Miscommunication was practically a second language in customer service.

One credit card agent learned this firsthand when a neurotic customer negotiated himself into receiving less compensation than he was originally offered.

Read on for this full tale of malicious compliance!

Customer service compensation offer not enough?

I work in customer service for a credit card company. One thing I’ve noticed is that many people don’t actually pay attention to what you say.

They hear what they think they will hear or what they expect to hear.

This leads to a lot of incessant repeating.

I frequently have to explain things several times and have learned to require repeat-back of important information, sometimes even documenting what I say when my spider senses tingle.

One particularly notable customer proved this point perfectly.

I once had a customer—let’s call him Bob—call in with what I thought was a genuine issue, which I fixed for him. I can’t even remember what the issue was.

Bob said he wanted compensation, which I thought was fair enough.

I offered the maximum amount I could—let’s say “5” out of “5” as a goodwill credit.

But Bob wasn’t really listening.

Bob replied, “That isn’t enough. I want ‘2.’”

I said, “You want to reject my offer and instead have me give you ‘2’?”

Bob said yes, that’s what he wanted.

Not wanting to argue any further, the agent complied with Bob’s request.

I replied, “Alright, I’ll add that to your account, and you’ll see it tomorrow.” I thanked him and said goodbye.

I never heard back from him or received any feedback.

Even after the call ended, the agent can’t help but wonder about this customer.

I’ve often wondered if Bob ever thought about that call and realized he asked me to give him less than half of what I originally offered.

Bob expected me to offer “1” out of “5” and had already started negotiating in his head.

I have to say, it’s made me smile during several bad calls since then.

Bob needs to work on his negotiation skills!

What did Reddit think?

Customers never seem to pay attention to the things that are actually worth paying attention to.

Customers often end up harming themselves with their own neuroticism.

Reading isn’t many customers’ strong suit.

Other times, customers listen a little too well.

At least this agent got a good laugh out of it.

They did exactly what the customer asked — even if it wasn’t what he meant.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.