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So I decided to post this here instead of threadjacking, this is the saga of Miss "I don't know" (referred to as SC). Now while she herself isn't a customer, she is the employee of a customer (who we are supposed to treat like customers) and certainly very sucky, so feel free to move this thread if necessary.
As part of my job I had to call Company x and speak to "Bob" and verify Serial number on Piece of Equipment in his shop with him as they are at the other end of the country from us and we have no staff in that area at the moment. Simple says I, it'll take ten seconds once I get hold of him. I look for a mobile number in his file and find one, but apparently whoever had entered into the database had done a typo and the number was not recognised.
So I get the landline and ring the shop in question, hoping that either Bob would be in, or an employee could correct the mobile number I had... the following conversation occurred: (Thoughts are in parenthesis)
-At this point I feel obliged to point out that english is SC's 2nd language, but SC has been hired to work for an english speaking company and has been given authorisation to answer the phones so you can't really blame the language barrier.
SC: Hello, Company x
Me: Hi, its Me from Company Y, is Bob in?
SC: I don't know (Imagine this in the most bored nasal tone possible, so hideous that it grates on the very back of your head, then multiply its boredness and annoyingness by 10)
Me: Could you check for me please?
SC: I don't know
Me: is there anyone else there that can check for me?
SC: I'm not sure, call back later.
Me: Ok... when should I call back?
SC: I don't know
Me: well do you know when he should be in?
SC: I don't know
Me: Thats fair enough, well I did try his mobile number but it seems I wrote it down wrong, I have xxxx xxx xxxx, could you check to see if that is correct for me?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well there must be a manager or somebody there that has his number for emergencies, maybe one of them could help confirm it?
SC: I don't know (Argh)
Me: Well the reason I'm calling is to get Serial number of Piece of Equipment, do you have acess to that?
SC: I don't know
Me: So you don't know where Piece of Equipment is located?
SC: No
Me: Does anyone else there know where Piece of Equipment is?
SC: I don't know
Me Could you check for me?
SC: I don't know
(I give up with her and just want to speak to someone else at this point)
Me: So is there a supervisor or manager in the shop that I can speak to? (I really hate using this, it makes me cringe)
SC: I don't know
Me: so do you know when another member of staff will be able to answer the phones? (Cos you are useless and won't even ask another employee, and its really hard to control this amount of rage)
SC: I don't know
Me: So when does your shift finish? I assume someone else will be there after you finish? (and so i don't have to speak to you)
SC: I don't know
Me: You don't know when you're shift ends?
SC: I don't know(ARGH $%£*&!!!)
Me: What time do you finish work?
SC: I'm not telling you that, why do you want to know? (At this point I'm shocked, it has a vocabulary!)
Me: Well, it's just that as you are unable to help me with my query I was wondering when your shift ended so that another member of staff could answer the phone and they might be able to help me.
SC: I don't know (Argh, WTF?!?!?!?)
Me: ok, so when should I call back?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well can I leave a message for Bob that we just need to confirm Serial Number from Piece of Equipment. I'll give you my phone number, have you got a pen and paper there?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well my number is xxxx xxx xxxx, you got that?
SC: Yeah
Me: So how soon do you think you'll be able to get that message to him?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well then is there a better time for me to call back and get Bob?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well do you think Bob will be in this afternoon? or tomorrow? or next week?
SC: I don't know
Me: Any time, any time at all? (give me a freaking bone here!)
SC: I don't know, any time
Me: so can I call back in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or an hour, or 2 hours, or ...
SC: I don't know
Me: (Giving up) Ok, I'll call in later then
And I wish that was the end, but no...
I call back in the afternoon and get a different member of staff (a competent employee - CE) who informs me that Bob was here all morning (ARGH) but has left for the day and that Piece of Equipment is in Bob's office, which he keeps locked, and who only he has keys for. Also Bob's mobile got stolen and he is waiting for his insurance to replace it, but he should be keeping his old number. She tells me that Bob works weekday mornings and evenings and is scheduled to be in from 9 to 2 tomorrow.
So the next day at 9:30-
SC: Hello, Company x
Me: Hi, its Me from Company Y, is Bob in?
SC: I don't know (argh)
(similar conversation with a lot of I don't Know's in it...)
And the same happens at 10:30 and every half hour thereafter until 2:30 when CE answers the phone, Bob was here earlier but just left 20 mins ago, yes his office is locked. So I find out from CE that SC is in fact a Family friend of Bob, had been given the job as a favour to her parents and worked the same hours as Bob, who gave her a lift to work and back. I was also warned that she was a bit of a special sausage. So I give my number and leave a message for Bob with SE.
The next morning at 10:00 I get a phonecall from Company X's telephone number...
Me: Good morning, Company Y, Me speaking, how can I help you?
SC: Um, Bob told me to call and give you this number (Oh God, its been entrusted with real work!)
Me: Ah, he got my message, excellent, could I have the Serial Number for Piece of Machinery Please?
