Would you let the public verbally abuse you for just doing your job??

Rhyme · 14-11-2016 11:47AM

Candie wrote: »

If you complained to the parents about minding the kids, you'd take your life in your hands. I was called every name under the sun for asking them to please pick their kids up on time, or accompany them if they were coming to the cinema.

A friend of a friend works in a library down the country where parents drop the kids off and then head away to do their shopping, visit the bookies, post office, pub etc. Asking the children where their parents are usually results in a canned answer (oh they're putting money in the car, they'll be back in a minute) and requesting that the parents don't leave their kids there unattended gets the same kind of guff "how dare you talk to me like that", "I've lived in this town for X years and nobody has ever blah blah".

One call to the police about a distressed child on their own for more than an hour results in the parent having a stern conversation with the local community policeman. Still happens occasionally as some gobshites never learn but the police are aware of it and take their own action.

norabattie · 14-11-2016 01:05PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

I don't blame the driver - I blame her for ignoring a customer. I realise it's a minor issue but I don't think I overreacted. I mean, if it was a first-time offence for the broad then fair enough, we all make mistakes, but it wasn't. Not paying attention was becoming a habit of hers - a bad one, and any employee with a bad habit in the workplace ought to be told. I probably made her better at her job, made her more attentive and sensitive to the needs of weirdos like me who demand separate bags. She should write me a thank you letter.

Enough said! You sound terribly obnoxious

Herb Powell · 14-11-2016 04:20PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

I verbally abused a woman who worked in the chipper last month, over the phone mind you. When I ring a chipper for me and someone else, I stipulate, on two occasions, that the chips are to be put in separate bags. It's a minor, I know, but f*ck separating a bunch of chips when it comes. But this one night, they weren't in separate bags and I lost it. 'Dial those c*nts back,' I say to the person whose phone I used. I take the phone and speak quite fast. 'Hi. I just ordered a delivery but the chips weren't in separate bags. Can your man come back?' There's a pause. 'Do you want delivery or collection?' she responds. 'No, no,' I say. 'It's already here but I want you to take it back and give me separate bags. I said it twice during the original call.'

Again, I know it's a minor thing, but being ignored isn't nice. 'Sorry sir but the driver has gone home already,' she says after I tell her my address. 'F*ck sake,' I say. 'Sorry but that's unacceptable'. I turn into a 69-year-old retired man when I'm complaining about something. Plus, these mugs have a long history of ignoring things; like delivering a can of Fanta when you ordered a bottle of Club Orange, or the most annoying thing of all, ordering a plain burger and finding tomato, onions, lettuce, mayonnaise and an Easy Single underneath the meat. 'You people have a history of ignoring my order. Why is this?' Before she can answer I hang up; partially in frustration, but mainly embarrassment over the fact that I suggested there's an in-house conspiracy on behalf Liberos to ruin my dinner every so often.

You're a complete tool. Get a life.

razorblunt · 14-11-2016 04:51PM

I worked in retail all through college, it used to bother me at the start but once I realised that you could never look at one of these idiots who are completely going off on one (wrongly) and thought "that's a fine upstanding member of society", it made dealing with them easier.

5rtytry56 · 14-11-2016 04:53PM

SkinnyBuddha wrote: »

I use to work for a large ISP in their tech call centre.First bit of abuse I'd tell them to learn some manners and then call back in.

So no.

Depends where you work. In a "I.T hardware" tech support callcentre I used to work in, the team leader / manager/ whoever was monitoring the call would take the side of the caller. I learned this the hard way.

Hammer89 · 14-11-2016 05:00PM

norabattie wrote: »

Enough said! You sound terribly obnoxious

You will have to take certain parts of that post with a pinch of salt, considering I suggested she owes me a thank you letter in it.

Felix Jones is God · 14-11-2016 05:12PM

I love working with the public, if someone wants to verbally abuse me, sure go right ahead, but I'm going to give it straight back to you and with a cherry on top.

BrokenArrows · 14-11-2016 05:18PM

I've worked as a waiter, bartender and call center worker in the past.

I was a particularly **** waiter and bartender so had to accept some complaints but i don't recall anyone going mental at me.

Worked in a call center in a technical position and was good at my job. Some customers would just lose their ****ing minds for no reason.
Like obviously we need to prioritize issues.
Customer 1's system is totally down, they are losing money and basically ****ed.
Customer 2 occasionally has a dodgy ancient printer which he refuses to buy a new one so our engineers keep having to do patchwork repairs on it. Customer has another printer which they can use instead but its an extra 10 steps away.

