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A combination of suck (long)
It’s been a long time since I posted so for those of you who don’t remember me I work for an airline in the reservations office taking calls and booking flights. 
For anyone who has never worked in a call center you might think this is an easy job, I know I did before I started there, but oh how wrong I was!
Here are a few specific stories from the last couple of days and a few just general pet peeves.
You say it’s your fault and yet I know you’re blaming us
I have two stories that belong here. The first one was just from the other day.
SC: I was online and I needed to transfer some miles from my husband’s mileage plan account into my account. I had 112,000 miles and I wanted to transfer enough so I had 130,000 miles.
Me: Ok.
SC: Well the problem is I just transferred 2,000 miles and it’s only showing I have 114,000 miles instead of 130,000!? I don’t understand I should have 130,000!
Me: So you transferred 2,000 miles?
SC: Yes, why didn’t I get all the miles I wanted?
Me: Well ma’am 112,000 plus 2,000 only equals 114,000 so you did get the right amount. If you want 130,000 you need to transfer 18,000.
SC: Oh…so now I have to pay to transfer more miles?
Me: I’m sorry but yes you will.
SC: Well, I guess it was my math that was wrong (said in a way that she very obviously did not think it was her fault). But I think that’s really unfair of you to charge me again just because I made a mistake! *click*
Now, I understand it sucks having to pay to transfer miles anyway, but it’s not my fault you can’t count.
Here’s another story that just happened today where someone blamed us for their mistake. It started out nice enough but ended with me going
SC: Yes I left something on the plane today and I have the number to call and I have already filed a claim but I’m trying to contact someone at the actual airport and I keep getting told when I call that number that they are closed. (Found out it was a dress she had hung in the closet that she was planning to wear to a wedding she was going to)
Me: I do apologize ma’am but if they are closed you will have to call during business hours.
SC: Oh, there’s nothing you can do for me?
Me: I’m sorry no, I’m just in reservations. You will have to contact the phone number given. (I check to make sure she has the right phone number and give her the hours of operation)
SC: Ok. Well, I guess I will just have to buy a new $200.00 dress if they can’t get me mine. I just have to say that I know this is primarily my fault but I feel that the airline had some responsibility to make sure that I had all my luggage before I left the plane. I’ve seen flight attendants handing people their garment bags out of the closet before and that should have been done for me!
Me:…ok.
SC: Well thanks. *click*
I just have to say, I don’t fly often to be honest I don’t like to, but in the 10 or so times I’ve been on a plane I have NEVER left a single item on board. You would think that if you bought a $200.00 dress to go to someone’s wedding you would, oh I don’t know, remember you brought it!? And I’m sure the flight attendants have nothing better to do than babysit perfectly capable adults and make sure that each one getting off the flight has what they brought on. I can see it now, “Thanks for coming, oh and do you have all your items? Are you sure? Did you check the seat pocket and underneath the seat in front of you? Ok. Thanks for flying with us.” And repeat with each passenger in line. Cause that wouldn’t make people mad.
I’m sorry…what?
This just happened today to. This lady called in asking how much it would cost to change her ticket. I tell her and she asks to talk to a supervisor to see if we would waive any fees for her because she’s having issues at work. I told her I would get her a supervisor but that we didn’t usually waive fees due to work problems.
A few minutes later my supervisor (M) comes over and says:
M: Do you know what her excuse was to have me waive fees?
Me: Some work thing right?
M: Yeah her work thing was they apparently had to let go of one employee and she said it was like a DEATH to the company.
Me: (trying to process this is my brain) Wait, so they fired one person and it’s like a death so we should lose money because of it?
M: According to her yes.
Me: I can’t even believe she would have the gall to use that as an excuse!
M: I know!
