Just a random WTF?

[Slave to the Phone]

So a minor update on my swearing. Our sups randomly observe our interviews. What this means to me is that I'll turn around to grab a form out of my drawer, see someone standing behind me and clothesline myself with the headset cord.

It has also resulted in my sup making a list of words that I use with my customers to discuss with me.

Said list included:

Miscreants
Ner' do wells
Piece of used dog food
claptrap
misbegotten
perverse
recalcitrant
obstreperous
and when I'm really mad:
loathe
despise
detest
abhor

Apparently, they like to write the words down and talk about them while they are in their meeting. "Holy cow, Slave actually used misbegotten piece of cat food and abhor in the same sentence?"

Customers laugh with me over our mutual hatred of our system, sups are happy and I'm now famous and free to express myself as long as I don't use the dreaded PH word.

All is good in my world

[Foxbite]

Customers laugh with me over our mutual hatred of our system, sups are happy and I'm now famous and free to express myself as long as I don't use the dreaded PH word.

All is good in my world

Glorious! I'm glad they aren't curtailing your freedom of expression during frustration!

[raw1989]

Im dead over here because I am on public assistance and some of these would have made me laugh your co worker sounds like she has a stick up her butt and needs it removed. I work in a call center we have a no cussing rule in our employee hand book lets just say im not sure the last time that was fallowed.

[Slave to the Phone]

Wait, wait!!! This didn't happen because my co-worker complained. It was her customer who complained.

My co-worker laughs at things she has heard me say during interviews.

We know that applying for public assistance is a horrible, time consuming and often humiliating process.

I am an eligibility worker. In my mind, my job is to help my customers get all the benefits they are eligible for. If I can do anything to make the process easier, that is my job.

I give people food every day. I have spent my adult life doing animal rescue and supporting the local food banks and homeless shelters. Now I get paid to help people. How great is that? Making people laugh and enjoy my part of the process is a bonus.

[raw1989]

that's what I ment I rarely complain on the calls because all I want to do is give u the info and get the hell off the phone I have other things to do and wile I wish I didn't need the help and could get off the benefits im doing what I can. I work full time and have a special needs kid and still need help ( yes he is 100% disabled.)

[crazyofficeclerk]

I have to admit, I shared this with my supervisor who laughed and laughed. Then she realized how many of us she would have to write up if the customers overheard us or reported half the stuff that we say during our interviews. We are lucky because our food stamp interviews/changes are all done over the phone so we rarely see clients in the office. Which based on the things that are said is probably a good thing because if other clients overheard us there could be issues.

[raw1989]

I have to admit, I shared this with my supervisor who laughed and laughed. Then she realized how many of us she would have to write up if the customers overheard us or reported half the stuff that we say during our interviews. We are lucky because our food stamp interviews/changes are all done over the phone so we rarely see clients in the office. Which based on the things that are said is probably a good thing because if other clients overheard us there could be issues.

I think this was over the phone but ours are done over the phone too. howver if I shard this with my office they would be dead on the floor laughing.

[Slave to the Phone]

raw1989 you sound like the sort of customer I love. You show up prepared, pay attention and answer the questions and provide the requested verifications. You are doing the best you can and just need a little help. That is what we are here for.

crazyofficeclerk we are a kiosk office, but a lot of my coworkers are old school and like to do ftf (face to face) interviews. My immediate cube neighbors are all about kiosk interviews so there are rarely customers in my part of the cave.

The only reason I was overheard "swearing" was because all 12 kiosks were full and my cube neighbor had to have a ftf with her customer.

Funny story about today: I pulled a customer from the lobby and all the kiosks were full. I looked in the intake notes and saw "Kiosk interview only, see X"

Nice, just what I needed. I instant messaged X, who told me to wait...great, the clock is ticking on this interview...so I started reviewing his case. Felon, not a disqualifying event. Quick look up for his convictions. All violence related. A fast look at the termination statement from his last employer. Threatened violence to a supervisor. Just the sort of person I want to have a ftf with. NOT!

X messaged me back that they had opened a kiosk.

