Because we know it is pro forma and insincere, and if there actually was anything else we would have told you already, and that if your question actually does cause us to remember a whole other problem we had quite forgotten about you are going to hate us for remembering it (and hate yourself for reminding us).
Sure, there might be rare circumstances where it would be appropriate, but the problem is that customer service reps are not trusted (perhaps rightly so, but that is another matter) to be able to judge when such a question might actually be appropriate, but are forced to ask it always, to cover their, and, more importantly, their superior’s, ass. “Cute” comments are are a way of dealing with the manifest insincerity and inappropriateness of questions of this sort. Personally I am not quick witted enough to make them, and just go with the embarrassed mumble, but it is uncomfortable moment that I do not enjoy being subjected to.
This is one of those things that can never be changed by your own efforts as long as your management doesn’t change the rules.
And efforts to the contrary often only end up creating awkward moments when normal conversational chatter is suddenly being criticized…
Several years ago there were two guys who hosted a popular NJ afternoon talk show—I’ll call them “Sam and Dave.”
Every single caller would begin the call by saying “Hi Sam and Dave, how are you?”
Sam and Dave would almost always answer “We’re fine. We’re always fine.” in an annoyed sarcastic tone.
And occasionally they would go off on how they were fine five minutes ago, how they were fine ten minutes ago, and they would be fine in ten minutes. They would rant about how people always asked this “stupid question.”
But people kept asking.
I really didn’t care that much about the “how are you?” question. But I thought that the way Sam and Dave handled this question was rude and annoying. I actually liked the show, but this was a constant burr under my saddle as I listened to them—their actions seemed childish.
Other hosts get the same question and they answer just like they should “We’re doing fine. What’s your opinion on this government scandal?”
So, faced with a silly comment from all random strangers, I think I would try to make peace with the fact that the comment will never cease and just go with the flow.
Of course, if I had to hear the silly unoriginal joke three times a day for life I might dance to another tune
Yes, if someone said, “Yes, tell your company president to fire the useless consulting company who they meet with in expensive resorts to come up with bullshit like this!”
My wife works in customer service and was ending her customer interactions with “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” Then a co-worker suggested she should change it to “What else can I help you with today?” to sound even more enthusiastic about the prospect. She’s still saying it the first way. And looking for other jobs.
Lottery numbers: “I get mine first, and after that, I’ll see about yours.”
Million dollars: “I get mine first, and after that, I’ll see about yours.”
Stock market: “Sure thing. Check the listings tomorrow morning.”
Another president: “Darn it, I bribed the wrong branch! Maybe next term.”
Seriously, having dealt with callers who threatened to kill themselves, called me a bitch, told me they had cancer after I told them their warranty had expired, accused me of holding a grudge from a call three months previously (I’ve talked to 20-35 people a day), or said my company was trying to defraud their credit card . . . corny lines are more than welcome. I just hand a little corn right back.
99.999% of the time (approx.), it comes out as sdrsumthinb’elsknlpyouwi?, which sounds like they care about the answer about as much as I care about the current market price of Colombian corn. The few times it actually sounds like they mean it, I feel like hugging the CSR!
I really would never even think to say something like that. I DO appreciate being asked it though; it prompts me to look over my checklist or jogs my mind that I need to bring something else up though, once in awhile. Usually this only applies to Comcast, where there are multiple problems that exist at once (DVR freezing and deleting things AND the picture being odd and block-y).
I once ordered a delivery pizza from Pizza Slut. They asked for my zip code first before the address. I thought that was weird and said something to the likes of, “what are you going to do, mail it to me?”.
The person on the phone got real quiet and said, “I can’t tell you how many months ago it’s been since that was still funny.”
