var json_comments = new Array("
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tony_important
April 26, 2009 4:12 PM
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more bees with honey, yadda yadda yadda

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5 replies
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WOPDingo
April 26, 2009 7:56 PM
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@tony_important: True... but do they make a note of especially NICE customers? Probably not. So being a dick = flagging, but being sweet as pie =/= a smiley face.

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blueneon
April 26, 2009 4:15 PM
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You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar - as the old saying goes. As a csr, the first time I start getting cussed out, your chances of me going above and beyond to help you have now disintegrated along with your manners and I will now only do what I am bound to do by my job. Then yes, it does get added to my notes that you were \"verbally abusive\" and that you cursed at me. Just an fyi for the next reps that have to deal with you. People like this need to remember that csr's are people too and have to deal with idiotic companies, we're all consumers. Most of us though don't take it out on reps. When all else fails, there's the golden rule - treat others how you wanted to be treated.

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9 replies
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luvmycustomers
December 21, 2009 3:00 PM
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Wow, what ever happened to a little empathy here? If we're working in a call center environment, we have to expect that some people will be so angry they will use four letter words. Maybe it's the only way they know to express the frustration and anger they feel. My greatest satisfaction has come from turning these folks around and I've had people apologize profusely and even received gifts from them. Instead of vengeance, try a little empathy. It goes a long way. And, oh, by the way, it does wonders for the maket place perception of the company for which you work.

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snowburnt
April 27, 2009 3:33 PM
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@blueneon: It's like the seinfeld episode where elaine gets written up at the doctor's office and all the doctor's know...Treat everyone with respect!

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rockasocky
April 27, 2009 6:05 AM
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@blueneon: You catch even MORE flies with poop. So BS like there's no tomorrow!

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Megan Squier
April 26, 2009 11:00 PM
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@blueneon: I agree.

I used to work fraud prevention for a credit card bank and I didn't like getting treated like crap because some other moron didn't do his job. When a customer did that to me I'd ask them not to cuss at me but I would still fix their issue but nothing more.

Good CSR's HATE their bad co-workers! The bank I worked for sub-contracted some of the very basic fraud calls to an outfit in Texas that was always botching things up. Some of these reps botched up the same types of calls over and over again for months on end. At one point I was so sick of getting cussed at by angry customers that I almost threatened to drive out to Texas and set someone there straight. None of us in fraud liked these people! Every night we'd stand outside the building after work and blow a little steam by sharing horror stories from the day.

Now that I'm out of the industry whenever I call somewhere (mainly AT&T) and the first rep screws up, I don't hold it against the second rep. That rep has nothing to do with what the first rep did so its not fair to treat them badly. You may be surprised how that second rep treats you. Be nice to a good rep and you'll get treated like a king.

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TheObserver
April 26, 2009 10:51 PM
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@blueneon: Totally agree with you. I'm not sure if this is a 'spin' to try and make the CSR's the bad guys here, but come on, as you say they are human too. If I get yelled and cursed at for nothing that was my fault, and trying to figure out what the issue was, I'd be upset too if someone started cursing at me. We all have bad days and I have had bad customer service but never ever have I cursed anyone out.

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WillG
April 26, 2009 9:50 PM
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@blueneon:

Ya, sure that's all fine and well, however the CSR's there had already screwed up by not fixing what they said they would. Somehow I don't think being nice (like the first calls undoubtedly were) is going to have quite the effect you are expecting.

My response would be, I do apologize that the incompetence of some of your associates has upset me to the point that I NEED to cuss, but if the problem had been fixed when I was told it would be I would not be this frustrated and angry. Now, get me to a supervisor that is paid enough to take the abuse I need to give and you wont have to listen to me.

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Thain
April 27, 2009 1:53 AM
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@WillG: If you get so frustrated that you NEED to curse, then do it before you call or grow up. Nobody NEEDS to curse, and pretending that you do just means you are immature and self-absorbed. I don't know about every call center out there, but the company I work for allows us to hang up on customers who are verbally abusive. If one of my coworkers screwed something up, that doesn't mean I'm going to take any guff from you, and if you start cursing or yelling at me, I will politely tell you not to use profanity/yell. If you continue to do so, I will inform you that the call is going to get disconnected if you don't stop. Third strike and I hang up, put a note in your customer record, and watch caller ID for you to call back so that I can warn whoever picks up the call.

I'm glad this company allows me to hang up on abusive customers, because I've worked for companies that don't, and I typically start getting stressed out, my heart starts pounding, and I start raising my own voice back at the customer if I'm forced to remain on the line with an abusive customer.

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varro
April 26, 2009 6:12 PM
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@blueneon: Just like torturing POWs, you don't get what you want by abusing the CSRs.

You flatter them by intimating that you believe they can help solve the problem, and if they can't, you just go back and forth with them and increase their call times until you get tired.

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smokinfoo
April 26, 2009 4:35 PM
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@blueneon: And you can catch more bees with Mountain Dew and Dishsoap.

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ecwis
April 26, 2009 4:16 PM
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Based on my experiences with Chase, he wouldn't have gotten better customer service even if he didn't use profanity. They are pretty incompetent.

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1 replies
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supercereal
April 26, 2009 4:44 PM
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@ecwis: Still, starting off a call by yelling and swearing at someone is a sure-fire way to get ignored by any company.

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AppleAlex
April 26, 2009 4:16 PM
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I HATE being put on hold and countless times I've just wanted to cuss at the CSR who returns after 10 minutes or so

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2 replies
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s73v3r
April 27, 2009 5:46 PM
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@AppleAlex: I used to work for an internet help desk that handled customer service for ISPs all over the country. We had something we would call a \"Penalty Hold\" where if the person was getting too irate, we'd put them on hold, saying we were going to discuss something with our supervisor, and then go to the bathroom or get a cup of coffee or something. Most of the time it worked to calm them down, and calm myself down so I wouldn't say something that would get me fired.

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corbyz
April 26, 2009 8:35 PM
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@AppleAlex: I used to work at NextCard a long time ago. There's not really a \"flag\" on the account... but in the notes section you might see something like: \"chci re xfer, very irate, used profanity, advsd ch calm dwn, plced on hld... ch hu while on hld.\" That is: \"cardholder called in regarding transfer, very irate, used profanity, advised cardholder to calm down, placed on hold, cardholder hung up while on hold.\" We had to summarize every call, whether good or bad, even if you just called to check your balance. The idea is we weren't allowed to look at an account without a reason, so we had to note our reason before we could exit the account.

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Exek
April 26, 2009 4:18 PM
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One of my coworkers wife went off one day over her bill with comcast. That the comcast rep felt threaten and till this day they will not put on service under her name/social until she writes them an apology letter. So think twice what you about to say to them. Make up new words in place of the F-Bombs.

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4 replies
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s73v3r
April 27, 2009 5:49 PM
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@Exek: Haha, I once served a guy who would use the word \"Frak\" to drop his F-bombs.

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SteelersAreGo
April 26, 2009 7:09 PM
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@Exek: I completely understand a CSR not going above and beyond when a a customer is abusive. But failing to do their job entirely to get some kind of revenge fantasy satiated is awful. The CSR's wrong doesn't mitigate the consumer's, it compounds it.

Consumers: Save your swears for when it matters and it will do something.
CSRs: You're going to get sworn at because you probably work for a shitty company who gouges its customers. Do what you need to do to pay the rent, but don't expect roses every day when you're the face of some corporate behemoth.

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deadspork
April 27, 2009 1:34 PM
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@SteelersAreGo: Customers: STOP GIVING SHITTY COMPANIES BUSINESS.

You guys love to bitch and whine constantly about X company sucks, Y company is crap, Z company is the WORST COMPANY IN AMERICA. Yet you continue to give them business.

Pardon me for cussing (though I do feel its appropriate in this thread), but that's fucking ridiculous.

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Verucalise (Est.February2008)
April 27, 2009 2:46 PM
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@deadspork: Sometimes... you can't avoid these companies. They are our phones, electric, gas, bank cards, ETC. Even removing credit cards, \"Shitty Companies\" are everywhere....


Oh, god... they're EVERYWHERE....

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Cassius98
April 27, 2009 11:24 PM
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@verucalise: Not only are they EVERYWHERE, they have their hand in your credit file. They wonder why they get cussed at... hmmm. If every other customer cusses you then maybe you should look more at either your own competence or your companies shitty policies. I read somewhere (side article in Maxim I think) that nearly 60% of CRS' had cussed CRS' in their personal dealings. Ha the whole system sucks so if you cuss people wouldn't it be reasonable to expect maybe someone is going to cuss at you due no fault your own?

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cambiata
April 26, 2009 9:06 PM
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@SteelersAreGo:

Ha ha, NO. Swearing is the ONE instance where I am allowed to hang up on a customer. You had better believe that I won't tolerate it. Yeah, I recognize my company is shitty sometimes. That gives you absolutely no right to take it out on me. As someone here once said, yelling at the CSR because of the performance of the company they work at is like yelling at a school janitor because of the education system.

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DH405
April 27, 2009 4:46 AM
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@cambiata: Amusing that you curse in your statement about how you refuse to tolerate cursing. Thanks for that.

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cambiata
April 27, 2009 6:51 PM
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@SMSDHubbard: I was quoting the person I was replying to. Sorry for the lack of quotation marks, I'll remember that next time.

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WillG
April 26, 2009 9:58 PM
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@cambiata:

No that's a very, very wrong analogy.
You aren't the janitor, you are the PUBLIC FACING CONTACT POINT for the company.

I am certain that you have more latitude in the treatment of your customers than the school janitor has in the education of the students.

Grow up and deal with the fact that your companies actual policies are generally more offensive than the mere words that the frustration your policies cause your customers

They are only words, perhaps you should realize that they are an indicator.

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cambiata
April 27, 2009 6:56 PM
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@WillG:
You fail to understand that the customer cursing at someone who is in NO WAY responsible for their problems is counter-productive. Usually people who curse at me don't want to do anything else but curse at me. They are not calm enough to allow me to fix their issue. These are the customers who yell for 20 minutes, and when they're done and they finally give me a chance to say or do anything, I fix their issue in 5 minutes (and guess what? sometimes it's even the customer's fault, and they are screaming over their own incompetence, not my company's!), then at the end of it all they are upset that it took 25 minutes to fix.