Guess which customer loses their ****ing mind! You guessed it, number 2.

I generally just put my mic on mute while they ranted on for a while and took a few sips of coffee. When the finally ran out of steam i would just say "Are you finished?" which would cause one of two reactions.
1. They would go into meltdown and i would just say "Call back later when you have calmed down." and id hang up.
2. Or they would realise they went a little mental and they would go quiet and listen to what id have to say.

Arghus · 14-11-2016 06:02PM

I deal with the public every day in my job. Ninety, even ninety five percent of the interactions I have are perfectly fine. You will get people occasionally with a bad attitude. A lot of the time you've got to let it slide. Oftentimes there's no upside to arguing with these people - it's not going to get you anywhere or achieve anything except more frustration for you. And I'd imagine that it's not even relevant to these people that it's you on the receiving end of their frustrations; they're just lashing out at someone and you just happen to be in the firing line. A good rule is if someone is clearly looking for a fight then don't try to give it to them.

Having said all that, there have been a few rare occasions where I have refused to take abuse from a customer. Usually it's if they overstep the mark and go into outright personal abuse. It's rare in my line of work, but it does happen. I wouldn't launch into them in retaliation, more a case of just reminding them that they've no reason to get abusive, and that I'm actually trying to help them. It's as much to preserve a tiny iota of my self respect as it is to remind them that they haven't the complete right to treat you like muck - there are some complete dingbats out there that think they can say and act any way that they please towards you.

But, it must be said, that the worst of the worst of the thick fools that are out there only tend to get more aggravating if you stand up to them. So you have to make a decision there and then every time if you want to engage with them. You know you are in the right, but is it worth the hassle...

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with drunk people in my line of work. I'd imagine that would test anyone's patience to breaking point.

Arghus · 14-11-2016 06:11PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

I verbally abused a woman who worked in the chipper last month, over the phone mind you. When I ring a chipper for me and someone else, I stipulate, on two occasions, that the chips are to be put in separate bags. It's a minor, I know, but f*ck separating a bunch of chips when it comes. But this one night, they weren't in separate bags and I lost it. 'Dial those c*nts back,' I say to the person whose phone I used. I take the phone and speak quite fast. 'Hi. I just ordered a delivery but the chips weren't in separate bags. Can your man come back?' There's a pause. 'Do you want delivery or collection?' she responds. 'No, no,' I say. 'It's already here but I want you to take it back and give me separate bags. I said it twice during the original call.'

Again, I know it's a minor thing, but being ignored isn't nice. 'Sorry sir but the driver has gone home already,' she says after I tell her my address. 'F*ck sake,' I say. 'Sorry but that's unacceptable'. I turn into a 69-year-old retired man when I'm complaining about something. Plus, these mugs have a long history of ignoring things; like delivering a can of Fanta when you ordered a bottle of Club Orange, or the most annoying thing of all, ordering a plain burger and finding tomato, onions, lettuce, mayonnaise and an Easy Single underneath the meat. 'You people have a history of ignoring my order. Why is this?' Before she can answer I hang up; partially in frustration, but mainly embarrassment over the fact that I suggested there's an in-house conspiracy on behalf Liberos to ruin my dinner every so often.

I presume you're taking the piss here. How on earth could someone get so wound up about chips? If that story actually happened you sound like a crazy person.

Contessa Raven · 14-11-2016 06:56PM

I used to work in a betting shop. The amount of abuse me and my colleagues would get on a daily basis was unreal. Most of the time we'd kill the customers with kindness but sometimes it would get personal which would result in us having to stand up for ourselves.

I actually left the job because a certain lowlife (who was already barred from several of our establishments) kept coming in to threaten and harass me. He threw hot coffee at me (missed!), spat at me, pulled the wires down at the counter, kicked the glass, smashed a TV and then told me he was going to meet me outside at closing time with a machete and a petrol bomb and we'd see how "safe" I felt then.
The guards knew him (he'd been to prison for stabbing someone before) but they didn't want to know cuz he hadn't actually touched me. Our security department was in a different county and the only protection we had was a locked door and some flimsy wires up in front of the counter. All of this because I wouldn't place his bet without his money in my hand first! (Company policy - no cash, no bet!)

I don't miss it!

Hammer89 · 14-11-2016 07:08PM

Arghus wrote: »

I presume you're taking the piss here. How on earth could someone get so wound up about chips? If that story actually happened you sound like a crazy person.

