this one almost got me fired

[Sarcastro]

Ok, this one put me on probation for 6 months at work so I couldn't have any legitimate complaints against me for half a year or I'd get canned. I'm a nice guy and a friendly CSR and when I get pushed I may toss out some sarcasm but generally I'm the guy that gets things done when everyone else gives you the run around. I'm normally more subtle with my sarcasm but a mixture of frustration, long day, and no smoking unleashed my inner bastard. I don't suggest attempting this at your place of employment as your boss may not be as understanding and awesome as mine.

Me: Thanks for calling bla bla bla Power and Light. I do apologise you're...

Customer: My power's out. When's it coming back?

Me: Sorry for the trouble, I'd be happy to look into that for you.
*bring up address, get contact info, etc*
We should have a more accurate timeframe when the crew arrives and reports back to us but for now I'm getting an estimate of about 4 hours.

Customer: Blaaargh 4 Hours?!

Me: Ma'am that's just an estimate and it assumes a worst case scenario. We should be able to...

Customer: UNACCEPTABLE! I'm going to need a better time.

Me: As I stated, it's truly just an estimate until the crew...

Customer: I... DON'T... CARE. Get me a faster time.

Me: Please, ma'am, I can't negotiate with a computer syst...

Customer: Don't tell me what you can't do! JUST DO IT!

*At this point my frustration turns into rage but my voice is still fairly calm*

Me: *sigh* Sure thing, but I'm going to need a... head dress and a monkeypaw staff...

Customer: You, what?

Me: Oh powerful and benevolent outage reporting system hear my plea and give me sight beyond sight! Grant me the vision to see through the veil of time to divine when this woman will be in darkness NO MORE! aaaaand... nope didn't work. Timeframe's still 4 hours.

Customer: *seething with rage on the other end of the phone but she barely whispers this* get me your supervisor.

Me: *adding insult to more insult* *pfft* why? he doesn't even have a head dress.

Customer: DO IT NOW A**HOLE!

Me: *sigh* sure, hold on...

[SuperRTL]

While admittedly incredibly funny, and deserved for her over reaction, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. I definitely got a good chuckle out of it, though.

[jjc927]

The sarcasm was cranked up too high on your end, but what the hell was that woman thinking that the estimated time could magically go down? Is her life that dependent on electricity?

[ThirdGenRetail]

It might be, JJC. I heard a story about a woman whose power was cut... She died. Because she was on oxygen that required power, and the batteries didn't kick in like they should have. The article didn't say if the power company had even given them notices or not, though.... But this gem of a woman does not sound like it, because she did not say so.

[Hanzoku]

If you're dependent on electricity for live-saving devices, and you're told it'll be potentially four hours... call the paramedics already?

I love the sarcasm, and I'm glad you didn't lose your job for it. =)

[Bobsentme]

This just made my week.
I'd pay good money to hear a recording of that call!

[Mikkel]

I'd pay good money to hear a recording of that call!

I guess you might have a chance if you can find Sacastro's supervisor, if the call was recorded he'll probably still have the recording .

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

So now you tell me we can't be sarcastic toward completely unreasonable people at work?

Why bother going on living then?

[draggar]

She would have hated to be here in south Florida after Wilma.

When will my power be back on?

Oh, sometime between three to five weeks.

[drunkenwildmage]

If you're dependent on electricity for live-saving devices, and you're told it'll be potentially four hours... call the paramedics already?

Or have some kind of back up plan in place...

[OfficeSlug]

"... Nope, timeframe's still 4 hours."

Frig her right to hell. She deserved it.

I'm sure the next 6 months will breeze by. Just keep us updated if the monkeystaff and headdress come into play again.

[Daskinor]

OMG, you had to be talking to my mother.


And her power was out the other day.

[MoonCat]

Obviously she expected you to get out there and fix it yourself. Isn't that your job??!!

Seriously, when there are power outages I think anybody who's dependent on electricity to stay alive knows to call 9-1-1. She sounds more like your average EW who was pissed because she couldn't watch her favorite TV show or run her hair dryer.

[draftermatt]

She would have hated to be here in south Florida after Wilma.

When will my power be back on?

Oh, sometime between three to five weeks.

Mine was out for 8 days after Tropical Storm Isabella, that was fun enough, I can't imagine 3-5 weeks.

[BaristaTrav]

Love the handle!

/misses The Tick