Worst SC Experience

[PizzaBoy]

Alright, in this topic, we will discuss our WORST experience at dealing with a customer. I'm not just talking about someone who you would laugh at later. I am talking about the type that piss you off so badly that not only is your day ruined, you're pissed off about it for at least a week. Since I brought this up, I guess I'll start.

It was about a year and half ago at Domino's Pizza, and I was working the phones. This bitchy customer calls in and orders three pizzas. One of them was clearly a plain cheese pizza. I remember hearing her say it and I even repeated it back to her and had it verified. I then sent the order through. About 30 minutes later, she decided to call back and yell "I WANTED EXTRAVAGANZA, NOT JUST CHEESE! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!"

To give you a little background, I had only been working there for about a month and the manager at the time told me to give him the phone when something like this happens due to the fact that he did not think I was ready for it. This was also the first job I had in which I dealt with customers, so I had no experience with that. This manager was a nasty old bitter man. If you want to read more, read this http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=11908. Yes, that is the same guy. The conversation I had with him went something like this.

PizzaBoy: Hey, this customer is complaining that her pizzas were wrong.
Manager: THEN FIX IT!! YOUR JOB IS TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS!! YOU READ THE BOOK, NOW FIX IT!! (I have no problem with the fact that this is my job, but he himself stated that I was supposed to let him handle this kind of thing until I am ready).
*He then throws the phone in my hand
Bitch: Are you the manager! My pizzas are wrong and I want them fixed! (no bitch, I heard cheese, not extravaganza)
PizzaBoy: We can send you an extravaganza, but we will need to charge you the price difference (about $2). (As far as this goes, it really varies with the manager. I thought for sure that he would want to charge her the difference because the price would be much higher).
Bitch: WHAT?!! HOW DARE YOU! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE!! I swear to God I'm never going to do business with you ever again and (bunch of ranting I couldn't even understand) (It's not like I asked for her to pay for the whole price again, it was just $2. She asked like I told her she had to donate a kidney if she wanted to order pizza here.)

The manager was looking over my shoulder. He just sat there like he was enjoying my pain. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. He had told me that since I read the book, I should know how to handle these situations. What no one realized was that there was nothing in the book about how to deal with customers that are extremely pissed off.

EVENTUALLY, the manager took the phone and took care of it. Afterwards, the sadistic piece of crap looked into the computer to see who took the initial order.

Manager: (with an almost smile, like he knew he had an opportunity to scream at me). Guess who took the order? It was you!! You screwed up! This is all your fault!
PizzaBoy: I could be wrong, but I swear that she said she wanted just cheese.
Manager: (pretty much ignoring what I just said) Well still, I gotta pay the driver 75 cents now because you can't do your job right.
PizzaBoy: Again, I could be wrong, but I swear that she said she wanted just cheese.
The manager then completely ignored me and went back to work like yelling was part of his job. Later in the day, he bitched to me about how all of his worker were screwing him over, and how no one can do their job properly. This not only ruined my day, but it pissed me off for the next week. I guess this story could also fall under the Morons in Management section, but I figured we would get some better stories from all of you if you talked about horrible customers.

[Mike Taylor]

Aww, damn. You got it from both directions. I think I would have quit and sent a detailed letter to corporate about the manager.

[JustADude]

Nothing really bad like that here, except for one call during my brief stint as a telemarketer, a job I left because I just couldn't check my conscience at the door. I can sell GOOD product like it's no tomorrow, but trying to convince people that $298 for toner and $72 for ink is a good deal... no way.

I call up, run the usual routine of almost-but-not-quite lying to get the info I need, then ask to speak to the department head, as I was told they'd be the best authorized person for the category. They say she's somewhere else and I need to dial a different number, so I get it from them and call over there. I get her PA and I tell him I need to speak with the DH about supplies for the printers in the Assessor's office. The PA just hears 'Assessor's office' and drags the DH out of a meeting, so when I launch into the "Oh woe is me, we're stuck with got new printers and have toner we can't use. Can you help?" routine we're supposed to sell with, I get blasted with both barrels. It's not MY fault her PA was too much of a moron to actually listen to what someone's saying and tell them to call back later. Guy didn't even MENTION she was in a meeting, because I would've told him I'd call back later.

Ruined my day, my week, and my comfortable illusion that what I was doing WASN'T dishonest because we were selling exactly what we said we were.

[Best Made Tacos]

That manager sounds horrible - bet he had a high turnover of staff.

I'm fortunate that none of my customers pursued me as doggedly as some people here have experienced but I will record the story of one woman who pissed me off mightily. Luckily it had an awesome ending.

