Why do NJ callers always give me such a hard time!

[MoonChild2007]

I am not judging anybody in NJ per say but its a pattern when i get phone calls from them. They are ALWAYS giving me a hard time about everything but this idiot takes the cake.

He wanted to make a payment through our automated system but the card did not go through because he didn't have the 3 digit code on the back of the card.
I proceded to tell him that due to a system upgrade, I needed that 3 digit code as well. He then started to get an attitude about it and that's when I told him that i could take a check however it would take 24 hours to post. ( a part of me wanted to shoot myself because i didn't just transferred him back to automated system instead of putting up his bullshit). he still had an attitude. That's when he wanted to pay by check. he then asked me my name. I told him, he then asked for my last name ( WTF does my last name have to do with anything!) . I didn't want to give it to him because it is not necessary.

Here is when the trouble started. He then started to tell me that he gave me his personal information so why can't I? Cause first of all asshole, there are a lot of people with your last name and who has different addresses and my name is not necessary. He then asked for a supervisor, that's right, over a pathetic payment which could have taken a mere 2 freaking minute to process and because i wouldn't give him my last name.

I hated this jerk with a passion. He must be the most paranoid jerk on the face of the planet and I hope one day, he cancels his service so another person would not deal with his bullshit.

He then goes off saying that it is not "personal". Look jerk, you have given me a hard time the first moment you came on my line. Don't talk to me about not taking it personal since you wanted to get me in trouble with a damn supervisor just because i wouldn't give you my last freaking name.

[Pezzle]

Hey, probably the same reason I cut people off on I-95 and tell the Jersey Devil story: WE HAVE AN ASSHOLE REPUTATION TO UPHOLD!

[Evil Queen]

I have the same problem with people from New York. Even worse is when I tell them I need them to fill out a credit card authorization form if the owner of said credit card will not be staying at the hotel. And they get even pissier after I tell them I need to see I.D. as well.

[MoonChild2007]

BTW, I know he could have come from anywhere and that where he is from doesn't mean that he is likely to be an asshole but I am just observing the calls that i get from new york, new jersey and connecticut.

[Evil Queen]

Don't worry. If you say something off colour you'll be warned.

Now, not all New Yorkers are pains in to patooties. Some of them are really very nice and it made me wonder where they originated.

I don't have much experiance with Connecticut. I have a very dear friend, almost a brother to me, from there. I occasionally meet them passing by in the hotel but I never really had to deal with them.
I keep telling my friend that someone from Georgia accidently left him in CT and his parents aren't really his.

[MoonChild2007]

I could have made a last name but the customer was pissing me off so badly that I could not think straight.

No way am I gonna give that out to angry customers, especially not if they live in the same town I do

Or customers who are pains in my ass even if they are not from the same state I am.

I can understand that the customer wants to make sure they can identify who they talked to

Over something very important, like an appointment or a service problem but not over something as stupid as a payment. I gave him my first name and that's more than enough info since oh, i document the payments anyway with even the auth code so if he has a problem, it will right there.

I can't help but wonder if he would have done with another rep.

[MoonChild2007]

What really pissed me off the most is that i had to escalate this to a damn supervisor, over a stupid payment! THAT's what pissed me off the most. I mean come on, this guy is paranoid enough to think that I am going to steal his personal information

Of all the times i have taken payments from customers, not one of them have given me this hard of a time.

However, i partly blame myself because i should just transferred him over to the check automated system cause then no harm no foul.

[greensinestro]

He then started to tell me that he gave me his personal information so why can't I? Cause first of all asshole, there are a lot of people with your last name and who has different addresses and my name is not necessary.

First of all, you're going to use his personal information for financial gain, and he wants to know where you live for retribution. Second, your name is necessary because again, he needs to know who used his information.

Trust me, this is the shit I've dealt with in call centers, and I am so glad that now, I no longer work in one. I deal with wholesale services, and it is great. I have found it better to work with, and less stressful.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I would just like to say, for the record, that I have lived in New Jersey all of my life, except for college and the year I lived just over the border in PA, and I am quite a nice person.

[MoonChild2007]

I would just like to say, for the record, that I have lived in New Jersey all of my life, except for college and the year I lived just over the border in PA, and I am quite a nice person.

Again, I am not judging all New jersey resident, just the ones who call our call center who always have a stick up their butt.

