There are some customers you just can’t get through to, no matter what.

So, what would you do if a customer called your company and demanded that you transfer him to Apple Support, even though you didn’t have the ability to do so? Would you find a way to help him, like “someone did in the past?” Or would you stand your ground and refuse?

In the following story, a tech support agent goes through this exact situation. Here’s what happened.

‘You did it last time’ – No we didn’t

Guy calls ISP tech support regarding an issue with deleting emails on his mail app (Apple Mail) on his iPhone. I give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he’s confused between internet-related and email-related issues.

Nope.

He knows he needs to contact Apple Support. But apparently, last time, one of our agents magically transferred him to Apple Tech Support, so now he wants me to do the same.

The man wouldn’t listen.

Me: Sir, you’d have to contact them directly. We have no affiliation with them, so we don’t have any direct/internal transfer options.

Cx: No, I know you do. When I called the last time, they transferred me to someone in Apple support who was in California. You can pull my history and check what they did last time.

I looked at the history and found no records/notes within the last 3 years on his account. The case before that was for a different issue.

Me: I see no records of such a case. We are not allowed to give third-party numbers, but you can visit their support page (provided the url) and find the necessary information there.

Then, the man took another approach.

Cx: NO! YOU CAN TRANSFER ME, BUT YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO. IF YOU CAN’T, TRANSFER ME TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO WILL.

Me: I can assure you no one else at our company can transfer you to Apple support, as we do not have that option.

Cx: So when did you guys stop doing that?

Ah yes. The classic “you’re new, therefore wrong” power move.

He finally listened.

Me: We’ve never had that option. But as I mentioned, you can visit their support page at this url for more information.

Cx: (Audible shake in his voice due to anger) OK, OK!

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that he really did speak with an agent who allegedly called Apple Support and conferenced or transferred him? Why not contact the source directly?

Eek! It’s not even that hard to find Apple’s support number.

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

This could be true.

Here’s a good point.

According to this person, they’ll send you in-network.

Google called this company.

He was right to refuse, because obviously it’s against the rules at his job.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.