Sucky Customer turn Sucky Employee

[Kara]

And about to go back to being a Sucky Customer. I've seen a lot of stupidity in my time, but this one takes that "Stupid Cake" we've been tossing around here lately.

SW: Sucky (Customer, Employee, Human Being, Waste of Molecules) Woman
ME: Astonished CSR

The call comes in and an Employee account pops up on my screen.

SW: Yeah, I'm not calling about this account, but I need you to help me with the number XXX-XXX-XXXX.
ME: Okay, sure. (This pulls up a regular account for a different person with the same last name).
SW: Okay, so I want to upgrade but they're saying in the store that I'm not eligible for the best discount, so I need you to override that and get me the lower price.
ME: Well, I'd be happy to see what I can do to help you out. Let's take a look at your account. Is there a particular handset you want to upgrade to?
SW: Yeah, the Nokia ____.
ME: It looks like there was an in-store upgrade on the line back on 12/15/2005 with a 2 year contract. You won't be eligible for the maximum discount until 10/15/2007, but we could still get you a partial discount now which would be-
SW: There wasn't no upgrade.
ME: Actually, I see here that-
SW: I never had an upgrade on this line. So I want the phone for $99.99.
ME: I'm looking at the upgrade form right now from 12/15/2005. Now, we can get you the handset for $119.99-
SW: When is my contract up?
ME: Hmm, it expired in June of last year.
SW: So how could I have a 2 year contract from 2005 and it expire last year?
ME (Okay, that is a little odd. But I'm not liking your tone, an employee should know better): From what I can tell here, the dealer never renewed the contract. It looks like he gave you the 2 year offer (free phone) but waived the contract. However, the discount still reset as though the contract had been renewed, so you still wouldn't be eligible for the max pricing.
SW: Ugh. Why the hell did they even bother transferring me? Aren't the prices in your department supposed to be better?
ME: Yes, but only for eligible customers.
SW: Just take the $20 off and give it to me for $99.99
ME (she's now loud enough to be clearly heard by potential customers in the store she's calling me from, which is a very, very naughty thing for an employee to be doing): I'm sorry, but you and I both know why that's not going to happen.
SW (now yelling): I can't believe you'd treat a longtime customer this way! All for $20! Well you can keep it and we'll just cancel this account!
ME: Look, as an employee, you should be well aware of the eligibility guidelines for upgrade pricing.
SW: What? I don't work for the company, my fiance does! But that's a different account!
ME (okay, whatever. Nevermind the fact that you called me from your employee line in your name, and I looked you up in the system and I know what call center you are in): I traced the serial number of the phone you upgraded to on 12/15/2005, and even though it was used on a different account, it was still processed through this line and the pricing will not change from what I've already offered.
SW: But they said it would just be a 1 year contract...
ME: Regardless of what was said, the line is not eligible for the max discount until 10/15.
SW: This is ridiculous! *click*

Okay, I know you want to help out your family, but that is not how an employee of the company acts when calling in, and that goes double when you're calling in from the store and there are real customers all around you. And you better believe my detailed report is on its way to your manager's inbox, and you'll be out on your butt when it gets there.

The sad thing is that her employee phone line activated at the end of February. She probably isn't even out of training yet. Guess she won't make it out, either. But we don't need people like this working for us, and I won't feel sorry for her.

[TWOLF]

I think part of the problem is that people who care reps calling in as customer's feel that people should bend the rules for them, because after all "we work for the same company". I salute you for turning her in, her actions were not called for, and they make the company look bad. One thing I like about the company I work for is the only way to get a discount is to do a contract, so there is no arguing about time frames. And since some companies do employee accounts that are manged by that persons supervisor it causes less issues.

[CurlyLocks]

I give you props too Kara for the way you handled it. This woman probably has to listen to customers like that all day then she tries to pull the same thing on you? That is just rancid!

Our company gives us a really great discount but the only way we can purchase anything is at the outlet store in the call center. It's kind of inconvenient for me since I live about 1 1/2 hrs away; but it insures that we don't run into situations like you did.

[Kara]

We can only get phones through an internal website. We get handsets for 45% full cost (everyone in the phone business knows this isn't a great discount since we sell them to customers for far less than the cost). After we've been there 3 years (I just hit it last month, yay!) we get 65% off cost, so then the discount gets comparable to what customers get, sometimes better. After 5 years, we can get a free phone up to $500 (and pay the difference if it's more than that). We only get to use our discount once a year otherwise we pay full cost.

Now, if you have a separate "Retail" account, like this girl did, you can get the regular discount from customer care or in the stores with contracts and so on, just like any other customer account (you just don't get the employee plan). Some people do this since we can only have 2 lines on an employee plan in our name.