I sincerely hope that you are not at work now and writing this while on company time. The majority of res agents at usairways do not have access to the internet and even if they did, your activity if done at work, would be cause for being put on a disciplinary level, if not fired.
The res agents at usairways did not receive any more training than 4-6 weeks depending on when they were hired. The job itself is learned while taking calls. There is no way possible to cover every possible scenario while in class. Maybe the main difference is that when we were hired we did not look at it as only a job. Most planned to retire from U and thought of it as a career. In hind sight we should have looked at it as only a job.
We have been subjected to monitoring and metrics for years. Get used to it or leave. The metrics have never been fair or always able to be maintained/attained. Those that put them in place don't do the job and in some cases have listened and sat with reps for a short time to determine how long a call should be and how much time you should have to complete the call.
All res reps have been cussed/yelled at at some time in their tenure. You get used to it and just go on along to the next call.
You are the first line of contact for many of USAirways passengers. What you do and how you do it reflects on the company for many consumers. You must handle the call and if you don't know/can't find the answer you have resources available other than "I don't know" or "let me transfer you". Find the answer (call assist desk/spvr) and you will know for the next caller that asks. Many times the answer is in Sabre, but is difficult to find. Most of us, in the days of past, when it wasn't busy, spent time looking thru the system trying to acquaint ourselves with where you could find information. We kept notes where to find information, not the answers, because it is constantly changing.
Bottom line, for most of the res agents at USAirways, it was a career, one we planned to stay with til retirement until it became all too apparent that we were unwanted by management. They kept stripping away the benefits until there was little to keep those that were proficient and experienced. There is only so long that you want to work night shifts, weekends and holidays with reduced compensation. We stayed with the hope that with many years on the job, we would see better shifts, days off, holidays that never materialized or once attained were taken away.
Now, take that call that has been on hold while you played online posting.