Technical Take Backsies
(I’m a service coordinator for a cellphone provider and I receive a phone call from a customer wanting help setting up his email.)
Customer: “Okay, I’m into the email setup, but now, it’s asking for an email address and password. What email do I use?”
Me: “Whichever email you want coming to the phone.”
Customer: “I want my work email.”
Me: “Then, enter your work email address and password.”
Customer: “What is my password?”
Me: “I don’t know your password, sir. Only you should know that.”
Customer: “I don’t know it. Where can I get it?”
Me: “It will be the same password you enter when checking your email at work.”
Customer: “You mean [password]?”
Me: “Um, yes, enter that. For future reference, you shouldn’t give out your password to people.”
Customer: “Why?”
Me: “That is how your email is secured so that others cannot access it. Someone who knows it could log into your email and send false emails or delete your emails on you.”
Customer: “What? I don’t want that. Give it back!”
Me: “Give what back?”
Customer: “My password! I don’t want you logging into my email!”
Me: “I’m not sure what you’re asking, sir. You verbally spoke your password. I cannot give it back.”
Customer: “Well, this is just great. Now the whole world can access my email!”
Me: “I assure you, sir, that nothing will happen. We honor customer security and nobody will know your password.”
Customer: “But you know it.”
Me: “Yes, because you told me. However, I will not do anything with it. As I said, we honor customer security and all information is confidential. You have nothing to worry about.”
Customer: “Okay.”
Me: “Did you manage to finish the setup?”
Customer: “What setup?”
Me: “You were setting up your email, did it go through?”
Customer: “It’s still asking for a password.”
Me: “Enter the password you said before and click ‘OK’. You should get a prompt saying it was successfully setup.”
Customer: “You mean [password]?”
Me: “Yes, enter that.”
Customer: “Okay, it says it was successful.”
Me: “You should start getting email now. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Customer: “So, can you keep my password in case I need it again?”
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
