SOLVED. Female CSR (cust svc rep) works for online company trying to become monopoly for buying anything. She works long hours to provide feedback & ratings. Government uses this technology. Set in US (San Francisco?). Read 2015-2018. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Fred]

The book revolves around a CSR (someone who assists people online to purchase something, or find something). She is relatively young, high teens or very early 20's. Might be her first job. And someone in the company is mentoring her and making things happen career wise for her that keeps her moving quickly upward with more responsibilities. This company is all on-line and all work is performed online and over the phone.

The company is working toward being an online monopoly for purchasing anything. They are fanatical about customer service and have a terrific reputation about their service, returns, and ask customers to provide real time feedback on virtually every interaction with someone in the company.
This expands to 'encouraging' (pressure from management almost makes it a requirement) not only to push customers to get the feedback, but she is asked to provide feedback & rating for every interaction she has with anyone else in the company.

She gets extra points (which she can spend on campus) from obtaining more feedback from anyone outside the company with whom she interacts - including personal interactions.
The company created a campus where everything is available for free: dorm rooms,gym, child care, education, movie theaters, restaurants, bars, healthcare, company clothing all designed to 'encourage' you to stay on campus and be less connected to any life away from the company.

They also introduced a collaborative type organization, where you provide feedback to your superior, and the business sends questionnaires out about proposed business decisions.

Because she is required to provide not just a rating, but constructive feedback to everyone, customers, peers, etc., it is making it extremely difficult for her to finish all her work within the required time frame. This leads to longer hours, promotes not wanting to incur the down time from a long ride home & back every day, etc.

Business schools recognize how well this 'advanced' business model is working, so more adopt it from very small to large. And the company gives it away for nothing to all takers.
Before long that extends to interest from government agencies, Congressional reps, Senators to whom they have lobbied hard for them to install the tool (virtually un-hackable) and use it to actually run government in the this century. All interactions will become virtual, negotiations, bill development and final votes...

Our CSR, now manager has a close friend, boy friend, brother? who is extremely knowledgeable in electronic surveillance, invasive privacy, and the more he hears about how this tool may be used to virtually run government, he becomes very concerned and enlists her to help them determine if their intentions are all honorable, or not.

It eventually becomes clear that political representatives, local, state and eventually even federal realize in this complex and over populated world, they need new ways to stay engaged with their constituencies, and of course what better tool to understand what their constituents feel about anything (the one everyone is already using, and it's free). So feedback is requested more and more to the point where everyone is now addicted completely to the software and people are unable to make even simple decisions without using it.

Throughout, this main plot is told through the day to day evolving personal and business life of this CSR who not only is being mentored but manipulated toward a path of using the tool for more and more far reaching purchases.
As her understanding increases, she begins to realize how she might be being used, etc.

OTHER INFORMATION:
I read it between 2015 and 2018. It's set in the United States and I believe on the west coast, possible the San Francisco area, on the east side of the bay but not right on the bay.
TIME FRAME: It was set a little further in the future which makes me think it may have been written a bit prior to 2015.
OTHER:
I liked it. It was well written, good characters, good imagery, and kept moving at a good pace. As my wife says, a bit light on food and clothes.

I appreciate your assistance - not remembering is driving me crazy (and I am only 65!). Best regards, Fred

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

It is mandatory to include genre and plot details in your topic header, as per the Group Rules.

We will close threads that don't adhere to this requirement.

[Kris]

Fred, what's the genre (which we need to add to the header/topic title) - e.g., adult fiction, satire, tech thriller?

I added details to the header/topic title. You can update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, click the "Desktop version" link at the bottom of the page.)

[Daisy]

Sounds like something by Douglas Coupland or Max Barry.

[Minnikin]

Are you thinking of The Circle, by Dave Eggers?

[Fred]

Minnikin wrote: "Are you thinking of The Circle, by Dave Eggers?"

Thank you so much!!! You got it, exactly the book I was trying to remember.

[Fred]

Fred wrote: "The book revolves around a CSR (someone who assists people online to purchase something, or find something). She is relatively young, high teens or very early 20's. Might be her first job. And some..."

SOLVED! The Circle by Dave Eggers.
Thanks all and sorry for missing the Genre and plot details in the header.

[Fred]

Lobstergirl wrote: "It is mandatory to include genre and plot details in your topic header, as per the Group Rules.

We will close threads that don't adhere to this requirement."

I guess I am too slow. I Tried to edit it and it can't find it when I try to save it. Thanks though, since someone solved it for me. I'll do better next time around. Thanks, fred

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Thanks, Fred.