I work in the contact centre for a holiday company. People phone us to book their breaks and ask general questions, etc.

Woman: “Do you know the nearest train station to [Hotel]?”

Me: “Yeah, let me just check for you.” *Looks it up* “Yup, the closest train station is [Station], and it is [miles] from the hotel. I have the number of a taxi service you can use to get from the station to the hotel.”

Woman: “What train would I need to get from London?”

Me: “…What?”

Woman: “Waterloo, Piccadilly Line? What line would I need to get to reach [Station]?”

Bear in mind, people, our company is not based in London. I did not make the train lines and therefore don’t have them all memorised into the folds of my brain.

Me: “I… don’t know, but I could try and find out?”

Meaning I will attempt to be helpful and Google it because, apparently, she’s incapable, dumb, and/or lazy.

Woman: *With a big, exasperated sigh* “No, I’ve just had this with NHS staff. You guys are not trained properly! How are you meant to help people if you aren’t trained and told information to help people?! Why don’t you know the answer?! This is ridiculous!”

At this point, I’ve blanked out with my mouse hovering over the “end call” button, thinking that if she continues to be rude and yell at me, I’ll just end the call because my patience is very thin this time of year (right before Christmas).

Woman: “Do you have the direct number for the hotel so I can have it?”

Me: *Now curt* “Yup.” *Rattles off the numbers*

Woman: “Okay, thank yooou!”

Me: “Yup, take care.” *Ends the call*

The laziness of people astounds me — as if Google and Google Maps aren’t right there with the answers. How they survive day to day when they can’t look up basic information like how to get from point A to point B without someone holding their hand and doing it for them, I just don’t know.

Related:
Let Me Google That For You

I work for a big bank that has locations all over New York City and a few other areas across the country. This call happened several years ago when I was working overnights. Usually, the calls came from international account holders or people on the far west coast. This call was from an ATM at a New York branch.

Me: “Thank you for calling [Bank]. My name is [My Name]; how can I help you today?”

Customer: “I just withdrew $40.00 from the ATM, but the receipt shows that $80.00 was taken out. What is going on?”

Me: “I’m very sorry to hear about that issue. Let me bring up your account and see if I can figure out what is going on.”

I got the client’s account information and identified the caller per normal

Me: “So, I am looking at today’s activity and I do see the ATM withdrawal that you just completed a few minutes ago. According to the computer, a withdrawal of $40.00 was taken out.”

Customer: “But the receipt I have shows $80.00 was taken out. What is going on?”

Me: “Just to make sure I am following everything fully, you went to the ATM and requested $40.00, and the ATM gave you $40.00 as you requested, but the receipt you received shows $80.00 being debited. Do I have that right?”

Customer: “Yes, exactly. What is wrong with your system? Why would it withdraw $80.00 from my account when I only requested $40.00? How stupid is your system?”

Me: “Well, I can only go by what I am looking at now, and it does show that only $40.00 was debited from your account and that is the only transaction you did today. Nothing else is coming out of your account.”

Customer: “When I had a problem last time, they did some sort of investigation. Why can’t you do that now?”

Me: “If there was a difference in the amount received versus the amount requested, then we could submit an investigation. But you requested $40.00 and received $40.00, so there is nothing to investigate.”

Customer: “But why does this receipt show that you withdrew $80.00 from my account? I just don’t understand why you can’t send someone out to fix this issue.”

Me: “Let me check one final thing with you. Do you still have the receipt in your hand?”

Customer: “Yes, why? I already told you the receipt shows $80.00 was taken out but I only got $40.00. You still owe me $40.00 more.”

Me: “If you requested $40.00, you received $40.00, and your account was only debited $40.00, there is no discrepancy. But the reason I asked if you have the receipt is that on the receipt, it should show the last four digits of the ATM/debit card used for the withdrawal. Do those numbers match the last four digits on your card?”

Customer: *Click*

I guess not…

CONTENT WARNING: Terminal Cancer
I have a call transferred to me by another agent. I am warned that the client is absolutely livid and coming in hot. I’ve had about four hours of geriatric abuse by this point, including being screamed at by a retired CPA who just found out his employer changed the investments without their permission, a schmuck of a financial advisor trying to have his cake and eat it, too, with a retired teacher that can’t add two and two to save her life, and other bulls*** throughout the day.

This one takes the cake.

I immediately start by telling the client that I can be content with her being angry as long as she is civil.

