Customer Service Horror Stories

Trollheart · 08-29-2012, 08:02 PM

Yeah, good idea. Also I'd drop in an off-the-cuff comment like, "You know those ads for lawyers on the TV, where they say they get you millions if you're discriminated against at work? Wonder if there's any truth in that? I've always thought it couldn't hurt to check that out..." or something. Even if these ads aren't quite on those lines, they'll probably be too busy excusing themselves to go change their pants to even realise it.

Fight the power!

Mojo · 09-05-2012, 01:28 PM

When working on a broadband tech support line, I was once talking to a guy complaining that his broadband had stopped working. I asked him a few basic questions initially and then asked him to tell me which of the lights on his router were currently lit. He said that he "couldn't tell from here." Naturally I asked, somewhat confused, why this was and he told me that the kids were messing around it with it...so he nailed it to the wall.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 09-05-2012, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojopinuk

When working on a broadband tech support line, I was once talking to a guy complaining that his broadband had stopped working. I asked him a few basic questions initially and then asked him to tell me which of the lights on his router were currently lit. He said that he "couldn't tell from here." Naturally I asked, somewhat confused, why this was and he told me that the kids were messing around it with it...so he nailed it to the wall.

This just wins the entire thread. What on earth was your reaction?

Mrd00d · 09-06-2012, 04:09 AM

Lady wrote me a check today. Didn't fill in the Pay To: part. I gave it back to her and told her she forgot to put the store name on the check. She said, "oh you go ahead". I say "It's improper for me to do so, the store is <such and such>, here's the check back and pen." And she refused. I was like... uh... I'm not filling out your check, I don't think I'm even supposed to" She was about 45, not like... grandma or anything. She did seem to turn out to be a tweaker though (surprise surprise). So she gets all butthurt and goes over to a cashier that she recognizes and asks him to fill the name of the store in. He similarly flat out refuses and pulls a receipt out with the name of the store on it so she can copy it over to her check (in case she was embarassed that she couldn't spell it or remember it) but that wasn't the case, she just refused to write on that line. So he just ... haha... walked away. So she's back to me and giving me tweaky flailing and an attitude of "you're being difficult, do it for me". And I apologize again, and as I'm reaching to call for backup from the boss, she storms over to the office and has the owner of the store/ the boss fill it for her. And she goes through a different checkstand and sneers at me (it was suspended and it can be resumed at any terminal) I smirked and continued helping normal shoppers. Then I asked my boss after it died down "WTF" and he goes "... I don't know, don't worry about it, no big deal". What a weird weird transaction. Tweakers. That's 'wtf'.

For reference, it's not a franchise, it's a local mom n pop grocery. And the neighborhood is all hippies, college students, yuppies, homeless folks and tweakers. We get all the fun. It's the "bad" part of town. To compare it to the good side of Oakland, we're still in better shape, so it's silly, but we get a lot of crazies and druggies every day. The guy that gave up on her has worked there for 5 years and is pretty secure in his position. But anyway, weirdness. /eyeroll worthy

**Janszoon** · 09-06-2012, 04:19 AM

From the other side of the counter...

Yesterday I bought a gift card for my wife. They had a couple different designs so I picked the flowery one I thought she'd like. I go up to the counter and the guy says, "Is this for you? This is kind of a girly card."

Setting aside for the moment the weirdness of commenting on someone's purchase like that, why the fuck would I buy a gift card for myself? Doesn't the very name "gift card" imply that people buy them for other people?

**Scarlett O'Hara** · 09-06-2012, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrd00d

That's all well and good, I don't stray far from that too much, but I must explain I like in a hippy neighborhood of a hippy town. 90% of the customers are extremely green. "Do you want the meat wrapped separately" "No, I'm only going a few blocks" is typical. When it's busy, I just wrap it and toss it in as is what's typical. One thing is certain though... always treat soccer moms and old ladies with great caution! Most people are so green they bring one or two canvas bags and want it all in, whether 10 dollars worth or 60. It's fine when done delicately. I mean how am I not gonna put light stuff on top of the eggs. Bread doesn't get exclusivity privileges...lots of things can go on top.

