# What is WRONG With People?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425 "2011-10-22T05:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/41 "2011-10-22T19:35:26Z")
As for documenting, if you’re doing tech or customer support, you almost certainly have access to the Internet. Keep notes or send yourself emails through a web email account to document. I wouldn’t bother with full names, just first name, last initial, date, and time of call. That’s more than enough for a lawyer to use to subpoena any documentation or recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/42 "2011-10-22T19:37:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Also, with some call centers, the automated system asks me to enter my account number. So why, oh why, does the operator ask me for the _same information_? Because when the system asks you for it, it’s to direct you to the right place (business vs personal, homeowner vs rental, charge vs revolving etc). But it doesn’t necessarily mean that info populates on their screen. Even if it did, they still want to verify your identity. No use in them spending the first two minutes talking just to find out that you typed the number in wrong and the incorrect info pulled up. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/43 "2011-10-22T19:40:53Z")
Oh, dear. I am 80 per cent sure I know where you work and if that’s the case, I know your boss’s boss. My sympathies. 😕 When will rude and nasty customers understand that is NOT how to get a deal?! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/44 "2011-10-22T19:42:02Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Absolutely EVERYthing is traced on these calls, they can tell who hung up, if I press release, everything. We are not allowed to release the call for ANY reason- it would be cause for termination. I actually talked this over with my manager last week when I had the idiot tell me he was gonna fuck me up the ass. My last call center job was with a loan company, and we did have a script to use if anyone got verbally abusive, and we were then allowed to hang up. Being forced to sit there and be verbally abused is dehumanizing. It makes a person feel worthless. I _know_ it’s not personal, but I can’t help but feel this way. > > Transfers are religiously traced too. Most are required to be warm transfers, where I explain the issue to the other department & introduce the caller to the new rep. My manager would be all over that like flies on shit. And… if a call drops, we are required to call the person right back and notate the account thoroughly. > > I am looking for other work, but there really isn’t much to be found in my town. This job does pay fairly well. But GOD it feels like stepping into hell everytime I walk thru the doors. IANAL. I am a manager in another industry. I am currently going through my legally required bi-annual training about sexual harassment. Your story sounds like one of the case studies in the classes I am taking. By forcing you to take verbal sexual abuse from customers IMHO they are creating a hostile work environment. Again IANAL. The legal test BTW is called the reasonable person test. So would a reasonable woman find being forced to listen to a customer threaten to fuck her up the ass ok or not. I am also not a woman but I vote not. Your manager could be found personally liable in addition to the company for these policies. (that was in some training I took yesterday) The symptoms you describe above are consistent with what my training says can be the result to the employee in a hostile workplace. Also in my training it was made clear that you do not have to follow the chain of command. The employee is allowed to go as high as they feel it is necessary to get their issue addressed. So if your manager blows you off go over his head to get this handled Getting your CEO on the phone is acceptable. My recommendation is to talk to a lawyer versed in sexual harassment law. I can tell you I would not allow any customer to talk to any of my employees like you have been talked to. I have fired customers in the past and I won’t hesitate to do it again in the future. Customers are not allowed to fuck with my people. PapSett keep us in the loop, we care about you even if you company doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/45 "2011-10-22T20:11:52Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Wow. I worked in call centers for a few years and nobody ever screamed “FUCK YOU BITCH” at me. I’m an older male and I have once or twice had it happen to me. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/46 "2011-10-22T20:44:37Z")
Years ago, I worked for a cell phone company. I wasn’t in customer service, but the call center was in the same building as my office. For months, we had an armed security guard at our location because of specific threats made to our reps, including the address of the building we were in. Not that fun going into work for awhile there. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/47 "2011-10-22T21:28:05Z")
I worked credit and collections for about 30 years, mostly commercial collections dealing with mom& pop bookstores. Only one time was a customer abusive to me. My uber-uber-boss got on the phone with him and told him if he _ever_ spoke like that to an employee, his account would be terminated. The customer called me back and apologized (which may have been at the VP’s insistence, I don’t know). It makes all the difference when you think y our employer has your back. **Papsett** - Did you watch the movie? StG ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/48 "2011-10-22T21:43:55Z")