Ok so don’t get me wrong, I can be sympathetic to the fact that paying change fees suck. I can really sympathize that your friend got fired, but how does this affect your flight that is in a week? And even if it does why should my company lose money, you would think someone whose friend lost their job probably over the economy or something like that would understand that! I wish I could have told her, “Yeah well our company is going to have to let go about 75 or more employees and a lot of those will be good friends of mine or possibly myself so can I have some handouts?” Sheesh.
Pet Peeves
We all have em, and I’m sure a lot of mine are the same as yours, but I can’t help but hope that someday people will understand and stop doing a lot of these things. They won’t, but I’m trying to be optimistic.
1. If I ask you a question please just answer the question I asked. Like if I ask, “Where do you want to fly from and go to?” Just answer Seattle to Portland. Don’t tell me, “Oh well me and my boyfriend, we’ve been dating for 3 months now, we want to go on the 3rd of September to Oregon for about a week to go see his grandma because she’s not feeling too well you see she’s had some really bad stomach problems and….blah blah BLAH!” I DON’T CARE! Answer the question or say nothing.
2. If I ask you for your address, surprisingly I need the whole address. Just giving me the zip code, or the street number, or the city name, is not enough. I know, it’s a tough concept, but I need the whole address. Along the same lines I’m glad when people do know their address but if you read it off at a million miles per hour I can’t type that fast. I’m a fast typer but you have to give me at least a second or two between words so I can type them in.
3. Maybe I’m expecting too much from people, but if you call an airline to reserve kennel space to travel with your pet wouldn’t you have the kennel dimensions? Because if you want to bring your giant great dane in a huge kennel maybe we can’t take it on our smaller airplanes. Is asking for kennel dimensions just asking too much from people?
4. If you call me for the love of all that is HOLY be in a room that is quiet. If the TV is on turn it off, if the radio is on turn it down, if the room is full of loud talking people go somewhere else or tell the people in the room to SHUT UP! You would think this was a no brainer, but noooo. I always talk really quiet whenever someone who is in a noisy place calls so they can’t hear me.
Well. This is long enough I think. There are plenty of other stories and pet peeves but I think I have bored you all enough already! Thanks for reading and I’ll try and post more stories more often.
For anyone who has never worked in a call center you might think this is an easy job, I know I did before I started there, but oh how wrong I was!
Here are a few specific stories from the last couple of days and a few just general pet peeves.
You say it’s your fault and yet I know you’re blaming us
I have two stories that belong here. The first one was just from the other day.
SC: I was online and I needed to transfer some miles from my husband’s mileage plan account into my account. I had 112,000 miles and I wanted to transfer enough so I had 130,000 miles.
Me: Ok.
SC: Well the problem is I just transferred 2,000 miles and it’s only showing I have 114,000 miles instead of 130,000!? I don’t understand I should have 130,000!
Me: So you transferred 2,000 miles?
SC: Yes, why didn’t I get all the miles I wanted?
Me: Well ma’am 112,000 plus 2,000 only equals 114,000 so you did get the right amount. If you want 130,000 you need to transfer 18,000.
SC: Oh…so now I have to pay to transfer more miles?
Me: I’m sorry but yes you will.
SC: Well, I guess it was my math that was wrong (said in a way that she very obviously did not think it was her fault). But I think that’s really unfair of you to charge me again just because I made a mistake! *click*
Now, I understand it sucks having to pay to transfer miles anyway, but it’s not my fault you can’t count.
Here’s another story that just happened today where someone blamed us for their mistake. It started out nice enough but ended with me going
SC: Yes I left something on the plane today and I have the number to call and I have already filed a claim but I’m trying to contact someone at the actual airport and I keep getting told when I call that number that they are closed. (Found out it was a dress she had hung in the closet that she was planning to wear to a wedding she was going to)
Me: I do apologize ma’am but if they are closed you will have to call during business hours.
SC: Oh, there’s nothing you can do for me?