People, it's not my job to be your therapist. Get over your anger issues, and things will go much better and easier for you. Be a jerk to me, and I will stay within the boundaries of my job. Be nice, and I will break the rules and do all the things I'm really not supposed to to get your issue fixed. I will use all the means at my disposal that are counter-indicated by the \"processes.\"

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HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's
April 27, 2009 2:57 PM
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@WillG: I worked on the phones a few years myself, and my company had the exact same policy. Cuss once, you get a warning; cuss again, the CSR has the right to hang up on you. I don't give a damn what your problem is; if you can't be civil about it, you should STFU and call back when you aren't as angry.

And no, the words aren't always an indicator that the company's policies are shitty. Personally, I rarely got them when I worked the phones, and when I did get them, it was usually an indicator that the customer was an entitled douchebag.

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cambiata
April 27, 2009 6:57 PM
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@HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's: \"Personally, I rarely got them when I worked the phones, and when I did get them, it was usually an indicator that the customer was an entitled douchebag.\"

Exactly.

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JamesEnsor
April 26, 2009 4:21 PM
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Not to blame the OP, but really? You expected some probably relatively low-payed phone jockey to explain to you why your account is borked after you open the call with \"WTF IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!\"

Really?

You probably could have saved some face in this situation by calming down during the hold and then approaching the situation with a more even tone. But instead you hung up and tried to go at it with another rep.

Bad consumer. No donut.

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7 replies
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FaustianSlip
April 28, 2009 12:02 AM
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@JamesEnsor: Bingo. The OP behaved like an ass, and anyone who seriously asks whether it's a \"consumer-given right\" to swear at a CSR is probably getting terrible service due as much to his wanton douchbaggery as to any failure on the part of the CSR in question. I know people like this guy- dealt with them daily while I worked in retail, and while I would stay professional through a lot of ranting and raving, the minute they started cursing at me, our problem-solving relationship was over. Sure, OP, you can go right ahead and swear as much as you want... just don't expect to do that and actually get any problems resolved.

I especially love the fact that this guy (for whom I'd wager cussing out CSRs and other customer service peons is his usual modus operandi) is upset because the CSR he swore at was terrible enough to leave a heads up to their coworkers that the OP is an immature, vulgar a-hole. If I had to take a call from this guy, that's the very least I'd want- have to get your game face on before trying to help people like this.

I sometimes feel a bit sorry for people like the OP- they probably do go through life having to wrestle with every other customer service transaction they encounter, and they rarely realize that it's their behavior that's at least partially causing the problems in the first place. OP- if you're really worried about not being known as the asshole of the day and have the name of the rep you swore at, you could call and apologize. We had a customer do that when I worked at Apple (she'd given a coworker a tongue lashing over something completely outside his control, then returned the next day and apologized for being out of order), and we had huge respect for her for doing that. Of course, that requires accepting some degree of culpability for your crappy behavior.

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stopNgoBeau
April 27, 2009 12:37 AM
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@JamesEnsor: Did you really mean to not blame the OP? Because it totally looks like that is exactly what you did.

...and he deserved it.

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henwy
April 26, 2009 10:30 PM
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@JamesEnsor:

I think we can deservedly blame the OP for being a massive twatwaffle in this case. Just imagine if we had a customer service rep who said that they were an adult and felt they had a right to curse at customers when they had had a bad day. We'd certain crucify that jackass. It should be no different with mr twatwaffle.

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veg-o-matic
April 26, 2009 6:10 PM
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@JamesEnsor: Agreed.

Using profanity is a pretty great way to make CSRs think that you have the potential to threaten physical violence down the line.

Plus, who hangs up in disgust after 30 seconds or less on hold?!?! And what did he \"get wise\" to? Get wise to the fact that he just made a giant embarrassing ass out of himself?

Ridiculous.

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fantomesq
April 26, 2009 4:43 PM
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@JamesEnsor: Love the \"Bad Consumer. No donut\" comment... I'm using that! :)

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LadySiren is murdering her kids with HFCS and processed cheese
April 27, 2009 1:43 PM
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@fantomesq: Between that and the \"twatwaffle\" comment below, I've got two new shining additions to my vocabulary. Thanks, Consumerist!

LOL.

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Mackinstyle
April 26, 2009 5:54 PM
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I love how the mental picture fits so perfectly with these kinds of assholes. They email consumerist thinking they're a victim. It reads:

Bla bla bla whine whine whine wah wah wah We'll see when I go buy some smokes.

I'm glad they hung up on this kid and I hope from the social tongue lashing everyone here is giving him (lightly), he'll learn not to be such a doofus.

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mariospants
April 27, 2009 7:00 PM
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@Mackinstyle: Yeah, even the term \"smokes\" (as opposed to \"cigarettes\") says so much about the OP. That whole episode was pretty much uncool.

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TheObserver
April 27, 2009 1:43 AM
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@Mackinstyle:

I totally agree with you. I think as Consumerist rapidly grows in popularity and hits, the more you will see these kinds of things happening, where the customer is supposed to always be \"right.\" I am glad to see the majority here siding with the Chase here. One deserves how they treat others.

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mariospants
April 27, 2009 7:01 PM
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@TheObserver: uh guys? Be careful... it's possible this story is a plant and the consumerist wants to weed the commenter tree...

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dragonfire81
April 27, 2009 4:42 AM
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@TheObserver: It's funny how people try to be tough and dangerous over a phone line, but I learned early on as a phone CSR, they can't really intimidate you much, they are just a voice on the other end of the line.

And unlike a real life exchange, if the person gets too out of hand you can just hang up the call and be done with it, after issuing proper warnings to the customer of course.

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Steven Pryor
April 26, 2009 4:22 PM
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You said it yourself, you're an adult. Start acting like one.

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2 replies
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relax_guy
April 27, 2009 3:07 PM
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@tc4b:


guys today i'm pissed off so I am going to take it out on a stranger, k? =D

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Ravenwaift
April 26, 2009 4:23 PM
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It is your right to curse as much as it is my right not to have to hear it. Would the CSR be able to curse at you? How would you feel if you heard them say, \"I can't get this f****** computer to bring up your account!\"?

All good companies will tell their reps that they don't have to take abuse from the customer, and they do not have to deal with customers who curse at them repeatedly. Be civil, be angry, ask for a supervisor if it is warranted, but do not be rude- rude will get you nowhere fast.

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rpm773
April 26, 2009 4:28 PM
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If the call center was in India, chances are the next time he calls about his AT&T wireless bill (or some such), the CSR will know about his checkered past, too.

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thebigbad
April 26, 2009 4:29 PM
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It's not your right to curse at another person. Go into a courtroom and curse at the judge and see what happens.
First, it's not the CSR's fault that your card is not working, so why curse at that person? Anytime I'm in that situation, I simply tell the CSR that I am frustrated and know it's not their fault personally. That let's them know that anything you say (within reason) or attitude that comes across isn't directed at them personally.
Second, just try your hardest to be nice. I used to work as a CSR and honestly if the person who called with a problem was reasonably pleasant and didn't go over the top with the sucking up, I would go out of my way to help them. If they were an ass, I would the minimum that had to do and try and get them off the phone ASAP.

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1234tu
April 27, 2009 4:16 PM
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@thebigbad: If they were an ass, I would the minimum that had to do and try and get them off the phone ASAP.


So wait - your approach to your job - the way you made your living - was to help people based on how nice they are to you? Guess what - you are part of the problem!


If I decided that I didn't like one of my clients, so I was going to do a half ass job on their work and basically treat them like they don't matter the only person who would be hurt by it is my empoyer and me personally if the boss found out about it.


My personal \"empowerment and importance\" is not increased by telling an angry client that \"I don't have to take this from you\" and hanging up. But I would be much more important and empowered (in ways that matter) if I was the guy who can get results out of difficult clients.


I treat my clients like gold - even when they make me mad. Then again my company is set up in such a way that if I piss off very many clients I would be told to shape up or ship out.


People like you are part of the problem, so are companies that allow people like you to provide crappy service to customers just because you don't like them! Amazing - I can just picture my boss asking me why I didn't get results for a client - and me responding that I don't like the client because he was a big meanie to me or because the client said a bad word. I'm actually laughing a bit picturing the look on his face...

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Trai_Dep
April 26, 2009 4:30 PM
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\"I needed to vent! I am an adult, and so are they! If I want to curse I feel it is my right!\"
Wow.
He must have a lot of friends, the respect of his coworkers and I'm sure he was the most popular boy in his class.
Any bet he drives an SUV? It'd confirm so many baseless stereotypes I hold in my latté-sipping head.

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aliasmisskat
April 26, 2009 10:52 PM
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@Trai_Dep: isn't it funny how \"baseless stereotypes\" are often based, at least to some extent, in reality?

hearted for common sense ;)

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lotussix
April 26, 2009 4:31 PM
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the op states that the csr has a \"shitty job\" and that he tries to relate. apparently not, otherwise he wouldn't refer to their job as shitty. i know some tenured csr agents who make upwards of 50K/yr.

plus the op hung up before the first csr could help him. the beginning of the article also states that the op fumbled a wire transfer.... he should have been mad at himself, but wanted to take it out on some guy trying to help him.

when i was doing csr work, i asked the customer not to use that type language on the phone and that any abusive language makes it hard for me to help them. most people realized how much of an ass they were being at the point, but lo and behold i had people who wanted to keep cursing and eventually got disconnected. of course i added case notes and any more instance of cursing after that would result in disconnection as well.

i did try to be fair, but it always seemed that the nice people with legitimate gripes would get compensation which was more than fair.

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HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's
April 27, 2009 3:01 PM
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@lotussix: the op states that the csr has a \"shitty job\" and that he tries to relate. apparently not, otherwise he wouldn't intentionally make their job shittier.

FTFY. :)

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cambiata
April 26, 2009 9:13 PM
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@lotussix: I'm not sure how it relates to the overall shittiness of my job, but I'm a csr that made 60k+ last year. (granted, at least some of that was forced overtime and working holidays).

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RandaPanda
April 26, 2009 5:41 PM
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@lotussix: We do the warning system at our call center. 3 strikes and they're out...or in this case, the call is disconnected and the account is noted. With me, I'll give them two warning.