I worked in a tech support call center for a few years. It gets…interesting. We WERE allowed to inform the customer that abusive language would not be tolerated, but the call had to last at least 3 minutes first, with at least two warnings, before disconnecting. On the notes thing…we had one guy that would call in twice a month, always on a Saturday, always for about ten minutes. He had notes on him going back years, because what he’d do is just garble absolute nonsense. Aliens coming through his screen, the computer trying to kill him…and we had to try to actually find solutions to his problems. We guessed he was at a psych ward or something, and only allowed computer time twice a month or something. Or maybe in jail and really bored; who knows? Without the notes, it would have been almost terrifying. With the notes, it became kind of a joke, and it was always fun when a newbie would get a manager and exclaim that ‘There’s a guy named Ricky on the phone who wants us to stop sending mind-control beams through his mouse…what’s the protocol on that?’ 😛 I worked in health care for a few years as well, and sometimes the patients weren’t all there mentally, or were just really stubborn-minded and wouldn’t take care from a particular person. The first time this happened to me, a nurse told me to hold on while he got someone else, and I felt like total crap. Later he explained that it’s not uncommon for a simple switch in personnel to totally change a patient’s attitude; the next week, _I_ was the one they called in to change out with another attendant…on the same guy. And he was fine with me. So don’t feel any compunction about switching an abusive caller up to a manager; sure, the manager doesn’t get paid THAT much more than you, but it’ll probably defuse the situation and THEY can take the heat. In fact, I had one customer service rep job, with a satellite television company, where they insisted the rep could not discontinue service for a customer NO MATTER WHAT. As an absolute LAST resort, you kicked it up to a team that took over and kissed their ass to get them to stay. I had one guy who wanted OUT no matter what \ but no managers were available to take the call. I actually left the desk and looked all over; the team said they weren’t going to take any calls for whatever reason, so I went back to the phone, told the customer to call back in half an hour and ask for (the name of the team) and then I went to lunch and didn’t come back. I refuse to work someplace like that; it’s incredibly fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/49 "2011-10-22T22:34:38Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > I worked in health care for a few years as well, and sometimes the patients weren’t all there mentally, or were just really stubborn-minded and wouldn’t take care from a particular person. The first time this happened to me, a nurse told me to hold on while he got someone else, and I felt like total crap. Later he explained that it’s not uncommon for a simple switch in personnel to totally change a patient’s attitude; the next week, _I_ was the one they called in to change out with another attendant…on the same guy. And he was fine with me. So don’t feel any compunction about switching an abusive caller up to a manager; sure, the manager doesn’t get paid THAT much more than you, but it’ll probably defuse the situation and THEY can take the heat. We get this at my work (not a call center but we do take calls from our donors frequently, it’s part of my job to answer them) - there are a few different repeat offenders, clearly much older folks with a lot of time on their hands and varying stages of dementia. At this point I recognize their voices and just let them rant for about 2-3 minutes, then make sympathetic noises and transfer them to my manager (with warning of course!). Without fail, just hearing a new voice on the line flips a switch and they calm right down. It’s not the fact that she’s a manager either, we’ve tried it the other way around when she happens to pick up the phone and then transfers to me after the initial rant and it works just fine. I would really not be OK with answering phones someplace that isn’t willing to take advantage of this easy trick. On top of that, we are never pressured to accept inappropriate language, even from donors. Please,\*\* PapSett\*\*, take **Rick** ’s advice. This is not in any way an OK way for your employer to treat you. I know you can’t name them or hint but I’m finding myself really hoping it’s not my carrier because I don’t want to have to switch companies but I don’t want my wireless dollars supporting a shit atmosphere like this. You rightly blame the callers, but really I think your managers and employer are far more culpable for putting you in the line of fire with no backup. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/50 "2011-10-22T22:49:52Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > You clearly work for [company name deleted], right? OP specifically requested that no company names be brought up in the goddamn thread. Do you have any idea how high SDMB is indexed on google? Is there anything that can be done to remove these references from the thread? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/51 "2011-10-22T22:54:21Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > OP specifically requested that no company names be brought up in the goddamn thread. Do you have any idea how high SDMB is indexed on google? > > Is there anything that can be done to remove these references from the thread? I’ve let the mods know. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/52 "2011-10-22T23:02:27Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I’ve let the mods know. Thanks, I also put in a report. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/53 "2011-10-22T23:05:16Z")
When you repeat the company name in your post, you double the work the moderators have to do. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/54 "2011-10-22T23:24:02Z")
You know how most people regard tipping as something you always do, unless it was absolutely horrible service? I regard politeness with call centre employees the same way. Always say please and thank you and be polite. Plus, if I’m calling in because something’s wrong, the person I’m talking to didn’t personally do it, so snarking at them is useless. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/55 "2011-10-22T23:45:47Z")
