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I had the most unbelieveable call last week.
To place an order with us, you first go through the automated system. (that's if you have an account set up.) If the automated system cannot place the order for you, then it sends you to a CSR. If the CSR cannot get an order to go through, then you get sent to a specialist (me.) Now most of our orders go through either the automated system or a CSR without a hitch. But occasionally, something happens and the computer can't or won't put it through. There are several different reasons for this, but you have to be trained extensively to be able to look at a failed order and know why it didn't go through, because it's a complicated system. Hence, CSR's don't know why its not going through. That's part of my job, to figure it out and either get an order through or advise the customer why it wont go thru. This is the way our system works.
People sometimes bitch about having to give out the same couple pieces of info 3 times, but honestly, it's not a really long process and we don't ask for a whole bunch of info to place an order. People like to bitch about it and tell me that they've been on the phone for 25 minutes (yeah, right, more like 5-10 minutes at the most, and that long only if we have calls holding before yours). But this lady took the cake.
This lady comes on my line on a busy Monday morning. I work graveyard, so it's the end of the day for me and I'm tired and cranky. First thing she tells me is that she is recording the call. She says she heard the recording that 'this call may be monitored for quality assurance' and demands that we record the call also. I have to explain to her that calls are recorded randomly, and I have no way of knowing which of my calls will be recorded. this makes her good and pissy, harrumphing that we need to record this call and of course I know how to do it, I just don't want to.
I ask for her mobile number and she has the fit about giving it out again. Her account came through with her, but I have to verify it. After hearing several minutes of high pitched shrieking, I finally pry the number out of her and look at her account. Apparently, the checking account she was trying to use was from a little podunk bank, and our computer system could not verify her account number. It's coming back as unrecognized. This is normal for little podunk banks---big banks, like WAMU, or B of A, or Wells Fargo have the technology that can patch into our technology so we can verify an account number and tell if it's valid or not. But little banks don't have this fancy stuff, so we must call in and verify the account number manually the first time it's used.
So I have to put her through a verification process. Verify her identity, then call and verify that its a valid account number in her name. this takes maybe 5 minutes, normally, but of course when you have a 3 minute hissy over every question I ask you, it's going to take longer. A lot longer. So I finally get it done. By this time I've been on the phone with her for nearly 20 minutes. Most of this time was taken up by her shrieking and carrying on.
She then proceeds to give me the following speech (reconstructed as best I can):
"Well, I just want you to know that I have never had an experience like this in my life. I have been on the phone for over an hour now
and I can't believe it's taken this long just to put minutes on my own cell phone. This is like something out of a horror movie. I had to speak with 3 different people (she means the automated system, and then 2 people) just to get to someone who could place my order. I had to give out my information three different times! I have recorded this call and I am sending it to all those late night talk shows so they can make fun of you sorry, sorry people. I'm sending this tape to Letterman and O'Brian and(she listed several others I don't remember.) They will have a field day over this! I hope this will embarrass your company enough to change their policies, because this is just harassment for the sake of harassment. You obviously hate your customers or you wouldn't put us through this exhausting and embarrassing process. I work with old people, and I can't imagine what it must be like for them to go through this! You need to know that you're excluding old people from using your cell phones with this policy, because they could never last through all this unbelieveable crap you just put me through! You're basically being prejudiced against old people with these policies. I mean, what would you do if you had to go through this process? It would make you mad, wouldn't it? Don't you think this is just way too much to put someone through? I mean what kind of beauracratic crap is this?!
I replied no, it wouldn't upset me.
Well obviously you're not allowed to agree with me over the phone. You need to go and tell your manager that I am sending this tape out to all the late night programs and they will have a field day with this tape. I hope you're proud of yourselves, torturing people like this! I cannot believe what I just went through. This is the most outrageous thing I have ever been through. Those guys are going to cream you people on national television, and you'll deserve it, because you're purposely harassing law abiding people like me just to put minutes on our phones! I cannot believe this. I just can't. I don't know what I'm going to do the next time I want to use my phone, I'll have to book a godamn appointment to do it!!!
This speech lasted at least another 10 minutes. I finally had to tell her I had other calls I needed to answer. I told her that 3 times before she stopped ranting and trying toget me to agree with her. Afterwards I had to go take a break, it actually drained me, it was that stressful.