I bag my own groceries, and I walk home. I lay my 2-liter flat, eggs next to the soda. On top of the eggs goes the meats (2-3 lbs!), on top of the soda are the canned foods. It's packed so the meat, which isn't heavy enough to hurt the eggs also firmly keeps the cans away... And then just for fun I toss my produce and candy and bread on top. And the eggs all survive the walk every time I put them on the bottom. Some people have had awful bagging experiences and have bagging trust issues. I can understand that... but at least communicate if there's an issue of preference!

First world problems.

Mrd00d · 09-06-2012, 05:53 AM

Indeed, along with just about everything being discussed in this thread. No offense, but... and?

It's just... I know what first world problems are. It's a funny meme. But... took me by surprise that you singled my post out. Especially the older post.

Burning Down · 09-06-2012, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrd00d

Lady wrote me a check today. Didn't fill in the Pay To: part. I gave it back to her and told her she forgot to put the store name on the check. She said, "oh you go ahead". I say "It's improper for me to do so, the store is <such and such>, here's the check back and pen." And she refused. I was like... uh... I'm not filling out your check, I don't think I'm even supposed to" She was about 45, not like... grandma or anything. She did seem to turn out to be a tweaker though (surprise surprise). So she gets all butthurt and goes over to a cashier that she recognizes and asks him to fill the name of the store in. He similarly flat out refuses and pulls a receipt out with the name of the store on it so she can copy it over to her check (in case she was embarassed that she couldn't spell it or remember it) but that wasn't the case, she just refused to write on that line. So he just ... haha... walked away. So she's back to me and giving me tweaky flailing and an attitude of "you're being difficult, do it for me". And I apologize again, and as I'm reaching to call for backup from the boss, she storms over to the office and has the owner of the store/ the boss fill it for her. And she goes through a different checkstand and sneers at me (it was suspended and it can be resumed at any terminal) I smirked and continued helping normal shoppers. Then I asked my boss after it died down "WTF" and he goes "... I don't know, don't worry about it, no big deal". What a weird weird transaction. Tweakers. That's 'wtf'.

For reference, it's not a franchise, it's a local mom n pop grocery. And the neighborhood is all hippies, college students, yuppies, homeless folks and tweakers. We get all the fun. It's the "bad" part of town. To compare it to the good side of Oakland, we're still in better shape, so it's silly, but we get a lot of crazies and druggies every day. The guy that gave up on her has worked there for 5 years and is pretty secure in his position. But anyway, weirdness. /eyeroll worthy

Honestly? She couldn't take 5 freakin seconds to write it down? If she ever comes back, let us know if she learned to fill out her own cheque.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

From the other side of the counter...

Yesterday I bought a gift card for my wife. They had a couple different designs so I picked the flowery one I thought she'd like. I go up to the counter and the guy says, "Is this for you? This is kind of a girly card."

Setting aside for the moment the weirdness of commenting on someone's purchase like that, why the fuck would I buy a gift card for myself? Doesn't the very name "gift card" imply that people buy them for other people?

Haha! I'm pretty sure I get judged on my purchases all the time but at least the clerks keep their mouths shut!

Mojo · 09-06-2012, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

This just wins the entire thread. What on earth was your reaction?

I don't remember exactly but from basic diagnostics we could sometimes reach the conclusion that we either needed to send an engineer if the problem was identified as originating from outside of their property, or send them a new router. I seem to remember he was pushing for a new router and naturally, he didn't get one.

To be honest I got so used to fairly stupid people that I probably didn't even have much of a reaction, other than amusement.

mr dave · 09-09-2012, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burning Down

Honestly? She couldn't take 5 freakin seconds to write it down? If she ever comes back, let us know if she learned to fill out her own cheque.

By getting someone else to fill it out it's an easy way to turn around at the bank and claim someone else used your cheques without your approval and have the value reversed after all the evidence/groceries are gone. Tweakers might seem stupid but they're pretty sharp when it comes to fraud.

Speaking of fraud....

One of my first call center jobs was running background checks on bank account applicants in the states. Basically there's this program / system in place between the majority of banking institutions where they share basic information about customers. It's not quite a credit check more like a personal responsibility check on how you handled past bank accounts. So when you tried opening a new account with an institution they called my 800 number, gave me your name, address, social insurance number and in return I told them if you had any NSF fees or other financial blemishes over the last 5 years.

