Unfiltered Story #194005

(I used to work for a call center and the project I was assigned to was a company that manufactured computer/internet hardware and software. About 95% of the products were made for the corporate level and those were the only customers we were trained to create troubleshooting cases for. But every now and then we’d get some home users who were misdirected to our line.)

Me: Thank you for calling *****, my name is *******. Is this call in regards to a new or an existing case?
Customer: um…I’m having trouble with my internet.
Me: Okay, just to verify: are you a home user or a small business?
(Within just a few months of working at this job, I was able to tell the difference between corporate users and home users by the tone of voice, and this old woman was CLEARLY a home user.)
Customer: Home.
Me: Alright. Could I get the model number of your router?
(After some rustling noises on the phone, she comes back)
Customer: Is that the serial number on the back? I see a serial number and a MAC address…
Me: No, ma’am. The model number is the number located on the front of the router, usually next to the logo.
(She gives me the model number, and the instructions on our internal website tell me that I have to re-direct her to her ISP for this model.)
Me: Alright, thank you for your patience ma’am. It looks like for this particular model, you will need to reach out to your ISP–
Customer: My what??
Me: Your internet service provider.
Customer: I already talked to them, and they told me to call you.
Me: Yes ma’am, I understand, but as it turns out we only manufactured the hardware. The software configuration is handled by your ISP. Since they’re the ones that provide your internet service, they will need to troubleshoot the problem.
Customer: But it’s not the internet I’m having problems with.
(She clearly told me at the beginning that it WAS the internet she was having problems with.)
Me: I’m sorry ma’am, it was my understanding that you were having problems with your internet connection.
Customer: Weren’t you listening?! I said that I couldn’t connect my tablet to the internet. It won’t take my password.
Me: Oh, I see. Well, in that case if you’re having trouble with the tablet, then I can look up the manufacturer and give you their customer service number.
Customer: You mean you can’t do it yourself?
Me: I’m afraid not ma’am, our company didn’t make that tablet, so none of our engineers are trai–
Customer: But it says [my project’s company logo] on the router! My service provider said you could help!
Me (trying very hard not to sound frustrated): I apologize for the miscommunication; if there is an issue with your internet connection, your ISP would handle that, but since the issue is with your tablet and not your internet connection, you will need to reach out to [the manufacturer]’s customer service line so they can further assist you, and I can provide the num–
Customer: Well, thanks for wasting my time!
(She hung up before I could give her the manufacturer’s customer service number.)