Mom broke her arm just below the ball joint. She got X-rayed. Then the doctor drove her home. The doctor said it was best to put it in a sling. It took me 4 hours to get to her home. And she beat me there.
Thanks, Heph, my dude.Hephaestos is happy and pleased with your gratitude
More seriously, glad she's okay for now and they're together.
Crappy customers can get under your skin and, especially when you're stressed or tired or already not thinking too positively, make you doubt yourself.Have to do some self-reflecting after dealing with an unreasonable customer. He wanted to use his own modem for services and refused to listen to reason when I explained that we have to send our own modem.
He continued arguing the point, saying it came from a re-seller using our equipment. I told him that it needs to come directly from us. He kept fighting me on it.
So finally, I put my foot down and said it doesn't matter and I wouldn't continue debating it. I laid out clearly what he needs to do to get service.
He said I was snippy and being a dick. I told him I wouldn't be insulted and closed the chat. My patience had worn thin enough.
He called me a dick multiple times during the interaction, actually.
But I now wonder if I could have handled that interaction better? He adamantly refused to listen to reason, no matter how many times I explained it. Was a rude? Maybe? I sent the chat log to my manager and asked them.
They didn't make demands or insult me but they kept trying to argue about it after I'd already explained it. I just have no patience for someone who won't listen to reason.Crappy customers can get under your skin and, especially when you're stressed or tired or already not thinking too positively, make you doubt yourself.
I can imagine you got snippy - after a while it is perfectly normal to start to lose your patience.
Did you ever escalate to threats/insults /recalling/demands before they did?
Obviously your manager will have a preference to keep the customer happy and not let anything ever get to you - tolerance for dick customers varies from company to company but there's always some.
Don't worry, I'm sure you did fine or better.
Possibly. Does it sound like it would have made a difference with this customer? Probably not.But I now wonder if I could have handled that interaction better?
My favorite in my line is "one moment X, let me go grab my Boss, he has been doing this much longer than myself..."*grab boss who proceeds to ponder the same answer I gave* followed by the customer shouting "FORGET ALL OF YOU! ILL JUST DO IT HOW I FEEL!" or "IM GOING TO ACE/LOWES/HOME DEPOT/etc THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!" yesterday i had this argument with a guest who needed a 240 volt 20 amp receptacle for his A/CAlways fall back on: Sir, I don't make the rules. I can't change anything.
Then wait for them to say, "Let me talk to your manager."
It's what your manager is there FOR.
Yeah, unless my answer was verbatim "Yessir, you can definitely use that modem!" nothing would have pleased him.Possibly. Does it sound like it would have made a difference with this customer? Probably not.
--Patrick
I, personally, am of the opinion that it's not ok to be incvivil to people like this. When he starts hurling insults at you like this, you're well within your rights to shut him down as bluntly as possible. Would that be seen as rudeness? For some people, possibly yes. But too bad, if he wants to act like an immature brat then he can be treated like one.He called me a dick multiple times during the interaction, actually.
Honestly, part of it was my own doing because I was tired of arguing with him over it. When I said I wouldn't debate the matter with him and this is what is required to get services, that's when he became rude. He said something to the extent of "Okay man, you don't need to get snippy. You don't need to be a dick." Yadda yadda. Then I repeated what I told him. He demanded to talk to a manager. At which point I told him to call our main number and ask to speak with one because managers are available on chat (which they aren't.). He called me a dick again, at which point I said, "I will not be insulted. Thank you for contacting *company* and have a great day" and closed the chat.I, personally, am of the opinion that it's not ok to be incvivil to people like this. When he starts hurling insults at you like this, you're well within your rights to shut him down as bluntly as possible. Would that be seen as rudeness? For some people, possibly yes. But too bad, if he wants to act like an immature brat then he can be treated like one.
I know it's not as satisfying, but you handled that with a lot of class, unlike the douche you were talking to.Honestly, part of it was my own doing because I was tired of arguing with him over it. When I said I wouldn't debate the matter with him and this is what is required to get services, that's when he became rude. He said something to the extent of "Okay man, you don't need to get snippy. You don't need to be a dick." Yadda yadda. Then I repeated what I told him. He demanded to talk to a manager. At which point I told him to call our main number and ask to speak with one because managers are available on chat (which they aren't.). He called me a dick again, at which point I said, "I will not be insulted. Thank you for contacting *company* and have a great day" and closed the chat.
This is not a you problem, this is the other people being insecure and taking that out on you.I got called a know it all every time I dared to contradict anything an adult said, and got shit on everytime I tried to share things I learned
It's pretty common with telecommunications companies, in my experience. Bell is the same way. Not that it makes this any better.That doesn't sound like shitty customers, that sounds like your company has shitty customer service (not your fault, but the regulations you have to follow).