I actually finished the interview in time despite the wait to start. He was very polite and cooperative, had all of the things he thought I might need and when I hobbled out to the kiosk to copy his pile of papers and sign, he pulled a chair from a now empty kiosk so I could sit down while we sorted the papers.

I considered that to be a very considerate gesture, it didn't appear to me at all that he wanted me to be sitting down so he could stand up and intimidate me. and no, I didn't sit down. Mostly because once I'm standing, I can walk and do stuff, its the getting up part that can be iffy at times.

He was just the sort of person that I would have been willing to have a ftf interview with. Just goes to show that you never know what you are going to get in our line of work.

[raw1989]

I usually send in my docs before requested so they do the phone interview and can approve it at the same time.

[Slave to the Phone]

^^^
I adore you. seriously, you are an A1 customer and I'd love to work your case any day.

[raw1989]

^^^
I adore you. seriously, you are an A1 customer and I'd love to work your case any day.

the only thing I go around with them is child support no I don't know where the court order is anymore no im not finding it no im not driving 3+ hours away to get a copy go find the one from 2 years ago NOTHING has changed on it and if that does help you go pull my husbands case with the department of revenue like im lying because I just have an extran 231.50 to fork out for my husbands kid um no I really don't but I manage so my registration does not get suspended.

[Slave to the Phone]

Child support cases are kinda tricky because of the required documentation, which I personally think is rather extreme and also because often the support ordered isn't what is being received.

In our state, if the child support was ordered in this state and paid through the courts, I can see it. I can't remember the last time I had a case where the amount ordered was the amount paid every month, its usually all over the place with various amounts of back payments.

Changes subject.

On Friday, I had a customer tell me that I had no right to ask her about the self employment income she receives because she has an LLC which is a company and not a person. She was partially right. I can't ask her for her LLC balance sheets. I can, however, demand verification of her income for the last year which means that I can ask to see her tax returns.

This did not please her and she demanded to see a manager. Who told her the same thing. She is going to get a lawyer and demand a fair hearing, which is fine with us.

SC's are the same, no matter where they are. They don't read what they are signing, which in this case includes agreeing to disclose all sources of income, and their understanding of the law is often gleaned from TV, facebook and a friend of a friend.

[crazyofficeclerk]

Self employment sucks.

[Slave to the Phone]

Farm income sucks even worse. They get dollar for dollar as far as expenses are concerned, but have to show a year's worth to be able to average their monthly expenses.

And I don't even want to talk about migrant farm workers. As soon as the translator tells me that the men are out of the house for a couple of months, I internally groan and resign myself to a 2 hour interview due to having to spend so much time looking up things in the policy manual.

Our office has customer survey slips in the lobby. When asked, I tell my customer that they do make a difference. (If a survey comes in that says something positive, it is read in our morning meeting, and mentioned during our monthly evals.)

I got one last week that said that I was very friendly and helpful and that I wasn't so stressed out that it showed.

Thank you?

[raw1989]

Slave our child support is threw dept of revenue if you get any type of assistance his ex does so it goes threw them and my son is someone else and if I didn't corporate with them I wouldn't get my benefits so they can see it they just want the court order its NOT my court order and I don't have a choice on where the papers our they are my HUSBANDS divorce papers that tech I have no part of. I know they can see them so if anything changed they would see it, they finally just pull it before I call them and I haven't ever had to refax it I don't even think they ask me for it anymore because ill tell them to go find it themself's. My son who is special needs takes up all my time I really don't have time to change down child support papers. My son has a feeding tube is partially bound to a wheel chair and we just found out my 4 year old may require oxygen. So I really don't have time for there nonsense when I know they can see it because I wouldn't be getting my benefits for my kids if I didn't go after my ex.


Adding: It is ordered and paid threw the same state we just moved county's so they can see it, and we generally pay the amount due with in the month its due on the first but I have to split it up so that I can pay the support and all our bills as well. However because of the processing delay it shows up sometimes late but I can send in my bank statement if requested showing its paid before the end of the month.