So when I am on the operator lines at work
(p.s, I love this photo to the right, but thank God we don't work switchboards anymore) I normally
NEVER get any rude callers. I know I give excellent service to any individual with an inquiry (yes, that sounds narcissistic but those are the words right out of my superiors mouth). I walk students and future students, step by step through tedious processes, answer almost
ALL questions accurately and in the event where I do not know an answer, I direct their call to the proper place.
TODAY for some reason, I received an abnormal amount of rude callers, all of which I handled with my normal niceness,
EXCEPT for this one man.
His daughter was interested in some medical technical program. Me, knowing not much about the program I transferred him to the Health Sciences and Human Services division to receive information. Literally one minute later this man calls again, irate. According to him the man in the HSHS division is incompetent, doesn't know how to do his job, sounds like he doesn't even know where he is working etc. He demanded to be transferred but not to the man in reception. I tried to explain to him that I could only transfer him to HSHS but he could gain more information and more easily on the division website. Then he decided to criticize my speech and the way I pronunciate.
At this point, whatever he was said after that sounded like,
"Wha, Wha, Wha wha wha", exactly how adults sound in Peanuts cartoons, and I am thinking
"You freaking a-hole and your snarky b.s comments, I am trying to help you and you are being nothing but a rude jerk." He demanded I found him another person to be transferred to, so I directed him to the MLT program offices. Promptly one minute later this man calls back again, even more pissed, in absolute shock that I would even transfer him there. He demanded to be transferred to the President. This is where I decide to stop helping him (which, for the sake of my job and the college, was a bad idea, but I didn't care. I do not need, nor deserve to be talked to like that.) I proceed to speak in my friendly tone and tell him,
"Oh certainly, one moment please" then I purposely transfered him to a random number. Of course he calls back again demanding to be transferred to the right office. I apologized for the mistaking stating,
" I am sorry sir, the extensions are one digit off, please hold while I transfer you through", then (
MUAHAHAHAHA) in my passive aggressive evilness I redirected him to another random office.
He did not call back again and needless to say, his daughter probably will not be attending the college. Do I care? No. People should know better than to be rude to me (or anyone!) over the phone. If you piss me off I
WILL magically forget every piece of information I could give you, tell you something that is
helpful not even close to true and transfer you to the
WRONG department. End of story. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, because we bite back.