Violation one usually is something like this: \"Sir, I have to ask you to please refrain from using that type of language with me.\"


Violation two: \"Sir, I've asked you not to use that type of language with me. I'll proceed to help you, but if you continue to use that type of language, I will be forced to disconnect this call.\"


Violation three: \"Sir, I've asked you twice to refrain from using that type of language with me. At this time, I am disconnecting this call.\"


Then I go in to note the account (And I have the wording saved in a notepad for usage. Copy and paste right into the notes), that the customer was using abusive language, and that call was disconnected after giving the customer two warnings to cease using the abusive language.


Save notes, close account. That's it. Then everyone who works in my company can see the notes and realize that person is an ass.

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1234tu
April 27, 2009 4:26 PM
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@Randa the Panda: Violation one usually is something like this: \"Sir, I have to ask you to please refrain from using that type of language with me.\"


Violation two: \"Sir, I've asked you not to use that type of language with me. I'll proceed to help you, but if you continue to use that type of language, I will be forced to disconnect this call.\"


Violation three: \"Sir, I've asked you twice to refrain from using that type of language with me. At this time, I am disconnecting this call.\"


So what? Seriously - do you think that makes you a big shot or somthing?


On the other hand, if you became the guy who got results you may get some promotions and ACTUALLY become a bigshot.


Why would you care if someone curses at you over the phone - it just means that they are mad and frustrated. They can't hurt you. Why not fix their problems instead of using it an out so you don't have to deal with them? The way databases work, your bosses probably run reports tracking the number of customer calls that you fail to resolve for any reason. What if your number was zero or way lower than your co-workers week after week? How long before you would get promoted? Wouldn't that be better than telling someone you are going to disconnect them because they are saying a mean word - even though them saying it does not impact you at all??

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lotussix
April 27, 2009 10:01 PM
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@1234tu: it doesn't make the csr a big shot at all. if you have ever worked in this type of environment you know that most callers are not abusive and want assistance.

disconnecting a verbally abusive customer does beneficial things such as allowing the csr to assist other callers who act civilly.

it really isn't appropriate to swear when you are looking for assistance. you don't go to the library and ask \"where the fuck is the february 2009 issue of motor trend?\" nor do you go to dairy queen and say , \"i would like to order a large fucking banana split blizzard.\" both are not swearing at the person helping you, but both are worthy of asking you to leave.

until 2 years ago, we only had one call center in the united states and someone could easily find out where it was and stalk someone. we do have a secure building and cameras galore, but i am not sure how effective our security guard would be in fending off an attack. a coworker and i discussed one day that he's really there to be a witness to any criminal activity as his physical conditions would not allow him to run very far. don't get me wrong, he's a loveable guy.

100% of our calls are recorded and if i was the supervisor monitoring that call for one of my representatives, i would not discipline them for doing so. and when i was a rep, i would not have been disciplined by my superiors because they could tell that the caller was abusive.

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fantomesq
April 26, 2009 4:40 PM
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I don't get it. The CSR did nothing to you... they were the one trying to help you until you cussed them out... not the best way to win them over. You admit that you screwed up the transfer - they are trying to fix YOUR mistake, not theirs. How exactly would you have taken it if they cussed YOU out over your mistake. Id their job is a shitty one (note your continued tone and attitude problem) then it is because customers like you make it such.

You want your problem fixed? Start by admitting that you are part of the problem. Call back and start by apologizing. Act contrite not abusive and ask the CSR if they can help you resolve the issue. Remember you are asking them for help, not the other way around. They MAY just record your change of attitude.

Did you really expect sympathy for your abuse from this forum?

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TEW
April 27, 2009 1:43 AM
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@fantomesq:
I might be odd but I told a CSR to put something in my file. I had countless problems with the company and I told the CSR that I knew she could not do anything but I know they record calls/ have files and the reasons why I have had it with the company. I did feel very sorry for her but I could not stand the shoddy treatment that corporate was giving me. I only said what I said because I wanted them to know why I was not going to do business with them anymore.

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GTI2.0
April 26, 2009 4:44 PM
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This reminds me of when I was in Vegas at the Mandalay Bay and I said \"mother f*cker\" when a dealer had blackjack against my blackjack. He scolded me and told me that \"He doesn't like hearing that kind of language\". Something else happened and my friend said something like \"shit\" and the dealer said to him \"I told you guys once, if you do it again I'll have to ask you to leave my table\".

That's right. Cursing is no longer OK in Vegas, but hookers still are.

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RandomZero
April 27, 2009 1:45 PM
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@GTI2.0: The context is totally different. First, you describe it as casual; the OP described it as openly and VERY aggresively hostile. Try screaming like that in a casino and see how quick you're kissing pavement.


Second, you'd be surprised how many TOS agreements have an \"abusive customer\" clause. I've seen lucrative customers cancelled for habitual behaviour like the OP's at Sprint, probably the most CSR-unfriendly company in existence. I'd be willing to bet that he was presented with similar terms, and accepted them, when he opened his account. I doubt this can be said of your casino.


In my days as a CSR for a shitty company, I let casual swearing slide, but aggressive and hostile behaviour got a \"please keep the tone professional\" warning from me, then you started going on hold. (The one time I let it slide: After my first warning, the guy responded \"I'm a construction worker - this is professional!\", and we were back to laughing.)


And finally, because I'm in a pedantic mood: Prostitution is illegal under at least two separate laws in Clark County. So no, hookers aren't okay in Vegas.

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Esquire99
April 26, 2009 6:49 PM
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@GTI2.0:
Pretty petty on the dealers part. Unless the language is directed at you, a reasonable adult should just act like one and not worry about it. Who cares if I want to say fuck, so long as it's not directed at another person? They're just words, people. Grow up. You're not a delicate flower that can't handle someone using a word that you attach a particular \"sinful\" meaning to.

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CRCError1970
April 27, 2009 3:40 AM
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@Esquire99: I suppose if someone called your mother a dirty pirate hooker you would take no offense?

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Esquire99
April 27, 2009 4:37 AM
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@CRCError1970:
I think that's sufficiently directed at you to warrant reasonably offense. However, in the OP's case, his profanity wasn't directed at ANYONE, and in GTI2.0's case, it wasn't directed at anyone. You're confusing real insults with simply using fuck, etc. as an adjective or a word to express frustration.

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Anders Quyom Rasmussen
April 26, 2009 10:33 PM
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@Esquire99:
\"Who cares if I want to say f***, so long as it's not directed at another person? They're just words, people.
Right. They're \"just words.\" Just like yelling \"fire\" in a crowded movie theater is \"just words\" or \"bomb\" in an airport. They're just words.
And words have consequences. That's also part of \"growing up\" and being an adult -- you have to take responsibility for your actions, whether or not they are \"directed at somebody.\"

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Mike_Hawk
April 27, 2009 1:39 PM
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@andersquyomrasmussen:

If you have some how come to the conclusion that screaming \"fire\" in a crowded theater is tantamount to saying \"mother &^%$!\" then you really need to get back on your horse and buggy and go back to whatever backwards uncivilized place you came out of.

Some of us are not so insecure with our selves that we get blushed and flustered around someone swearing nor are we so self-important that we feel the need to tell other people what is and is not proper.

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Esquire99
April 26, 2009 11:24 PM
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@andersquyomrasmussen:
Comparing saying \"fuck\" in public to yelling \"fire\" in a crowded theater is like comparing horseshoes to nuclear missiles. It's all about context, really. Unless the context directs the word at a person as an insult, it should have no consequences. Fuck, in its various forms, is frequently used as an adjective, much as the OP used it. I don't think, in that context, such a word should have any \"consequences\". I think it's sad that there are so many delicate flowers in society that people have to worry about the descriptive words they chose to express their frustration. I really feel sorry for the people who feel that their ears and morals are so fragile that they can't stand to hear swear words. It must be rough to live that kind of life where you feel like the entire world around you is assaulting you on a daily basis.

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varro
April 26, 2009 6:15 PM
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@GTI2.0: We know that Vegas is the center of wholesomeness in the modern world. Branson, Missouri is like Sodom next to it...

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HogwartsAlum
April 26, 2009 8:01 PM
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@varro:

I live 30 miles from Branson. That made me laugh really hard.

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Pious_Augustus
April 26, 2009 5:19 PM
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@GTI2.0:


As a worker, you should have to deal with someone treating you like dirt because you are spending money. I have rights, and they have rights. You can't just walk up to anyone and expect you can treat them like dirt. That's a no, no.


Besides, there is always the satisfaction of knowning people who act like that they get a suprise every time they go out to eat ^_~

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GTI2.0
April 26, 2009 6:19 PM
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@Pious_Augustus: It's not treating the dealer like dirt. Noone called the dealer \"mother f*cker\" and the word \"shit\" by itself is certainly not aimed at anyone. It's talking about how much the situation sucks.

The worker shouldn't be subjected to being attacked, but I assure you, this wasn't the case. This person seemed like they just wanted something to complain about.

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dragonfire81
April 26, 2009 6:42 PM
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@GTI2.0: There are adults who don't appreciate swearing, even in a 21+ environment. Try going to a club and swearing a whole bunch near a bouncer, expect to be sternly warned about said behaviour.

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jadenton
April 26, 2009 4:48 PM
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So now we know that it takes to get an agent to actually put something in the notes.
I can't recall the number of times I've had to make multiple calls to CSRs only to discover that my previous call has, despite my sometimes explicit request, not made a note.

Regular readers on this forum will be familiar with a number of horror stories about how call centers really operate. And having worked for one of these jobs in the past, they are pretty much true. Yelling at a rep may not get your problem solved, but I'm hard pressed to say they don't deserve it.

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Thain
April 27, 2009 2:10 AM
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@jadenton: Technically, most call centers are supposed to log every call. Realistically, if they can get away without logging it, they will, unless they need to defend their behavior or warn the next CSR about a customer. Even doing tech support, there is a staggering number of calls that go unlogged. I try to log every call, but there are still those little quickie calls where the call is resolved by the time you reach the customer's record, their account information hasn't been put into the system yet for some reason (generally because they just got their PC and sales hasn't given us their invoice yet), or the phone rings immediately after finishing a previous call, and it's always a temptation to skip over logging the call. Still, if a person asks that something be put in their record, all of us are good about actually doing that.

