Money talks
The small office set up in the street-facing window at 594 Dundas St. W. looks like a typical corporate call centre—phones ringing, codes of conduct pinned to the wall, cubicle partitions, office supplies. But the staff here don’t want to sell anything. They just want to talk.
Inspired by a frustrating telebanking experience and her own confusion over the global economic slowdown, artist Angel Chen salvaged furnishings from downsized offices to transform the small, street-level space in the Whippersnapper Gallery into the Candid Call Centre. The centre is dedicated to chatting with strangers about the economy and demystifying terms like “austerity” and “bailout package.”
Chen has promoted the centre via public postering and Craigslist ads, but keeping inbound calls coming has been a challenge. So new strategies have been deployed, like cold-calling people who solicit financial advice on Craigslist. “To call without a clear purpose is a bizarre experience,” said “economic spatialist” Alison Creba, “so it was awkward at first. But towards the end, most are enthusiastic and say I could call back any time.”
The conversations (about five to 10 a day) have been varied. They’ve received calls from lawyers and recent immigrants. One real-estate agent felt that with the constant immigration influx, there was no chance of a Toronto housing crisis. Meanwhile, a woman in Guelph whom Chen found selling her shoe collection over Craigslist hung up when “call centre” was mentioned.
It goes to prove Chen’s hypothesis: When you talk to a stranger without any motives, the experience is, if nothing else, candid.
The Candid Call Centre will be open until April 28, Thursday to Sunday, between 1 and 7 p.m. Call 1-888-335-9780.
My writing at Spinner