To offend or be offended!

[Deleted 7]

Had a nasty customer on the phone tonight, I know with my job there will be a lot of verbal abuse full stop. Just take it on the chin; I just think if some one is sad enough to rip into some one for no good reason, well what a great life they lead! But tonight one guy did my head in! For no reason he started screaming at me, so I just sat there and put him on mute until he stopped. Next thing I know he repeatedly threw the word c you next Tuesday at me. That is a word I cringe at, I can not stand it, it’s disgusting and I was actually really offended by this.

So what did I do, well my supervisor will not tolerate any kind of abuse towards females that can be ‘under the belt’ (excuse the pun), so this customer is, well, no longer a customer! Which pee’d him off even more and now I am subject to spamming of god knows what! (This guy was on his way out anyway)

1) How sad and low can people be! OK my line of work deals with a whole different species of human but still…..
2) That C word, grrrr, has to be the most offensive towards a female ever

I know it seems like I am moaning but it’s not the point of this!

What, in your life time, have you come to find too offensive it made you cringe? Or I can re-phrase this, what have you done offensive towards others!

 

[Full_ahead_both]

:cry: Jenny sorry to hear that you had a complete morron on the phone. There are a few about and you're right that the best way to react is to be even nicer. I reckon all they're looking for is a bite and to get 'one up' on you; if you don't rise to it they get even more pissed off and you can then start having fun. The nicer you are the ruder they are etc...

I'm the most un-PC person going but I cringe to the max when I hear racist/xenophobic/sexist etc... crap. Banter is fine, but actually believing that people are automatically different because of colour, sex, nationality etc really does my head in... :?

 

[Nutty]

Jenny

Are you in a job that would expect to upset people i.e. Taffic Warden, Betting Shop Manager, Club Doorman, Double Glazing Salesman, Cold Calling Centre etc.

If so then it rather goes with the territory in modern Britain. Of course no one should suffer abuse but then lots of people in this day and age have Jobsworth and not common sense.

Perhaps we have also spent 30 years teeling people they have "Rights" but no one has to have "Responsibility" for anything these days. We need European Human Responsibilities Act to balance their rights.

Nutty

 

[sidon55]

Commiserations, Jenny. Nobody should have to put up with that sort of rubbish (well maybe call centres - one of my pet hates).

 

[Ratrat]

I have to admit that Call Centres are a real pet hate of mine. I have been ex-directory for many years and that used to work, but these days these nuisances have computer generated batches of numbers and the operators just work through their batch. I tend to take two approaches to these calls:

1. If not too busy - I will lead them up the garden path, build up their expectations of a good result, then cut them off at the knees or
2. If busy - say two words and the second is "off"

 

[janner]

Jenny

Are you in a job that would expect to upset people i.e. Taffic Warden, Betting Shop Manager, Club Doorman, Double Glazing Salesman, Cold Calling Centre etc.

If so then it rather goes with the territory in modern Britain. Of course no one should suffer abuse but then lots of people in this day and age have Jobsworth and not common sense.

Perhaps we have also spent 30 years teeling people they have "Rights" but no one has to have "Responsibility" for anything these days. We need European Human Responsibilities Act to balance their rights.

Nutty

you've had a close call with several of those Nutty

J-D I work part time in for a small company anwering the phone and dealing with vehicle break downs (one of us in at any one time cannot be called a call centre). We have a company policy which states abuse will not be tolerated, and no service will be offerred to those that insist on being abusive to staff. My practise is to give them one warning and hang up. When they ring in, as they always do, first question is always to enquire if they understand the rules, if not hang up again, it usually works and to be fair the company always back up staff

 

[Nutty]

Jenny

Its lucky you did not meet up with my neighbour when I lived on a 55 foot narrow boat as did he. In our local Tesco's he was set upon by two sales types who insisted they could save him money on both his gas and electric bills.

Being of the Lower Deck Lawyer Type, "No you Can't", "Yes we Can" conversationtook place. OK say he come and look. They arrive for the appointment rather bemused with his 12v electrics and calor gas cooker before getting very ratty when he then told them to Feck Off

Nutty

 

[Ratrat]

Whilst running a CIO, I had a bootie WO as my deputy, he regularly, in a very good humoured way, wound up the check-out ladies in our local Sainsbury's. As you may know Sainsbury's welcome comments/complaints from their customers and indeed, have specially designed forms for this purpose. The tables were turned on my colleague when a delegation for Sainsburys knocked on my office door and presented me with a completed complaint form about him!