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Tank
April 26, 2009 5:23 PM
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@jadenton: I was thinking the same thing... they read/use the notes when it benefits THEM, but pretend they are nonexistent when you ask them to refer to the notes from previous calls to back up what you may be trying to communicate.

Seems that them that's got the notes, controls the notes.

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Pious_Augustus
April 26, 2009 5:16 PM
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@jadenton:


Sometimes they write notes and the CSR asks to confirm in your own words again what happened in case your story changed, which it does OFTEN

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DeadWriter
April 26, 2009 4:49 PM
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Treat others in the way that you wish to be treated. In just about every country, this bit of philosophical advice seems to a good guide on how to act.

I nominate this as The Consumerist's third best example of how not to behave with a CSR.

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Pious_Augustus
April 26, 2009 5:03 PM
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@DeadWriter:


He just made his problem even worse you think a CSR will help him now? They will see the notes and imagine that happened to them and make sure you don't get any breaks.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
April 26, 2009 4:58 PM
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my phone support/csr job involves speaking to the same people repeatedly, several times a year. i have one who tends to have a pretty foul mouth whether she's frustrated or not. one of my coworkers was assigned to her and asked me and the customer if we would mind if i be her new representative because my coworker is much more offended by the language than i am.
so now i talk to her, and i've asked that if she calls in to ask to speak only to me, and if that's not possible then to please be more conscious of her language.
fortunately she's ok with that.

it's just that she wasn't even really aware that she was using language that could be offensive, it was part of her normal speech pattern. [as, away from my job, it's part of MY normal speech pattern]
in the rest of her life, away from her support phone calls with me, she uses the same language and no one she's around has ever said anything to her about it for whatever reason [to be polite, they don't care, etc]

most of the people i work with who would be offended would probably just suck it up, or politely ask the caller to watch what they say. but many of them would be upset enough to have to step back from the phone for a minute afterwards and would probably say something to a coworker and would DEFINITELY leave a note indicating hostility and strong language.
but at least my job has the option to take a minute off the phone for composure. most call centers don't and i can imagine getting that kind of verbal abuse every day, probably repeatedly, is exhausting and maddening. [used to sell carpet cleaning by cold calls so i have some experience with telephonic verbal abuse]

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Corydon
April 26, 2009 6:18 PM
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@catastrophegirl: There's a difference between general cursing used as punctuation and intensifiers and foul language directed at you personally.

When I was a CSR, I generally ignored the former. Heck, I'd spent several years in the Army, so bad language really doesn't faze me at all. If I'd been on the receiving end of the OP's \"WTF is wrong with my card\" rant, I probably would have let him blow off some steam and then after he calmed down a little, proceeded with fixing the problem. That's just someone who's frustrated with the company. But I understand that I have thicker skin that most people.

Bad language directed at me personally (or even generally abusive behavior without bad language) is what would get bare minimum service and your account flagged with me.

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Pious_Augustus
April 26, 2009 5:02 PM
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I work at a Call Center as well and I can tell you here they let you vent unless you go to HR and demand your rights but yeah when someone acts up I quickly not the account and try my best to take care of you but as well as making sure a supervisor knows and the next person knows.

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IfThenElvis
April 26, 2009 5:03 PM
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Be nice.. or NO SOUP FOR YOU!

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unobservant
April 26, 2009 5:10 PM
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I've worked as a CSR, and his phrasing would NOT have resulted in a reprimand from me. I was trained to let things slide unless the offending word was directed at my person (as opposed to a situation or, in this case, his account).

This is what would have happened...

\"What the F***K is wrong with my account?\"

\"I'm very sorry to hear that you're obviously upset. Would you mind terribly if I looked at your account notes? My goodness... it appears as though you were promised NUMEROUS TIMES to have a block lifted from your card. I can certainly empathise with your frustration. Let's see what we can do do expedite this, and I'll be as honest as possible about any timeframes or delays.\"

I don't know how US call centres work, though...

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The Dude
April 27, 2009 3:27 AM
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@unobservant: I agree. This is about context. This guy is just expressing his discontent with 'his account.' He's not immediately making personal attacks on the CSR (at least none admitted to..) Having been a technical CSR for 5 years, my first reaction to his initial question would have been, \"uh oh, we somehow dropped the ball with this guy,\" and then try to quickly show a little interest in helping him and finding out what the issue is.

For the consumerists who are taking the side of Chase and the wounded CSR, I think that you're making a knee-jerk reaction to this guy in particular, because you somehow feel he's whiney and because he was insensitive to the poor CSR. But let's get down to the issue: they screwed up his account, and he called in a little hot and bothered. I can tell you, that customers like this are actually easy to 'turn,' you just have to show a little interest in helping them, let them get a little steam out, and next thing you know they are thanking you and you've got a new buddy. This is how companies can earn loyalty, by believe or not, fixing mistakes. (go read some business books on this if you don't believe me)

The 'get offended by the F word' CSR is really just putting as little amount of effort into their job as possible, and looking for any excuse to tell on a customer. Possibly a lackluster CSR, or possibly a corporate culture at Chase encouraging this type of attitude.

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TheObserver
April 27, 2009 5:24 AM
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@The Dude:

Maybe I missed something, but exactly how did Chase 'screw up his account?' Mr. Brad even admits that it was HIS error in inputting a wrong address from a wire transfer that started this whole incident. Naturally his account got flagged.

The \"robo call\" didn't settle matters, and he got through to a CSR who ostensibly corrected the mistake. But it didn't. Maybe this takes a bit of time to go through the system, maybe more time than it took for him to go buy groceries? His story doesn't fill in particulars.

I had an incident where an ATM locked out my account, and I called CSR four times before it was settled. Each time the CSR said the card should work, but it didn't.

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TheObserver
April 27, 2009 5:27 AM
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@TheObserver: I might also add, good for you and other CSR's that have enough thick skin, but being a CSR (or anyone for that matter) does not mean it gives others the right to treat you with disrespect. And I don't care what kind of spin people put on it, cursing in general is a sign of lack of control, crudeness, and a sure sign of weakness. I don't care about the 'context' or who it was directed at, no one in a professional setting should be subject to cursing.

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Anonymous
April 27, 2009 2:56 AM
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@unobservant: I whole-heartedly agree with this. There is a difference between using profanity directed at someBODY or someTHING. Unfortunately, most $8/hour cubicle drones have neither the education, maturity and skills to determine the difference.

I once told my cable company I was not going to \"pay a f***ing trip charge\" on my bill because their tech forgot to leave me with cable cards when he hooked up our service. The rep told me not to use abusive language. I asked her if she'd ever watched a movie with profanity. She said yes. I asked if she thought the characters on screen were cursing at her personally. She said no. I told her to think about that.

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veg-o-matic
April 27, 2009 6:18 PM
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@RossIdomeneus: \"most $8/hour cubicle drones have neither the education, maturity and skills to determine the difference\"

Really? Do you know all of their educational backgrounds? Do you have ANY evidence to back that statement up, other than anecdotal stories that probably are not true? Otherwise, this is just a bitter swipe at people you deem to be of a lower class than yourself.

\"The rep told me not to use abusive language. I asked her if she'd ever watched a movie with profanity. She said yes. I asked if she thought the characters on screen were cursing at her personally. She said no. I told her to think about that.\"

I'm sure she didn't have to spend much time thinking about it because it's a horrible analogy. Since you seem to think you're so much smarter than these \"cubicle drones,\" why don't you think about that?

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ajlei
April 26, 2009 6:32 PM
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@unobservant: Wherever you live, I want to live there. Not that I often call up CSRs and say \"WTF IS WRONG HERE\" but I have called upset before and people are generally nice but your example would be a vast exception here.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 6:21 PM
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@unobservant: That's pretty much how ours operates here in the US, too. People can hurl all the abuse they like at our company, they are frustrated and that's fine, though all ti does is slow down getting the issue resolved. If they become abusive towards us personally they get one warning and then we hang up and they better be very nice and polite when they call back in the future.

That said, the use of curses (as opposed to saying \"Chase sucks\") does mean that if a CSR is personally offended at the language being used has the option of warning the customer or transferring it to people at my level. We're here to solve problems and empathize, not discover all the cool words you learned on the playground in 4th grade.

What is most ironic about this particular case is that the guy wasn't hung up on due to his swearing, he was put on hold for 30 seconds, probably so the guy on the phone could read through the notes of the previous calls and find out what was going on and figure out how to resolve the issue (or so he could be transferred to someone higher up who would have an even better chance of being able to resolve the issue). The idiot hung up rather than letting the problem get fixed.

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RodAox
April 26, 2009 5:15 PM
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Well I try to be as nice as possible and understand that they have to work with the procedures that they have been given however we are all only human. After being on the phone for an hour to argue about something (overdraft fees - the way it happened was I had a bunch of small purchases then a last large purchase that would have put me over the balance, for some reason they switched them around and instead of paying one overdraft fee, I end up paying 4, one for starbucks, one for mcd, one for a pack of smokes and one for a parking spot....\"

It gets frustrating to hear its policy over and over. I am just hoping to let these companies hand over some decision making power to these guys since they are the point of contact......so they can do something about certain situations.

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Overheal
April 26, 2009 5:24 PM
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Ah but the real question is if you are cordial to the CSR is THAT noted on your record?

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anachro882
April 27, 2009 4:20 PM
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@Overheal: Seeing as how that is basic, expected human decency I would say no.

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Rachacha
April 26, 2009 5:25 PM
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There is something quite ironic that in a letter warning people about cursing to CSRs that he curses several times:


\"So it is in my file now that I am an official asshole\"
\"I can relate to their shitty job\"
\"After my tongue-lashing\" (I'll assume that this included some other curse words)


Should your readers be wary of this, or is it our consumer-given right to demand \"WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!
You certainly have a right to know what is going on with your account, but youshould treat people with some level or respect. I personally am not offended by the casual curse word, but when every other word is a curse word, it can be offensive.

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Bs Baldwin
April 26, 2009 5:29 PM
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Seriously dude? You curse out someone, they are going to put a note on your account about it. Call center employees have enough crap to deal with everyday, a customer acting like an Eagles Fan is not something they have to deal with. Be lucky they didn't close your account out.

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PLATTWORX
April 26, 2009 5:31 PM
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\"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON WITH MY CARD!\"


Well, I hope someone at the Consumerist writes people like Brad when they submit stories like this (where THEY are at fault) and tells them so.


