Everyone hates calling customer service. Between the lengthy hold times, the stupid automated systems that fail to recognize you request if you even have the teeniest hint of an accent, the outsourced call centers, etc. By the time you get to a living, breathing human being, you're pissed off which is completely understandable. But this is where I come in. I work in that call center and get to deal with you after you've spent 320 hours trying to come through the automated system.I don't want to talk to you just as much as you don't want to talk to me. But instead of making this go as quickly and smoothly as possible, you like to bitch about the automated system for about 5 minutes. And with you nagging for 5 minutes, it's just making the hold for the person behind you that much worse. It's not my fault you cant listen to the damn prompts. If you'd listen you might get somewhere. And no I can't make the automated system more user friendly. Maybe you should make you brain comprehend the English language better or work on your listening skills?!?. It may also be helpful to have the information that you know I'm going to need, like your account number or address. And yes, some people don't actually know their address when they call. (How that happens, I have no idea.) It would also go a whole lot quicker if you would shut your stupid mouth and let me ask the questions I need to know first. I can't do anything with you account until I've verified who you are. This could be the most annoying part about my job. I don't care what's going on at this point. I just need to see if I can help you or not. When I ask for your name, just say it. Don't spell it. I can read. When I ask for your full mailing address, that means give me you full address. Don't stop after the street name, then answer me when I ask you the state, then make make me have to individually ask you the city and zip code as well. And when I ask for your date of birth, don't tell me China. I know that's where you were born, obviously from your lack of English speaking abilities and comprehension of what I'm saying. The thing that gets me is that these people spend their every waking minute thinking of how to make my life a living hell. Oh you were late on your bill? Sorry to hear your hamster died. Let me see if you can get a courtesy late fee waiver for the last 4 months because it was such a tramatic experience for you. Oh your dad died, I'm sorry to hear that. But how many fathers do you have left, you've told us your father has died 4 different times now. When you can't complete their request, they instantly flip their shit on you. Oh I'm a horrible person? Oh you wish that I never have the chance to pollute the world with my offspring because I'M the one that's stupid? Oh it got mysteriously quiet? You think I put you on hold? No. I just put you on mute so I can complain about how big of an idiot you are to my cubemate. I've been called just about every name in the book you can think of. You'd think by now people would realize that we do have the authority to help with your account, whether it be overriding the denial of a late fee or changing your due date because you want to change it. But if you call with an attitude, I'm definitely not going to go out of my way to help you. And I'm sure that's the same for every person who works in a call center. It sucks enough that we have to sit there hour after hour, taking call after call. You could at least try to act like a mature, decent human being instead of someone who was raised by a pack of wild animals. Don't get me wrong, I really do love working in customer service. I've been working in it for 8 years and will continue to do it because that's what I like to do. And believe it or not I do love helping people and am probably the nice person you get when you call because I override ever request I get if it's denied. I'm that person. But anyways... just thought I'd get that all out my system. It'd just been one of those days where I felt like bitching. I get to go back and do this all over againt tomorrow for 10 hours. Maybe this week will be better. Who am I trying to kid. It's a viscious cycle that's never ending. And with that, I sign off.... xoxo. :)
This is actually me. At work. And this is what my job does to me.
