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awful phone customer
I had the worst telephone customer today and it left me in tears. There is some bad language, so watch out. Sorry, it's long, but I'm still mad about what happened.
I was working in tools today. Other information relevant to this post…in my store, the Tools department is right next to the lawn and garden department and it would be very easy for me to call over a L/G guy to help me out. (also there was a lawn and garden guy in the cac with other customer when I took this phone call.) The lawn and garden department also sells sporting goods and fitness equipment.
I can only say “Thank you for calling Sears Tools, this is—,” when the lady on the other end starts going off on me.
“I am so sick of being put on hold! Your store sucks and I hate it! Bleep bleep bleep bleep etc etc,”--something about “itness…”--“You can’t do anything right! No one in that damn store knows what they are doing and I’m sick of this!”
I can't understand much of what she is screaming about and I'm not kidding when I say that she was screaming. Oh my god. I’m rather shocked and listen in disbelief as she rails on and on. I listen until I can get a breath in and I say, “Hey! Please don’t talk to me like that! How can I help you?”
“Shut up! Bleep bleep bleep,” more yelling…
“Don’t talk to me like that, ma’am!” I said very loudly and I ask once more, “How can I help you? Who do you need to talk to?!”
“Are you deaf?! I told you THREE times! I need someone in fitness you moron!”
But she didn’t say three times, she just yelled and cursed a lot. Maybe she said it somewhere in the middle of all the yelling, but I didn't understand.
“Okay, hold on one sec--,”
“No I’m not going to hold on! You better get someone right now, dammit!” All I was going to do is turn around and ask the lawn and garden guy to take the phone call. But she had pissed me off too much and I’m not paid enough to deal with people like her.
“NO!” I yell and I slam the phone onto the receiver. At this point, I’m upset and crying (cause I’m a wimp like that) and I get out of the cashwrap. The phone immediately starts to ring again and I tell the lawn and garden guy, “Don’t pick it up! Let it ring!” K is the lawn and garden guy.
K picks up the phone and he also doesn’t get to say much. I can hear the yelling of the lady from where I am standing (about five feet away) but can’t understand her.
K: No I don’t have one of those here. How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: Okay, you have a good day. *hangs up*
K then explains to me what she said. The first thing she had asked was “Who was that bitch on the phone?” To which K had replied “I don’t have one of those here.” Basically, he gave her three strikes to calm down and say what she needed, but apparently I really pissed her off by hanging up. I’m still crying like a baby and K pats me on the back and by now a couple of the commission people wander over to see what’s going on. The phone is ringing non stop and I tell no one to answer it.
Then we see a manager of the department wandering by and K tells him of the customer on the phone and we all know that it’s her calling us. Manager answers and we can hear lots of yelling. I don’t pay much attention to what’s going on because I’m still a little upset but I can hear the manager saying, “If you talk to me like that I can’t help you. Don’t use that language with me,” and it seems like he got her to calm down a bit after apologizing on the “rude” treatment she received. He spends nearly fifteen minutes on the phone and a lot of the time, he sort of holds the phone away and eventually he got her off the phone.
What had made her so mad was apparently she was supposed to get a treadmill delivered to her on Friday and *gasp* they couldn’t make the delivery. The lady was actually calling on behalf of her mother and the lady didn’t know a lot of the specifics of what was going on and expected the manager to magically know exactly what happened and what information he needed to pull her order. Also, she was upset because someone (supposedly) in lawn and garden put her on hold and left her listening to the hold music. No one in lawn and garden confessed to doing this, but frankly, if she went off on one of them like she did with me and I was more evil, I would have put her on hold and “forgot” about her too. Manager couldn’t believe the woman’s ridiculous demands and how rude she was. He also said that she wanted my name but he wouldn’t give it to her. Thank god.
I do answer the phones a lot for the store and I’ve had rude customers via the phone before, but never like this. I have newfound respect for those that deal with people via phones everyday. Seems to me that people act more brave on the phone because they know that they wouldn’t have to guts to act like such a jerk in person. I hope I never hear that lady’s voice ever again.