This thread seems to happen about every two months. And so this bears repeating: If you are asking a call center employee or tech for a favor, something extra, or something out of the ordinary: BE NICE. I have zero reason or incentive to give free stuff to some screaming demanding jackass. I’m not inclined to go out of my way or beyond the normal limits of my job for nasty people. It is absolutely amazing how many people do not get that. ---
**Author:** ![PotLuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@PotLuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PotLuck)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/56 "2011-10-22T23:47:20Z")
I worked part-time at the call centre for a city-wide pizza chain that had a “30 minutes or free” delivery guarantee. This offer was waived during heavy snowstorms … information we gave at the end of the order. I could always tell which customers had called hoping specifically to score a free pizza by the way they’d freak out at this information. One caller said he knew where the call centre and would be waiting outside “to fuck [me] up”. For once, the right response came to me instantly instead of hours later: “All righty, then. So just to confirm, your name is John Smith, your address is 123 Main Street and you’re coming to the call centre to “fuck me up”? I just want to make sure the police have the correct information when I turn over the tape of this conversation.” If Canada had an Olympic Backpedalling Team, that douchenozzle would have brought home the gold. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/57 "2011-10-23T00:25:52Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I know. That’s what I said; they have to have them whether there are asshole customers or not so it’s not costing them anything extra to have asshole customers.They’re asshole customers, well possibly not the guy described in the OP, but the overwhelming majority of callers who get impatient and frustrated and become abusive are still “real” customers who have a real issue or they would not be calling. Obviously they are not taking a constructive approach to dealing with their problem, but they still had a reason to call.So… assholes aren’t allowed to have cell phones? The number of people calling the customer service center for no reason other than to abuse a CSR has got to be miniscule, and you are suggesting that this _tiny_ number of people is going to cause [company name deleted] to hire an additional army of CSRs to deal with them? :dubious: I certainly see your point; If a company has 1 asshole client out of 100, it really makes no difference if this is increased to 50 asshole clients out of 100 in terms of the call support costs. They still have to have a call centre, and the staff to deal with 100 clients. However: I would guess that the asshole clients take up _much_ more of the call centre’s time per call though, and need help more frequently. I’d also wager that the company with more asshole clients will have lower morale among employees. Employees will be snarkier to the nice clients after dealing with an asshole. Employees will take more time off, and quit more readily, leading to increased costs for obtaining and training new employees. And this does not account for any lawsuits that may be forthcoming, if previous posters are correct in their assessment. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/58 "2011-10-23T00:49:15Z")
I’ve deleted the references to the particular company that Papsett may or may not work for. It’s no skin off anyone’s nose, is it, to avoid posting where you think she might work? Everyone, please refrain from repeating the name of the company it has been suggested she works for, and from making guesses. It’s not worth it to possibly place her job in jeopardy. Thanks, Ellen Cherry MPSIMS Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Sin\_Serially](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Sin\_Serially](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sin_Serially)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/59 "2011-10-23T01:16:26Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Honestly, and this is a completely different discussion, all I have to do is look at all the dangerous, public abusing cops we have around here who cannot be fired because of their union; and some of the people I’ve met on past jobs who not only do zero work but negatively impact everyone around them - and cannot be fired because of the union; and I want nothing to do with Unions. I agree - and I’m in a union. The amount of freeloading lazy sacks is discouraging. Luckily I’m in a sub-department that has all of 5 people in it so we can self regulate. Can say that without a union I wouldn’t have health insurance though. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425/60 "2011-10-23T01:28:49Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I’d also wager that the company with more asshole clients will have lower morale among employees. Employees will be snarkier to the nice clients after dealing with an asshole. Employees will take more time off, and quit more readily, leading to increased costs for obtaining and training new employees. Turnover in the call centers I have been in is ferocious. Well over 100% annually. A good part of it due to the stress of bad people and the call after call after call flow of the day where catching a breath and recovering before taking the next call is seldom possible. Another fair part of it is that, to management, you’re just an expendable cog that they don’t give a shit about as long as they make their numbers. Hell, if they’re not making their numbers, but you are, you still get shat upon because they want EVERYONE to be miserable about the overall numbers. But I gotta say that the single largest cause for our turnover is people being fired for absenteeism. For a while this summer we were regularly having 15-20% absenteeism every Saturday and Sunday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-people/600425.md?page=4)