Profile of a stupid customer: The font of misplaced aggression. (Looooooong)

[Dingwell]

Hola all. It's been a while.

I return with a recent call I took while working an overtime shift. It actually ended my overtime shift as the call was so spectacularly sucky that I just logged out when it was done and went home.

Dingwell: Me.
SC: Our font of misplaced aggression.

Dingwell: Thank you for...

SC: I DEMAND to know if we have DSL service or not! (When they don't even let you finish your greeting, that's a strong indicator of upcoming aggravation.)

Dingwell: I can certainly help you with that. Can you please verify your home telephone number?

SC: XXX-XXX-XXXX

I check the number. There is DSL service on the number. I'm guessing they don't have synch or something, but I'm a little baffled by the aggression. Customers usually don't get angry until things don't work after a week or so. This number is active ahead of schedule so this woman is either psycho or somethings gone terribly wrong.

Dingwell: There is service on that number, it was scheduled to be turned on next wednesday but it does appear that there was some open time at the Central office and they hooked it up earlier for you.

SC: What sort of scam are you people running? This is fraudulent!

Dingwell: Uh... if there's a problem with the DSL service I can certainly help you with that.

SC: I don't want your help! I don't want DSL! You people had no right to put this crap on my phone line! Take it off now!

(I'd like to take a moment and point out that this is actually a first after five odd years of working for Kersnizon. I've never had anyone actualy angry that their service was ready early.)

Dingwell: Well, I do apologize that you feel that way... if you don't want the service you can certainly cancel it and we can remove it...

SC: Are you proud of yourself young man? Are you proud that you make a living defrauding people?

Dingwell: Ma'am, I have no idea what the problem is here. If you don't want DSL service we can certainly remove it from...

SC: I never wanted it! And now you're going to bill me for it anyways! You're a bunch of thieves! You're worthless thieves!

Dingwell: Ma'am, I work in tech support, not billing, but I doubt you'll be billed for this if you just cancel your service.

SC: I shouldn't have to cancel service that I NEVER ORDERED IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Dingwell: Ma'am, I do apologize, but I didn't put the order on your line and I'm just trying to help you.

SC: Who ordered this service? Who? Nobody else is authorized to add or remove things to my phone line except myself and my husband!

I check the account again, the name doesn't match her name or her husbands name.

Dingwell: Well the name on the account doesn't match either of your names...

SC: Is it XXXX XXXXX?

Dingwell: Yes it is.

SC: That's my son! Who authorized my son to put DSL on my telephone?

Dingwell: I don't have access to that ma'am, he most likely just called up and ordered...

SC: You pack of thieves! THIEVES! HE HAS NO ACCESS TO MY PHONE LINE! THERE'S A NOTE ON MY ACCOUNT SPECIFICALLY STATING THAT HE IS NOT PERMITTED TO MAKE CHANGES TO MY PHONE SERVICE!

Dingwell: Ma'am, as I stated, if you don't want DSL service you can certainly cancel it...

SC: This is fraudulent! Fraudulent! Do you think I can't press charges?

(Press charges? Over DSL service? Yeah, that'll happen. Our busy DA's will set aside the rapist's, murderers and drug peddlers to lock up DSL technicians. Ooooh. Look at me shake...)

Dingwell: Ma'am, I've already apologized to you and if you'd like to cancel your service...

SC: I never wanted service! This is fraudulent!

Dingwell: Yes, I do believe you made that point already, nevertheless, the number for our billing group is xxx-xxx-xxx. You can contact them tomorrow...

SC: Tomorrow? I want this cancelled now!

Dingwell: Well I can't cancel this for you because I'm not allowed to make changes to your account and I don't have access to that database. You can call our billing group...

SC: I have to make another phone call? I never ordered this in the first place and you're going to make me call some one else? This is fraudulent!!!

Dingwell: Fraudulent. Well I do apologize that you feel that way. As I tried to tell you before, you can contact our billing group if you wish to cancel service.


SC: Your apology is not accepted! This is fraudulent! I'm sending you people to jail!

Dingwell: Well, that's all I can really do for you. Is there anything else I can help you with?

SC: Good day! *Click*

And I sat there, in after call work, just astounded. What the hell is wrong with people? Has civility and common sense gone right out the window?

Seriously, I don't know if her son is some sort of scammer that has tried to steal money from her or what, but it's just DSL service, not a mortgage. Just call billing and cancel the service.

God D**N the thought of that call STILL makes me shudder.

[TennesseePieman]

Well, if you would just quit trying to defraud people, you wouldn't have calls like that.

(ducks)

[hecubus]

[Mr. Rogers]The word for today, children, is "fraudulent." Can you say "fraudulent?" Good, I knew you could.[/Mr. Rogers]

[CanadaGirl]

Guess she's never heard of parenting.

She must have just discovered that nice "smart sounding" word that day, too.

All too funny!

[AFpheonix]

[Mr. Rogers]The word for today, children, is "fraudulent." Can you say "fraudulent?" Good, I knew you could.[/Mr. Rogers]

[Peewee Herman] Oh oh! She said the secret word! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!![/PeeWee]

[friendofjimmyk]

I would say that my heart was broken over reading this post, but that would be fraudulent!

My heart did not break, but I got angry WITH you at this woman! How many times can someone say the same thing? Can't they at least come up with something new! Plus, I just LOVE the ones that think that they are going to send us customer service folks to jail! They're right up there with the ones that think they'll put multi-billion dollar corporations out of business!

[Seanette]

Just so I have some idea if I read that straight, the OP did say that the account holder (person whose name appeared on the account) was apparently the son of the caller, correct? If so, how does she get a say in what's put on an account that is not in her name?

[Crawley]

Vizzini: Fraudulent!

Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[karma_gypsy]

So instead of getting angry with the supposed son, the one who authorized the DSL on the phone line. . . she's getting upset with the person who has NOTHING to do with the whole account setup thing . . . I'd hate hear about the person who had to deal with her call the next day . . .

And how old is the son? I'm sure if he's fairly young, that would probably raise some eyebrows, but if he was old enough, who would've known he wasn't allowed to add DSL to the line or not. . . And instead of saying "yes, yes, I want it cancelled," she kept whining and moaning about taking you guys to jail and how fraudulent you're being . . . (notice a pattern here?)

[Jester]

Easy solution to a situation where you are worried about people changing your account...set up the account so that only certain people, or people with the correct password, can change the account.

The utilities for my apartment? In my name.
You know who's authorized to make changes on those accounts? Me.
You know what my roommates do if they want something changed with one of the utilities? They tell me. Because they don't have the password. And they are fine with that setup.
You know why? Because we are civil, rational beings.

Novel concept, I know.

[Imogene]

"Are you suggesting I would've tampered with evidence?"
"No... no, of course not... but, now that you've mentioned it..."
"Mister Flynn! To suggest that I would sully my reputation by adding false statements to your client's diary is agregious, and... and..."
"Fraudulent?"
(Okay, so the line was 'Eroneous', not fraudulent...)

[HYHYBT]

Not an SC story, but I had sort of a parallel situation with the phone company here. Grandma had a stroke and went into the nursing home. The phone bill was in her name; in fact, the utility bill (combined gas, electric, water, and trash pickup) still is because there's been no reason to change it. Anyway, when I went to get DSL service I specifically asked the rep if there would be any problem since my name wasn't on the account. She said it didn't matter, asked what username and password I wanted, etc. A few days later the modem came, and I connected it. A few more days and the signal light came on. But they'd set the name and password to something else, and when I called they would not tell me what because it wasn't my account. So apparently Alltel, at least, will let just anyone add on anything they want but then won't let you *use* it...