Thar Shaddin

Soon, I keep telling myself. Soon I won't be in this department anymore. Oh, the day I switch will be grand indeed. But in the meantime, I have to deal with raging assholes like this dipshit I got today.

Now just as a precursor, I'm reknowned in the department for having one of the most pleasant phone voices. I sound so goddamned happy that sugar should come outta the receiver. So I very rarely take nasty phone calls - and when I do get those, they are unbelievable.

So I start my call the normal way, Thank you for blah blah yack. This is the conversation as follows:

(clearly an older guy) I just wanted to let you know that any time my boss isn't nearby I'm going to call in and harrass whoever I get on the phone because you all keep harrassing me.

Ok, well do you have an account number or social security number?

NO

Ok, what's the phone number we've been calling?

1-800-eat-shit (no not really, but what an asshole)

Well it looks like what's happened is that we have this phone number on someone else's account in error. Do you happen to know {hispanic name}?

Do I sound like a taco to you?

Excuse me?

Do I sound like a Mexican to you?

At this point, ALL of the sugar has left my voice and I'm just pissed off...and obviously so. Everyone's turned to look at me by now.

Sir, there are many different kinds of Hispanics. Do I sound Hispanic to you?

I don't see what that has to do with anything.

Well I'm Hispanic, and I'm telling you to not use that type of language with me.

Excuse me?

I'm telling you that if you continue to use language like that, I will disconnect this phone call.

Don't you tell me what I can and can't say!

I told you I would disconnect this phone call. Do you know this person?

NO

Alright, then I'll go ahead and delete the phone number.

You'd better.

Thanks for calling, and have a wonderful day!

My team lead immediately told me to go on break so that I could calm down. And the most hilarious part? This dude is from California. Dude, your state name isn't even English. Fuck off.

Ugh. Old people suck.


BUT, on the lighter side, I got the most hilarious call the other day. I don't remember what we were discussing, but he had to get into his phone for a phone number.

I just need to get into my *sudden nerdy gleeful voice* iphone!!!

Oh yeah? How's that working out for you?

Oh man it's great! I haven't played with something so much since I hit puberty!



That dude was awesome. There was also a great prank call that I took where the caller just played the Peanut Butter Jelly Time song...twice. My managers pulled the call and now use it for training, and for whenever we need a laugh. Awesome. And yes, I have the file if anyone wants to hear

Ah, I'm sorry you had to deal with that shit. Looks like you handled it well, though.

Oh man it's great! I haven't played with something so much since I hit puberty!

Ahahaha, that pretty much made my day.

I haven't played with something so much since I hit puberty!

... It always makes my day too, Lyd...

I know most age groups can be racist, but old people are pretty bad. At the old people's home I worked at my best mate was subjected to some pretty awful names from the residents. She resigned in the end because one resident in particular took a serious dislike to her (she always referred to her as "your black friend") and complained about her constantly. Our boss did not see that the woman was being racist and disciplined my mate for treating this woman poorly, which was bullshit.


What is it you do Jess? I mean exactly... I used to work at a telecommunications company, used to cold call people and try to get them to partake in a government survey...

Kamar Deythal wrote:

I haven't played with something so much since I hit puberty!

... It always makes my day too, Lyd...

Omg. You are so awesome Dave. I'm still giggling.

I take calls for a student loan servicing agent. Someof what I do is good, and even rewarding. There's nothing like telling a single mom that you can take her payments away AFTER she's burst into tears because she honestly can't afford her bill.

But most of what I do is redundant and boring. Same information over and over again, no variation. I only perk up when I have a messed up account, because it's going to involved research, and I like knowing the whys and hows of our industry.

But then I pass those along to another department to research, and go back to taking boring calls. It sucks.

I'm transferring to a different department in October. It could not possibly come fast enough.

Kamar Deythal wrote:

I haven't played with something so much since I hit puberty!

... It always makes my day too, Lyd...

Went without saying.

Will you still be doing the same job?

I have a friend in NYC who works in student finance. I am trying to get more finance myself as being a mature student makes it really hard to study. You go into education already in a lot of debt, it sucks but hopefully I shall get some grants and if I get really good grades in a few weeks I shall get some good private funding.

How long have you been doing this job?

Just over a year and a half. I'll have transferred in roughly a year and 3/4 time. Huzzah.

Call Center people ..yay!
I'm working in a call center for Capital One Auto Finance
so I take lots of inbound calls to do applications, or to answer questiosn about how the programs work
also take some other calls but those are the main ones
I love the people that are in shock by my happy attitude...but I've had those nasty idiots also...

I love the ones that are pissed off because a dealer gives them wrong information and decides to yell us out for it...or yell us out over something we can't do anything about because of legal issues

your just kind of like uhm....having fun making yourself miserable? whenever you want to quit flipping out we can go back to a normal discussion....I don't feel like being mad...it takes energy that I don't need to use for you...done yet? cool...lets talk now...

I did sort of the same thing in a bill collecting agency. You've probably heard of it. NCI, or Nationwide Credit, Inc. I'm Canadian, btw, and I collected American debts for credit card companies. You'd be amazed at how many people just start screaming at you.

Other collectors used to scream back, until I proved that you didn't have to. I waited a few minutes, and when they took a breath, I'd say in a perfectly calm voice, "Now that you've had a chance to vent, what do you think of trying to find an alternative that everyone can agree on."

That usually worked.

I need to get a job in a call centre I reckon, my dad has landed me in 5,000 pounds worth of debt and I now need to find the monthly repayments on my own.

All this talk of credit cards and debt collecting is bringing home to me how fucked I really am... I think I'll go off and cry some more now. No shouting from me Kam, just tears.

I used to work in an outbound call centre - yes, those annoying bastards that always phone when you're doing something incredibly important, like vegetating in front of the TV...

The shit I took was unreal. I never used to give it back, obviously, because I know how annoying I'm being saying "hey, it's blah blah blah from blah blah blah trying to sell blah blah - hangup"... THEN the profanities come out as you realise that your target-driven commission based job just got even harder as another opportunity to earn the money to eat with passes you by.

Seriously, I have seen grown men and women in that place in tears by five-o-clock because they haven't made a single lead and they aren't taking any money home today... I have been one of them... it's awful.

Think yourself lucky, those who work in inbounds. Much easier job, although you do have to put up with the idiots as well as the nice guys. I'm not saying your jobs are easy, but at least they're more secure...

I want inbound calls, I cannot deal with cold calling and disturbing people. I am fine taking calls, but I am shit at selling. My heart is just not in it and I never made enough commission to make the hours worth it.

Er... debt collecting is 90% outbound. Calling people when they're in the middle of dinner, reminding them that they haven't paid their credit card bill in over 6 months, and that it is now due in full since they haven't been returning any of the company's phone calls.

I've had tears too, PB. Tears are better than screaming because the people are usually grateful that you're going to come to an agreement they can abide by.

Yeah, that's what I face on monday. Its not even my debt, but its in my name. That's what I get for being emotionally blackmailed into getting a loan for my family.