[DarkCSR]

Last Names...

Thankfully has been on vacation for the last week and a half after working non stop for the past year, waiting for a change over of jobs, etc.

One of the guys who called me found out exactly how difficult I can be.

Customer decided to call me a moron. I have a voice that can freeze water and make people realize that becoming hostile with me is not the wisest move you can make. Using said voice, I called him out. He kinda changed his tune. For some reason, I kept the call going, even though I should have terminated the call (policy or no policy... I don't take crap from anyone) Then he proceeded to ask for my last name.

Me: You're not getting my last name.
Customer: Why?
Me: Because I've already had one person call up and threaten me a couple of days ago. You're not getting my last name.

He mumbled something and then hung up. I rather enjoy punishing idiots when they get out of line. I'm also not afraid to use their own tactics against them.

[Alpha Strike]

I am not judging anybody in NJ per say but its a pattern when i get phone calls from them.

It's not just you. My co-workers and I - we work for the phone portion of a Midwestern company's customer service section - cringe when we see calls coming in from the East Coast in general (basically from DC on up) and specifically when we notice it's New York or New Jersey.

And while I'm not damning those states in their entirety, my own experiences have been that these callers are generally the nastiest of the bunch and are mostly responsible for what I would consider my "worst calls ever." Unfortunately the polite ones from those states are the exceptions, not the rule.

Are you not allowed to make up a last time? I always had bad calls get so much worse once I refused to give my last name, I started making up last names.

We don't have any set-policy at our current job - personally I'll give out my first name and then immediately follow it up by saying "... and I'm the only one here with that name."

At the previous job I worked at - which happens to be for the same company I'm working for now - we were encouraged to give out fake last names. Good thing to, because we had a few "customers" come by our facilities looking for us - including someone who wanted to talk with me. The receptionist for the building actually let the jackass in our secure building AND told him where in the building I worked. Thankfully I was off at lunch but still...

[An amusing side-note: as a gag, I picked a buddy's last name as the fake name to go along with my rather boring first name of "Paul." Little did I know that "Paul Mitchell" was a fairly popular name. It took one of my female co-workers to explain why I was getting strange hair-product related questions.]

[calulu]

Same at the Flowers O Suck. New Jersey calls you just know are going to be sucky before you pick up most of the time. And... the closer the caller is in proximity to Toms River seems to amp up the suckitude even more IMHO.

[MoonChild2007]

Another caller gave me a hard time, 35 MINUTE long of a hard time. The customer
gotten a disconnect notice in the mail stating that his service is due for interruption. It is CLEARLY stated in the system that his payment owed has been
paid and he is not due for interruption.

A smart person would be believe me since oh, I have been past due, paid my balance and my service has not been INTERRUPTED but not for this idiot. He states that he needs what I said in writing. When I told him twice, he demanded a supervisor. This guy is not going to make me look stupid so told him flat out that the supervisor will tell him the exact same thing. he didn't believe me so I had a supervisor take over the call. My supervsior isn't one of those hold back supervisors, she told him flat out that he is making this bigger than it really is.

So after wasting 15 minutes of my time and about 10 minutes of my supervisor's, he finally got off the line.

Why must people basically ignore everything that i tell them just to have some supervisor tell them the SAME thing.

Again, another customer giving me a hard time from New jersey.

[MrSmiley]

Are you not allowed to make up a last time? I always had bad calls get so much worse once I refused to give my last name, I started making up last names. I'd just tell my supervisor which name I'd chosen. None of them ever had a problem with it. I can understand that the customer wants to make sure they can identify who they talked to (to make a ridiculous complaint, but still..) and making up a last name was how I'd make sure they were able to do that without putting myself at risk for crazy stalkery behaviour.

I actually like that idea. If I was ever to manage a call center (and I'm not even in that profession so... I'm sorry for not being your nice boss) I think I'd institute a policy of "If they demand a last name give them... 'Keyword'" for everybody working there. I'm leaning towards something like 'Starfish' but hopefully it would be something that returns 0 results for the Phone Directories

I always kinda hated the couple of jobs I had where you had to use your last name in email correspondance, or the addy was setup firstname.lastname@company.com

That too. Mental note to also institute aliased accounts, either using group mailbox (like callcenter@company.com), or individual aliases (rep282@company.com) which redirect to the proper people.

Quite easy to do on the IT side of most systems.