Background - I worked at a major bank in the personal banking customer service section call centre. We were pretty much a catch-all, everyone came to our section first and if we couldn't help them we'd redirect them. New legislation had come in a year ago that required much stricter rules for allowing people to be given info on the accounts - and rightly so, it was far too easy to bluff your way into other peoples accounts and steal their information and money.

So, we had to ask 5 questions, if the customer couldn't provide a phone PIN. Full name (matching on the account in question), D.O.B, Number and type of accounts, mailing address and a recent transaction amount. We could substitute 2 of these for other questions if the customers got them wrong - ask for the listed phone number, for instance. If they still got these wrong but had a personal banker assigned to them (ie, had a lot of money) we could offer to put them thru to the banker without the ID process.

I had a woman with 3 accounts come thru to me - she ignored my greeting and said, in a rather snooty tone "I need my balance and some transaction information". No please or thankyou - clearly I'm just a robot to be given commands.

Me: Certainly. May I ask who I'm speaking to?

Her: *angry sigh* Can't you tell from the number I'm calling from?

Me: "I still need the caller to verify it for me, ma'am, if you wouldn't mind."

Her: "It's Mrs Annoying. Now can you just give me the information?"

Me: "I will do my best to help you with that, Mrs A, but for security purposes I do need to ask you some questions to confirm your identity and allow you access to the account. I'll run thru them as quickly as I can."

Her: "Just hurry it up then, I'm very busy and don't have time to waste on you people."

Me: "OK, do you have a phone PIN?"

Her: *sarcastic voice* "No, I don't have a phone PIN."

Me: "Alright then, may I have your name and address, please?"

She gives them, huffing and puffing angrily at me the whole time.

Me: "And can you tell me the number and type of accounts you have? Just savings/cheque, that kind of thing"

She names two, leaving out the third. I prompt her gently, she angrily denies having any more accounts, I confirm that the extra account is valid and not terribly new and is in use, and politely try to give her a few hints.

Her: "I told you, I don't have any other accounts! I think I would know! What is wrong with you, why can't you just tell me what I want to know?!"

Me: "I'm very sorry, but we need to enforce security measures here and they help to protect your details as well...."

Her: "That's so stupid! It's not true!"

Me: "Uh (yes, it's federal law)...well, another option is.."

Before I can finish, she snaps at me - "I don't have time for this! Get me your supervisor!"

Me: "Well, OK, but she'll tell you the same thing.."

Her (In tones of ice): "I TOLD YOU TO GET ME YOUR SUPERVISOR"

I go fetch my manager, who is an ambitious and unforgiving woman, and is not exactly sympathetic to her staff. This is not looking good. She's having lunch and is irritated to have to get up. She also spills pasta sauce on her expensive skirt.

Manager: "GRRRRR"

She gets on and curtly introduces herself.

Whiny customer: "Are you the manager? I'm a customer with a lot of money in this business and this girl is giving me terrible service. Is she new? Because I am totally unsatisfied, she keeps asking me these stupid questions and I want you to take action and have her censured and..."

Manager: "No! She's one of my best and most experienced customer service reps and YOU need to comply with the security questions."

Customer: "buh buh buh...."

Manager: "Look, I don't have time for this. You have a personal banker, I'll transfer you to him and he can take care of this. In the future, I suggest you call him and stop wasting my employee's time."



Wow! I transfer snarky, snotty 'rules don't apply to me' woman to her banker and chuckle as I hear her start loudly grumbling into his ear about 'these people at the call centre'. He's consoling her in a way that makes me think he hears a lot of annoying rants from this woman. She sounds positively shell shocked that one of the plebs has dared speak back to her. The banker is soothingly saying "Just call me in the future and you won't have to go through that again."

She pissed me off hugely - I refuse to break the rules and she tries to get me fired for it, because she can't remember her own personal details. She's wealthy enough that the bank will keep kissing her arse but for the first time in 12 months, my manager gave me some praise

I've had customers yell at me and go on bizarro rants, but this "I'm so wealthy" woman angered me the most. I think it was the sneer in her voice and the way she kept referring to me as 'girl'.

[justZu]

I started to post my long story about Mr Entitlement-Whore and the time I snapped like a lunatic, but oh, it is ugly. I won't post it all here because I really did not behave appropriately. No matter how the SC acted, I was wrong and luckily my boss is a fantastically understanding guy who hates customers.

Edited version:
Mr E-W was an ass, I found out that it is possible to snap and go temporarily insane, I should've walked away. I have never before, in my entire long life, allowed a customer to get under my skin like that. I hope I never do again.

It was at the NCAA Lacrosse playoffs. I am working the finals and the championship game this weekend.
It is sold out.

[sp00by]

Cheese/Extravaganza ...... hmm.. Cheese..... Extravaganza ..... CHEEEESE.. EX-TRAV-A-GAN-ZA ...

