What do I look like, a dictionary?

[FerroMancer]

Transcript from a call in May.

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ME: Thank you for holding. My name is Dennis; how can I help you today?
Customer: ….billing.
ME: You want to speak with the billing department?
Customer: Yes.
ME: Would you like their phone number, sir?
Customer: ….no. Connect me to it.
ME: I can give you the number; I'm afraid I can't connect you directly.
Customer: ….SUCKS. Gimme the number.
ME: …there's no need to be rude. Their number is 1-800-333-DISH.
Customer: What is DISH? What is the number? I need four numbers.
ME: It's on your phone. It's 1-800-333-DISH.
Customer: I can't get the four numbers? What if I can't spell 'DISH'?
ME: ….I have faith in you. **click**

[Bright_Star]

You were deliciously nasty...lol.

[ExRetailDrone]

Bahaha, I love it! So wonderfully and subtley evil

[mikoyan29]

Not to be a prick, but would it have been so difficult for you to give the numbers for DISH? I mean I can understand the guy not being able to spell it but there are a few people who don't get the whole letters thing.

[MaseMan]

One thing...many cell phones place those numbers outside the usual alphabetical keypad spots.

[Duncan MacLeod]

I find this quite a sea change in technology... My phone DOES NOT have the normal Number > letter setup... I have a qwerty and that is it... not a smartphone mind you.

[aurelemsrealm]

Don't most businesses and hotlines put the actual numbers in parenthesis when they use a mnemonic device to help others remember the phone number? It seems that I've always seen phone numbers with mnemonic devices formatted in this manner:

1-800-333-DISH (3474)

My cell is a Samsung Alias 2 with the e-ink keyboard that changes configuration from standard to QWERTY depending on which way the phone is flipped open. Here's a link to the Wikipedia site for anyone who wants a visual: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Alias_2. In QWERTY configuration, it will let me dial the letters, but I rarely make calls in QWERTY configuration.

[fma_fanatic]

,,

Customer: I can't get the four numbers? What if I can't spell 'DISH'?
ME: ….I have faith in you. **click**

That was really uncalled for at the end. Like someone else asked, was it really that difficult for you to give the numbers that correspond to the letters?

The only ,

[hatori]

ME: ….I have faith in you. **click**

You have more faith than me

[chainedbarista]

maybe it was sucky; was the guy really dickish in tone, or did we miss something.

it shouldn't be that hard to figure out the letters related to the last four, since most billings do include the last four numbers; he's just lazy, but...

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

One thing...many cell phones place those numbers outside the usual alphabetical keypad spots.

And some just have a QWERTY keypad with numbers corresponding to some of the letters. Every phone is different and you can't just expect the CSR to know how the caller's phone works.

Also--is the caller calling from a cell phone or a touch-tone landline? Again the letters and numbers could be different, but I don't have a landline phone handy to confirm this.

Given all this I don't really see the suck on the OP's side. Perhaps he could've said something like "the numbers on your phone that correspond to the letters in 'dish.'" But I'm not going to hold this one against him too much.

[FerroMancer]

OK, in my defense:

1) If someone says that they have a QWERTY keyboard, I DO give the numbers.
2) The reason I usually don't is that I use it as my own little IQ test for customers. If your phone has the letters and you can't figure it out, I know what side of the Bell curve you're on.
3) If someone calls me, OUR number ends in DISH too! So they JUST dialed it. Moving them farther left down the Bell curve.

[depechemodefan]

I sympathize with the OP, since the library gets a lot of people calling us for phone numbers. "Give me the number to Best Buy on HWY 6" when the listing in the phone book has them on Westimer-though they also happen to be on hwy 6, just not facing Westimer. I want to ask the loser, why don't they have a phone book, they get delivered every year.

Yeah, just love the polite request and the "please" in that example

A lot of times I get a phone number that is alphanumerical. I give them the letters since I hope they can remember the number. Say for Farmers insurance. their number is 1-800-FARMERS. Easy to remember-but our slack-jaw yokles don't want to think of the numbers. Luckily the farmers website gives out the acutal numbers. But lets say the library get phones where the q and z arn't the zero. Let's say someone wants the headquarters of Quiznos, and the website has 1-800-Quiznos". I tell them it's 188-784-9667. The caller would be screwed. But probably companies would own both phone numbers, i hope.

I had a guy yesterday call us. Seems the city's health dept. came by and told him he had lead in his pipes and they will get back to him. It's been a while and he wants the phone number. Best I could find is just the city's health dept. main number, which I told him that Iwas giving him. I also mention he could call 311 and they would give him the number. He became snotty and said that 311 wasn't good at giving out phone numbers he wanted, so that is why he calls the library. Um, I didn't give the number he wanted anyway, so it's wasn't win-win for him.

[Frantic Freddie]

,,

That was really uncalled for at the end. Like someone else asked, was it really that difficult for you to give the numbers that correspond to the letters?

Nope,the caller was bein' an asshole so that's the response he deserves.

[Dave1982]

Not to be a prick, but would it have been so difficult for you to give the numbers for DISH? I mean I can understand the guy not being able to spell it but there are a few people who don't get the whole letters thing.

,,

That was really uncalled for at the end. Like someone else asked, was it really that difficult for you to give the numbers that correspond to the letters?

*AHEM!*

9. Respect Other Members
We have a policy against "failing to see the suck".
Members come here to vent about their workday and do not need armchair experts second guessing them on whether they have a right to complain, or whether they could have handled the situation better.

We do NOT call out other members publicly like this. It is plainly obvious that the caller was being a rude, difficult prick. If anyone feels that the OP acted inappropriately they should report the post.