SC: It says here "M-o-d-e-l-N-u-m-b-e-r" and "M-a-k-e" (Doh!, but an honest mistake, it happens often enough)
Me: Thankyou, and the serial number?
SC: I don't know
Me: Ok, and then it should have a 9 digit serial number on the barcode on the back, it should begin with an "S" for Sierra followed by some numbers.
SC: I don't know
Me: Can you have a look?
(sounds of rummaging in the background)
SC: Is it "2-4-0-V" ?
Me: (Facepalm) 240 Volts?, no that is the voltage the Equipment runs on, there is a silver sticker with a barcode on the back of the Equipment, in the bottom left corner, it will have a number marked "Serial number", will be 9 digits and start with an "S"
(more rummaging)
SC: Is it "M-o-d-e-l-N-u-m-b-e-r" ?
Me: If you look at the Equipment, its on the bottom left hand corner.
SC: Oh, I don't have it here, I'm looking on the paper Bob gave me (Argh!)
Me:Ok, well can you ask Bob to get Serial Number for me and call me back?
SC: I don't know (Click of phone hanging up)
Me: Sigh...
Unfortunately It didn't end there as SC was useless every time I phoned ("I don't Know") and CE took a week off work. Guess who was covering CE's shifts? If your Answer was "I don't know" you'd be half there...
I endured a week of multiple calls each and every day, all of which were answered by SC, who repeated her phrase of choice and refused to put me through to anyone else at all. I don't think there are words in the English language to describe how painful it was when I looked at my pile of work and realised that was the next customer I had to phone...
So the next week i finally get hold of CE, who kindly looks at the papers that have been left next to the phone (mostly my phone number scribbled down by SC and left there) and finds a piece of paper with "modelname" and "make" at the top, under which it says in nice, large, clear handwriting "S-E-R-I-A-L-N-U-M-B-E-R", my phone number and my name.
- Yes, that's right, it was the very piece of paper that SC had read out to me when she phoned me back...
A couple of days later Bob phoned in to make sure we had Serial Number and to give us his new mobile number as the insurance were taking so long that he just bought a new one.
I also found out that SC had now been fired as apparently she had had her fingers in the till quite significantly. It was only after she left that it was discovered that she had also taken a bunch of orders over the phone but not written them down at all, or told anyone of them and they had been inundated with complaints as to late orders that they had no record of.
To this day I still shudder any time a customer says "I don't know" and I can hear as clear as day that bored, nasal tone echoing through my head...
apologies for length, bad grammar and spelling, but this got a lot longer than I expected, even with leaving out sooooo many conversations with SC.
As part of my job I had to call Company x and speak to "Bob" and verify Serial number on Piece of Equipment in his shop with him as they are at the other end of the country from us and we have no staff in that area at the moment. Simple says I, it'll take ten seconds once I get hold of him. I look for a mobile number in his file and find one, but apparently whoever had entered into the database had done a typo and the number was not recognised.
So I get the landline and ring the shop in question, hoping that either Bob would be in, or an employee could correct the mobile number I had... the following conversation occurred: (Thoughts are in parenthesis)
-At this point I feel obliged to point out that english is SC's 2nd language, but SC has been hired to work for an english speaking company and has been given authorisation to answer the phones so you can't really blame the language barrier.
SC: Hello, Company x
Me: Hi, its Me from Company Y, is Bob in?
SC: I don't know (Imagine this in the most bored nasal tone possible, so hideous that it grates on the very back of your head, then multiply its boredness and annoyingness by 10)
Me: Could you check for me please?
SC: I don't know
Me: is there anyone else there that can check for me?
SC: I'm not sure, call back later.
Me: Ok... when should I call back?
SC: I don't know
Me: well do you know when he should be in?
SC: I don't know
Me: Thats fair enough, well I did try his mobile number but it seems I wrote it down wrong, I have xxxx xxx xxxx, could you check to see if that is correct for me?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well there must be a manager or somebody there that has his number for emergencies, maybe one of them could help confirm it?
SC: I don't know (Argh)
Me: Well the reason I'm calling is to get Serial number of Piece of Equipment, do you have acess to that?
SC: I don't know
Me: So you don't know where Piece of Equipment is located?
SC: No
Me: Does anyone else there know where Piece of Equipment is?
SC: I don't know
Me Could you check for me?
SC: I don't know
(I give up with her and just want to speak to someone else at this point)
Me: So is there a supervisor or manager in the shop that I can speak to? (I really hate using this, it makes me cringe)
SC: I don't know
Me: so do you know when another member of staff will be able to answer the phones? (Cos you are useless and won't even ask another employee, and its really hard to control this amount of rage)
SC: I don't know
Me: So when does your shift finish? I assume someone else will be there after you finish? (and so i don't have to speak to you)
SC: I don't know
Me: You don't know when you're shift ends?
SC: I don't know(ARGH $%£*&!!!)
Me: What time do you finish work?
