get to know him and his work with Premise. Here is what he had to say:

Where do you live?

I live in the southern part of the Philippines in the Land of Promise, specifically in the only Islamic city in the country—Marawi.

How did you find Premise?

Just after I resigned from my previous company to pursue my studies, I was looking for other ways to support myself so that my parents wouldn’t be worried about me. Once upon a time, an advertisement just popped up on my phone telling me I could earn money just by answering surveys online, so I did. I told myself, “Hey, this has to be the last mobile application I am gonna try. I am tired of being scammed by other fake companies (LOL)”. The tasks are interesting and I was impressed that in just two days, I could already cash-out for the work I had done. It was fun!

What do you do for Premise?

As a Country Support Specialist, I, together with my co-CSSs, communicate with users on a daily basis making sure all of their concerns are addressed. Also, I work hard to make sure our Contributors know the company’s true good reputation in the Philippines.

How long have you worked for Premise?

I have been working with Premise for six months now!

What did you do before you started working for Premise?

I was working as a call center agent for two years, a few months in Teleperformance supporting Time Warner Cable, an American Cable Television Company, and Teletech Pilipinas as a Verizon FiOs Technical Support Specialist. I also worked as a Customer Service Specialist for almost a year at Convergys Philippines (now known as Concentrix) under the Sprint account—these are all located in Cebu. I also do part-time jobs such as being a tutor in basic English grammar, mathematics, proofreading, etc.

What has been your experience with Premise?

It’s been awesome! With Premise, I am able to help make the voices of the Maranao heard and valued at least by answering surveys. While our city was under siege, the world did not understand what was happening. We were quickly displaced from our home and in fact, some still are. But either way, for all of us, it was twice as challenging because as we were working to find a way to return to our normal lives, dissemination of unreliable information and media reports really hurt our recovery. With Premise, I feel relieved to finally be able to share our own thoughts about what is truly happening around us and I am so thankful for it. A company committed to getting reliable data from the first person point-of-view of citizens makes a positive difference for everyone.

What do you enjoy most about working for Premise?

It’s the communication with different CSSs from different regions of the Philippines and other countries around the world that I enjoy most! It is so awe-inspiring! I enjoy meeting new people around the world and I love that we communicate both as friends and close workmates. And I am even more impressed to know there are a few of us CSSs who are Muslims. That’s pretty cool!

What is your biggest challenge working as a CSS?

The biggest challenge in my city is getting in touch with people to become new users. I do not deny people in my own community when they feel apprehensive about something new in our city—it is very understandable that they would want to proceed with caution after everything that has happened here. But as I enjoy telling people, Premise was already live in other countries all over the world before launching here in the Philippines!  Once I have the chance to share facts such as these, I tend to control the discourse and work very hard to encourage them to join.

How do you work with team members that are in other countries?

I reach everybody on slack channels and through Google Hangouts. We communicate on a weekly basis.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love reading books and most of all is reading holy Qur’an. I also like playing chess and other mind games.

What is an interesting or fun fact about yourself?

At school and in my community, I am an active advocate for improving inter-faith peace and dialogue. I would describe myself as the type of person who strongly believes in serving a greater purpose. Just as our Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: ‏

‏ أَجْمِلُوا فِي طَلَبِ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّ كُلاًّ مُيَسَّرٌ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهُ.”‏”

This means to “be moderate in seeking worldly things, for everyone will be facilitated for which he was created.” (Sahih)

So in the end, no matter what religion we believe in, we are all called to pursue peace and tranquility through living our lives with a broader purpose; separate from money, power or any other fleeting desires.

If you are interested in learning more about what Premise does and why our global workforce is critical to our operations, visit www.premise.com. Or if you are interested in becoming a Premise Contributor, download the app from either the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.