The client has a legacy plan with a legacy product. She demands a lump sum withdrawal, which is not permitted under her employer plan. I immediately ask her how much money she needs in the event that it’s something small like a few thousand dollars. She says she’s relieved to hear that until I tell her the same thing the other agent told her. It goes downhill from there.

Customer: “What do you mean you [have these rules]? Are you saying it’s not my money?”

Me: “No, I’m not saying it’s not your money. It’s just that there are rules we have to follow.”

Customer: “I don’t understand. Why can’t I take my money out?”

Me: “Well… we have rules, ma’am. This has been in place to prevent bank runs since the inception of this company.”

Customer: “I don’t care. I want to speak to your supervisor.”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but they will say the same exact thing that I’m telling you now. If it were up to me, I would just let you have it, but the liquidation rules indicate that you have to take it out over time.”

Customer: “Well, I’ll be dead by then!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but those are the rules.”

Customer: “Young man, the last thing I want to hear from your mouth is ‘sorry’. When you say ‘sorry’, it cheapens the meaning of the word, so I don’t want you to ever say you’re sorry again. Do I make myself clear? Now put me through with a supervisor.”

Me: “I will not do any such thing now. The only way you’ll be able to get your money is to initiate the liquidation procedure or to annuitize. I’ll be more than happy to get my system ready, but a lump sum is not an option.”

Customer: “I’m only going to take the lump sum option.”

Me: “In that case, I can see this conversation is going nowhere. I’m going to help others, so thank you for calling in, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

Customer: “IF YOU HANG UP THIS PHONE RIGHT NOW, I WILL REPORT YOU!”

Me: *Click*

Supervisor calls aren’t available for immediate transfer; otherwise, I would not have received the call from my peer in the first place. There is a team I can reach out to if it’s blatantly obvious there was a f***-up on my company’s part, but this situation doesn’t fall into that category. I do also have the right to end a call provided that I give a warning (which I gave in the beginning) and a proper send-off, which was also given. When the woman did not heed the warning and took everything out on me personally, I made the executive decision to end the call.

I immediately told my manager about the call (he was kind of thrust into this role, so he’s pretty chill for the most part) and explained the situation to him. I’m not worried about it affecting my licensing at all. I looked at the customer’s profile later on, and she called back to the call center demanding her money. The next agent told her the same thing (based on the notes he left behind), but said agent also documented her sob story about being in her eighties with terminal cancer and “needing it now”.

I’d feel sorry for her, but given how she treated me (and how she never disclosed her medical condition until she got the hang-up treatment), that would only cheapen the meaning of the word.

CONTENT WARNING: Miscarriage
 

I’m working in a sales call center when a coworker who hasn’t shown up today calls in. I take the call as I manage the staff line as well as my own sales line. My manager is always quick to note when I am not on a sales call, and he mouths to me, “Who is that?”

Me: “[Coworker] is calling. She can’t come in today. She said it’s okay for me to tell you that it’s because she had a miscarriage so, obviously, she’s going to need a few days.”

Manager: *Struggling to hide his smile* “That means she’ll no longer be needing her maternity leave! Excellent. We’ll be needing her for the sale season.”

The entire floor goes silent. Everyone has just heard my manager’s response to the tragic news — including my coworker on the phone. She says one more thing and then hangs up.

Me: “She told me that you’re right; you can cancel her maternity leave because she quits.”

Related:
Wow. Not A Single Drop Of Compassion. Part 3
Wow. Not A Single Drop Of Compassion. Part 2
Wow. Not A Single Drop Of Compassion.

I am working in a call center for a long-haul airline. We have a service for our older customers or those who are booking expensive upper-class experiences and prefer a more “human” service.

I am talking to an older woman who is spending a lot of money on a first-class flight from California to New York, and then on to London.

Caller: “And you’ll arrange for a driver to come and collect me at the airport?”

Me: “Yes, ma’am, your package includes taxi service from door to door.”

Caller: “And the driver will be white?”

I pause.

Me: “I… can’t guarantee the… uh… ethnicity of the driver you will be sent, ma’am.”

Caller: “What?! That’s unacceptable! With the amount of money I am paying, I should be able to secure a white driver!”

Me: *Trying to remain diplomatic* “I am afraid that’s not a service we provide.”

Caller: “Well, the last time you used a company to pick me up from my house, they were Italian, which is, I suppose. Just use those same people. But I am not getting into a car if they’re not white!”

Me: “Wait, ma’am, you don’t want any non-white taxi drivers, and you’re going to New York?”

Caller: “I’d just feel safer!”

Me: “Yeah, you’re not getting out of the airport…”