Has anyone ever a customer service agent and got serious abuse

Bowlardo · 24-12-2012 01:24PM #1

GF texted to say she is very upset(crying) after a tirade of abuse from a customer.
She was called bitch and ****ing foreigner on the call.
She warned the customer three times and hung up the call.

I know the calls are recorded. Is there anything that can be done about this?

MagicMarker · 24-12-2012 01:24PM

Depends, is she a bitch?

Degag · 24-12-2012 01:25PM

Bowlardo wrote: »

GF texted to say she is very upset(crying) after a tirade of abuse from a customer.
She was called bitch and ****ing foreigner on the call.
She warned the customer three times and hung up the call.

I know the calls are recorded. Is there anything that can be done about this?

No, it's part of the job i'm afraid.

antodeco · 24-12-2012 01:25PM

It'd be gas if she worked on a sex line

Ihatecuddles-old · 24-12-2012 01:25PM

I think you're a word in the thread title

TwoShedsJackson · 24-12-2012 01:26PM

She cuold mention it to management, but they won't give a toss.

token101 · 24-12-2012 01:28PM

Bowlardo wrote: »

I know the calls are recorded. Is there anything that can be done about this?

She can probably quit because if she's crying over abuse from some clown then customer service probably isn't for her to be honest. You need to learn to take the flack and make it funny like pressing buttons on the phone as someone's complaining or doing this.

Where To · 24-12-2012 01:29PM

Some people are not nice. I just be super nice to the not nice people, doesn't make them any nicer but I have a nice chuckle to myself with them wondering how I am being nice despite them being not nice.

I am the nicest.

sink · 24-12-2012 01:29PM

I worked in a call centre before and the only way to deal with these type of customers is to ignore them and if you do get rattled take a break for 5 mins just to clear your head. There is nothing you can do, some people are just assholes, take some solace in the fact that the assholes are usually miserable people.

mikemac1 · 24-12-2012 01:30PM

Tell her to join ranting & raving forum

The place is like therapy

And has most likely stopped a few customers from getting murdered even though they deserve it

orestes · 24-12-2012 01:31PM

Where To wrote: »

Some people are not nice. I just be super nice to the not nice people, doesn't make them any nicer but I have a nice chuckle to myself with them wondering how I am being nice despite them being not nice.

I am the nicest.

Screw you hippy biatch, I'm the nicest :mad:

super_furry · 24-12-2012 01:32PM

People are arseholes. Angry arseholes who become even bigger, angrier assholes when they're on the phone and feel as if they're ranting at some faceless corporation rather than an actual person.

Agricola · 24-12-2012 01:34PM

Had to listen to tonnes of abuse directed at the company when I did that job, but I can't remember one incident of it becoming personal. Well actually maybe one but it was tame stuff.

Can't see anything being done about it tbh. A paying customer is always right in management's eyes.

dd972 · 24-12-2012 01:34PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAjzvy94JsM

I know it's a job but far better to GTFO

Bowlardo · 24-12-2012 01:37PM

MagicMarker wrote: »

Depends, is she a bitch?

Nay, she is fairly sound in fairness. fairly happy and never moody

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

She cuold mention it to management, but they won't give a toss.

Thought that. probably sound like a whine bag if you did i would imagine

sink wrote: »

I worked in a call centre before and the only way to deal with these type of customers is to ignore them and if you do get rattled take a break for 5 mins just to clear your head. There is nothing you can do, some people are just assholes, take some solace in the fact that the assholes are usually miserable people.

Did years ago myself and probably why i started smoking tbh

She usually wouldn't be rattled in fairness to her. couldn't really tell her to man up either.

tunedout · 24-12-2012 01:39PM

A fella once told me "You won't have a job there on Monday morning".

I said "You're dead right I won't seeing as I gave in my notice 2 weeks ago and tomorrow is my last day".

He hung up.

Agricola · 24-12-2012 01:46PM

dd972 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAjzvy94JsM

I know it's a job but far better to GTFO

Freakishly accurate. I had that grating overly earnest supervisor and sat beside people with Phd's! Sad times.

WindSock · 24-12-2012 01:47PM

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

I think you're a word in the thread title

Accidentaly the whole thing.

BrokenArrows · 24-12-2012 01:47PM

I used to work in a call center but I never got abuse because I never let the conversation get that far.

You can tell when the person on the phone is looking for a fight. I always gave one warning and if they didn't chill out I would just tell them to call back later when they are more relaxed and hang up.

Then just move on.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 24-12-2012 01:50PM

My mother is desperate for this, she starts giving people attitude on the phone and behaves in a snobby rude manner at times. It's possible to make a complaint without being horrible to the person you speak to.