SC: I'm not telling you that, why do you want to know? (At this point I'm shocked, it has a vocabulary!)
Me: Well, it's just that as you are unable to help me with my query I was wondering when your shift ended so that another member of staff could answer the phone and they might be able to help me.
SC: I don't know (Argh, WTF?!?!?!?)
Me: ok, so when should I call back?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well can I leave a message for Bob that we just need to confirm Serial Number from Piece of Equipment. I'll give you my phone number, have you got a pen and paper there?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well my number is xxxx xxx xxxx, you got that?
SC: Yeah
Me: So how soon do you think you'll be able to get that message to him?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well then is there a better time for me to call back and get Bob?
SC: I don't know
Me: Well do you think Bob will be in this afternoon? or tomorrow? or next week?
SC: I don't know
Me: Any time, any time at all? (give me a freaking bone here!)
SC: I don't know, any time
Me: so can I call back in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or an hour, or 2 hours, or ...
SC: I don't know
Me: (Giving up) Ok, I'll call in later then
And I wish that was the end, but no...
I call back in the afternoon and get a different member of staff (a competent employee - CE) who informs me that Bob was here all morning (ARGH) but has left for the day and that Piece of Equipment is in Bob's office, which he keeps locked, and who only he has keys for. Also Bob's mobile got stolen and he is waiting for his insurance to replace it, but he should be keeping his old number. She tells me that Bob works weekday mornings and evenings and is scheduled to be in from 9 to 2 tomorrow.
So the next day at 9:30-
SC: Hello, Company x
Me: Hi, its Me from Company Y, is Bob in?
SC: I don't know (argh)
(similar conversation with a lot of I don't Know's in it...)
And the same happens at 10:30 and every half hour thereafter until 2:30 when CE answers the phone, Bob was here earlier but just left 20 mins ago, yes his office is locked. So I find out from CE that SC is in fact a Family friend of Bob, had been given the job as a favour to her parents and worked the same hours as Bob, who gave her a lift to work and back. I was also warned that she was a bit of a special sausage. So I give my number and leave a message for Bob with SE.
The next morning at 10:00 I get a phonecall from Company X's telephone number...
Me: Good morning, Company Y, Me speaking, how can I help you?
SC: Um, Bob told me to call and give you this number (Oh God, its been entrusted with real work!)
Me: Ah, he got my message, excellent, could I have the Serial Number for Piece of Machinery Please?
SC: It says here "M-o-d-e-l-N-u-m-b-e-r" and "M-a-k-e" (Doh!, but an honest mistake, it happens often enough)
Me: Thankyou, and the serial number?
SC: I don't know
Me: Ok, and then it should have a 9 digit serial number on the barcode on the back, it should begin with an "S" for Sierra followed by some numbers.
SC: I don't know
Me: Can you have a look?
(sounds of rummaging in the background)
SC: Is it "2-4-0-V" ?
Me: (Facepalm) 240 Volts?, no that is the voltage the Equipment runs on, there is a silver sticker with a barcode on the back of the Equipment, in the bottom left corner, it will have a number marked "Serial number", will be 9 digits and start with an "S"
(more rummaging)
SC: Is it "M-o-d-e-l-N-u-m-b-e-r" ?
Me: If you look at the Equipment, its on the bottom left hand corner.
SC: Oh, I don't have it here, I'm looking on the paper Bob gave me (Argh!)
Me:Ok, well can you ask Bob to get Serial Number for me and call me back?
SC: I don't know (Click of phone hanging up)
Me: Sigh...
Unfortunately It didn't end there as SC was useless every time I phoned ("I don't Know") and CE took a week off work. Guess who was covering CE's shifts? If your Answer was "I don't know" you'd be half there...
I endured a week of multiple calls each and every day, all of which were answered by SC, who repeated her phrase of choice and refused to put me through to anyone else at all. I don't think there are words in the English language to describe how painful it was when I looked at my pile of work and realised that was the next customer I had to phone...
So the next week i finally get hold of CE, who kindly looks at the papers that have been left next to the phone (mostly my phone number scribbled down by SC and left there) and finds a piece of paper with "modelname" and "make" at the top, under which it says in nice, large, clear handwriting "S-E-R-I-A-L-N-U-M-B-E-R", my phone number and my name.
- Yes, that's right, it was the very piece of paper that SC had read out to me when she phoned me back...
A couple of days later Bob phoned in to make sure we had Serial Number and to give us his new mobile number as the insurance were taking so long that he just bought a new one.
I also found out that SC had now been fired as apparently she had had her fingers in the till quite significantly. It was only after she left that it was discovered that she had also taken a bunch of orders over the phone but not written them down at all, or told anyone of them and they had been inundated with complaints as to late orders that they had no record of.
To this day I still shudder any time a customer says "I don't know" and I can hear as clear as day that bored, nasal tone echoing through my head...
apologies for length, bad grammar and spelling, but this got a lot longer than I expected, even with leaving out sooooo many conversations with SC.
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