In my work running CS departments, if someone swears, you tell them you can no longer speak to them and you disconnect the call.


This is not Chase's fault, that we can be clear on.

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bluewyvern
April 26, 2009 6:20 PM
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@PLATTWORX: No need. Consumerist has outsourced that job to the commenters, who have taken it up pretty thoroughly.

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savdavid
April 26, 2009 5:33 PM
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Excuse me.....but CSRs should expect to be cursed at and trained how to calm the customer down or to transfer him to a competent CSR. I have NO pity nor do I empathize with CSRs at all. I worked for HSN (Home Shopping Network) in the mid 90s and got that yelled at, cursed at but I remained calm and if I couldn't help them they were transferred to a special unit. We (CSRs) are on the front lines of customer problems, what do they expect? Sweet, gentle, understanding voices from EVERYONE? Sorry, in the real world that ain't happening. Period.

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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 12:08 PM
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@savdavid:


You did Outbound work. Outbound is a highly stressful field were they are not customer service they are salesmen and Creditors.


You rarely do customer service and sometimes none at all.


Regardless, you do not treat workers like crap. You don't up to a man repairing the streets treating him like a slave because he is their repairing the streets trying to make it run more smooth for you.


These are people on the other end of the phone not your personal slave to where they are there to be your punching bag. They are there to route your concern not your abuse.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 6:39 PM
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@savdavid:

I'm sorry you had to work for a company that had so little respect for its employees that it expected them to take abuse from customers.

Every company and employee has the right to expect professional behavior from customers as well as coworkers. I deal with frustrated people all day long, and it is a rare occurrence for someone to curse (other than in a casual way that makes clear they use that language in everyday speech).

If you're getting cursed at on a regular basis, then the company has failed spectacularly in giving you the tools and ability to resolve issues or in your training to get those issues resolved. Either way, those are issues the company needs to resolve and you should not be expected to put up with abuse on their behalf.

I certainly would not work anywhere that someone had the attitude of \"you should be expected to take abuse\" as part of the job. No good call center is run that way.

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madanthony
April 26, 2009 5:52 PM
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@savdavid:

Being that the writer hung up before the csr came back, we don't know what they would have done if they had come back.

I've done helpdesk, and I would note callers who cursed or were uncooperative - not so much to get back at them as so other techs could be prepared, and to have a record of what happened in case the user complained to someone higher up

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dragonfire81
April 26, 2009 6:40 PM
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@madanthony: I spent over a year a customer service call center for a wireless company and let me tell you, If a customer opened the call by saying:

\"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?\"

I would get inwardly frustrated immediately. I understand how agonizing it can be to be transferred from rep to rep without a solution or to be made angry by a situation (as in the OP's story above) but cussing a blue streak at the rep isn't going to get you anywhere.

As for the customer above, I would say: \"sir, if you can calm down a moment I can get an answer for you.\" and attempt to go from there.

We employed a three strike rule. Swear at me once, I warn you not to do it again. Swear at me again, I warn that one more instance will result in the call being disconnected. Do it to me again, I thank you for calling and hang up. CSRs are under no obligation to endure continued verbal abuse from someone who refuses to calm down.

If you are going to be that pissed, give yourself some time to cool off and then call back.

Frontline CSRs always have the bulls-eye on them. If the company has wronged a customer in any way, customers often target the front line worker as the person to blame, even if they had nothing to do with it.

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Julius Seizure
April 26, 2009 5:52 PM
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@savdavid: True but it's always a good idea for the customer to try and remember the CSR didn't (insert unpleasant happening) deliberately to them.

Believe me, when I was standing in a phone booth in the middle of England with an ATM card that did not work, and 5 Pounds in change, trying to at least find the # to call to get it fixed, I wanted to vent.

When I finally got through to the bank, I made a conscious effort to hold together - this was just a guy who could help, not the person who screwed up. Two minutes into the conversation he said \"I can tell by your voice this is very frustrating and I appreciate your patience.\" Ten minutes later he'd asked the questions so he knew I was... me, he'd \"opened\" the card and gave me a toll-free 0800 number to call if it didn't work. And, he thanked me specifically for keeping cool.

Maybe it's a phone thing - I'm sure there are people who'll say things to a voice on the phone they'd never dream of saying to a person in front of them.

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cambiata
April 26, 2009 9:22 PM
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@Julius Seizure. Jim to my Peeps:
When I can tell that the customer is holding in their ire and not taking it out on me, I thank them as well.

Also I can say from personal experience, when I myself am angry at a company, but holding back from taking it out on the CSR, I get better service.

savdavid, whether you think CSRs should have thicker skins or not is irrelevant. If a consumer wants to get good service, they have to not be assholes. If they're assholes, they're probably not going to get their issue fixed. In fact, 9 times out of 10, when I'm talking to assholes on the phone, they sabotage themselves and make it difficult if not impossible to help them, no matter how patient I am. If all the customer has to do to get their internet back on is turn on their router, but they're so pissed off they won't listen to me, then they're never going to get their internet back on. It has nothing to do with my quality as an agent.

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HogwartsAlum
April 26, 2009 8:05 PM
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@Julius Seizure. Jim to my Peeps:

Oh true, just like there are people who will say things on the Internet that they won't say in person either.

Good for you for holding it together in a mature fashion!

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Aidan Roche
April 26, 2009 5:44 PM
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@savdavid: Customer's will be irate, this is unavoidable no matter what business you're in. However when you're swearing at another human being in a manner which offends them that is never acceptable.

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arymede
April 26, 2009 5:34 PM
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Imagine being at work one day. You're sitting in your cubicle, doing your job, when your phone rings. You look at the number, it's one of your major clients, so you pick it up to find out what they need. Out of nowhere, or seeming so, they blast you with a string of angry cussing... while you're still checking over their file to make sure you've got your facts straight. As you glance through, you realize that your company has royally screwed them on a deadline - something you didn't know - and you're still hearing a litany of entirely vulgar comments about you, your mother, and so forth. You think you know what to do - you can grab the widget they're waiting for and send it to them, but first you have to run over to your inventory people and make sure you've got one in stock before you promise the client something you may or may not be able to deliver. You ask the client to hold on a sec while you see what can be done, set down the phone, and run three desks down to ask John the Inventory Control Guy. It takes all of a minute and a half to find out that there are plenty of widgets to go around and you can promise delivery in about 3 days. But when you get back to the phone, you find the client has hung up on you.


How do you feel?


This is how we call centre folk feel on a daily basis.


What could you have done to get a chance a service? First, never curse out the CSR. No one should have to listen to that as part of their daily job.


Second, accept that hold happens. Sometimes the agent actually has to get up to figure something out, and they can't do that when they are tied to the desk with their headset. Deal with it. Hanging up while on a 30 second hold when someone has offered to help makes you look like the incompetent ass, not them.


Third, yelling or hanging up and trying for another rep also makes you look the incompetent ass. Don't do it. Instead, ask for a supervisor or ask to be escalated.


This should get you through any reputably run call centre out there. Bear in mind that there are call centres run by really dumb management that make the rest of us look bad, but please do not take that out on those of us who truly are trying to help.

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Aidan Roche
April 26, 2009 5:43 PM
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This customer is an idiot.

CSRs do not put a hold on your account for \"swearing.\" They can, however, make a note that you did swear during the call. Someone can swear all they want in their own home but not when they're knowingly within earshot of someone else and it makes them uncomfortable.

All the CSR did was put in a note akin to \"Customer used profanity, asked him to stop.\" This is so that if the customer comes back and is being abusive to another CSR then there are detailed notes of people berating them. This does happen in the profession.

What constitutes profanity is up to the CSR, however. So people might not care if you drop a string of F-bombs. Other people might be highly offended if you just say \"shit.\" The only way to avoid this is to simply not swear.

Honestly this sense of entitlement is just getting ridiculous. \"It's my right as an adult to swear!\" Actually, as an adult, you should be capable enough to express yourself without cursing. Seriously most of us developed that skill after grade 12.

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Jonathan Gardiner
April 26, 2009 11:26 PM
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@Aidan Roche: Agreeing with you, \"Brad\" is an ass for thinking it was his right to be abusive to a CSR, just because somebody else at the company screwed up in some way. It is in fact the company's right to provide discriminatory service to abusive customers.

However, there is the flip-side, that some CSRs abuse their right to be free of abuse to strong-arm, or otherwise bully their customers. For example, I once had a CSR yell at me and threaten to disconnect me without fulfilling my request, because in reply to a question about why I was cancelling my cell phone, I calmly stated that reception was \"crappy\" near my house. He insisted I was swearing and being abusive. It's an unbalanced power relationship, and some reps are very aware of it.

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tenners
April 26, 2009 5:48 PM
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I used to work as a CSR at one of the WCIA and was once called a f***ing c**t. You know, I understand you're upset and that you probably hate the company (along with everyone else... including myself), but swearing, yelling and calling me names isn't going to help. The CSR isn't the person who caused the problem.

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ctate
April 26, 2009 5:59 PM
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I tried dealing with the brillant CSRs at DirecTv and the same thing happened to me. I was polite until I was about an hour into my pointless conversation with a \"supervisor\". I started apparently raising my voice and she yelled at me and basically told me I had anger issues. I did not curse, but she wouldn't let me get any word in edge-wise after that. She just kept talking AT me. I didn't hang up on her, I just said good-bye since we were getting no-where. I called back and the next rep told me she needed to \"read the notes on my account\". After reading the notes, her tone changed with me and got me no-where again.
They sure can note your account with any opinion about you they have REGARDLESS of how ugly you were to them. I'm sure those notes did not mention how ugly the \"supervisor\" was to me.
They never seem to keep accurate notes on what they tell you concerning your account unless it benefits them. I learned that the hard way...

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 6:03 PM
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Where I work, we have a rating system which goes like \"well, you've spent a load of cash and hardly asked for any discounts\" to \"needy (re: please stop calling us. please.) In the memos, if we see a customer has been abusive, it pretty much means offer to get a supervisor who can hang up on the customer and don't even bother listening. You can get normal CSRs to bend, but supervisors, nope.

