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Well, not really. This is another tale from Dislexic Schizophrenics (DS), my previous employer. View the other threads I've started for info about them.
Our cast of characters for this story:
Me
DY (Dumb Yutz)
BM (Bastardo de Mentira, owner of DS)
SC (That Super Sucky Customer)
I was training DY to take my position. See my thread "Where's The Tab Key?" for info on how that turned out. Today, I was doing calls, he was listening to them.
A few points about DS:
They are a building subcontractor dealing (primarily) with low voltage wiring (telephones, alarm systems, etc). Basically, while your house is being built, you contract with DS to come in and install various pieces of equipment. Once this is done, and you've moved in, you can call up for the last appointment, wherein DS will come in, finalize and test connections, and show you how to use your equipment. When scheduling your appointment, we would try to schedule it such that our installer would spend more time working in someone's home than driving, and would let you choose a morning or afternoon appointment. There were no evening appts.
The two most common calls were final appointment and service calls. This call involved a final appointment. Most of this call has been blotted by memory. I remember reading somewhere that intense emotion would prevent long term memories from forming. This particular call had me the angriest I can ever recall being there. As a result, I can only provide highlights of this call. What you see below is about as far from a transcript as I can get, I think.
Me: Thank you for calling DS, how can I help you?
SC: I need to schedule my final appointment.
Me: We have an opening on Friday, would you prefer morning or afternoon? (NOTE: This had to be Monday or Tuesday, as those were the only days we allowed DY near the phones)
SC: That's terrible! Too far out. Anything before then?
Me: No, I'm sorry. Friday is the soonest. Morning or afternoon?
SC: I want him there right at 9am.
Me: I can't guarantee that sir. Our appointment time frames are 7am to noon, and noon to 3.
SC: F*** you. You will have him there right on time, or I'll be coming to visit you personally. Not your company, not your boss. *YOU*
Me: Sir, I do not have to accept that sort of language. If you do not clean up your act, I will terminate this call, and this appointment will not be honored.
SC: *random cursing*
Me: This is your final warning, sir.
SC shaped up for a few minutes. Putting someone on the schedule was actually an arduous process. It took several minutes to get all the details right. Finally, though, I was less than 60 seconds from finishing up. That's when SC feels the need to pipe up:
SC: So, Pedersen, you ever have anybody poke you in the eye with a sharp pencil?
Me: Excuse me? (Thinking: I did *not* just hear that crap, did I?)
SC: You ever have anybody poke a sharp pencil in your eye?
Me: This call is now over, and this appointment will not be honored. Good bye.
I hung up the phone. DY had a look of absolute disbelief on his face. I was shaking so hard I had to go take a walk. When I got back inside, I saw BM, and told him what had happened. I also said that I would not speak with SC again, period. And recommended that if we have someone who is willing to threaten over the phone, that we should consider refusing further service.
BM agreed with me, there. Well, said he did. I figured out a little while later that he found one of our installers to complete the work without telling me about it, and collect the rest of the money that way. The rest of the money totalled less than $800, but that was worth more than keeping the employees happy and feeling like they could trust their boss.
As I said earlier, I can't remember a lot of this. The individual in question was very argumentative, and very offensive (to the point of being personally insulting), in addition to cursing at me. I can put up with a lot, but that one went *way* over the top.
Just another one of a long line of fun days at DS (and believe me, I've barely even begun telling these tales).
Our cast of characters for this story:
Me
DY (Dumb Yutz)
BM (Bastardo de Mentira, owner of DS)
SC (That Super Sucky Customer)
I was training DY to take my position. See my thread "Where's The Tab Key?" for info on how that turned out. Today, I was doing calls, he was listening to them.
A few points about DS:
They are a building subcontractor dealing (primarily) with low voltage wiring (telephones, alarm systems, etc). Basically, while your house is being built, you contract with DS to come in and install various pieces of equipment. Once this is done, and you've moved in, you can call up for the last appointment, wherein DS will come in, finalize and test connections, and show you how to use your equipment. When scheduling your appointment, we would try to schedule it such that our installer would spend more time working in someone's home than driving, and would let you choose a morning or afternoon appointment. There were no evening appts.
The two most common calls were final appointment and service calls. This call involved a final appointment. Most of this call has been blotted by memory. I remember reading somewhere that intense emotion would prevent long term memories from forming. This particular call had me the angriest I can ever recall being there. As a result, I can only provide highlights of this call. What you see below is about as far from a transcript as I can get, I think.
Me: Thank you for calling DS, how can I help you?
SC: I need to schedule my final appointment.
Me: We have an opening on Friday, would you prefer morning or afternoon? (NOTE: This had to be Monday or Tuesday, as those were the only days we allowed DY near the phones)
SC: That's terrible! Too far out. Anything before then?
Me: No, I'm sorry. Friday is the soonest. Morning or afternoon?
SC: I want him there right at 9am.
Me: I can't guarantee that sir. Our appointment time frames are 7am to noon, and noon to 3.
SC: F*** you. You will have him there right on time, or I'll be coming to visit you personally. Not your company, not your boss. *YOU*
Me: Sir, I do not have to accept that sort of language. If you do not clean up your act, I will terminate this call, and this appointment will not be honored.
SC: *random cursing*
Me: This is your final warning, sir.
SC shaped up for a few minutes. Putting someone on the schedule was actually an arduous process. It took several minutes to get all the details right. Finally, though, I was less than 60 seconds from finishing up. That's when SC feels the need to pipe up:
SC: So, Pedersen, you ever have anybody poke you in the eye with a sharp pencil?
Me: Excuse me? (Thinking: I did *not* just hear that crap, did I?)
SC: You ever have anybody poke a sharp pencil in your eye?
Me: This call is now over, and this appointment will not be honored. Good bye.
I hung up the phone. DY had a look of absolute disbelief on his face. I was shaking so hard I had to go take a walk. When I got back inside, I saw BM, and told him what had happened. I also said that I would not speak with SC again, period. And recommended that if we have someone who is willing to threaten over the phone, that we should consider refusing further service.
BM agreed with me, there. Well, said he did. I figured out a little while later that he found one of our installers to complete the work without telling me about it, and collect the rest of the money that way. The rest of the money totalled less than $800, but that was worth more than keeping the employees happy and feeling like they could trust their boss.
As I said earlier, I can't remember a lot of this. The individual in question was very argumentative, and very offensive (to the point of being personally insulting), in addition to cursing at me. I can put up with a lot, but that one went *way* over the top.
Just another one of a long line of fun days at DS (and believe me, I've barely even begun telling these tales).
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