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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To complain about this effing rude tw*t in a call centre?

19 replies

callcentrehater · 02/12/2011 12:44

I placed an order online with Play.com 3 days ago for several items totalling about £350. I received an email saying I had to call them as a security measure befor they would despatch. I phoned and spoke to a male this morning, I don't think I came across as rude but he had quite a strong accent (is their call centre abroad?) and I had to repeat myself several times and also ask him to repeat. At the end of the call he said something along the lines of "thank you and have a great day", then I clearly heard him say "bitch". He probably thought I had already hung up. I tried to ring back to speak to a manager but after being on hold for 5 minutes to an 0845 number I hung up and sent an email instead. AIBU to be really upset about this and shop elsewhere or is it normal in call centres to talk to and about customers like that?

OP posts:

bigbrownmincepies · 02/12/2011 12:48

I won't shop with Play.com as they are ignorant gits.
Years ago i bought some dvd's, and I can't remember why but I sent them back, then I bought some more and sent them back, then some git rang me, and basically accused me of buying the dvd's,copying them, then sending them back!!
I was gobsmacked, they were all in their original packaging, still cellophaned and everything.
They lost my custom from that moment on.

ZeldaUpNorth · 02/12/2011 12:51

Dp once sent an email to a games shop (think it might of been Gamestation) and he got a reply that didnt really help him so he replied back stating thats not right can you look into it more. Anyhow the guy must of forwarded the mail to someone else then that guy replied to it so we saw the exchange between the 2 guys and it said "will you sort this geezer out" We didnt complain at the time but its put us off shopping there anymore.

I wish call centres had people who can speak and understand English. I was on the phone 3 different times over 1 hour to Virgin the other day. I was dying to say "could i speak to someone english?" but i didnt dare. (that was only because not any of the 4 people i spoke to knew what i was on about )

makinglemonade · 02/12/2011 12:52

YANBU to complain.

I used to work in a call centre and it was part of relieving the boredom to try and insert random things into the conversation and we'd have a prize for the winner. It was all done in good humour and never to insult anyone!

Many times wanted to call a vile customer a bitch but would make sure I hung up first never have.
I don't think you deserved that at all though and think you're right to complain.

Kayano · 02/12/2011 12:52

Is geezer offensive?

Kayano · 02/12/2011 12:54

My colleagues try to insert song titles into conversations with customers. One theme was take that recently.

wannaBe · 02/12/2011 12:57

well, he shouldn't have made the comment in earshot - he was out of order for that.

But I do think it's naive to think that people who deal with the public shouldn't ever have opinions of their customers. I used to walk in a call centre and you wouldn't believe some of the twats I had to deal with on a daily basis. Wouldn't ever have been rude to any of them though but I think anyone who has to deal with the public will have voiced an opinion once the call has been terminated.

Although I do have a funny (after the event) story on that score...

I used to work in a call centre and we had automatic phone system which meant if you were logged into the phones the calls came through automatically. one day I'd gone into "not available" to finish off a piece of paperwork from the last call. I had a can of drink on my desk and as I reached over to the printer to take off the form I'd just printed I knocked over my drink. I swore under my breath as I picked up the can but as I'd scrabbled to do so I knocked my phone into available mode so as I swore to myself a call came through and my customer was greeted by me saying "Oh you bloody stupid idiot."

Fortunately he was a nice customer and I was profusely apologetic and explained what had happened... but still....

SenseofEntitlement · 02/12/2011 13:05

I worked in an outbound sales call centre (I know, the most hated of all jobs, but it paid the bills) and I once saw someone lean back in his chair while on the phone. He was obviously doing well, as you could see him smiling more and more, and so the people on his row were all watching him in the gaps when waiting for the dialler.

Until he made a particularly expansive gesture...and fell off his chair. We al collapsed in giggles as he tried to read out the terms and conditions from the floor, and all our customers got the sound of us suppressing laughter :)

And yes, we would all make faces, stick our fingers up, write notes etc when we got abusive customers, and insult them when the phone was off. It was the only way to get through the day. Doesn't sound like you were abusive though.

MrsTwinks · 02/12/2011 13:50

YANBU to complain, that particular kind of thought about a customer should be kept private/out of earshot of customers. But you would BU to expect peoples thoughts of you to be nice all the time.