The problem you and everyone else has is that you're putting too much emphasis on the chips and not enough on the principle of being repeatedly ignored. I mean, patronise until the cows come home, but you will find that quite a lot of people don't like being ignored when specifying something about an order, whether it's in Liberos or a Michelin star restaurant, and when those specifications go in one ear and out the other, on a number of occasions, then it's quite annoying isn't it. Well, it is for a lot of people, but obviously not the Zen monks which populate After Hours

Hammer89 · 14-11-2016 07:29PM

When I used to work in Liberos, some absolute psycho rang up complaining about an order before. He said 'f*ck sake' in a pretty calm tone like, and hung up on me about six seconds later. Scarred for life I was; got abou 50 texts containing the word 'hun' after. I was texting Jasmine while 'listening' to his original order, and I had one earphone in listening to Sandstorm by Darude - deadly it is - so I didn't even know what the c*nt was on abou.

Robsweezie · 15-11-2016 01:36AM

in certain jobs its to be expected, though that doesnt make it right. bouncers, clampers, water meter installers, social workers, security, repo men all have a high risk of abuse and god knows what else because of the confrontational nature of the roles. Retail is a little safer.

enforcing rules, saying no, telling people when they're wrong is gonna get their backs up. You just have to hope they're reasonable enough to go along with it. You have to expect an element of ''anything goes'' when you're in those jobs.

Lau2976 · 15-11-2016 04:18AM

I worked in a cinema during college. One of my first nights alone as a manager a small fire broke out in one of the screens because someone tried to light a smoke in the back row, I got abuse from so many people that night, for literally prioritising their safety over showing a movie. People didn't understand that I didn't have a choice but to make the call to evacuate even though we knew that it was nothing.

Some people really need to calm down and think.

uck51js9zml2yt · 15-11-2016 05:29AM

I just refuse to serve people who are obnoxious.
If they are the public counter I tell them im not serving them and walk away.
If on the phones, that I'm unable to deal with them and am hanging up.

Had one person call a few weeks ago who I hung up on. She called back a few hours later and when she realised it was me asked for someone else. There was only me available:)
Dealt with her problem in minutes and told her if she had been listening to me earlier and wasn't so difficult it could have been sorted

wuffly · 15-11-2016 06:32AM

Yes and no, sometimes people are justifiably annoyed, best thing to do is agree with them and try to help them within the system you have. I have called the guards on two occasions when working in a phone shop, both times being physically threatened, both times nothing to do with anything that had been/done sold in our shop.
Got a lot of abuse when I worked in a bank also, mostly diffused and ended on a good note and apology, again some people were justifiably angry and had been mis-sold products, on the flip side Irish people are horrific when it comes to money. When selling a financial product you need to know where the person stands so you can give good advice, we are not nosy and don't care. All the ID requirements are for your protection. Years ago I was having a particularly bad day and getting waves of abuse despite spending over an hour getting exemptions for a bat from hell I just broke down and cried my supervisor lit into the women as did another customer. My manager who wasn't there at the time called me that night and offered to ban her from the branch even though she had a lot of money with us. It was nice to be backed up I served her a few times after and she was quiet as mouse. I was a lot calmer after that knowing that my best was good enough for my boss. Most people just need to feel like you give a sh*t about their issue and aren't reading from a script. I do not miss working in a customer facing role though!!

Pkiernan · 15-11-2016 06:43AM

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Rip away, people are gone to trash lately...
I walked into a restaurant a ages ago to see a rather heavy set fella giving out stink to a person at the till, about waiting for a meal, but he was properly nasty. Words like "worthless" were being thrown about.

I sat down while this went on and he returned to his table. Next to mine.... Before my brain could call me a gob****e and tell me to shut up, I'd already quietly leaned over and got his attention.

'Jaysus, fair play to you, you didn't half ate him alive!' I said in a supportive tone, no sarcasm.

'Ah lad, it's unreal, if the food wasn't good, I'd be gone.'

'No wonder your such a fat ****'.

He just stared at me, completely shocked

'Stop atin' people, they're quite fattening. Mabye then you'll be able to climb stairs without fainting. I'm unemployed right now and have **** all in the bank, you can't sue me out of anything like you can him.'

All quiet, we were the only two who heard. He just got up, gave me a "**** on his shoe" appraisal (which in fairness, given the 161 Merc he sat into afterwards, I probably was...), and sat down at another table!

The wait was shocking though, I was 25 minutes waiting for a full Irish, the table edges were looking appealing...

Full Irish and you're on the dole????

