I used to work in an outbound IT call center. We were being trained to take over the support of our employer’s Belgian clients. We had a colleague from the previous team there to show us the ropes and answer any queries we had.

I got a call from a bank saying their Internet was down. I found no procedure for this, so I asked our liaison what to do. After some searching, he gave me the network provider’s number, and I called it.

Me: “Hello, I’m [My Name] from [Company]. I would like to report that one of [Bank]’s locations has no Internet connection.”

Representative: “Hello! Okay, I will need to gather some information. Can you please give me the location’s address?”

Me: “Sure, it’s [address].”

Representative: “Okay, and since when do they have no access?”

Me: “Since maybe half an hour ago.”

Representative: “Okay, and… [My Name], is that you?”

Me: “Yes, I am.”

Representative: “And I am [Representative], sitting behind you!”

And, sure enough, I was talking to a colleague in my own team, two rows behind me.

Apparently, the number our liaison found for the bank’s “network provider” was, in fact, our support number, given TO THE LOCATIONS to call in case they had issues.

For a time, in an in- and outbound IT call center, I used to share a “desk island” — four triangular desks forming a rhombus shape, basically sitting face to face with each other, divided by low panels — with three colleagues. Two of them are involved in this story; following the old trope, let’s call them Alice and Bob.

One time, as I got up to go to our kitchen, both colleagues had just begun a call and I heard the following conversation.

Bob: “Hello, my name is Bob, and I am calling you from [Company].”

Alice: “Hello, Bob, how are you?”

Bob: “I’m fine, thank you. How are you doing?”

Alice: “Thank you. I’m doing good.”

For a moment, I just stood there, thinking, “Have they really called each other?”

Of course, it turned out that no, Alice had simply called someone who had the same name as Bob, and their conversations started with JUST the right delay that their generic greeting questions and answers were in PERFECT sync.

I told them afterward, and we all had a good laugh about it.

It’s at the end of June 2009, and I am doing call center customer service for a cable company.

Caller: “My cable is out!”

Me: “I can see that. You’re in the Philadelphia area, which is very busy at the moment. I won’t be able to get a tech out to you for a couple of days.

Caller: *Suddenly screaming* “Racists! You cut my cable because [Company] doesn’t want Black people to know that Michael Jackson is dead!” *Click*

I used to be a customer service representative in a call center. Once, we had a new hire. They wouldn’t pay attention when sitting side by side with seasoned reps; instead, they read magazines or did their nails. They ate snacks while talking to customers; they didn’t use the mute button when eating, regardless of how loud it was. They covered their mouth so their voice was muted. They swore loudly enough that the customers talking to other representatives could hear it. (Mine was surprised, but I got off lucky that my customer didn’t go off on me like another coworker had to deal with.) On top of all of that, they attempted to steal everyone’s sales.

For that last one, we had a new (to us at the time) system that you’d put your ID into to track any sale you made. Unfortunately, it could be edited by another representative. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one creating my own separate tracking sheet to show my supervisor the issue. Just as fortunately, IT figured out how to see the edits and reverted all the stolen sales to the original representative.

And yes, that new hire got fired immediately and escorted to the cops waiting in the office lobby.

I work for a major electronics manufacturer that sells televisions in Canada.

Customer: “My TV is broken!”

Me: “Okay, ma’am, I’m sorry to hear that. What’s going on with it?”

Customer: “The screen is cracked!”

I go through the general collection of information, requesting proof of purchase, etc.

Me: “All right, ma’am, I see here that you bought the TV from a… pawn shop? About fifteen months ago?”

Customer: “Yes! And the screen is cracked!”

Me: “Okay. Was it cracked when you actually bought it?”

Customer: “I don’t know. It was still in a box, and I put it in my garage while I remodeled.”

Me: “You… put it in the garage. For over a year.”

Customer: “Yes!”

Me: “Okaaaay… I get the concern. However, since this TV was bought secondhand and over a year ago, this isn’t something we can help with.”

Customer: “Well, how was I supposed to know the screen was cracked?”

Me: “You could… open the box? And look at the TV? Plug it in, make sure it worked?”

Customer: “But I was remodeling my house!”

Me: “Yes, I understand that. However, we are not responsible for you not actually checking to make sure that the TV you bought secondhand was also in good working order.”

Customer: “But what are you going to do for me?”

Me: “Well, I can give you the number of your local authorized repair shop, but many places won’t bother trying to replace broken screens or panels due to the cost and labor.”

Customer: “But it was in my garage!”

Me: “Yes, I follow. However, we don’t control what you do with the TV once you purchase it. And, again, you bought it secondhand. The warranty simply doesn’t cover this situation.”

Customer: “But it was in my garage! You don’t understand. My situation is different!“

I won’t go through the various phrasings this conversation takes over the next SEVERAL days. Every time, we explain that she bought the TV secondhand and kept it past the original warranty — not that it matters at this point because, again, it was secondhand. She keeps exclaiming that her situation is “different.” It all finally culminates in a very… direct conversation.

Customer: “…my situation is different!”

Me: “Yes. It is. Because most people don’t buy a TV from a pawn shop — without bothering to make sure it actually works — and then store it in a garage for over a year while they remodel, and then call the manufacturer. So, yes, your situation is different. But it’s still not something we can help with.”

Customer: *After a long pause* “But my situation is different.”

She finally hung up after that, and we never heard from her again.