Not callcentres but one shop I worked in had a filing cabinate out back that looked like it had been run over by a truck... after having to be lovely and nice to customers we would go out back and kick the crap out of it file our frustrations.

Not saying you were like it but I've had customers make me feel like something they stepped in, had collegues reduced to tears etc. If you've had a shit day like that one percievably bad interaction can set you off. They have proven scientifically that swearing helps ease frustration, sometimes we need to vent. You shouldnt have heard it thou

Kayano · 02/12/2011 13:53

I did have to tell a customer once 'Im sorry you were on hold for so long, I got caught in a wire and fell over'

He was a nice customer

ZeldaUpNorth · 02/12/2011 14:39

I've always taken geezer to mean "old man" (dp was only in his early 20's at the time) and the tone just seemed as though we'd inconvenienced him too much when thats his job.

Snapespeare · 02/12/2011 15:21

no, geezer isn't age specific. I don't think there are any negative connotations to it at all - it's just a colloquialism for a bloke.

SenseofEntitlement · 02/12/2011 15:46

I always thought it was a compliment actually - "He's a right geezer" meaning he's one of the lads.

KD0706 · 02/12/2011 16:51

Funny how people have different interpretations of words. I've always thought a geezer was a wide boy. Kind of a del boy type character. And not a compliment.

But bitch is definitely an insult. YANBU OP.

SoupDragon · 02/12/2011 16:58

Well, given his strong, possibly foreign, accent which you could hardly understand, I am impressed you picked that word out so clearly and are confident you haven't made a mistake.

moondog · 02/12/2011 17:00

'But bitch is definitely an insult.'

Thanks for clarifying that.

missuswife · 02/12/2011 17:22

YANBU.

I work in a call centre and we get some extremely rude callers. Some of my colleagues have been reduced to tears. I have on two occasions been forced to say to a caller that I would have to hang up if they were going to abusive, and both times I did have to put the phone down on them. In any case we all swear like sailors but never ever ever while we're on the line with a caller. You either put them on mute or wait until the call is disconnected.

But it doesn't matter how rude a caller is (or is perceived to be), there is no excuse for what he said. I would definitely write an email or letter to the company and give as much info as you can so they can give this guy some feedback.

I really empathise because we get lots of callers who don't speak English very well and often it is really difficult to suss out why they're calling and then try to help them, all without offending them by constantly asking them to repeat themselves. It's tricky.

lollilou · 02/12/2011 19:12

I used to work in a shop and a customer came in with such an high-handed attitude but I was polite and spent a long time helping her.She left then 2 hours later came back to return the item she brought with not a sorry or thank you. As she walked out the door I said stupid bitch and she heard me!!

mummymccar · 02/12/2011 20:01

I had to call Sky a few weeks ago because our Internet was down. We'd had really bad weather so after a couple of days I rang to see if the weather had caused it. Had a laugh with the caller and really liked her. She had to check something and said she'd ring back in 20 mins. She didn't ring back for 4 hours but I figured that she must've had a good reason so I told her not to worry about it. Something had clearly happened in the meantime though as it was like Jekyll and Hyde. She started huffing and puffing when I asked her to talk me through some of the technical stuff and when I mentioned that we didn't have a phone with a cord but I could buy one tomorrow she completely lost it and became very abusive. I kept apologising (god knows why!) and she just kept telling me to shut up. In the end I said I wasn't going to speak to her anymore if she was going to speak to me like that and she said 'fine, I'm going to cut off all your services'. I started crying and asked her why, what had I done and apologised if I'd been rude (even though I knew I hadn't) and she said 'I just feel like it.' I hung up and was in tears for hours over it. DP was furious and complained to a supervisor who said that they were investigating it but I never heard any more.
I think it was worse because I knew I hadn't been rude or done anything to deserve it. If I'd been rude then I would have figured it was my fair dues.
You should definitely complain OP!

saintmerryweather · 03/12/2011 15:11

When I worked in a call centre I was always very, very careful to put myself on mute or hang up before I started sounding off about customers. Sometimes its necessary.

mummymccar you should definately chase that one up, even if you need to swear or whatever about a customer you should NEVER take it out on them! You should give her hell she would deserve it!

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