Edups · 15-11-2016 12:45PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

The problem you and everyone else has is that you're putting too much emphasis on the chips and not enough on the principle of being repeatedly ignored. I mean, patronise until the cows come home, but you will find that quite a lot of people don't like being ignored when specifying something about an order, whether it's in Liberos or a Michelin star restaurant, and when those specifications go in one ear and out the other, on a number of occasions, then it's quite annoying isn't it. Well, it is for a lot of people, but obviously not the Zen monks which populate After Hours

You do realise you're putting yourself in these positions by continuing to order there.

Edups · 15-11-2016 12:47PM

Pkiernan wrote: »

Full Irish and you're on the dole????

Right? Someone on the dole should eat breadcrumbs and sawdust.

Renegade Mechanic · 15-11-2016 12:53PM

Pkiernan wrote: »

Full Irish and you're on the dole????

Things are still relatively affordable down here! Tis only 11 quid and it's kind of a thing I do nearly every weekend, tradition

Plus the amount of grub you get is unholy.. You'd get the full day out of that meal no bother..

BrokenArrows · 15-11-2016 12:54PM

Hammer89 wrote: »

The problem you and everyone else has is that you're putting too much emphasis on the chips and not enough on the principle of being repeatedly ignored. I mean, patronise until the cows come home, but you will find that quite a lot of people don't like being ignored when specifying something about an order, whether it's in Liberos or a Michelin star restaurant, and when those specifications go in one ear and out the other, on a number of occasions, then it's quite annoying isn't it. Well, it is for a lot of people, but obviously not the Zen monks which populate After Hours

If your chipper is **** at dealing with your specifications then find a new chipper.

Buckfast W · 15-11-2016 12:59PM

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Things are still relatively affordable down here! Tis only 11 quid and it's kind of a thing I do nearly every weekend, tradition

Plus the amount of grub you get is unholy.. You'd get the full day out of that meal no bother..

What you've said has peaked my interest and I wish to subscribe to your weekly newsletter

BrokenArrows · 15-11-2016 01:04PM

Renegade Mechanic wrote: »

Things are still relatively affordable down here! Tis only 11 quid and it's kind of a thing I do nearly every weekend, tradition

Plus the amount of grub you get is unholy.. You'd get the full day out of that meal no bother..

11 quid is a fair amount of cash for someone on the dole.
Im working full time in a good paying job and i consider 11 quid for a full irish expensive.

Renegade Mechanic · 15-11-2016 01:09PM

BrokenArrows wrote: »

11 quid is a fair amount of cash for someone on the dole.
Im working full time in a good paying job and i consider 11 quid for a full irish expensive.

Shur it could be worse! I could spend it on a single pack of fags, or drink!

MeatTwoVeg · 15-11-2016 01:12PM

Worked as a public liaison officer for 18 months on a large infrastructural scheme.
I'd have meet with local residents, business groups and other stakeholders or interested parties.
You can sometimes find yourself dealing with very upset and emotional people. A key skill for anyone in my role is to diffuse these situations before they escalate. The best way to do this is by listening to people and engaging with them honestly.
I've had a few experiences where people have had a complete meltdown and started roaring abuse. If this happens I just get up and leave and tell them I'll speak with them again when they've calmed down. The worst thing you can do is escalate these situations.

sashafierce · 15-11-2016 02:36PM

This post has been deleted.

Hammer89 · 15-11-2016 03:07PM

BrokenArrows wrote: »

If your chipper is **** at dealing with your specifications then find a new chipper.

I have. We're very happy together.

Boom_Bap · 15-11-2016 03:15PM

I used to work in the call centre of one of the more popular ISPs back in the day.

Essentially a call would start with being abused for about 5 minutes, then once I actually get a chance to hear the real problem and diagnose and sort the issue in a minute or 2, then get thanked and then listen to the company being abused for another 5 minutes.

It was an interesting cycle of abuse.

Goya · 16-11-2016 12:48AM

wuffly wrote: »

Yes and no, sometimes people are justifiably annoyed, best thing to do is agree with them and try to help them within the system you have.

Oh yeah justifiable anger is completely fair - I've been pissed off at the poor customer service/ridiculous mess-ups of which I've been the customer on the receiving end on a handful of occasions. Anger/frustration can still be expressed without resorting to verbal abuse and blaming the wrong people though. It's not hard. Someone who just lashes out at the messenger like a child having a tantrum strikes me as a person lacking in self control.

Would you let the public verbally abuse you for just doing your job??

Comments