You call in here every day with that same story. Isn't it time to invent a new one?

[greensinestro]

I worked as an operator for Bellsouth for five years before going into customer service. Customer service does not deal with the same nitwit customers over and over again. Each situation always seemed different when dealing with bills, services, etc. But in Operator Services, it was always about repetition.

I, as well as my co-workers, practically dealt with the same people every day. Not only the same people, but the same people with the same stories. Many of them were told from pay telephones (long before cellular became as common as the TV). We had this lady who called every day claiming she lost her last quarter in the pay phone, plus she already spoke to the coin refund department and was told to have us put the call through for her. She always started this story with a whiney voice, like she was in distress. The thing was, it was every single time she called in pressing "0" on the pay phone she was using. One night, while working with a group of about 30 one night, she had called in to where anyone who got her immediately told her "no" before she even got the story out. Turned out each and every one of these co-workers got her, meaning she had to have called fifty times or more that night.

Pay phones were always my pet peeve on this type of thing. Everyone out there carries only one quarter, and they would always say they lost their one and only quarter and had to make a call. And, if that didn't work, they would try the "bill it to another phone number" ploy. At first, you have to get verbal acceptance from someone at the billed to number, but then Bellsouth shoved aside this policy due to the large number of supervisor calls. It got to where the supervisors did not want to deal with this, so they just said "put it through" even if it meant letting those people commit fraud.

Nowadays, pay phones are practically non existent, which made operators obsolete. But, ah, the memories of those days! And, I have plenty of more stories to tell for other posts.

[Coconut]

And, if that didn't work, they would try the "bill it to another phone number" ploy. At first, you have to get verbal acceptance from someone at the billed to number, but then Bellsouth shoved aside this policy due to the large number of supervisor calls. It got to where the supervisors did not want to deal with this, so they just said "put it through" even if it meant letting those people commit fraud.

Years ago, my mom's phone bill in the hundreds of dollars. Someone had randomly charged an insane amount of calls to her without her knowledge or consent. She didn't even know the person. I guess they just randomly picked out her number.

Fortunately, she didn't have to pay it... but it was still a hassle to deal with.

[greensinestro]

Years ago, my mom's phone bill in the hundreds of dollars. Someone had randomly charged an insane amount of calls to her without her knowledge or consent. She didn't even know the person. I guess they just randomly picked out her number.

Fortunately, she didn't have to pay it... but it was still a hassle to deal with.

Yes, I remember getting the onslaught of these calls years later when I worked in customer service. Much of the time, the phone company ate the charges even though measures were taken to avoid it. As a rep, you had the option of having the calls investigated, and afterward, you could sustain the charges, or you could credit them. You also were able to do a recourse where you could bill the calls to the party that the person called before billing it to another number. Of course, not once did I get anyone who would accept those charges, and much of the time, they denied ever speaking to the person that called their number. Hence, this is why I always offered a third number billing block when I spoke to customers on this. I had one of these added to my own phone once Bellsouth supervisors did away with protecting customers from this type of fraud.