I'm pretty sure if you believe you heard cheese you heard "CHEESE". Some people just love to bitch.... possible she was trying to get a freebie too.. that'd be my guess.

[Kilamon]

Cheese/Extravaganza ...... hmm.. Cheese..... Extravaganza ..... CHEEEESE.. EX-TRAV-A-GAN-ZA ...

I'm pretty sure if you believe you heard cheese you heard "CHEESE". Some people just love to bitch.... possible she was trying to get a freebie too.. that'd be my guess.

I wonder just how many kinds of cheese can be used on a pizza....

[Lace Neil Singer]

4? I've seen 4 cheese pizza advertised before.

And the worst customer I've ever had would have been the arsehole who shouted at me and made me cry.

[Blisskat]

I'd have to say that my worst experience was at the Tag office (Department of Motor Vehicles), and I was helping a man with his car registration. He was lacking something (probably proof of insurance). He wasn't over the top or anything obnoxious, but he did say with a very calm threatening voice, "You know, this is the reason why people come in to places like this with guns and shoot everyone."

I mean come on! I am not making unreasonable demands, giving you the run-around, acting snotty or rude or bitchy, I greeted you and treated you with respect, but I DO have to follow the state laws.

I am still angry about this guy to this day (3 years later). What creeped me out the most was how controlled his anger was, and how he calmly threatened me like he did. It depressed me for about a week, and made me feel like no matter how I treated people, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

[The Laughing Man]

At my current job the movie theater, my worst customer experience was this old guy who for no apparent reason asked me if I eat the food that we sell. Keep in mind that I hadn't said anything to this guy. Out of the blue he says:

Him - Do you eat the food here?
Me - Um....I"m sorry what?
Him - Do you eat the food here?
Me - Sometimes.
Him - Cause you're kind of heavy.

I really don't like fat jokes and that really pissed me off. It was one of those moments where I was so flabbergasted that I couldn't react by doing anything but walking away. That ruined the reset of my day and I still don't know why he would insult me like that for no reason other than because he's either just an asshole or senile.

[blas]

The dirty, filthy, vile woman who got me suspended for 3 days from my job at the grocery store.

She was trying to pull a scam. When I called her on it, she threw a tantrum of soap opera like porportions about how she is on food stamps and how I was taking food out of her children's mouths. Yep, I'm taking those Doritos and Pepsi bottles right out of their mouths.......get real lady.

I hope that bitch enjoyed her gift cards and books of coupons!

[Retail Associate]

He wasn't over the top or anything obnoxious, but he did say with a very calm threatening voice, "You know, this is the reason why people come in to places like this with guns and shoot everyone."

I really am surprised that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. The way I see people behave everyday just boggles the mind. You're almost scared to go into work anymore.

...and made me feel like no matter how I treated people, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

Ya got that right.

[KellyHabersham]

Thus far, the worst SC experience I've had was the woman I mentioned in this thread - http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=11606. Because the jewelry in question had been a gift, the customer was either unable/unwilling to provide me any info as to what the prices of the items had been when they were bought, and since we don't use gift receipts at this division of Macy's, that didn't help matters any. Apparently she'd had problems with returning stuf before at Macy's, so I could understand her frustration, but.....it's NOT my fault that we don't use gift receipts, that I am not able to override something when the terminal says "Override not allowed", ....etc. Not to mention that a co-worker had handed this woman off to me, so I was stuck dealing with her for almost an hour while he got to go around and help the nice customers.

[myswtghst]

My worst was probably the woman who refused to tell me her name, but kept insisting "this is an emergency, I don't have time for this!" and ended up asking to speak to my sup. Granted, in the end, I was right, my sup knew I was right and told me so, and I got the last word (she gave the sup her name, not knowing I was still on the line).

Here's the thing, and the reason this sticks with me. With our computer system, I physically cannot create a case without a name, it's just the way the program was designed. I need a name to open the case, and if she had just listened the 18 times I calmly explained this, she wouldn't have wasted so much of her precious time. I can never understand why, if you're in "such a hurry" and it's "so major an emergency" you can't just give me what I ask you for. I'm not asking for my health, lady.

[Amethyst Hunter]

The dirty, filthy, vile woman who got me suspended for 3 days from my job at the grocery store.

She was trying to pull a scam. When I called her on it, she threw a tantrum of soap opera like porportions about how she is on food stamps and how I was taking food out of her children's mouths. Yep, I'm taking those Doritos and Pepsi bottles right out of their mouths.......get real lady.

I hope that bitch enjoyed her gift cards and books of coupons!

This is why I will NEVER, EVER work at another grocery store job again after I leave this one (June 2, baby! BOO-YAH!!). You meet some of the NASTIEST, most VILE scum crawling the face of the planet.