Some callers expect the world and then proceed to treat you like trash until they get their way.

So, what would you do if a customer demanded a hundred-dollar credit for an outage your company didn’t cause, then started insulting you in Spanish to someone else on the line? Would you pretend not to know what she was saying? Or would you calmly tell her you can understand everything?

In the following story, one call center rep does just that, and the woman was not impressed. Here’s how it all played out.

Just for the record I can understand you

Back when I was still taking calls, I had this lady on the phone while who I assume was her sister/friend also made comments loud enough so I could hear them.

This particular lady wanted a “courtesy” adjustment of a bit over $100 for an issue totally unrelated to us. It seems like a car had hit a pole and left her without electricity for a few days and wanted us to give her a credit for the time she could not watch tv or use internet.

After explaining to her that since the issue was not caused by us, all I could give her was $25. Imagine getting the chance of getting $25 off your bill just for being a pain in the butt.

Well, she went crazy and started yelling and cursing while talking to her friend about how dumb I was and how I was a jerk, etc., etc. Here’s how our conversation went. M=Me; CL=Crazy Lady.

He warned her twice.

M: Ma’am, I need to ask you to stop using that kind of language and keep the line professional, or I will be forced to drop the call if we can’t keep the line clear.

CL: Oh! dont worry, you won’t drop the line on me, I’m the customer, and you cannot hang up on me (She proceeds to speak with her friend in Spanish about me).

M (Spanish being my native language): Ma’am, I’m sorry to cut off your conversation, but just for the record, I can understand you, and this will be my second and LAST warning to stop using profane language. Otherwise, I will drop the line.

CL: YOU SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ME, OK? IT’S NOT YOUR JOB TO UNDERSTAND WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE. YOU’RE TALKING TO AMERICANS, OK, YOU SHOULD SPEAK ENGLISH ONLY!!!!

Fed up, he ended the call.

M: I’m sorry, ma’am, it seems like I was educated to learn different languages and be respectful towards everyone, regardless of any language/cultural barrier.

CL: ARE YOU CALLING ME RUDE YOU LITTLE JERK? NOW LISTEN TO ME….

M: This is the third time I’ve advised you to keep your language professional. Due to quality reasons, I will now drop this call. Thanks for choosing XCompanyX. My name is M. Have a beautiful and excellent day. *Releases the call*

The lesson of the story is that just because someone potentially cannot understand you, that doesn’t give you the right to insult them. Language is a tool for communication, not a tool to be a rotten tomato in life.

Wow! People like this are the worst.

Let’s check out how the folks over at Reddit would’ve handled it.

Here’s a good thought.

This person wants to learn Spanish for that very reason.

Here’s someone who looks white but is really Spanish.

For this person, it shouldn’t be surprising.

Never assume you know someone.

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.