I was working in tools today. Other information relevant to this post…in my store, the Tools department is right next to the lawn and garden department and it would be very easy for me to call over a L/G guy to help me out. (also there was a lawn and garden guy in the cac with other customer when I took this phone call.) The lawn and garden department also sells sporting goods and fitness equipment.
I can only say “Thank you for calling Sears Tools, this is—,” when the lady on the other end starts going off on me.
“I am so sick of being put on hold! Your store sucks and I hate it! Bleep bleep bleep bleep etc etc,”--something about “itness…”--“You can’t do anything right! No one in that damn store knows what they are doing and I’m sick of this!”
I can't understand much of what she is screaming about and I'm not kidding when I say that she was screaming. Oh my god. I’m rather shocked and listen in disbelief as she rails on and on. I listen until I can get a breath in and I say, “Hey! Please don’t talk to me like that! How can I help you?”
“Shut up! Bleep bleep bleep,” more yelling…
“Don’t talk to me like that, ma’am!” I said very loudly and I ask once more, “How can I help you? Who do you need to talk to?!”
“Are you deaf?! I told you THREE times! I need someone in fitness you moron!”
But she didn’t say three times, she just yelled and cursed a lot. Maybe she said it somewhere in the middle of all the yelling, but I didn't understand.
“Okay, hold on one sec--,”
“No I’m not going to hold on! You better get someone right now, dammit!” All I was going to do is turn around and ask the lawn and garden guy to take the phone call. But she had pissed me off too much and I’m not paid enough to deal with people like her.
“NO!” I yell and I slam the phone onto the receiver. At this point, I’m upset and crying (cause I’m a wimp like that) and I get out of the cashwrap. The phone immediately starts to ring again and I tell the lawn and garden guy, “Don’t pick it up! Let it ring!” K is the lawn and garden guy.
K picks up the phone and he also doesn’t get to say much. I can hear the yelling of the lady from where I am standing (about five feet away) but can’t understand her.
K: No I don’t have one of those here. How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: How may I help you?
More yelling.
K: Okay, you have a good day. *hangs up*
K then explains to me what she said. The first thing she had asked was “Who was that bitch on the phone?” To which K had replied “I don’t have one of those here.” Basically, he gave her three strikes to calm down and say what she needed, but apparently I really pissed her off by hanging up. I’m still crying like a baby and K pats me on the back and by now a couple of the commission people wander over to see what’s going on. The phone is ringing non stop and I tell no one to answer it.
Then we see a manager of the department wandering by and K tells him of the customer on the phone and we all know that it’s her calling us. Manager answers and we can hear lots of yelling. I don’t pay much attention to what’s going on because I’m still a little upset but I can hear the manager saying, “If you talk to me like that I can’t help you. Don’t use that language with me,” and it seems like he got her to calm down a bit after apologizing on the “rude” treatment she received. He spends nearly fifteen minutes on the phone and a lot of the time, he sort of holds the phone away and eventually he got her off the phone.
What had made her so mad was apparently she was supposed to get a treadmill delivered to her on Friday and *gasp* they couldn’t make the delivery. The lady was actually calling on behalf of her mother and the lady didn’t know a lot of the specifics of what was going on and expected the manager to magically know exactly what happened and what information he needed to pull her order. Also, she was upset because someone (supposedly) in lawn and garden put her on hold and left her listening to the hold music. No one in lawn and garden confessed to doing this, but frankly, if she went off on one of them like she did with me and I was more evil, I would have put her on hold and “forgot” about her too. Manager couldn’t believe the woman’s ridiculous demands and how rude she was. He also said that she wanted my name but he wouldn’t give it to her. Thank god.
I do answer the phones a lot for the store and I’ve had rude customers via the phone before, but never like this. I have newfound respect for those that deal with people via phones everyday. Seems to me that people act more brave on the phone because they know that they wouldn’t have to guts to act like such a jerk in person. I hope I never hear that lady’s voice ever again.
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