To place an order with us, you first go through the automated system. (that's if you have an account set up.) If the automated system cannot place the order for you, then it sends you to a CSR. If the CSR cannot get an order to go through, then you get sent to a specialist (me.) Now most of our orders go through either the automated system or a CSR without a hitch. But occasionally, something happens and the computer can't or won't put it through. There are several different reasons for this, but you have to be trained extensively to be able to look at a failed order and know why it didn't go through, because it's a complicated system. Hence, CSR's don't know why its not going through. That's part of my job, to figure it out and either get an order through or advise the customer why it wont go thru. This is the way our system works.
People sometimes bitch about having to give out the same couple pieces of info 3 times, but honestly, it's not a really long process and we don't ask for a whole bunch of info to place an order. People like to bitch about it and tell me that they've been on the phone for 25 minutes (yeah, right, more like 5-10 minutes at the most, and that long only if we have calls holding before yours). But this lady took the cake.
This lady comes on my line on a busy Monday morning. I work graveyard, so it's the end of the day for me and I'm tired and cranky. First thing she tells me is that she is recording the call. She says she heard the recording that 'this call may be monitored for quality assurance' and demands that we record the call also. I have to explain to her that calls are recorded randomly, and I have no way of knowing which of my calls will be recorded. this makes her good and pissy, harrumphing that we need to record this call and of course I know how to do it, I just don't want to.
I ask for her mobile number and she has the fit about giving it out again. Her account came through with her, but I have to verify it. After hearing several minutes of high pitched shrieking, I finally pry the number out of her and look at her account. Apparently, the checking account she was trying to use was from a little podunk bank, and our computer system could not verify her account number. It's coming back as unrecognized. This is normal for little podunk banks---big banks, like WAMU, or B of A, or Wells Fargo have the technology that can patch into our technology so we can verify an account number and tell if it's valid or not. But little banks don't have this fancy stuff, so we must call in and verify the account number manually the first time it's used.
So I have to put her through a verification process. Verify her identity, then call and verify that its a valid account number in her name. this takes maybe 5 minutes, normally, but of course when you have a 3 minute hissy over every question I ask you, it's going to take longer. A lot longer. So I finally get it done. By this time I've been on the phone with her for nearly 20 minutes. Most of this time was taken up by her shrieking and carrying on.
She then proceeds to give me the following speech (reconstructed as best I can):
"Well, I just want you to know that I have never had an experience like this in my life. I have been on the phone for over an hour now
and I can't believe it's taken this long just to put minutes on my own cell phone. This is like something out of a horror movie. I had to speak with 3 different people (she means the automated system, and then 2 people) just to get to someone who could place my order. I had to give out my information three different times! I have recorded this call and I am sending it to all those late night talk shows so they can make fun of you sorry, sorry people. I'm sending this tape to Letterman and O'Brian and(she listed several others I don't remember.) They will have a field day over this! I hope this will embarrass your company enough to change their policies, because this is just harassment for the sake of harassment. You obviously hate your customers or you wouldn't put us through this exhausting and embarrassing process. I work with old people, and I can't imagine what it must be like for them to go through this! You need to know that you're excluding old people from using your cell phones with this policy, because they could never last through all this unbelieveable crap you just put me through! You're basically being prejudiced against old people with these policies. I mean, what would you do if you had to go through this process? It would make you mad, wouldn't it? Don't you think this is just way too much to put someone through? I mean what kind of beauracratic crap is this?!I replied no, it wouldn't upset me.
Well obviously you're not allowed to agree with me over the phone. You need to go and tell your manager that I am sending this tape out to all the late night programs and they will have a field day with this tape. I hope you're proud of yourselves, torturing people like this! I cannot believe what I just went through. This is the most outrageous thing I have ever been through. Those guys are going to cream you people on national television, and you'll deserve it, because you're purposely harassing law abiding people like me just to put minutes on our phones! I cannot believe this. I just can't. I don't know what I'm going to do the next time I want to use my phone, I'll have to book a godamn appointment to do it!!!
This speech lasted at least another 10 minutes. I finally had to tell her I had other calls I needed to answer. I told her that 3 times before she stopped ranting and trying toget me to agree with her. Afterwards I had to go take a break, it actually drained me, it was that stressful.
Too bad you can't get a recording of her call... it would be interesting to see how they could splice it up to make her look like an idiot..... (not that she isn't an idiot already, just w/ fancy technology you can really emphasize it by picking & choosing which parts to play). WOW. Crazy lady - and obviously she watches wayyy tooo much late night tv...
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