Our un-named friend and several others thought that this would serve as an excellent way of introducing new characters. Additionally, it would focus on one of those industries that seem to be growing throughout the world. Someone even suggested that this could facilitate (I'm even starting to write like a call centre manager) the much-awaited cameo of Julie Walters as a trainer or supervisor.
What do we think? Has the vision of women (and a man) slumped over sewing machines had its day? Could the Coronation Street producers get more mileage out of a more '21st century' industry? Or should they leave well alone and let the workers carry on stitching? Over to you!
20 comments:
problem with a call centre is no one can chat with each other as the do now so apart from introducing new charactors, and they could do that with filling the flats in Victoria Street, no action would take place there. What about turning it into a boutique hotel?
What would Carla do? And also...we'd miss out on all the knicker puns.
As Steve said, yes, there wouldn't be as much day to day chat and gossip in a call centre as they really are strict about that in call centres and are on the phone most of the time.
Sounds totally boring to me. I just hope they don't go ahead with these plans, as I don't want anyone ringing me from anymore call centres as I am sick of those nasty devious phone calls ha ha!!
I think better than a call centre would be for an 'Underworld Factory Shop' to open to the trade and public. This would require those chirpy factory workers taking turns working in the shop part, while the rest of the staff are making the knickers. we could have sean or someone taking the knickers from the factory into the shop section, and I think it would turn out to be excellent fun and great storylines. There's only one way to know... try it out and see if the staff shout!
Keeping the factory going for many years will still be Corrie to me. Take it away, and you might as well call Corrie something else which is not appealing. The factory is part of Corrie and without it would be so boring and especially, using a call - centre. Whatever next?
Yes it's so realistic for the workers in the factory to be chatting away, whilst sewing delicate fabric and using machinery that can do a lot of damage to your fingers. People in Call Centres do have breaks and yes, there are even times when not everyone is on a call. The Street does not seem to worry too much about realism in the workplace, so I don't think the gossip would stop. Stories could even arise from the calls that are answered.
Coronation Street has to change with the times to some extent and it is simply ridiculous to pretend that t'Faktry could survive in 2011. There is not one clothing factory in Leeds any more and I would bet a lot of money that there is not one in Manchester either.
What would Carla do? Well she could find something better suited to her talents. She is an appalling Manager and worse business woman. Anyone with an ounce of business acumen would have transferred the operation to China years ago.
Carla would be responsible for making sure her chatty staff meet their targets. As for those who think "the girls" wouldn't be able to chat and goof off, let's remember that this is a soap, not a real call centre, and I'm pretty sure that people working in "real" factories making underpants [a] are child labour in China or India, not the UK and [b] are likely not allowed to use the bathroom, never mind run off for appointments, chit-chat, and take tea/cake breaks. I think change is necessary and good and the humour potential attached to commenting about callers is endless!
Stupid idea - leave well alone. There is plenty in the programme at the moment that is broken and needs fixing and attention should be paid to those items, not the factory.
It is time the factory went. It belongs in the last century.
The Factory and the way it's run are pure 70s. I'm surprised they don't listen to the Sex Pistols whilst sewing orange hot pants.
In 1961, homosexuality and abortion were illegal and it was difficult and expensive to get divorced. Why is it OK for the Street to reflect social changes but the Factory must stay forever in its time warp? Carla is Mike Baldwin in a skirt.
Don't people realise that a call centre will be noisy, the Corrie actors involved won't be able to communicate as much as they do now until they are on their breaks, and at present, you see the factory staff in groups now and again and you won't see that as much. Maybe times do have to change, but I think they need to use something where all the staff can still moan, argue (or disagree etc), or have a laugh while they continue to work as they do now. A call centre is just going to ruin Corrie.
I've got it, I've got it infact, I've got a better idea than a call centre... Why not turn Underworld into a place where charity bags have been collected from outside of people's houses by the pick - up drivers? This happens every day throughout the country in places, and these bags need to be sorted out but who by? Well, the answer to that is no better than the Underworld staff. In other words, once the bags have been collected they will need to be sorted, graded and recycled or sold for reuse by the Corrie cast. Sophie and the others could also get involved, if Underworld opens a charity shop next door re -selling the sorted out clothes etc. This could help to boost charities up in this country too as viewers will know more of how charities work.
Clearly people do not like change. Reading these comments it's a wonder we don't all still live in caves and wear woad.
A call centre will be noisy! Hmm. Not like a factory full of sewing machines then, because they make no noise at all.
I agree that some of the negative comments appear to reflect resistence to change rather than whether or not it's a feasible idea. I also think the "Stupid idea" comment just wasn't necessary.
I hate ringing Call Centres, why would I want to watch it on screen? I agree it takes away the characters interplay and a lot of dialogue will be the irrelavant "How can I help you"?
I like the old-World charm of the factory. I like the that the factory is seperate from anything I ever have to deal with in my life and it won't jog my memory to my awful Call Centre experiences.
If it were to change (I do not want it to), it should be something with a similar set-up, like a factory kitchen or homegoods factory (pottery anyone?) or something where the cast are the main focus and can interact. Carla is the best and must remain at the helm of whatever it is.
The last thing they need is more characters, the cast is huge already and storylines are thin on the ground for some.
For those that suggest a call centre... How could a call centre open and use the same people with NO EXPERIENCE, from a knicker factory? No, i think a Charity Sorting Centre or whatever it is called as earlier mentioned (5 August 2011 11:26) would be the best thing to change the factory if it does happen to get changed and hopefully, it doesn't. This idea could show the same factory staff chatting while sorting out old charity donated clothes etc, and either putting them into boxes or throwing them away while Kirk could load them into a van for sending to a charity shop unless they used one in Coronation Street.
Does anyone read anybody else's comments? There is absolutely no reason why a Call Centre should mean no gossip. It's fiction, not a documentary about Call Centres. In a real sewing machine factory, no-one would be talking a) because of the noise and b) because they would need to achieve a quota.
As for people having no Call Centre experience, didn't Eileen miraculously get her hands on a sewing machine with no experience or training?
Carla is a caricature of an employer who would have bankrupted the factory in less than a week in reality. Every time she opens her mouth, it's a joke, as is the Factory. They might as well be sitting at spinning wheels. It would be just as credible.
I have stared several times at the call centre photo, and I am imagining that hayley and the others are all sitting on their seats in the seperate cubicles or whatever they are called. What is the camera and microphone operators going to do . . . walk around filming and recording each person involved from one cubicle to another? It just seems to be a daft idea to me!
Gossiping on tea breaks does not amount to meaningful interactions between characters. Corrie works because of the insular feel of it, there is no real outside world. They live in each others pockets which leads to a more highly charged environment. New cast only come into it to fill out a story for an established cast member. The writers need to keep it like a fishbowl.
Having the insular Corrie characters talking to faceless people outside of the environment dilutes the attachments and scriptwriting.
As I said previously, if it is to change, it should be like for like -factory for factory.
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