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Sarcastikate
April 26, 2009 6:29 PM
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Sorry, there is no excuse for being rude and crass to someone on the phone that you don't know. Maybe your friends and family have to put up with you, but some stranger whose job it is to help you doesn't. When I was young I worked for a small company and on a rare occasion someone would call and if they used profanity or screamed at me, I would warn them to calm down and please speak to me civilly so I could help them, or I would hang up. If they persisted, I would hang up. Only happened twice. Do yourself a favor and calm down before calling. Yeah, I've gotten VERY angry in similar situations, so you call and tell the rep, \"listen, I'm trying to remain calm, but I'm really upset and angry about this situation\". There are ways to convey your displeasure at a situation without rude profanity.

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bohemian
April 26, 2009 6:29 PM
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Always take a minute to calm down before calling customer service. Focusing on the issue, the details and what needs to be solved will get you further than swearing and verbally abusing the reps.

I have to admit though some certainly deserve all the hate they get. Some customer service departments and staff (usually outsourced in the US) are horrible and useless. Instead of losing it ceasing the business relationship if possible is probably a better option if they really suck that much. Or if their phone service is impossible to deal with write a letter to the proper department. Written letters bypass most of the low level useless CSR departments or oursourcers. I have solved two ongoing problems this way.

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richcreamerybutter
April 26, 2009 6:35 PM
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I make an effort to be as pleasant as possible to all CSRs, because of reasons mentioned above. In all the years of dealing with these folks, I've only make two exceptions: my prior corrupt student loan company, and my very brief account with Working Assets Mobile. In these two examples, my several attempts to be courteous failed, and actually resulted in their consistent abuse directed toward me (especially Working Assets, and it was the SAME guy each time!). So, eventually when I had to deal with CSRs from the two companies and the call was ready to head in that direction, I had no problem giving it back to them.

I'm extremely courteous, but don't expect me to absorb abuse from CSRs when I didn't instigate the nastiness.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 6:47 PM
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i worked for a decade at an answering service (fielding calls for businesses that were closed for the night or whatever), and it taught me that getting angry at the person who answers the phone is almost always a losing strategy. The low-level reps have almost no power, except the power to refuse to help you, so pissing them off just alienates them, while being nice to them encourages them to look for a way to bend the rules for you. One helpful trick is to ask them \"do you understand why I'm upset?\" If you can get them to admit they understand, that encourages them to empathize with your frustration, which makes it more likely that they will help you if they can. Swearing at them just antagonizes them and discourages them from empathizing. If you do lose your temper, say \"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at your company.\"

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billbobbins
April 26, 2009 6:53 PM
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Cuss at me like that and I shut down as well. Take a timeout and come back when you can be a big boy.

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Esquire99
April 26, 2009 6:53 PM
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There is a huge difference between a customer swearing generally, and a customer swearing AT you. As a CSR, unless the words are directed at you personally as a insult or in a derogatory nature you should be adult enough to just let it slide. I will never understand people who think their ears are so delicate that they will be forever damaged if they are exposed to swear words. Totally different story if the words are directed at you, but in this case it doesn't seem like they were. The CSR needs to grow up a little and realize that fuck, shit, etc. are just words, and aren't the least bit \"harmful\" unless they are directed at a particular person.

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youbastid
April 26, 2009 7:38 PM
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I don't see why this is a huge deal - he wasn't cursing AT the CSR. He was cursing ABOUT his account. There is a huge difference and I believe the CSR could act like more of a grownup, unless of course the CSR is 12 and has never been to an R rated movie.

A similar thing happened to me when I was on the phone with a CSR and they were explaining a \"policy\" that was completely absurd. I said, matter of factly, talking human to human (NOT angrily), \"really though, don't you think that's a little fucking ridiculous?\" And he scolded me for being \"abusive\" and disconnected the call.

I understand that that's the action they should take when a customer becomes abusive towards them, but instituting a \"Disney Language Only\" policy is something entirely different.

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Rectilinear Propagation
April 27, 2009 12:47 PM
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I don't see why this is a huge deal - he wasn't cursing AT the CSR. He was cursing ABOUT his account.

@youbastid: He began the conversation by screaming and swearing. If he's blown his top before the other person has even spoken why should the CSR expect him to stop screaming long enough for them to help? How is the CSR even supposed to be able to help if the customer is already freaking out?

Besides, the CSR only put him on hold. For all we know they were getting a supervisor, trying to get an upper level CSR, or just writing the note in his account and coming right back.

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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 5:37 AM
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@youbastid:


Unless your rich and pompous or have a job were you literally dont deal with anyone, your not going to get the majority of people to side with the orginal poster because we all here have had jobs were sadly we had to deal with these people who have no manners or no respect for their follow man.


Again the call center I work at, they let you literally verbally abuse us because it's emergancy road service. Honestly you can't have people calling in saying any old anything or calling someone \"Niggers\" or \"fucking idiots\" IT IS UNACCEPTABLE and no way to treat anyone.

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Esquire99
April 26, 2009 8:01 PM
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@youbastid:
LOL. Love the \"Disney Language Only\" line.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 7:53 PM
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I am a CSR & work not only CS but Credit and Collections as well. The fastest way to get no help at all is to act like this guy. We have a small office, and the first thing we do when we get off the phone with a \"Brad\" is to (1) put a note on the account so the next poor soul who gets him knows he's an asshole, and (2) verbally let everyone know that \"Brad\" from wherever just called and said blah blah blah.

Look, I don't care who you are or if you're the freakin' President, you don't call and talk to me this way. If you want to really be frustrated, just do this. The next time you call, and have a real actual problem, we can make it very difficult for you to get a quick resolution.

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HogwartsAlum
April 26, 2009 8:12 PM
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I've had to deal with angry people on the phone too (I'm a receptionist), when they call and can't get hold of the person they're trying to reach. They whine and they make demands, i.e. \"He never returns my caaaaaaaalllssss...\" or \"Make him get off the phone!\" Well, what do you want me to do? Go over and hit them with a two-by-four?

One time, someone called and I told him the person was on the phone and he started going off. I said, \"Sir, I'm just the switchboard. All I can do is transfer you, put you on hold, put you in voice mail or take a message. I cant' make [sales rep] stay at his desk.\" He backed off after that and apologized. A lot of calls are like this now, especially since our reps are much busier. I feel for the CSRs, but I also know how frustrating it is for the customers.

I used to be a lot nicer to them; now I don't care. I just try to get them off the phone as fast as I can.

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kolacek
April 26, 2009 8:36 PM
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No, no, NO.

Sorry, I need to chime in on this as a former CSR myself.

CSRs generally put people on hold so they can push away from their desks, go get a cup of coffee and joke about your problem with someone in the break room. Don't kid yourselves. Here are a couple of points to keep in mind any time you're on the phone with your bank:

1] They charge you piles and piles of money for ridiculously contrived fees and for utter bullshit like being overdrawn on your account for less than a dollar. Who cares about their feelings? Do they EVER give a fuck about you?

2] They always [always] resort to \"Oh gosh...I'm sorry, 'the computer' runs everything on our system and I can't change any aspect of your account...period.\"

Bullshit. They can change anything they WANT to, PERIOD. Just like me when I did this for a living, CSRs are told by their supervisors to deny, deny, deny, lie and say goodbye.

*

Look...if you're rude to food service people - yes - you're probably a bastard and deserve to be banned from restaurants. That rule generally applies to any one-on-one contact you have with service employees.

But never kid yourself about call centers. They exist to make you feel stupid, go away and accept unjust penalties and fees. Banks have built their entire business model around unjust penalties and fees, and they will continue to pull shit like the above-captioned incident until someone puts a stop to it.

\"What the fuck\" is wrong with that guy's account? It's with an American bank.

.

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bibliophibian
April 26, 2009 8:44 PM
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When I call customer service for anything, I always have to first identify myself and give them my account number, name, secret password, other secret password, tricky question in case someone got both of your secret passwords, and shoe size.

That tells me one of two things happened here:
1. The OP opened the call with \"WTFIWWMA\" without the CSR having any ability to SEE wtfwwwha, or
2. The OP went through all the account number, name, password stuff calmly and rationally and then, at, \"Thank you, Mr. OP, what can we do for you today?\" started ranting.

I can't think either of those are indicative of someone who's prepared to be a reasonable individual, so even though I have NO problem with profanity whatsoever, I might well have \"written him up\" too. He is either 1. unwilling to give me the opportunity to access his information before throwing a fit, or 2. calm enough to give his identifying info and then choosing to deliberately throw a fit. In either case, it's the type of behavior I'd expect from a toddler, so it's obvious that the rest of the call is not going to get any better.

Even in the worst cases - situations where I have been literally crying in frustration, anger, and/or bewilderment - when the CSR comes on the phone I know that it's only common sense and common courtesy to start off nice. If the CSR yanks you around, okay, yank back, but starting off on that foot is just... well, frankly it's stupid. It doesn't intimidate the CSRs who can, after all simply put you on hold or hang up on you; it's not like they're going to be afraid of you. It doesn't inspire them to be more helpful - it inspires them to be defensive and to treat you they way you're treating them.

Even when I know I'm losing it, I make an effort to say something like, \"Look, I understand that this is not *YOUR* fault [assuming it isn't] but I am really frustrated and angry, and I'm trying really hard to hold it together here. I'm not angry at YOU, but I AM really angry. I'm trying to be as polite as I can, and I appreciate your patience.\" Even if the CSR isn't really being all that patient or understanding, it helps make things less stressful for everyone - at least they KNOW you're on the edge, and are a bit less likely to do stupid or annoying things.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 8:50 PM
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I am an adult, and so are they! If I want to curse I feel it is my right! Should your readers be wary of this, or is it our consumer-given right to demand \"WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!\"

No, you're not acting like an adult. This is the behavior of a manchild/womanchild. You can demand to know what is wrong with your account, but if you yell at an agent, he's going to possibly place you on hold and disclaim to the agent next to him \"oh man, this guy is SO rude.\"

Every CSR understands why you're pissed. Most even sympathize with you, regardless or not of whether they can do anything about the problem. Often they empathize more when they have to tell you that you're SOL due to company policy. So yes, the company sucks. Even the agent may suck. But there's no reason to lessen yourself and throw tantrums. Cuss before you call. Be polite, if angry when you call. They're here to hear your problems, not to be belittled in the same manner that the company has belittled you.

