An Angry Customer Told Him Not to Interrupt — He Stayed Quiet, And She Talked for 40 Minutes Before Finding Out She’d Called the Wrong Department
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Some people think they know so much that they can’t be bothered to listen, even when the other person knows better.
One call center employee dealt with that after an angry customer told him not to interrupt her.
Not wanting to upset her any further, he stayed quiet while she spent the next 40 minutes explaining her problem.
The only catch was that she had called the wrong department, so he couldn’t help her anyway.
But when he filled her in, and she realized what time it was, she got really upset.
Read on to see how it all played out.
Furious customer didn’t give me a chance
So, I’m in my early 20s and work in a call center for a gas company. A few months ago, I had an angry customer (AC) call in.
Me: Hi, you’re through to COMPANY I WORK FOR in CITY I WORK IN. My name is MY NAME. Can I take your name please?
AC: Well, “MY NAME,” I’ve been waiting a full 20-minutes to speak to someone!
It all started when he interrupted her.
AC: I’ve called today becau…
Me: I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name? I need to confirm your account details so I can have a look at your account please.
AC: DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!!! I AM THE CUSTOMER AND THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. I PAY YOUR WAGES! Now listen here, young lad, I don’t want to hear another word from you. Understood?
Me: Stunned Silence
The call seemed to go on and on.
AC: That’s more like it. Now, I’ve called today because….
AC then told me all about the issues with her account. For about 40 minutes!
All the while, I had a first aider and two managers check if I was okay, as I’m not exactly the quiet type. I just sat there for 40 minutes with my headset muted, playing Atari Breakout on the Google Images page.
After 40 minutes, she started to get to the end of her rant. I paused my game (I’d already beat my high score, and I wasn’t willing to lose this progress), and unmuted my headset.
As he sat there in silence, she finished what she was saying.
AC: So now I want you to tell me what you’re going to do to fix RANDOM BILLING ISSUE.
Me: Silence
AC: Excuse me! Are you still there?
Me: Yep, I’m still here.
AC: Well? What are you planning on doing to fix this?
He informed her she called the wrong department.
Me: Well, you’ve come through to the wrong department. I’m happy to get the number for you if you’d like?
AC: WELL WHY DIDN’T YOU THINK TO TELL ME THAT AT THE START OF THE CALL?
Me: I tried, but you told me to be quiet before I had even confirmed the account details.
AC: YOU’RE A ******* IDIOT! YOUR ENTIRE COMPANY IS FULL OF *******!
Then, she asked about their hours.
Me: I don’t appreciate being spoken to like that. If you swear at me again I will be forced to end the call.
AC: Fine, what’s their number?
I give AC the correct number
AC: And do they have the same hours as your department? 8am to 10pm right?
When she realized what time it was, she got very angry.
Me: That team is only open 9am to 5pm on weekdays.
AC realizes it is now 5:05pm on Friday
AC: WHAT THE ****!!! How dare y…
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Me to my team manager: Yeah, I’ve just hung up on her. I did warn her not to swear.
Eek! Dealing with customers like her is never cool, but that was pretty funny.
Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit feel about what happened.
This person just wants to know his final Breakout score.
Wow. Talk about wasting time.
It sure would’ve.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer who still asked for a manager after receiving perfect service.
That would’ve been funny too.
This one almost couldn’t have worked out any better.
There’s a reason customer service workers ask questions before jumping into the problem.
And if you refuse to let them speak, you can’t turn around and blame them when you miss something important.
Maybe next time, she’ll make sure she’s talking to the right person before she starts running her mouth.
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