What's most aggravating about it is it only gets them worked up to the point of exploding. And I have to take the brunt of it every time. Because I literally have no options to even suggest to them,save for removing features, downgrading, or going into a promotional bundle with a new added service (say if they have just internet and add TV). And the shit I have to offer NEVER works.And idiotic corporate rules (such as your "you can't transfer them unless they say they'll leave") only make things worse.
I know it's not much consolation to you, but whenever I'm trying to get a sweeter deal from my cable or phone company, the first thing I say to customer service is "I know you really can't help me out. Please just transfer me to retention"Because what I can offer and what the loyalty department has access to is not the same thing. So I have to do the exact same song and dance every time, dozens of times every day, and I'm the one that gets yelled at like it's my fault while the loyalty department gets to look like the hero.
I read an old sci-fi story once that predated actual space travel (i.e., was written before we’d actually sent anything into space, had no idea what would really happen up there, etc.). The going theory at the time was that leaving the atmosphere would expose astronauts to some kind of deadly space radiation that would kill them. The big breakthrough in the story was that they could avoid this by lining the hull with oysters and other “lowly” shellfish. Ship goes into space, deadly radiation kills the outermost layer of mollusks, astronauts survive and return to Earth, replace with fresh oysters prior to the next journey.the shit I have to offer NEVER works.
Scanners Live in Vain?I read an old sci-fi story once that predated actual space travel (i.e., was written before we’d actually sent anything into space, had no idea what would really happen up there, etc.). The going theory at the time was that leaving the atmosphere would expose astronauts to some kind of deadly space radiation that would kill them. The big breakthrough in the story was that they could avoid this by lining the hull with oysters and other “lowly” shellfish. Ship goes into space, deadly radiation kills the outermost layer of mollusks, astronauts survive and return to Earth, replace with fresh oysters prior to the next journey.
It almost sounds like they hired you to be an oyster.
—Patrick
Yep, it’s the Scanners one. I hope you didn’t have to dial your brain box up to overload to remember it, if you need a break then maybe we can Cranch later.Scanners Live in Vain?
A fellow Cordwainer Smith fan! I love you!Yep, it’s the Scanners one. I hope you didn’t have to dial your brain box up to overload to remember it, if you need a break then maybe we can Cranch later.
—Patrick
Heh, even there, I think we're supposed to try discussing the matter with the customer first.I know it's not much consolation to you, but whenever I'm trying to get a sweeter deal from my cable or phone company, the first thing I say to customer service is "I know you really can't help me out. Please just transfer me to retention"
Minor update to my aunt.Thanks for the kind words, guys.
The last time I saw my aunt was when I visited her at home, while she was recovering from her first operation. There were a whole bunch of other visitors there, all of them giving their share of advice and trying to help out. I tried to just stay in the background and keep her company. During a lull in the activity, she turned to me and said, "How the hell did things end up like this?" And that was it, that was the last thing I heard her say.
Be excellent to each other, my good forumites. For you never know when things may abruptly change.
I'm really sorry, Bhamv. Mr. Z asked that I send along his condolences as well, especially considering he used to be on that TV show with her.Minor update to my aunt.
My aunt was actually a TV presenter in the 90s. Back then, Taiwan only had 3 channels on television, and she was the presenter for a singing competition show that was broadcast on Sunday evenings. In other words, she was on TV every weekend, and a ton of people grew up watching her. For a roughly equivalent level of fame, think Vanna White.
News of her passing broke yesterday, and there have been a bunch of articles written about her on news sites, and shared on social media like Facebook. And pretty much all the comments have been positive. People have been expressing their best wishes, and sharing their fond memories of watching her on TV. It's very heartening to see how she touched so many people, and was such a part of everyone's childhood.
This happened to me on Friday about two weeks back, though from a Russian email.Nothing like waking up to get two e-mails that someone in Taiwan has accessed your Amazon account and changed your e-mail on the account. Discovered it WASN'T a phishing e-mail. Instead of clicking on anything in the e-mail, I tried Amazon and couldn't log in.
I immediately called the help line on their webpage and they froze the account for me. So now I need to wait a few days for that to be resolved. Ugh.
Now I'm not sure if I should change all my passwords on everything. Don't know how they accessed my account in the first place. Oh, and I checked my credit card information and fortunately there have been no new pending transactions on either.
The nice thing about Amazon is that if any important info changes, that won't use your saved cards unless you can input it again.Nothing like waking up to get two e-mails that someone in Taiwan has accessed your Amazon account and changed your e-mail on the account. Discovered it WASN'T a phishing e-mail. Instead of clicking on anything in the e-mail, I tried Amazon and couldn't log in.
I immediately called the help line on their webpage and they froze the account for me. So now I need to wait a few days for that to be resolved. Ugh.
Now I'm not sure if I should change all my passwords on everything. Don't know how they accessed my account in the first place. Oh, and I checked my credit card information and fortunately there have been no new pending transactions on either.
Wasn't me!someone in Taiwan