 

[UncleAlbert]

Goes with the job Jenny, Joe public can be very fickle, put him behind the wheel of a car, on a phone under stress or even in a forum and a different person emerges. Sometimes good, sometimes bloody awful.
Tele sales I found to be intrusive and time wasting so a couple of years ago I registered with the T. P. S. (Telephone Preference Service) and now anyone calling us with a promotion is breaking the law. At first the calls still came in but now it`s beginning to bite and our calls are maybe down to 1 or 2 a week and as soon as it’s pointed out (politely ) that it’s a TPS line they usually apologize and ring off.

Click here to link to TPS

 

[tigerbaby]

The first time i went to uni I worked evenings at a call centre, the abuse was full on most of the time but it never really bothered me, just came with the job. The only incident that really sticks in my mind was a guy who rang... Was speaking to him for all of 5 mins, then he comes out with 'I've just cum, thanks' and hangs up! would've normally thought it was a p*ss take except thinking back over the conv he did sound out of breath and errr distracted. Eventually I just accepted it as a compliment, been told many a time before that my voice was sexy on the phone, I guess this guy agreed

 

[Maleficent]

If I get tele sales I just put the phone down on the desk (not on the phone cradle) and walk away and leave them to talk to themselves.

Dirty phone calls: well that depends on what they sound like

 

[Deleted 7]

Your gonna hate me know when i say this lol;

I work in a call centre, yes but we do not and I put a big DO NOT do cold calling. Basically I work for the biggest online casino/poker site liscenees. Anyhow, alot of our customer are very friendly its just when something doesn't go 'their' way, its our fault when it isn't. Its a ligit company and we have alot of praise. I will side with a customer when I know we are in the worng but when T&C's state something and some one can't be asked to read it then thats not my fault.

Mind you when your trusting your money with some company, your going to make sure everything is read!

Problem being the American customers can get a tad aggressive when losing, our games etc are all random generated but certain games were originated on the basis that the chances of losing will out do the winning.

Take the game 'Craps';

When this was invented, the number 7 was found to be the most generated number in many orders, there for your first roll is called a 'come out' roll. On this a 7 will win but after this when you roll a 7 in any order, you will lose.

Odds with casino/poker will always be higher for a loss, unless lady luck is on your side.

I do not agree with the principle of this type of job but the good out weights the bad and I have a chance to shine and make something of myself, I love this country and the people I work with are great.

I have never woken up and thought that I don't want to go into work, well unless I am hung over or over worked. This is not a perm. thing and I do feel sorry for some people when the luck has packed up and moved on.

But I do not agree that some one should be that evil to people who have done nothing wrong.

I have had a few 'pervy' customers. I had been in the company for 2 months when a guy called, the convo went like this;

Customer: Do you like sex?
Me: I am only human.
Customer: But do you LIKE sex, have urges?
Me: I am not abliged to answer that question (Bridging tech now), is there anything else I can help you with sir?
Customer: What are you wearing?
Me: Clothes, if there is not anything else I can help you with, have a nice and and thank you for ca........
Customer: I'm going to w@nk over your tits..............groans in the back ground
Me: Thank you for your call by........
Customer: Aww yeah, I luv that accent.........I'm going to...........

At that point I had good enough reason to end the call with out warning lol

 

[Dajar]

Why do a large majority of the tele-sales community ask to speak 'To the Occupier' when you answer the phone?

Do they think the local burglar would answer the phone?

 

[Maleficent]

Why do a large majority of the tele-sales community ask to speak 'To the Occupier' when you answer the phone?

Do they think the local burglar would answer the phone?

Maybe the best response would be 'Sorry they are out I am just here robbing the place. They have a nice DVD that I could sell you, or how about a hi fi system'

It would give them something to think about.

 

[tigerbaby]

If I get tele sales I just put the phone down on the desk (not on the phone cradle) and walk away and leave them to talk to themselves.

Dirty phone calls: well that depends on what they sound like

I was never in tele sales, was an information number