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Ben Downing
April 26, 2009 9:03 PM
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i work as a CSR for a big telco company. i get abuse often. however if you swear that is over the line. i most probably have never seen your account before so have no idea whats going on.
30 seconds on hold before disconecting? sheesh.. i'd barely get through the notes in that time frame - let alone talking to my floor coach or supervisor.

we are people on the other end of the line. don't forget that. people have differing moral standards. if you respect me i'll go above and beyond to help. i'll try to get you 12 months rental backdated. treat me like dirt - you ain't getting anything

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 9:03 PM
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My experience with CSRs is that they never seem to have the information about my previous calls that would be helpful in solving the problem - I have to start over with them every time. Funny how a note such as this is instantly available to all the CSRs.

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salvatorecondegni
April 26, 2009 9:20 PM
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OP is at fault. If he so much thinks of himself as an adult, he can start acting like one.

There's a time and a place for swearing. Think they're just words? Let me know how well received your are if you're standing in front of a judge or on a job interview.

I work customer service at a grocery store, and I won't tolerate foul language. I'm not a pussy, but it really isn't necessary.

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tsume
April 26, 2009 9:51 PM
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I called Chase/WaMu to get my available credit moved from my old WaMu credit card to my Southwest Visa and to add an authorized user to that card. The rep was very nice, spoke English (sounded American to me), and got everything done quickly. Not everyone at Chase/WaMu sucks I guess is what I'm trying to say.

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Anonymous
April 26, 2009 9:53 PM
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Last year I ordered a Dell computer. It came with the wrong size hard drive, Dell corrected this by sending a gift card to make up for it.

Later I attempted to use the card, and found out they were invalid. I called Dell repeately, and either the Indian CSRs could not understand the situation or would hang up on me.

After a couple of hours I finally got to talk to a manager, who was under the impression that I either should have never gotten the cards, or was attempting to cheat Dell somehow. He kept ignoring the problem and just kept telling me I shouldn't be getting the card.

Throughout all of this, I was perfectly calm and polite. I simply tried to steer the conversation back on topic, reminding him that I need some kind of compensation to make up for receiving the wrong size HD. He then began repeating \"sir, you are being belligerent\".

Still calm, I said \"I don't think I'm being belligerent, I'm just trying to get the problem addressed here.\" He says it again. \"Belligerent means that I am being rude and intentionally trying to start a fight. I'm not doing that, I'm just asking for this problem to be fixed.\"

\"Sir, you are being belligerent, and I have to end this call now.\" click!

I eventually got this resolved, but I wonder if any time I call Dell, do the CSRs see a note about me being some kind of crazy out of control customer? I just think it's funny since I'm the calmest person I know, and always just avoid unpleasant things instead of getting angry about them.

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WorldHarmony
April 26, 2009 10:55 PM
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I'm not too sympathetic. Cursing at an innocent employee is crude and childish. The problem he encountered was systemic, not created by the CSR who was unfortunate enough to receive his phone call. He should have held his his vitriol and expressed his outrage in a civil manner through letters up the command chain.

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tc4b
April 26, 2009 11:08 PM
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@GTI2.0: @GTI2.0: I swear around friends, I have no problem with profanity. However, I never hold it against anyone who chooses to insist on a certain level of class in their home, place of business, or blackjack table.

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supercereal
April 26, 2009 11:35 PM
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@tc4b: Absolutely -- it's all about environment. Hanging out with friends is a completely different scenario than out in public with people I don't know. When in doubt, it's best to take the classy, respectful route and not subject the people around you with language they may not appreciate.

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tc4b
April 26, 2009 11:11 PM
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It's like I always tell my students:

Sure, everyone swears, just like you do at sleepovers after mom and dad have gone to bed. However, you would never swear at grandma's house during Thanksgiving dinner. This classroom isn't your grandma's, but it's not a sleepover, either.

The nine year olds in my class show better judgment than the OP here.

If you haven't figured out by now when swearing is or is not appropriate, then no, you are not an \"adult.\"

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pax
April 27, 2009 1:42 AM
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@tc4b: That is a great explanation--this middle school teacher might borrow it for her own classroom! I've said similar things to my students in the past.

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ShariC
April 26, 2009 11:27 PM
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Brad's attitude seems to be, 'I'm an adult so I have the right to speak abusively' and the CSR is an adult so they can take my abuse. You have the right to service, you don't have a right to treat other people badly in the process. This is a sense of entitlement which is way past what is reasonable or civilized.

Granted, the ball kept getting dropped, but let's not forget that it was Brad's original mistake that started the problem. You'd think someone who set this in motion through his own actions would be a little more patient with the people who he was trying to fix the problem and that he'd \"test\" the card with small purchase attempts after the initial rejection rather than make big purchases.

They did eventually fix the problem. I see no problem with flagging a customer account with information about the customer behaving abusively or in a temperamental fashion. It's not like they refused to help him. In the future, when CSR's deal with him, they will know that he has to be handled differently because he cannot control his temper and will lash out.

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TCama
April 26, 2009 11:48 PM
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Okay, we know that the OP shouldn't have used that language. No need to remind him of that.

But does that really deserve a mark on his, if you will, \"permanent record?\" For all we know, \"abuse\" like this could stay at the top of a record, so now every time he calls Chase, for the rest of his life, the CSR will immediately know that he's \"abusive.\" Cool. Because he made a mistake once, when he was really frustrated, and he regretted it.

Has anyone here ever made a mistake?

Oh, and remember that this mistake didn't permanently harm Chase, or even the CSR. The CSR was likely offended, sure, but I doubt that s/he is permanently scarred as a result of this.

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feckingmorons
April 26, 2009 11:50 PM
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A decade or so ago I worked for the help desk of a big accounting frim. One day some guy called up and said he could not dial up to connect to the firm's network.


He yelled \"What the feck is wrong with my dial up?\"

I responded \"How the feck do I know, try cursing at your computer and see if that helps\" Then I hung up.


He called back a few minutes later and got someone else (there were perhaps a dozen of us on a Sunday afternoon) and he said the last guy told him to scream obscenities at his computer, but he tried that and it didn't work. He had a sense of humor about it and the next guy got it fixed in a minute or so.

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Derek Cosson
April 27, 2009 1:38 AM
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I work as a CSR, and profanity is a 100% no-no with me. I don't want to hear that shit. If a customer drops some profane language, I will say to them something along the lines of, \"I'm going to ask you once and only once not to use profanity. If you do it again, I'm going to end this call.\"

I understand that you're frustrated sometimes when you call, but I'm going to be hell of a lot more inclined to help you if you act like a decent human being.

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Esquire99
April 27, 2009 2:07 AM
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@Derek Cosson:
So a person who use profanity, even if not directed at you, is not a decent human being? Pretty tolerant and broad view of the world you have there.

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Feminist Whore
April 27, 2009 12:51 PM
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@Esquire99: So you don't think there is a difference between the way a person \"acts\" when they are upset about something and who they actually are as a person? Pretty good reading compensation you have there.

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I_have_something_to_say
April 27, 2009 1:53 AM
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I have no problem with swearing as long as it's in another accent - preferably Jamaican.

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Con Sumer Zealot
April 27, 2009 2:01 AM
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UNLESS the one on the other end of the line IS the one who caused your problem. Then feel free to not curse necessarily, but to first get their agent number and name, then insult their competence cleverly, refuse to participate with their call flow / script and demand their manager, then you can do it officially :)

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anachro882
April 27, 2009 5:58 PM
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@Con Sumer Zealot: A sad way to get your kicks.

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joellevand
April 27, 2009 2:48 AM
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When I used to work as a CAM (customer account manager -- nice way to put \"CSR\") many years ago, repeated notation on one's account that one was \"verbally abusive\" could cause the account to be closed by the company for the slightest infraction. Basically, their philosophy was \"If you're a jerk, we don't want your business -- and if you're a jerk that doesn't pay on time, we're not going to keep it either.\"

Of course, I wonder if they still have that policy since they've outsourced their call centres to India, which probably means a lot more angry calls. Just from my time as an American working in the UK, I had multiple customers flip out just by hearing an American accent on the other end of the line.

\"Bloody hell, we've outsourced to America?\" and \"Can I get someone who speaks bloody ENGLISH on here?\" were my favorite insults. :)

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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 5:39 AM
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Unless your rich and pompous or have a job were you literally dont deal with anyone, your not going to get the majority of people to side with the orginal poster because we all here have had jobs were sadly we had to deal with these people who have no manners or no respect for their follow man.


Again the call center I work at, they let you literally verbally abuse us because it's emergancy road service. Honestly you can't have people calling in saying any old anything or calling someone \"Niggers\" or \"fucking idiots\" IT IS UNACCEPTABLE and no way to treat anyone.

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henwy
April 27, 2009 6:54 AM
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@Esquire99:

Exactly. You wouldn't believe how uppity some people can get. I, personally, like to wander around town yelling 'cunt' at the top of my lungs. I'm referring to this real bitch I know but you wouldn't believe how many people think they have the right to ask me to modulate my language. WTH do they think they are? I wasn't even directing it at them.

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Jaycee Dela Cruz
April 27, 2009 10:01 AM
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Being a CSR/TSR i have observed that most CSR/TSR will go for an extra mile to help someone nice and patient. Sometimes the incompetency is not with the CSR but with the process of the company. Just a few guys at the back end can make the CSRs swallow every curse the client says only because a few guys screwed up (or just dont want to do their job!)

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OprahBabb
April 27, 2009 10:09 AM
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As someone who has worked in a call centre for several years and (still currently working at one..) I find while it may not be the best practice to shout profanities at the agent who is assisting you it DOES help to apologise for being upset as you're not having a go at them. (Which is true most of the time isn't it?)

With half the sob stories I hear, I'd be pissed if I were in their position too. I understand they're just upset.

Not to say that there aren't some flat out meanies who are just looking to move the party to their miserable cave. Boo. Hiss.

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EdenBabararacucudada
April 27, 2009 10:43 AM
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Assholes who will derail a conversation and insist on trying to assert misplaced moral beliefs prior to helping you with your fucking problem do not deserve their jobs.

Don't impose arbitrary standards on random callers, just do your job!