FloatingVoter · 24-12-2012 01:59PM

I worked in Revenue about ten years back on the PAYE enquiries line (AKA Hell). We were told never to drop a call unless the abuse became personal. Most customers were upset or confused about something but I only had to drop two calls in three years. You take a fagbreak / few deep breathes and go back into the trenches. Better that than abuse them back - then you wind up in trouble.
I didn't give a **** about the job and "resigned" eventually but it really isn't worth the mental hassle. Some people can go twelve rounds with telephone psychos, others can't.
Your girlfriend should start looking for work in a better environment - a shop etc. is face to face, less abusive/cowardly morons.

The Aussie · 24-12-2012 02:02PM

Could you not get their phone number and stick it up all over the place, men's jacks for example "call any time for fun"*

* not suggesting this as a course of action, here in lays any legal indemnity for poster The Aussie :pac:

Winty · 24-12-2012 02:13PM

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I used to work in a call center but I never got abuse because I never let the conversation get that far.

You can tell when the person on the phone is looking for a fight. I always gave one warning and if they didn't chill out I would just tell them to call back later when they are more relaxed and hang up.

Then just move on.

Did you ever think that the company you worked in supplied an item or did a service that did not preform as advertised?
Maybe the person calling the call centre was angry for a reason caused by your employer so your condescending "chill out dude" was misplaced

You were working in customer service were you not?

hatrickpatrick · 24-12-2012 02:22PM

I once a customer service agent. I had accidentally the whole computer.

wexie · 24-12-2012 02:30PM

Your girlfriend needs to keep in mind that when you're working in customer service, the people on the phones almost without fail want something, that you can either give them, or not give them. Helps dealing with any abuse.

I used to just tell people that their choice was to be civil to me, or call back, go through the whole queuing system, explain their story again etc. etc.

For the ones that were beyond redemption we found an internal unmonitored fax number to transfer them to

, either that or semd them for a ride on the cold transferring rollercoaster.

With regards to management it's not always true they don't give a toss. I've known a few teamleads to call back particularly abusive customers over the years and give them an ear full. Even seen some apologies from customers.

syklops · 24-12-2012 02:30PM

A man rang up and said he had seen an ad saying he could get 8Mbit broadband for the same price as what he currently paid, but he only had 4 Mbit, so I suggested he call sales and ask to be upgraded to 4Mbit. He then launched a tirade of abuse at me, and he told me his business had gone bust as a direct result of his slow internet, and then he put a curse on me and wished me all kinds of bad luck and then he started crying and then he said he was going to hang up and kill himself and that it would be all my fault.

What he didnt know was the call was being monitored 'for quality purposes' and they had his name and address so the sent the Metropolitan Police around to his house to check on him.

Work gave me 2 days off, and I left their employ a few weeks later for a much better job.

wexie · 24-12-2012 02:34PM

Winty wrote: »

Did you ever think that the company you worked in supplied an item or did a service that did not preform as advertised?
Maybe the person calling the call centre was angry for a reason caused by your employer so your condescending "chill out dude" was misplaced

You were working in customer service were you not?

Rubbish, unless people out there are dumb enough to think that the customer service agent is actually responsible for a product/service they aren't happy with there is no excuse to give a customer service agent abuse.

You can be upset with the product, the service, the company...but NOT the person that's being paid to sort out your grievances for you.

krudler · 24-12-2012 02:42PM

All the time, part of the job. People seem to think acting the prick is the best way to get things done, here's a lesson: it isn't.

mufcboy1999 · 24-12-2012 02:45PM

the kind of jobs you just do until something better comes along, very degrading when your being abused left right and center.

There's a few tricks of the trade you can learn to deal with these kind of customers like when no one's watching just drop the call.

problem solved

Doctor DooM · 24-12-2012 02:46PM

Winty wrote: »

Did you ever think that the company you worked in supplied an item or did a service that did not preform as advertised?
Maybe the person calling the call centre was angry for a reason caused by your employer so your condescending "chill out dude" was misplaced

You were working in customer service were you not?

This does not entitle someone to stop treating another with the respect all human beings deserve.

The Aussie · 24-12-2012 02:46PM

wexie wrote: »

You can be upset with the product, the service, the company...but NOT the person that's being paid to sort out your grievances for you.

+1001. Pathetic attitude

Reminds me of this story.

"A 32-year-old employee of Anglo Irish Bank committed suicide after suffering emotional trauma from the abuse of angry members of the public at the height of the banking crisis."

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Anglo-Irish-Bank-Employee-suicide-after-customer-abuse-103850599.html

Has anyone ever a customer service agent and got serious abuse

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