The newf has been off all summer, as many hardworking teachers across the world are, and has therefore been doing an absolutely wonderful job at getting our collective lives together. His day today was spent mostly on the phone getting banking changes, insurance additions, address changes, furniture repair (nothing new or expensive, don't worry), etc.
His last call of the day was to cancel a Mastercard with such an insanely high interest, I don't even want to think about how much money was sucked out of him. Not to mention, the poor guy was one of the few to get badgered into the random credit card insurance that charges you a dollar for every hundred you spend in case you die. He had called before to cancel the insurance once he realized that no one else got suckered into it and was transfered back and forth between two companies and many call centre folks who put him on hold until he eventually just got fed up, as most human beings would.
Today, after many months (years?) of paying insurance fees, he called back to pay off the card in full and cancel it - which he assumed would ultimately just be easier than trying to cancel the insurance. Call centre man, upon realizing he was about to lose a customer, clicked twice and said: "There you are sir, the insurance has been cancelled. I'm very sorry for the hassle."
May I just make it very clear that I hate that this is how the world works today? Average Joe customers get the run-around on a daily basis simply because they were born with common courtesy and manners, while any other customer can get pretty much whatever they want if they raise enough of a stink. I remember having to refund customers CASH for shoes they bought two years earlier, wore the soles out, and lost their receipt, while the pleasant customers sans receipts whose shoes were bought within the past month with stickers still on the bottoms had to settle on a gift card for the new sale price since they couldn't prove what they paid.
Of course I'm very happy that the newf is now silly-insurance free, but I'm very sad for the world that is encouraging everyone to be demanding, unpleasant jerks to ignorant, difficult salespeople in order to come to an understanding.
Who do I direct this complaint to in order to see some results??
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1 comments:
That totally boils my blood. Having worked in retail for many years, and being a shopper for many more years, I've seen a lot of people behaving badly from both perspectives.
I've seen my fair share of blood-thirsty customers who believed their presence on earth was such a gift to humankind that they were allowed to double park while returning an item that was decrepit with age (without the receipt), cutting ahead of the line because they were double parked, and having a newer and similar item gift wrapped. Or some other sort of nonsense.
On the other hand, when we first moved here, the phone company tried to charge us over $300 for installing a phone line in a basement apartment, despite originally stating it would be more like $75. When I called to complain I could hear the eyeballs rolling in the CSR's head. My husband and I had to tag-team the call, being mindful to ask for names all the way, until I finally demanded to speak with a manager.
I still try to be polite with people in customer service but I don't take no for an answer. Getting names seems to work because the human instinct for self-preservation is quite strong. Not sure what I'd do about an ill-mannered customer these days though. Maybe a good flick between the eyes...
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