Me: I’m sorry no, I’m just in reservations. You will have to contact the phone number given. (I check to make sure she has the right phone number and give her the hours of operation)
SC: Ok. Well, I guess I will just have to buy a new $200.00 dress if they can’t get me mine. I just have to say that I know this is primarily my fault but I feel that the airline had some responsibility to make sure that I had all my luggage before I left the plane. I’ve seen flight attendants handing people their garment bags out of the closet before and that should have been done for me!
Me:…ok.
SC: Well thanks. *click*
I just have to say, I don’t fly often to be honest I don’t like to, but in the 10 or so times I’ve been on a plane I have NEVER left a single item on board. You would think that if you bought a $200.00 dress to go to someone’s wedding you would, oh I don’t know, remember you brought it!? And I’m sure the flight attendants have nothing better to do than babysit perfectly capable adults and make sure that each one getting off the flight has what they brought on. I can see it now, “Thanks for coming, oh and do you have all your items? Are you sure? Did you check the seat pocket and underneath the seat in front of you? Ok. Thanks for flying with us.” And repeat with each passenger in line. Cause that wouldn’t make people mad.
I’m sorry…what?
This just happened today to. This lady called in asking how much it would cost to change her ticket. I tell her and she asks to talk to a supervisor to see if we would waive any fees for her because she’s having issues at work. I told her I would get her a supervisor but that we didn’t usually waive fees due to work problems.
A few minutes later my supervisor (M) comes over and says:
M: Do you know what her excuse was to have me waive fees?
Me: Some work thing right?
M: Yeah her work thing was they apparently had to let go of one employee and she said it was like a DEATH to the company.
Me: (trying to process this is my brain) Wait, so they fired one person and it’s like a death so we should lose money because of it?
M: According to her yes.
Me: I can’t even believe she would have the gall to use that as an excuse!
M: I know!
Ok so don’t get me wrong, I can be sympathetic to the fact that paying change fees suck. I can really sympathize that your friend got fired, but how does this affect your flight that is in a week? And even if it does why should my company lose money, you would think someone whose friend lost their job probably over the economy or something like that would understand that! I wish I could have told her, “Yeah well our company is going to have to let go about 75 or more employees and a lot of those will be good friends of mine or possibly myself so can I have some handouts?” Sheesh.
Pet Peeves
We all have em, and I’m sure a lot of mine are the same as yours, but I can’t help but hope that someday people will understand and stop doing a lot of these things. They won’t, but I’m trying to be optimistic.
1. If I ask you a question please just answer the question I asked. Like if I ask, “Where do you want to fly from and go to?” Just answer Seattle to Portland. Don’t tell me, “Oh well me and my boyfriend, we’ve been dating for 3 months now, we want to go on the 3rd of September to Oregon for about a week to go see his grandma because she’s not feeling too well you see she’s had some really bad stomach problems and….blah blah BLAH!” I DON’T CARE! Answer the question or say nothing.
2. If I ask you for your address, surprisingly I need the whole address. Just giving me the zip code, or the street number, or the city name, is not enough. I know, it’s a tough concept, but I need the whole address. Along the same lines I’m glad when people do know their address but if you read it off at a million miles per hour I can’t type that fast. I’m a fast typer but you have to give me at least a second or two between words so I can type them in.
3. Maybe I’m expecting too much from people, but if you call an airline to reserve kennel space to travel with your pet wouldn’t you have the kennel dimensions? Because if you want to bring your giant great dane in a huge kennel maybe we can’t take it on our smaller airplanes. Is asking for kennel dimensions just asking too much from people?
4. If you call me for the love of all that is HOLY be in a room that is quiet. If the TV is on turn it off, if the radio is on turn it down, if the room is full of loud talking people go somewhere else or tell the people in the room to SHUT UP! You would think this was a no brainer, but noooo. I always talk really quiet whenever someone who is in a noisy place calls so they can’t hear me.
Well. This is long enough I think. There are plenty of other stories and pet peeves but I think I have bored you all enough already! Thanks for reading and I’ll try and post more stories more often.
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