Customer service can sometimes turn into a verbal tug-of-war.

The following story involves a call center employee who was dealing with a customer whose orders kept getting canceled.

She offered help, but the customer was being rude and uncooperative.

Instead of escalating, she stood her ground and tried an unexpected reset.

Let’s take a closer look!

“I would appreciate it if we could just be friends”

I work as loss prevention lite for a call center retailer.

Here’s a conversation we had. M is me, and C is customer.

M: Hi, my name is ___ and I’m with ___.

How are you today?

This call center worker wanted to help the customer.

C: Did she explain to you what happened?

M: Three orders were canceled and you want to know why?

C: I already know why.

M: How can I help you today then?

C: They’re still canceling after I fixed what they said to fix. I want it fixed now.

She needed to verify the identity of the customer first.

M: I’d be happy to, but I need to verify you first.

C: I’ve already been verified. Get me your supervisor.

M: Not until you’ve been verified.

We go back and forth. She keeps shrieking for a supervisor.

I keep telling her no. She asked for my name and I gave it to her.

The customer expressed her anger.

C: I feel sorry for you. I’m really mad.

M: I feel sorry for you, too.

Your orders aren’t processing correctly and you’re refusing to let me help you.

C: I’ve been on the phone for over an hour now. I’m mad.

She asked her if they could be friends.

M: Well, this is the first time you’ve spoken to me.

I would really appreciate it if we could pretend to be friends.

She was quiet for so long I thought she was going to blow.

C: Okay, let’s start over.

Let’s check out the comments of other people.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

You handled it very well, says this one.

This person gives their honest opinion.

Finally, here’s another valid point.

Sometimes, the fastest fix is pretending to be friends.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.