(I work in customer service for credit cards for a major bank. The call volume is unusually slow for the night, probably due to the first Presidential Debate of 2016.)

Me: “Thank you for calling [Bank]. My name is [My Name]. May I have your name?”

(I gain access to their account and assist with a payment. At this rate, I’m hoping it is just a quick call, as my shift is about to end in a few minutes.)

Me: “Okay, Mr. [Customer]. That’s all set. Is there anything else I may assist with tonight?”

Customer: “Yeah! Make sure you get out and vote in November. We need to make America great again, and only Trump can do that! He’s our last hope against Hillary.”

Me: *brief pause* “Well, I can understand the concern. All right, then, I want to thank you for being such a loyal card-member. Have a great night!”

(At this point, I am trying to avoid any political talk, and I probably could have phrased it differently or at least acknowledged I would be voting.)

Customer: “You’re voting, right?! You didn’t say if you’d be voting. I hope to god you’re voting for Trump. If [Bank] is supporting Hillary I’m closing all my accounts.”

Me: “To be honest, I was trying to not directly answer the question. It is not quite professional of me to discuss political opinions, seeing as that is not about your account at all.”

Customer: “You’re allowed to have an opinion! You’re a person too, you know. [Bank] should let you be able to speak freely if you want to.”

Me: “Yes… But as you also just stated, if you thought I was going for Hillary, you were going to close all your accounts with [Bank]. I’m not saying if I’m voting for Trump or Hillary, because it has no stance with [Bank] at all. Is there anything else I may assist with tonight?”

Customer: “I guess not.”

(I work at a reservation center for a big chain hotel company. It’s nationwide and all of our calls are from all over. When you call, we ask for the hotel, dates, and any type of rate that you may qualify for or be calling about. Whatever hotel that a group is booked at is the ONLY one that will have that group rate. One day a guest calls and doesn’t really know exactly what he’s looking for.)

Me: “Thank you for calling [Company]. This is [My Name]. How can I help you today?”

Guest: “Uh, yeah, uh, I need to reserve a room for my son’s soccer tournament.”

Me: “Okay, what hotel are you looking for, sir?”

Guest: “It’s the Union Square.” *we have three different hotels called Union Square*

Me: “Okay, and which one?”

Guest: “THE UNION SQUARE!”

Me: “Sir, we have more than one Union Square so I’ll need to know which one. We have three, actually.”

Guest: “Oh, there’s more than one? Uh… the… uh… [Hotel Brand].”

Me: “Okay, and what are the dates?”

(He gives me the dates and I begin to read the rates to him.)

Guest: “NO! NO! NO! That’s not right; we have a discount.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Do you guys have a room block set aside?”

Guest: “Uh I don’t know, but they said to say were with [Group] and we get a better rate.”

Me: “Did they send an email with the information or anything? They usually send out something letting you know.”

Guest: “Oh, yeah; should I read that and see if it’s on there?”

Me: “Yes. If it gives you more information, then, yes, read the email so we can book it.”

Guest: “Uh, okay.” *reads off some info that he finds*

Me: *putting two and two together I figure out it’s a group* “Okay, I found it right here.”

(I give him the rates and he accepts. In order to even send a reservation, we need information like name, billing zip, card number to hold, and email to send you the confirmation number of your reservation. I get almost through when his attitude returns.)

Me: “Okay, I need your billing zip code, please?”

Guest: “FOR WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU THAT FOR?!”

Me: “Sir, we need the zip code to match the card we use to hold the room.”

(He complies.)

Me: “Okay, and the email address to send your confirmation number to once we’re done here?”

Guest: “OH, YOU’RE GONNA SEND ME A BUNCH OF S*** AND OFFERS, AREN’T YOU?! I DON’T WANT THAT! CAN YOU NOT SEND THAT?!”

Me: *severely annoyed at this point* “SIR, it’s an automated system and all I can send is the confirmation number. I don’t send anything else. The email is just to sent the confirmation to you.”

Guest: “OH, WELL, HOW ABOUT I DON’T STAY WITH YOU SINCE YOUR ATTITUDE SUCKS, HUH? HOW ABOUT THAT?!”

Me: “That’s fine sir, I’ll get you over to customer care to make a complaint, then—”

Guest: “NO! NO! I’M NOT GONNA STAY WITH YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR S***TY ATTITUDE, SO HOW ABOUT I TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE?!”

Me: *laughs* “Okay, good luck finding your group at another hotel, then!” *hangs up*

(Needless to say he didn’t get his reservation, so I guess he got to explain to little Timmy that he wouldn’t go to his tournament because Daddy was an a**-hole.)