So one day I get a call from an older lady and she's telling me about this nice couple moving to her area and how she's got to do this boring formality in order to open their account. She gives me their names and socials and my screen fills up. Different name, same social, suspected fraud. A few months later, different names, same social, suspected fraud in another state. Just years worth of records pointing out the fact that this couple was running some kind of scam. We were just a reference service, all we did was let the person on the other end of the phone know what we learned about their potential clients. When this old lady heard - fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud she stopped me and told me 'This can't be right, this couple seems so nice. Can I still go ahead and open their account?'.

I told her it was her decision to make. Pretty sure she was looking for a new job the following week.

08-29-2012, 08:02 PM	#51 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Yeah, good idea. Also I'd drop in an off-the-cuff comment like, "You know those ads for lawyers on the TV, where they say they get you millions if you're discriminated against at work? Wonder if there's any truth in that? I've always thought it couldn't hurt to check that out..." or something. Even if these ads aren't quite on those lines, they'll probably be too busy excusing themselves to go change their pants to even realise it. Fight the power! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

09-05-2012, 01:28 PM	#52 (permalink)
Mojo Melancholia Eternally Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: England Posts: 5,018	When working on a broadband tech support line, I was once talking to a guy complaining that his broadband had stopped working. I asked him a few basic questions initially and then asked him to tell me which of the lights on his router were currently lit. He said that he "couldn't tell from here." Naturally I asked, somewhat confused, why this was and he told me that the kids were messing around it with it...so he nailed it to the wall. __________________ Last.FM \| Echoes and Dust

09-06-2012, 04:09 AM	#54 (permalink)
Mrd00d Stoned and Jammin' Out Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Northern California; Eugene, OR; mobile Posts: 1,602	Lady wrote me a check today. Didn't fill in the Pay To: part. I gave it back to her and told her she forgot to put the store name on the check. She said, "oh you go ahead". I say "It's improper for me to do so, the store is <such and such>, here's the check back and pen." And she refused. I was like... uh... I'm not filling out your check, I don't think I'm even supposed to" She was about 45, not like... grandma or anything. She did seem to turn out to be a tweaker though (surprise surprise). So she gets all butthurt and goes over to a cashier that she recognizes and asks him to fill the name of the store in. He similarly flat out refuses and pulls a receipt out with the name of the store on it so she can copy it over to her check (in case she was embarassed that she couldn't spell it or remember it) but that wasn't the case, she just refused to write on that line. So he just ... haha... walked away. So she's back to me and giving me tweaky flailing and an attitude of "you're being difficult, do it for me". And I apologize again, and as I'm reaching to call for backup from the boss, she storms over to the office and has the owner of the store/ the boss fill it for her. And she goes through a different checkstand and sneers at me (it was suspended and it can be resumed at any terminal) I smirked and continued helping normal shoppers. Then I asked my boss after it died down "WTF" and he goes "... I don't know, don't worry about it, no big deal". What a weird weird transaction. Tweakers. That's 'wtf'. For reference, it's not a franchise, it's a local mom n pop grocery. And the neighborhood is all hippies, college students, yuppies, homeless folks and tweakers. We get all the fun. It's the "bad" part of town. To compare it to the good side of Oakland, we're still in better shape, so it's silly, but we get a lot of crazies and druggies every day. The guy that gave up on her has worked there for 5 years and is pretty secure in his position. But anyway, weirdness. /eyeroll worthy __________________ Mrd00d's Last.fm

09-06-2012, 04:19 AM	#55 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	From the other side of the counter... Yesterday I bought a gift card for my wife. They had a couple different designs so I picked the flowery one I thought she'd like. I go up to the counter and the guy says, "Is this for you? This is kind of a girly card." Setting aside for the moment the weirdness of commenting on someone's purchase like that, why the fuck would I buy a gift card for myself? Doesn't the very name "gift card" imply that people buy them for other people? __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

09-06-2012, 05:53 AM	#57 (permalink)
Mrd00d Stoned and Jammin' Out Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Northern California; Eugene, OR; mobile Posts: 1,602	Indeed, along with just about everything being discussed in this thread. No offense, but... and? It's just... I know what first world problems are. It's a funny meme. But... took me by surprise that you singled my post out. Especially the older post. __________________ Mrd00d's Last.fm