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Can You Deny Someone Coverage For Being A B****?

, , , , | Right | CREDIT: mentalgopher | August 8, 2021

I work in an insurance call center handling complex technical calls and taking escalated calls. Most of my calls are ho-hum technical calls. I handle escalations about billing and underwriting, which are usually a variation of “How dare you tell me that you won’t insure me for free?!” I work swing shift, so I handle more than just the Garden Variety Crazy or Demanding Entitled Brat; I handle the ones who are willing to call an insurance company at 2:00 am to yell at someone.

I get a call from a member of our online team. He’s had to escalate a chat up to me because the customer will not accept the answer he’s been giving for the last half-hour. In writing, no less. She has also made some changes to the policy while online with my rep, including deleting a driver.

When an online rep escalates to yours truly, it entails the online rep calling out to the customer first. This particular online rep is a perfectly lovely individual with a distinctive accent. Apparently, the accent got under the customer’s skin to the point where she used racial epithets on him repeatedly.

I introduce myself.

Customer: “I want to know where you are physically located, exactly.

Her emphasis on the word “exactly” is so snotty and condescending that I am tempted to provide her with the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates just to mess with her head. But she’s not worth the time, so I give her only my state.

Customer: “You are withdrawing $300 a month from my checking account. I only agreed to $70 a month! You are committing fraud and I want $1,200 back. I worked as a court reporter and I know all about how the law works.”

I note that her current policy term has been active for a little over four months. We sent out a renewal offer back in the middle of July. The policy renewed in late August. The renewal offer included a payment schedule for $300 a month, starting with the renewal date. Along with a billing schedule is a summary of what changes have been applied, including changes to her child’s rating status. She has enrolled in online documents for everything, so I refer her to her emails.

Customer: “Oh, I got the emails, but they weren’t urgent enough for me to read. You guys need to tell me when something’s urgent so I’ll pay attention to it. And I didn’t give you c**ksuckers permission to change my kid’s status, so you did something that you weren’t supposed to do.”

Me: “We’re only obligated to send out the renewal offer to the address you’ve provided. Verification of your reading of those notices is not incumbent upon us per the Department of Insurance. And by making your initial down payment with us back on [date], you agreed to terms and conditions we’ve outlined in our policy contract. We’re merely enforcing the contract terms upon which you’ve agreed.”

Customer: “Well, that’s unethical, and we’re in the middle of a health crisis. I told your [racial slur] salesperson not to put [Child] on my policy because I can’t afford the insurance for him. Your salesman forced me to add [Child] because he lives in my household and drives my vehicle now that he has a driver’s license.”

I note that her child was just deleted from her policy.

Me: “I’m sorry you feel that adherence to a contract is unethical. Also, I will ask you to keep this call professional, or we will discontinue this conversation. Now, does [Child] still operate your vehicle or live in your household?”

Customer: “Yes, but I don’t want him on my policy because I don’t want to pay $300 a month for insurance. I should only be paying $70 per month. And are you going to be giving me $1,200 back or what?!

Me: “[Child] needs to be added back onto your policy as a rated driver, then. Should you choose not to have me add him onto your policy, I will be referring this policy to our underwriting department, who will add him on for you. Furthermore, as you’ve admitted on a recorded line that you received the email, we will not be accommodating any request to refund you that money, as there was no error made.”

The customer then calls me a c*** and tells me I’m horrible at my job. I tell her I’m sorry she feels that way, but she has a choice to make. She hangs up on me after calling me a “F****** STUPID B****” at the top of her lungs.

Right as I’m documenting how unhinged the customer is and submitting an underwriting review, my boss messages me. It’s a string of three emojis: big eyes, whew, big eyes again.

Boss: “Are you okay? That was rough.”

Me: “I’ve been called worse by better, but can this call get me something like hazard pay?”

Boss: “Well, funny you should mention that, because I’m messaging you to go over raise information. Call me on our conference line.”

My boss had put me in for the max percentage bump this year. He was doing silent monitoring because he was completing the annual reviews for said raise. His words: “You’ve definitely earned it.”

The job can be tedious, but it’s that much better when you have a boss who recognizes how hard you work and that you’re good at your job.

Support Our Troops! If It’s Not Too Much Work…

, , , , | Working | August 6, 2021

When I was in Uni, I took a job answering pay queries for the UK armed forces and veterans as part of a supported launch for a self-service admin tool. The call centre was the first point of contact for all queries, but there were specialist “back office” teams that dealt with complex queries.

After a couple of months, I was made part of a review team to figure out why a high number of queries were getting bounced from the back offices. One of the most common requests was for a tax form you are meant to receive when you leave the armed forces but which tends to get lost quite a lot.

I found that a particular member of the back office team had written a boilerplate script which basically amounted to “go find it yourself.” That was bad enough, but when I found one particular email, my blood started to boil.

A fairly young vet had emailed a very detailed account of his efforts to track down this form (which, honestly, was everything in his power). He then literally begged us to help because, if he couldn’t provide this form to the local benefits office by the end of the week, he and his family — including a young baby — were in danger of losing their housing.

What did my colleague do? That’s right, he just sent his standard reply and bounced it back to us. I wrote my manager a formal complaint and escalated this to everyone I could find until it was passed on to someone else in the back office team, who reopened the case. I don’t know if the first guy ever got spoken to, but I’d have had a few words if I’d found him.

It’s Always The Last Date You Think

, , , , | Right | August 6, 2021

Me: “You have reached [Call Centre]. How may I help you?

Caller: “I need to add my daughter to the membership.”

Me: “Okay, we can do that. I just need her name, date of birth, phone number, and email, and we’re good to go.”

Caller: “Her name is [Daughter] and date of birth… uh… now when was that again? It’s in winter, I know that much.”

Me: “Do you remember the month, perhaps? Maybe you could check with someone?”

Caller: “I think December? I’ll check, just a moment.”

A couple of minutes go by and he comes back. 

Caller: “Yeah, December 31st!”

Me: “Soo, New Year’s Eve?”

Caller: “Yeah, that’s right!”

You Break It, You Bought It

, , , , , | Right | August 3, 2021

I get a call and go through the opening spiel.

Me: “How can I assist you?

Caller: “Yes, I am calling about my client, [Mr. Client].”

He gives information and I pull up the file. This caller is authorized to call upon his behalf. I do the security checks and ask what I can do for him. 

Caller: “[Mr. Client] received a bill and I want to appeal it.”

Me: “Let me look into it. It seems he got a bill for destroying [equipment]. Are you appealing because he didn’t break it?”

Caller: “No, he did break it.”

Me: “Then why do you wish to appeal?”

Caller: “My client has no money, so he can’t pay this.”

Me: “Oh, do you wish to make a payment arrangement?”

Caller: “No, I want you to cancel the bill.”

Me: “May I ask why you want this bill cancelled?”

Caller: *Sighs* “Because he can’t pay it. I just told you!”

Me: “Yes, I heard that, but he destroyed expensive equipment. If he breaks something, we will send a bill for damages.”

Caller: “Yeah, but you are a multi-million-company, so you can easily pay that.”

Me: “Sir, I scrolled through your client’s file. Are you aware that this is the fifth time it happened? And that we have been sending bills for this ever since the third time it happened?”

Caller: “Yeah, so? You can pay it. My client has no money for it.”

Me: “Then I am afraid you and your client will have to look for a solution. And maybe you can advise your client to be more careful, because each time he breaks this, he will get a bill.”

Caller: “I object to that! I will file a complaint with the Ombudsman! And I will get a lawyer!”

Me: “That’s your choice, sir, as well as your right. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Caller: “I hope you are getting paid good money for this, you b****. How do you even sleep at night?!” *Hangs up*

My manager laughed loudly when he listened to this call.

His Sexism Is Making Him Deaf

, , , , | Right | August 2, 2021

I work as a tech support rep. I am one of the more tenured people at this center, and other reps often come to me for help. I know what I am doing, but I have the unfortunate affliction of being female.

Me: “Your ticket has been closed. Your issue is a known issue. There is no estimated time of resolution, but we have enough reports that this is regarded as an ongoing issue and our backend teams will continue to work on it.”

Customer: “Okay, but I’d like to hear it from a tech.”

Me: “Sir, I am a tech.”

Customer: “Yes, but I want to hear it from a tech.”

Me: “Sir, I am a tech support representative. You are speaking to a tech.”

Customer: “Well, I just want to hear it from a tech.”

Me: “I. AM. A. TECH. You want to speak to a tech, and you are currently speaking to a tech, which is me.”

Customer: “I just want to hear it from a tech!”

Me: *Giving up* “Fine. I’ll have someone call you.”

I turn to a male coworker.

Me: “[Coworker], can you call this guy? I don’t want to make it sound like I’m being a drama queen, but he wants to hear it from a male. He keeps asking for a tech and refuses to believe I am one.”

Later:

Coworker: “Yeah, you were right. He was sexist.”

There’s no funny ending, no comeuppance. It’s just another story about the often-infuriating experience of someone assuming I don’t know anything because I’m a woman.