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This one goes back to 2003 when I first started working my current job with the prepaid cellular service. About 4 days out of training I got a call from one of our dealers wanting to activate a new phone number.
Me: Some guy other than..... oh wait... yeah this is me
D: Dealer
Me: Thank you for calling brand cellular, how may I assist you today? (I was a lot more cheery 4 years ago)
D: Yeah this is [agent code, agent name] I'd like to activate a phone for area code 734
[734 like most area codes services multiple towns. Of course being only my 4th day I didn't know, when I typed in 734 it immediately populated a number for Ann Arbor, Michigan which I was trained generally meant that Ann Arbor was the only city/town/county in the 734 area code that we service. This was not correct, but I of course had no real way of knowing this]
Me: Ok, what is the ESN for the handset you have?
D: Gives ESN
Me: Gives number
D: (said in a very condescending tone) Hey, what's this? You know 734 services more than just Ann Arbor right? Thats ok if this is all you have, but you really should learn to pay attention I asked you for 734, so you should know I wanted [insert city other than Ann Arbor] because thats where my store is located.
Ok, now just for some further background. We have, as I had been trained, stores that do distribution for regions of the US, so just because they may be in a particular city don't assume that will be the area code they want. Also, at the time the system we had for checking information on our authorized agents only showed their name and their agent code, it did not show address etc. So I had no way of knowing what city etc he was calling from.
Me: (Irritated for being chewed out for something I could not have known) Sir, I don't mean to sound rude by asking any of this, but have you ever spoken with me to activate a phone before?
D: No, thats why I was trying to give you some friendly advice, because I figured you were new there.
Me: (Thinking, ok how is being a rude asshole giving friendly advice) [said in as polite a tone as I could manage, which probably came out sounding annoyed] Ok, did you know that you wanted 734 for [other city] before you called?
D: Yes
Me: [continuing same tone] Wouldn't it make more sense then in speaking to someone you think is new to ask for what you know you want? So they don't make a mistake?
D: Sh** man don't get all bent out of shape over it. I was just trying to help you.
Me: Well, sir, thank you very much, did you have any other transactions you needed help with today?
D: No, I'll call back so i can get someone who knows what they're doing.
Me: *Bites tongue* Alright, you have a nice day.
The irony is after 4 years I've gotten quite good at this whole cellular phone thing and I still get to deal with this agent on a regular basis now. In fact, he's happy to get me on the phone since I “know what I'm doing” I still have to resist the urge to give him some “friendly” advice every now and then though.
Me: Some guy other than..... oh wait... yeah this is me
D: Dealer
Me: Thank you for calling brand cellular, how may I assist you today? (I was a lot more cheery 4 years ago)
D: Yeah this is [agent code, agent name] I'd like to activate a phone for area code 734
[734 like most area codes services multiple towns. Of course being only my 4th day I didn't know, when I typed in 734 it immediately populated a number for Ann Arbor, Michigan which I was trained generally meant that Ann Arbor was the only city/town/county in the 734 area code that we service. This was not correct, but I of course had no real way of knowing this]
Me: Ok, what is the ESN for the handset you have?
D: Gives ESN
Me: Gives number
D: (said in a very condescending tone) Hey, what's this? You know 734 services more than just Ann Arbor right? Thats ok if this is all you have, but you really should learn to pay attention I asked you for 734, so you should know I wanted [insert city other than Ann Arbor] because thats where my store is located.
Ok, now just for some further background. We have, as I had been trained, stores that do distribution for regions of the US, so just because they may be in a particular city don't assume that will be the area code they want. Also, at the time the system we had for checking information on our authorized agents only showed their name and their agent code, it did not show address etc. So I had no way of knowing what city etc he was calling from.
Me: (Irritated for being chewed out for something I could not have known) Sir, I don't mean to sound rude by asking any of this, but have you ever spoken with me to activate a phone before?
D: No, thats why I was trying to give you some friendly advice, because I figured you were new there.
Me: (Thinking, ok how is being a rude asshole giving friendly advice) [said in as polite a tone as I could manage, which probably came out sounding annoyed] Ok, did you know that you wanted 734 for [other city] before you called?
D: Yes
Me: [continuing same tone] Wouldn't it make more sense then in speaking to someone you think is new to ask for what you know you want? So they don't make a mistake?
D: Sh** man don't get all bent out of shape over it. I was just trying to help you.
Me: Well, sir, thank you very much, did you have any other transactions you needed help with today?
D: No, I'll call back so i can get someone who knows what they're doing.
Me: *Bites tongue* Alright, you have a nice day.
The irony is after 4 years I've gotten quite good at this whole cellular phone thing and I still get to deal with this agent on a regular basis now. In fact, he's happy to get me on the phone since I “know what I'm doing” I still have to resist the urge to give him some “friendly” advice every now and then though.
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