(I work in a call center which serves as technical support for a very large cellphone company. In order for agents to verify a customer’s account under their cellphone number, they would need to provide us with the last four digits of their SIN (or ‘PIN’ as we called it), which we are already able to see on their account. If they choose not to verify their account, they only get limited access to it (like making a payment, or asking technical support questions.)

Me: “[Standard agent greeting]. May I have your four digit PIN, please?”

Customer: “How do I find out my PIN?”

Me: “It is the last four digits of your social insurance number.”

Customer: “Well, I don’t feel comfortable giving you that information!”

Me: “If you choose not to verify, I do have to warn you that you that there will be limited access to your account. As well, I can currently see your PIN; all I need is for you to verify it for me.”

Customer: “DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME? I do NOT feel comfortable giving you that kind of information.”

Me: “Okay, ma’am, what can I help you with today?”

Customer: “I want to know what the last four numbers this phone has called.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but because you chose to not verify this account, I can not give you that information. I can help you out with technical questions or make payments.”

Customer: *very irate now* “WHAT?! I NEED to know what numbers this phone has called!”

Me: “If you would like to verify…”

Customer: “I ain’t verifying nothing, you stupid b****!” *slams phone down*

(I was assuming she meant to actually hang up but in her anger the phone didn’t actually disconnect and I had to listen to her throw things around and curse for three minutes before I was able to give a goodbye script and disconnect.)

As the phones at work are to be manned at all times, we’re allowed to surf the Internet when the lines aren’t busy.

I always enjoy going to the Not Always websites. One of the sites has just started to load when I’m sent on break.

I leave my desk without waiting for it to finish. By the time my break is over and I return, all my coworkers are busy taking calls. Only my desk is unoccupied, with NOT ALWAYS WORKING, splashed across the screen.

Me: “Hi, [Customer], I see here you want to place an order for this shoe?”

Customer: “Yes, can we also get the brown pair as well?”

Me: “Of course, give me one moment!”

(I find the other shoe pretty quickly.)

Me: “Okay, you’re new total is $32.93.”

Customer: “No, that other agent said I would get free shipping!”

(I look over the order total. The shipping for an order with more than one item is, as I thought, 8.95. But it looks like the last agent gave her a $10 store credit to cover the shipping.)

Me: “It looks like you are only paying for the cost of the shoes; I see a $10 credit that has been placed on the account to cover the shipping.”

Customer: “No! My total is supposed to be 13 dollars!”

Me: “Ma’am, that would be your total if you had only one pair of shoes.” *breaks down the total for her of the two shoes [16.99 each] and the shipping, and then points out the ten dollar credit*

Customer: “Well, if I place one order with one item, and then I can call you guys back and place the second order, then will it be 13 dollars like he said it would?”

Me: “Ma’am, you can place all the orders you want with me right here, and placing the items on different orders would make it cheaper, but we do ask that you pay for the cost of the shoes.”

Customer: “Okay, let’s do that!”

Me: “Okay.” *takes one pair of shoes out of the cart* “Your total is $13.94. Do I have your permission to charge your card?”

Customer: “Why am I paying for shipping still?!”

Me: *considering disconnecting the call* “Ma’am, you aren’t paying for the shipping. Since there is only one item in the cart, your shipping is only 6.95. We gave you a $10 discount, so the shipping is free and the shoe itself is almost four dollars cheaper.”

Customer: *defeated* “Well, I’m just confused. I wasn’t told anything about any credit!”

Me: *deep breath while customer is on mute* “When we waive the shipping fee for you, we actually put a credit on your account to cover the shipping.”

Customer: *even more confused* “I want to talk somebody else.”

Me: *in a more firm, but still very nice tone* “Ma’am, no matter who you talk to math still works like math. If you have a shoe that costs $16.99 and shipping that costs $6.95, your total WILL be $23.94 normally, but we gave you a $10 discount on your order so your total is $13.94.”

Customer: “Okay, I’m confused but go ahead and place the order.”

Me: “Do I have your permission to charge your card in the amount of $13.94?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Me: *places order then gets the other shoe in the basket* “All right, now you have free shipping. I have the other shoe in your basket; do I have your permission to charge your card in the amount of $16.99?”

Customer: “No! The shoes are supposed to be 13 dollars! What is going on?”

Me: *goes quiet for what feels like forever* “The cost of the shoe is $16.99. Do I have your permission to charge your card in the amount of $16.99.”

Customer: “Well, I guess!”

Me: *places order* “Any other questions I can help you out with?”

Customer: “When should I expect to see them? I have an event I want to wear them at next week.”

Me: *our shipping timeframes are long, but the customer would know the timeframe if she’d read the very obvious description* “They should ship to us in 3-4 weeks because they are imported. Then they will ship out to you in one week.”

Customer: “YOU MEAN I HAVE TO WAIT—”

Me: “Have a good day, ma’am.” *click*