Customer Service. Again.

 I started out the day with a call to the bank to sort that happy horse poop out. The woman was very nice, very helpful, and it worked out just fine. 

One box ticked, although it did take two phone calls, two phone calls which miraculously connected me to the same person. She was working at home. I could hear her toddler in the background. I think that is so great that parents have this option! 

I would have loved to work customer service at home instead of in a call center. Everybody complained about the customers. I really was okay with the customers. It was the supervisors. They listened in on your calls and they picked you apart. I took a huge ding once, because I had a very angry customer who was yelling his head off at me. I mean, he was hot and the yelling went on for a while. I finally said, "Listen. I know that you're mad, but this is not helpful. I make you this promise. I will listen, and by the end of the phone call, we will reach a satisfactory resolution to all of this."

He stopped short. He apologized. I accepted his apology, we discussed the issue. We reached a resolution. At the end of the phone call, I said, "So, is this worked out to your satisfaction?" He said that it was. I thanked him, he thanked me and the phone call was done.

I was immediately called into the supervisor conference room. I failed that call. Why? Because I had interrupted him at the beginning of the phone call to tell him that while I understood his anger, it wasn't getting the problem solved. I said, "But...I resolved the situation. He hung up the phone satisfied with the service." It didn't matter. That was the kind of stuff that made the job so difficult. 

I didn't mind customers. Even the mad ones. The only one that I ever transferred was a southern man that, for whatever reason, decided I was black. He was a racist. I refused to verify my race, and he got increasingly foul. I put him on hold, called the supervisor, and told him that I couldn't handle him. She handled his situation, whatever it was, and she came over to tell me that he had been perfectly nice. (Of course.) He couldn't understand why I had been so short with him. Just shockingly rude. 

I'm sure that incident got recorded in their little book of my sins as well. They kept them on all of us. 

But I digress. This bank woman handled my problem quickly and efficiently, both times, and her little baby cooed in the back ground. It was a happy call.

I wrapped Christmas presents today. I needed a break, and it was a wonderful one. 

I helped Tim with the porch on the new house. 

I played with the kittens. I feed them canned cat food from a spoon, as part of the taming process. Sigh is the boldest, and will take food from my fingers, eat from a spoon, and climb over my legs. I petted him several times today. The other kittens watch him closely as he interacts, and then they get brave too. Except for Minnie. She eats from my hand, but still bolts if I move suddenly. 

Then it was discovered, coming home, that Tim's browser did not work on his phone. Every time that I tried to look something up, a message popped up. They needed to verify my Verizon account. I don't HAVE a Verizon account. We use Straight Talk. I died a little inside, because I knew that I was going to sit down with customer service again. 

Have I not suffered enough???? (Evidently the answer to that was no.)

So I sat down with Tim's phone, and before it was over, I was using my phone to talk to customer service while they tried to sort out his. We went through two procedures which did not work, and I got a sinking feeling. But god love her, the girl persevered and I kept patient and followed what seemed like an endless series of steps. Finally, she said, "Okay. Shut the phone off." I did. After a few minutes she told me to try to search for a youtube video, which I did. It worked. The funny part was, when it worked, she squealed like she'd won the lottery. "I'm so happy!" she said, and several times she repeated that. I think she was afraid. Maybe she had supervisors grading her phone calls too. In case they were, I said, "You did a great job, and I thank you for your patience with me." She said, "I'm just so happy!" in her thick Indian accent. 

And half way across the world, I was happy too.

Furthermore, I got access to Tim's facebook account which he hasn't had since his phone died. We have two step verification and they were sending the code to his dead phone. I submitted the new information to access his account. It took two days to get their link to work. But that's done. 

I also got his e-mail set up on his phone. 

He's well and truly impressed with me right now. Me? I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky....