To still be upset with this vile comment?

[ilovewelshrarebit123]

I work in customer services for a well known retailer.

A customer called today ten minutes before my shift finished. He wanted an argument from the beginning, and was utterly vile and I was literally shaking in my seat.

He wanted a question answering that I couldn't possibly answer without speaking to the store.

I told him I'd get the answer tomorrow and he wouldn't accept it. This question was the most ridiculous question I've ever heard and didn't need an immediate answer.

20 minutes later we were no further forward as everything I said he would just not accept. In the time we spent on the call I could have called the store! He also picked me apart. I was stupid, uneducated, a little girl ( I'm in my 40's)!

I'm an experienced advisor, never get rattled but he was something else.

I ended our call when he actually said this to me 'I think you must be retarded as you're not understanding me' 'are you retarded, you aren't you' I'm just so shocked that an adult can say something so offensive to someone they don't know, and who actually uses that word anymore, it's so nasty.

I know it's trivial, and I should just forget it but I'm beating myself up now wondering if I could have had handled him differently.

I do feel better for a rant though!

Hasn't your company got a procedure for this?, like referring or passing the call to a supervisor to deal with abusive calls?

"Stupid little girl" is sexist language. "Retard" is disablist language. In my workplace, any caller using "ist" language is given a warning and then the calll is terminated if it happens again. Escalate this formally, and get the policy updated. Nobody should be expected to listen to offensive language when they go to work.

YANBU I worked in call centres from 18 - 24 and tbh it opened my eyes to just how disgustingly vile a large percentages of humans could actually be I was called all sorts. in the end I snapped and actually told someone like your charmer of a customer exactly what I thought of them. the c word was involved. unfortunately for me my call was being remotely monitored and I was escorted off the premises :D (there endeth my call centre "career" ...ironically I clean for a living now and have nothing but lovely clients)

anyway OP he is a vile nasty bastard and he should bloody well apologise to you ...sadly this won't happen because twats like this just think its ok and people who work in these sort of roles are beneath contempt. ((((HUGS))))

just hold your head up and be proud that you are a decent person unlike him! and hope karma gets him