I get the feeling that the last person I spoke to will be calling back later today, and that that call will result in the first “formal” complaint lodged against me. I suppose that management will say there is merit to his claim, because for the third time in the last three weeks I should have allowed him to verbally abuse me, to call me up and say he had a problem (a problem that he caused by doing the opposite of what we did on the last two calls, for the third time), and when I told him the solution, to allow him to tell me it was not the correct solution, to find some way to explain to him that despite his obviously failing memory that his reversed idea of what should be done is what has caused the problem in the first place without upsetting him somehow (not sure that’s possible, since it seems to have been me telling him that what be believes he did to “fix it” was what caused the problem in the first place that upset him). Management will see to it that this goes into my permanent record, and maybe find some way to prevent me to get bonuses and raises in the future. Because I had trouble letting someone who was wrong, in the same way he was wrong twice before, berate me and not believe what I had to say about something that I am THE EXPERT ON at this desk, in the same way he has twice before.
Here’s basically how the conversation went (Except the CUSTOMER used obscenities):
TEEL: “Here is what you need to do fit it: xxxx.”
CUSTOMER: “xxxx was wrong last time, and even though I admit that I remember xxxx fixing it before, xxxx cannot be correct.”
TEEL: “Please, just xxxx.”
CUSTOMER: “You’re not listening to me. I’m sure you told me to do yyyy last time…”
TEEL: “Just xxxx, and you’ll see that it works.”
CUSTOMER: “That’s not right. Last time you told me xxxx was the problem and I needed to yyyy.”
TEEL: “Maybe someone else, not me. Just xxxx, and you’ll see that it…”
CUSTOMER: “That’s it. Who is your manager?”
TEEL: “What? If you just xxxx, you’ll see that it works.”
CUSTOMER: “I need to speak to your manager right now.”
TEEL: “I’m the only one here right now. Now, if you’ll…”
CUSTOMER: “What’s his name and extension?”
TEEL: “My direct supervisor is (name). His extension is (ext). Please, would you please just try xxxx.”
CUSTOMER: “Yes, I’ve done xxxx and I see that it works. That’s no excuse for your attitude. You should have let me explain.”
TEEL: “But, I remember discussing it with you just a few days ago, and I remember what we needed to do to fix it, and what the problem was before.”
CUSTOMER: “But you wouldn’t let me explain. I know xxxx used to work, but I was just trying to tell you that I believed that yyyy would work, and you should have let me finish explaining why yyyy is better than xxxx. I’m certain yyyy is better than xxxx. You should have let me explain that last time we talked, you told me to yyyy.”
(Note: The last time we talked, he told me the same thing, and the only thing I told him was that xxxx was the correct solution, and apologized for the misunderstanding.)
CUSTUMER: “Look, I pay for support, and when I call, I expect you to listen to what I have to say.”
TEEL: “When you call for support, the best thing you can do is listen to the technician and do what they say. That’s what you pay for; to be supported. Did what I said to do work?”
CUSTOMER: “Yes, but that’s not the point….”
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This is an abbreviated version of the conversation, but you get the idea. Maybe I shouldn’t have cut him off that first time he told me I was wrong, but I just can’t comprehend why someone would call up tech support, ask how to fix their problem and when told how to fix it, tell tech support they are wrong. What the heck is that? Worse, to continue to tell tech support they are wrong after what they told you to do worked. Gha.
So, he hasn’t called back yet, but if he does, I may get my first complaint. I don’t know. My direct supervisor (whose name I gave) also takes tech support calls, so maybe he’ll be more sympathetic, but if the CUSTOMER decides to make a formal complaint, it all goes in writing. Oh well. Considering I talked to 400 poeple in the last two weeks without a problem, and in the months since they first made a formal process for complaint without complaint, I’m probably doing something right. Plus, typing this all out has helped calm me down, making it possible for me to calmly assist the other calls I have had since then.
