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View Full Version : I'm eating my lunch right now and you're interrupting it!


greensinestro
07-28-2007, 01:53 PM
I had this trouble report from a customer who was unable to change his username on our bill pay site. After seven days, the issue was resolved, and I was able to close the report out. Before doing so, I had to call this guy back to let him know, and when I did, all hell broke loose. The guy was 81 years old, I might add, and lives in Boca Raton, FL.

Me: Hi, I'm greensinestro calling from XYZ phone service.
SC: Why are you calling me at this time of day? (Which was 2pm)
Me: I'm calling to advise you that........
SC: I didn't ask you to tell me what you were calling for! I asked why! (WTF?)
Me: It was your request that we call you back............
SC: Look, bud, you're interrupting me in the middle of my lunch and should not be calling me!
Me: (Couldn't help this one) Sir, we have no way of knowing when you eat your lunch (which got a couple of chuckles from co-workers around me), however I called because......
SC: You need to call me back at a later time. I'm eating lunch and will be taking my nap afterward. (Do I really care?)
Me: No, I do not, sir. You requested that we call you when this on-line issue of yours was resolved, and that is what I am doing.
SC: You're calling me for that? That was supposed to be taken care of already!
Me: It was, sir. I'm calling to let you know that you can now re-register your account.
SC: I don't want to re-register it. I left instructions to have someone do that for me! (In other words, "I want someone to hold my f***ing hand and babysit me!")
Me: Sir, we don't do that if it's not on the trouble report. Our report says all you wanted was a reset so you could re-register.
(By now, this call was going on ten minutes, and could have been over with in two or less)
SC: You all should have known I wanted someone to do it for me. I provided my username and password!
Me: Yes, you did, but it also states on here that we cannot do this without speaking to you first. It's mainly because you would not want someone registering your account without your knowledge.
SC: I don't care about that. Look, you're interrupting my lunch and called at a bad time!
Me: OK, then. I will note the account that I called, advised you of this, and then close your trouble report.
SC: No! You can't do that! I am sick of having to call in myself and do this stuff myself! I want you to register this for me, or call me back at a better time.
Me: The better time is now, sir, and you have to be on the phone to do it.
(The call now has gone on for fifteen minutes)
SC: Fine! My chicken is getting cold now because of this.
Me: Sir, this call could have been done in two minutes had you been more cooperative (couldn't resist saying it, and at this point, I did not care if they were observing me)

The call lasted twenty-five minutes, all because of this guy's bitching that I interrupted him in the middle of his lunch/siesta period. I did my job of calling this guy back, was as courteous as I could be, and all I got the entire time was a verbal beating. Because of this type of call and others I've taken, mainly where customers simply just don't feel like doing things themselves, I am recommending to my manager that we charge $5 to each customer that has us hold their hands for them and treat them like children that need guidance.

Boozy
07-28-2007, 02:01 PM
You didn't know that 81 year-old Bob Smith of Boca Raton, FL eats his lunch at 2 pm every day?

I thought everyone knew that.

:p

Bloodsoul
07-28-2007, 02:28 PM
Wish I could take a nap after lunch...

MoonChild2007
07-28-2007, 07:48 PM
If the guy was having his lunch, why didn't he just say, " can you call me back?" and hung up. he basically interrupted his own lunch by picking a fight with you. Also, why not turn the phone off while having lunch? :rolleyes:

greensinestro
07-28-2007, 08:30 PM
If the guy was having his lunch, why didn't he just say, " can you call me back?" and hung up. he basically interrupted his own lunch by picking a fight with you. Also, why not turn the phone off while having lunch? :rolleyes:

You're kidding, right? I mean, this is a retiree in Boca Effing Raton. They don't just do things like that. Picking fights is what these people are best at doing, even if it means running the risk of a heart attack or stroke. These people have phones, but when called, they get upset that you called them (even though they requested it), then run their mouths for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes before you get in a word edgewise.

blas
07-28-2007, 08:50 PM
Um, old people take as many naps as babies do.

That's what they are. Big babies. Except babies can't yell at you for calling them, and babies always give you that warm fuzzy feeling when you comfort them.

It's a cache 22. If you'd called at 8 am, you would have interrupted him watching the news or the Today show. If you had called him at noon, you would have interrupted his "stories". If you had called at 3, you would have interrupted him watching Jeopardy.

You couldn't win that one even if you tried.

aurelemsrealm
07-28-2007, 09:15 PM
Here's my simple solution. If I don't want to be bothered with a call, I ignore it.

I figure that it will show up on caller ID when I am ready to check it later. If it's really important, they can leave a voice mail to tell me what they want. Then, I'll decide if it's worth a follow-up call. If it's a number I know, I'll probably call back to confirm I got the message or chat if it's just a social call. If it's a number I don't know, it's likely that I'll just ignore it unless a compelling voice mail was left.

As I've told family and friends who get upset that I'm hard to reach sometimes, I got the phone for MY convenience. If you wish to reach me, you can call or e-mail me. If you can't reach me by phone, I might just be busy at the moment. Yes, I do shut my phone off sometimes, and I frequently set it to silent when it's on. Leave me a voice mail or try e-mailing me. Sometimes, you'll reach me just as quick by e-mail because I'm at school or at the library.

powerboy
07-29-2007, 03:47 AM
Here's my simple solution. If I don't want to be bothered with a call, I ignore it.

I figure that it will show up on caller ID when I am ready to check it later. If it's really important, they can leave a voice mail to tell me what they want. Then, I'll decide if it's worth a follow-up call. If it's a number I know, I'll probably call back to confirm I got the message or chat if it's just a social call. If it's a number I don't know, it's likely that I'll just ignore it unless a compelling voice mail was left.

As I've told family and friends who get upset that I'm hard to reach sometimes, I got the phone for MY convenience. If you wish to reach me, you can call or e-mail me. If you can't reach me by phone, I might just be busy at the moment. Yes, I do shut my phone off sometimes, and I frequently set it to silent when it's on. Leave me a voice mail or try e-mailing me. Sometimes, you'll reach me just as quick by e-mail because I'm at school or at the library.

That is what I do also. If I do not know you, I am not answering it. If I am truly busy, I am not going to answer, unless I think that it is a emergency.

blas
07-29-2007, 09:15 AM
That's what common sense says, but of course, I think this man was just so miserable that he wanted to answer the phone and yell at the poor rep for being so rude as to interrupt his chicken!

Becks
07-29-2007, 03:42 PM
You didn't know that 81 year-old Bob Smith of Boca Raton, FL eats his lunch at 2 pm every day?

I thought everyone knew that.

I knew that, but I'm a malicious :censored: and don't care. :D

meme
07-29-2007, 06:31 PM
If I answer the phone when I don't want to be bothered, guess whose fault that is??? He was feeling crotchety and wanted to yell at someone. Sorry, but you won the booby prize that day.

WorkAtBBuy
07-29-2007, 07:08 PM
Gah...old people drive me nuts! They whine just as much as they say the younger generation does! They want you to drop EVERYTHING and cater to THEM, EXCLUSIVELY. Old people can be really sweet customers who treat you nicely...but when they're NOT--whoo buddy! Just be glad he didn't try to lord military experience over you or something.

DesignFox
07-30-2007, 02:49 PM
Old People and Cell Phones do not mix.... I rest my case.

I feel really bad for those of you in tech support...

trying to get an 81 year old to use an online registration...ha!

(my apologies to the few ancients who bother to RTFM and aren't crotchety and horrible)