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Hi, everyone. Long-time reader, first-time poster. Quick background: I work inbound customer service for a major insurance company for existing policies (God, my parents must be so proud I chose this path instead of that whole pesky "college" thing). Sucky customers are pretty par for the course here, but I had one that absolutely took first place in the Hall of Fame.
SC:
Me: Hi!
HD: Help Desk
Me: Thank you for calling so-and-so. My name is Wade, how may I help you?
SC: Yes, I was pulled over and got a ticket because my plates are suspended. I called the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and was told it's 'cause I don't have insurance.
Me: Oh, no problem.
SC: Why did this happen?
Me: I honestly don't know, but nine times out of ten it's an error on the part of the DMV.
SC: Look, I'm getting alot of finger-pointing here. They say it's you, you say it's them, I just want it fixed!
Okay, pretty common occurence. The DMV, like many other places, often makes human error, and this is pretty easy to resolve. So, I go into his account.
Me: Sir, I see we advised the DMV your policy is current with no lapse in coverage (keep in mind this was done in May, and the call happened in October).
SC: I know, I got a letter from the DMV stating my suspension had been lifted!
And we all live happily ever after, right? Come on, you know there's more to it than that.....
SC: So I went to court and they gave me a form.
Me: And what did the form say?
SC: It asked me to plead "Guilty," "Not Guilty," or "No Contest."
Oh, God in Heaven, here it comes.....
Me: And, what did you do?
SC: Well, I plead "No Contest," of course!
Time out. Let's just say, hypothetically, you were in California, and someone was murdered in New York. You have fifty credible eyewitnesses to your wearabouts, yet you still say, "Yep, I did it!"
Me: So, despite having evidence to the contrary, you accepted full responsibility?
SC: Yes! What was I supposed to do?
Me: Perhaps consult an attorney? (You know, those people who spend seven years in college to decipher such nuances of the English language as "Yes" and "No").
SC: Well, would your company have paid for an attorney to represent me?
Me: Not on a standard traffic violation, only if it was for a claim in litigation and the company deemed it necessary.
SC: Well, I want to know who's gonna pay my fine!
Me: You are, sir.
SC: Well, this is just HORRIBLE customer service! I DEMAND to speak with a supervisor!
No problem, I assure him. So, I dial up the Help Desk where the Senior Specialists are. Great bunch of people (seriously, they really are). Normally I introduce myself, Hi, this is Wade, my ID is blah-blah-blah. But for this one:
HD: Help Desk, this is Jason. How may I help you?
Me: Jason, this is Wade. You're not gonna BELIEVE this shit!
So, I tell him what's up. After I finish, although this was over the telephone, I imagined Jason's face looked like
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Jason says, "Okay, put him through..."
So, I transfer him. Couple hours later, I had to call the Help Desk again on an unrelated issue, and got Jason again. Apparently, the guy transferred to Jason's supervisor, who said the same thing as I did, then transferred to that individual's Manager, who not only re-iterated everything, but reviewed my phone call (they're all recorded) and the policy's notes.
And, the world keeps on turning....
SC:
Me: Hi!
HD: Help Desk
Me: Thank you for calling so-and-so. My name is Wade, how may I help you?
SC: Yes, I was pulled over and got a ticket because my plates are suspended. I called the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and was told it's 'cause I don't have insurance.
Me: Oh, no problem.
SC: Why did this happen?
Me: I honestly don't know, but nine times out of ten it's an error on the part of the DMV.
SC: Look, I'm getting alot of finger-pointing here. They say it's you, you say it's them, I just want it fixed!
Okay, pretty common occurence. The DMV, like many other places, often makes human error, and this is pretty easy to resolve. So, I go into his account.
Me: Sir, I see we advised the DMV your policy is current with no lapse in coverage (keep in mind this was done in May, and the call happened in October).
SC: I know, I got a letter from the DMV stating my suspension had been lifted!
And we all live happily ever after, right? Come on, you know there's more to it than that.....
SC: So I went to court and they gave me a form.
Me: And what did the form say?
SC: It asked me to plead "Guilty," "Not Guilty," or "No Contest."
Oh, God in Heaven, here it comes.....
Me: And, what did you do?
SC: Well, I plead "No Contest," of course!
Time out. Let's just say, hypothetically, you were in California, and someone was murdered in New York. You have fifty credible eyewitnesses to your wearabouts, yet you still say, "Yep, I did it!"
Me: So, despite having evidence to the contrary, you accepted full responsibility?
SC: Yes! What was I supposed to do?
Me: Perhaps consult an attorney? (You know, those people who spend seven years in college to decipher such nuances of the English language as "Yes" and "No").
SC: Well, would your company have paid for an attorney to represent me?
Me: Not on a standard traffic violation, only if it was for a claim in litigation and the company deemed it necessary.
SC: Well, I want to know who's gonna pay my fine!
Me: You are, sir.
SC: Well, this is just HORRIBLE customer service! I DEMAND to speak with a supervisor!
No problem, I assure him. So, I dial up the Help Desk where the Senior Specialists are. Great bunch of people (seriously, they really are). Normally I introduce myself, Hi, this is Wade, my ID is blah-blah-blah. But for this one:
HD: Help Desk, this is Jason. How may I help you?
Me: Jason, this is Wade. You're not gonna BELIEVE this shit!
So, I tell him what's up. After I finish, although this was over the telephone, I imagined Jason's face looked like
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Jason says, "Okay, put him through..."
So, I transfer him. Couple hours later, I had to call the Help Desk again on an unrelated issue, and got Jason again. Apparently, the guy transferred to Jason's supervisor, who said the same thing as I did, then transferred to that individual's Manager, who not only re-iterated everything, but reviewed my phone call (they're all recorded) and the policy's notes.
And, the world keeps on turning....
Anyways, I call up the court. At first, they thought that perhaps the cop had written down the wrong violation code, and told me to come in, so I did, but upon looking at the ticket saw it was correct and I just couldn't read his handwriting. So I'm given a form to fill out. I had the same three choices. 'Guilty', 'Not Guilty', and 'No Contest'. The form stated that if I chose 'Not Guilty', a hearing would be scheduled to contest the ticket. I couldn't afford a lawyer, and it would have been the cops word against my wife's, so I felt I had no choice but to select 'No Contest'. I paid the fine, and left it at that. Our insurance paid the repairs, but it of course raised our rates for a couple years. I really wish I had been there looking back. I feel that the whole mess was a case of the cop and the other guy taking advantage of a woman by herself, whereas if I'd been driving, it'd been a whole different ballgame. The truth will never be known, but I think in the end, it was a case of 'just pay the $2'.
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