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Ghede
April 27, 2009 11:14 AM
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@CRCError1970: I know I wouldn't. I always take time to appreciate creative insults. Calling me a motherfucker is BORING. Call me the wasted seed of a syphilitic sailor at a cheap brothel and I start laughing.

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Anonymous
April 27, 2009 12:22 PM
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I will second (third?) unobservant's technique. Turning an irate customer isn't all that hard, most times, as long as you keep your cool, address the issue, and tell the truth.

However there are those cases of people who will never be satisfied, either because they have some illusory expectations that simply cannot be reached, because they see the incident as a way to get some form of freebie and they are \"pushing\", or just because they plainly enjoy causing grief and misery all around them.

As long as any cursing isn't an attack on me, I don't care. My job is to resolve the issue, vent all you want.

Perhaps all thin-skinned CSR should do a tour of duty as collection agent. After six month of that you're armor-plated against the trivial abuse and keep focused on the stakes...


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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 12:37 PM
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Brad's attitude seems to be, 'I'm an adult so I have the right to speak abusively'


I'm a big boy now!!!! I can speak abusively!

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Rectilinear Propagation
April 27, 2009 12:50 PM
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I'm surprised that after the first few like this that people are still sending in stories where they go off on the CSR and expect sympathy from Consumerist.

Here's a hint: Before you submit your story of woe, read the \"Bad Consumer\" stories. If you sound like the OP in those posts then don't send your story in; it will not go well for you.

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LostTurntable
April 27, 2009 1:14 PM
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So they push you to the breaking point with shitty customer service and then when you finally break they penalize you for it.

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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 1:35 PM
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@LostTurntable:


So when you don't get your way you have the right to treat that worker as a slave and beat or do whatever to them?


You need help

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Pious_Augustus
April 27, 2009 1:34 PM
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I don't care how old you are, where you are located if your in an emergancy situation to where you need to scream you need to give a call to the police.


There needs to be a law protecting workers who work at call centers from being penalized for hanging up on irrate callers or people who call you any such name in the book.

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SoCalGNX
April 27, 2009 1:37 PM
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Geesh. He didn't have to use that word. Chase will gladly screw up your bank account without all that.

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exconsumer9
April 27, 2009 3:16 PM
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Well, calling up a CSR and swearing, or even getting noticeably angry, is not my method of dealing with things. However, it's usually not anyone's method of dealing with things, and I'd be lying if I said I never lost my temper on the phone with these people.

I think people should always be courteous, but while that includes 'not swearing' and/or keeping your anger in check, it also includes making good on a deal you've made with a customer.

My point is that these run ins with customer service that is incapable by design are patently frustrating, and those running them know it. How many abject failures to fulfill a contract do you put up with before anger is appropriate? One? Five? Twelve? My boss and/or clients get pretty short with me fairly quickly when I don't deliver. Forcing them to speak to someone with no ability or incentive to help to wouldn't go very far in terms of allaying their anger. So again, profanity is probably not ever a good idea, but the party breaching the contract can't reasonably expect to deal with a saint every time given their past failures.

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Marcus Jackson
April 27, 2009 3:36 PM
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Do not curse at your CC CSRs. I use to work for Citi. If your \"adult\" cursing turns into a threat or even a perceived threat you can be charged with threatening a bank employee. In have seen people work for an hour, be threatened on a call and spend the rest of their 8 hour shift calling with managers and district managers and site reps about the steps they are taking to protect them.

There is never a need to curse at the rep unless the rep has lost their mind and cursed at you first. Then it might be a free for all. But most times it won't get that far.

If you curse you get hung up on, end of story. Our \"shitty jobs\" are hell mostly because people will talk to you like you are sub human on the phone, but never to your face. the best way to treat a CSR is like a regular human being, that is all we hope for.

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PermanentStar
April 27, 2009 3:40 PM
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Not sure if this has been said before, but in some states (I know Virginia and West Virginia) cursing, yelling or otherwise threatening or trying to intimidate somebody over a telecommunications device is a criminal offense, and at the least, you can be fined for it.

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anachro882
April 27, 2009 3:50 PM
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So the author is an adult and this gives him the right to act like a baby. OK.

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baristabrawl
April 27, 2009 3:55 PM
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Please, it's Chase. Those dirty bastards deserve to be cursed and cursed at. We went from 0% APR to 24% APR when they bought WaMu.

We've decided to max out our student loans this semester and pay off the balance on the card. I don't care if it does ding my credit. I won't use the card and I can't be guaranteed that they won't start charging me fees.

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Rectilinear Propagation
April 27, 2009 5:19 PM
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@baristabrawl: And you think it's the front line CSRs who made that decision?

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ChibaCityCowboy
April 27, 2009 4:15 PM
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Here's the word you use in place of cussing : CANCEL ...works like a charm everytime

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cambiata
April 27, 2009 7:06 PM
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@ChibaCityCowboy: Yes it does, a far more effective strategy.

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b.k.
April 27, 2009 4:48 PM
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\"We'll see what happens when I try to buy some smokes in a couple hours.\"

Dude, wait till you stop smoking. You'll be asking everyone just what the fuck is wrong with them. Even inanimate objects.

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Anonymous
April 27, 2009 6:17 PM
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I actually work in the Operating Loss Prevention Department at Chase (specifically with debit cards) and this doesn't surprise me. The problem with the way fraud detection systems work is that one of our analysts can remove a hold from your card, but our system can sometimes automatically restrict activity. When Brad was placed on hold (for a mere 30 seconds) what likely occurred is as follows: the analyst noticed the card was in a 'open' status, saw the subsequent restriction on the account, and called a supervisor to suspend the card from our security system. Had Brad been more patient, he would have been fine. What Brad probably also didn't mention was that he didn't input his PIN at the grocery store. Just because your card has the Visa logo, it doesn't mean you should process all transactions as credit - that's a big red flag in Loss Prevention.

I know firsthand as an analyst that we notate exactly what a customer says and how they treat us. We are verbally abused all day long, and we have each other's backs when it comes to troublesome consumers. I know the minute I see a note on an account that a customer has a history of rudeness and profanity, I am very curt with that person and do the minimum that is expected of me. For kinder, more understanding and patient customers, I go above and beyond to help them out. Being crass with customer service gets you absolutely nowhere in this world - just as you have the right to curse at us, we have the right to disconnect your call and/or refer you to the branch for assistance.

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cambiata
April 27, 2009 7:06 PM
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It's weird how many people here are basically saying, \"You should be a robot when you're a CSR! You're not allowed to have a human nature! How dare you, HOW DARE YOU be affected by a bad working environment and people who treat you like the gunk at the bottom of their shoe? You should treat those that treat you like trash BETTER than those who don't!\"

I'm sorry, folks. You're not living in the real world. No matter how professional a human being is, he or she is still going to be affected by someone treating them badly. And frankly, it's better for the company and employees if overly demanding, entitled babies are not treated with the same respect and care as those consumers who are polite on the phone.

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lostalaska
April 27, 2009 8:26 PM
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Wow, it's really nice to know that they can't ever pull up any kind of comments from all my previous calls or bring up anything with regards to my account history, but if you 'effing swear it's instantly in the database and everyone has access to it. Yeah well..... as a foul mouthed kid from South Park would say, \"the fu**?\"

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trujunglist
April 27, 2009 10:26 PM
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CSRs are fucking stupid.
Why? Well, because when you curse at the situation, such as WHAT THE FUCK??? then it is not directed at the CSR, it is directed at the situation, which you are most likely rightly frustrated with.
The only time a CSR should feel angered is when you curse at THEM, such as FUCK YOU YOU DUMB ASS FUCK. In that case, yeah, the CSR has something personal in it and should act offended or whatever (even though they're actually not offended, they're just being douchebags and claiming to be so to get you off the phone).
What's the difference? Well, I could punch the wall in anger or I could punch your face. So, stfu you dumbass CSRs, and get with the fucking program.

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BeThisWay
April 27, 2009 10:27 PM
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I've gotten pretty hot, too. I often start diatribes with, \"Look, I know this isn't YOU fault but you represent this company and I need to let you know .....\"

And to the OP, not only are you not beyond reproach, you aren't above it, either. In fact, you were doing the reproaching. And now we're reproaching you. Get it now?

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Jennifer McKinney
April 28, 2009 12:44 AM
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I agree with Thain. If you NEED to cuss, do it before you call. If the previous person you spoke to was incompetent, by all means call back, but don't expect the person on the other end of the phone to be giddy at the prospect of taking your abuse. As a csr, I have to take a deep breath and take the next call just like it was my first of the day, you should try forgetting your anger at the person who didn't help you and focus on getting resolution.
Yeah I'm so Zen right.

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almightytora
April 28, 2009 2:05 AM
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Start talking appropriate language (like normal adults do) and you'll be treated like an adult.

And remember your address, idiot.

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PrestonBerryworth
April 28, 2009 2:26 PM
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As a customer you hold some power. CSR's always need to be polite with customers, and they always need to \"try\" and fix the customers problem. As soon as you cuss at your CSR you have just given that power away. I know, I did this for years.


Nothing pisses off already irate customers more then having a CSR talk down to them about swearing. Giving a customer a warning about cussing results in the customer either hanging up, asking for a supervisor, or swearing more. Either way the CSR ends the call and moves on. I guess the customer could stay on the line and calm down, but that generally doesn't happen.


Bottom line when dealing with customer service, treat people how you want to be treated. If you are polite to your CSR they should be more then willing to do their best to help you, IF NOT ask for a supervisor. Worst case scenario is you are a rude and talk down to your CSR. You don't swear so you can't be hung up on, but the CSR secretly hates you and will do everything in his power to NOT help you out. It really doesn't matter how big you think your problem is, or who you think you are, you are not special.

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blazenbu
May 2, 2009 4:08 AM
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If anyone thinks that all the outsourced jobs, banking bailouts, and increases in interest rates combined with lower credit limits is cool they are fucking crazy.

When will people start acting civil again? When they don't talk to an outsourced job once held by a fellow American, banks bailed with our taxes who employ the lowest paid CSR's possible, no matter the country, and don't use loan sharking tactics with long-term customers.

As for all the CSR's who take it personal, time to see the Psychiatrist. Ask for meds. If you are current with the news, you should have noticed that it just isn't the consumers who are \"mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore\", it's the president too. Read what he and the Canadian PM had to say to the banks when they met this week.

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