Driving Home The Kindness, Part 9

(The late shift at our call center ends at 10 pm, but it’s policy that you have to stay on the line till exactly 10. If a customer calls at 9:59 and the call takes half an hour… your bad luck. That’s just what happens to me, and the issue with the customer’s Internet IS complicated. We talk for about forty minutes, until:)

Me: “See, finally! I’m glad we could solve this and— ah, s***.”

Customer: “What’s wrong?”

Me: *realising I just swore at a customer, totally embarrassed* “Oh, dear, ma’am, I’m so sorry. That was not aimed at you; you’ve been really polite. I just realised I missed the last train, is all. It’ll be fine.”

Customer: “Oh, let me guess. I made you stay longer, didn’t I.”

Me: “Ma’am, seriously, it’s fine. That’s my job. I’ll live.”

Customer: “Absolutely not! What city are you in?”

(This ISP’s tech support that call centers in various places.)

Me: “Uh, I’m in [City], but why…?”

Customer: “I knew it. It’s the accent. Well, that’s my city and if you give me the name of your train station, I’ll come and pick you up. This is all my fault.”

Me: *by now convinced she’s joking* “Hah, it’s [Station] and I’m the guy with the green mohawk. Seriously, ma’am, don’t bother.”

(She promised to be there in ten minutes. She ended the call, I left for the long trek home, and for a laugh decided to check out the train station, since it was on the way. Sure enough — she was waiting for me and drove me across the city to where I lived! I’m not sure if this lady realised that I left a note in her file so whenever she called, everyone would be bending over backwards trying to grant her every wish. Kindness goes a long way with call center agents!)