ETA on Doom: 5 Seconds

[FerroMancer]

Me: Thank you for calling, my name is Dennis, how can I help you?
Cust: Well, I dunno, I got transferred to you
Me: OK, what was your phone number?
Cust: Oh, I wish you wouldn’t have asked me that…..

...let's take a moment to consider that statement, shall we? Just pull it over, feel the impending doom, the sense of dread, hanging on the line. It's empty - but consuming. Very scary.

Me: What? Why?
Cust: I got a LIST here….
Me: Sir, what’s YOUR phone number?

He gives me the number. Nothing in the computer. Try a regional search.

Me: What’s your ZIP code?
Cust: Oh, man, all these codes and numbers, hard to remember…..



I ended up giving him another phone number to call. But as an aside, question for all you phone jockeys: Are you as tired as I am with people from the South saying, "Do what now?" 'Cause it's starting to get on the nerves of everyone on my team.

[MoonCat]

I don't get many calls from the south, and those folks are usually a little more polite than those of us up here in the frozen north. I get "ma'am", "please", "thank you" and "how y'all doin'?" when southerners call, generally.

I do get lots of people unclear on simple concepts, though. Ask for their phone # and I get "uh, MY phone number?" Ask for their name, I get "Joe." (silence). Yeah, I'm gonna need a surname, too, buddy. Ask for their billing phone number, I get, "do you need the area code?" Yes--if it's DIFFERENT from the one you just called me on! Otherwise NO.

[AlleyCat]

This is one of many reasons I hate dealing with southern states ....

But as an aside, question for all you phone jockeys: Are you as tired as I am with people from the South saying, "Do what now?" 'Cause it's starting to get on the nerves of everyone on my team.

[Flying Grype]

Oh man. I love the "do what now" and "how y'all doin". I spent a lot of time in Georgia when I was a kid and I love hearing that accent and dialect on the phone.

[Mytical]

I am told I have a southern accent. I also tend to say 'Ya'll' and such. Funny thing is it depends where I am. Half the time people think I am a 'hill billy', the other half think I am from somewhere like Columbus.

[AlleyCat]

I hate this when someone asks to speak to an American.

I am somewhat sorry for my accent, growing up in Africa does that ...
But I am a kickass tech support worker, I get many kudos calls to my supervisors (when teddy bears flying across the cubicle hell, don't hit me in the face). Besides if I were to put you back into the queue, odds of you talking to an American is about 10 %

I am Canadian, I know computers and I understand how fucking stupid computers can be. No amount of training and experience can possibly render anyone immune to be BS that computers can do.

But since you ask to speak to an American, I may ...
(a) Disconnect the call (and go on a 2 minute break, swearing all the way there and back)
(b) xfer you to Spanish Tech Support

[MickiGa1]

Oh man. I love the "do what now" and "how y'all doin". I spent a lot of time in Georgia when I was a kid and I love hearing that accent and dialect on the phone.

You must of been talking to me then. LOL I always ask the person I'm calling, "How are you today?" 99% of the time I get silence till it registers in their head "huh" and then answers. Alot of the time I have to keep going since they won't answer me. I didn't know I sounded really country till I was on TV this year and almost died when I heard myself.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I live in the South (Virginia is SOUTH of the Mason-Dixon line!) and I admit I've used the phrase "do what now?" once or twice, but mostly just as a means of saying "Say that again, I didn't catch what you wanted me to do."

As for the 'speak to an American' thing, heh... when I announced to my old job at the wholesale club that I was going to be working at an IT help desk, I joked that I was going to work on my Indian accent. ("Thank you, come again!") It got many laughs.