Supervision Derision

(I am working for an off-shore call center that makes reservations for a big hotel chain. Sometimes guests would like to be connected to the hotel they are booking their room with. For most of the hotels we can ring their front desk directly and transfer the guest but some of them are a little strict due to the busy location of the hotel; therefore, they only accept calls that are out of our area of expertise. Should we need to contact these hotels, a supervisor gets involved to make sure the transfer is valid. After 30 minutes on the phone I have to connect the guest to one of the strict hotels for directions around local attractions for which I have no idea about. It should be noted that the guest is very talkative and extremely nice all throughout the call, and because of this the usual booking that only takes three to five minutes is extended.)

Me: *to my supervisor* “Hey there, I need to connect a caller to this [Hotel] for directions at the local area.”

Supervisor: “Sure, my pleasure. Send her over but no need to introduce me.”

(Now on a three-way conference, but with the supervisor not talking. I assume on mute:)

Me: “Hi there, Mrs. [Caller]. Thank you for waiting. I will be connecting you now to the hotel’s front desk as promised. Please stay on the line and you may hear some background music play until the front desk will pick up.”

Caller: “Oh, sure, honey, take your time. Thank you so much for being so nice and helpful. Now you have a bright and shiny day, child.”

(Suddenly my supervisor, on the line, starts coughing. Both I and my caller are startled.)

Caller: “Whoa. Darling is that you? You might be dying.”

Supervisor: “Oh, crap! I forgot to mute. Excuse me.”

Caller: “Now who the h*** is that?!

(After a few seconds of silence. Most likely my supervisor took the time to clear his throat.)

Caller: “Helloooo?! Helloooo?!”

Supervisor: “Oh, hi, Mrs. [Caller]. I am [Supervisor].”

Caller: “Now, hold on just a minute! Were you just eavesdropping on our call? Young man, that is a very, very rude thing to do!”

Supervisor: “I apologize but—”

Caller: *in a very stern tone* “No! Excuse me. I am not finished yet. Your mother obviously didn’t teach you any polite manners. It is rude to eavesdrop to someone else’s phone call especially if it is a private conversation! You should learn some good manners from [My Name]!”

(She went on, lecturing him about good manners and what the bible teaches. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing on the other line while I eavesdrop on them for a few more minutes (unlike my supervisor, I didn’t forgot to mute). And to make it worse, she asked for a supervisor and he desperately tried to explain that HE was the supervisor.)