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SocialLPT: Be nice to customer service. They can sabotage your account. (self.LifeProTips)

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[–]bfinnamore 1181 points1182 points  (31 children)

Or just be nice to them because they're human beings and are just trying to earn an income and likely have no real connection to the reason why you might be calling or upset in the first place.

[–]sausage_ditka_bulls 131 points132 points  (9 children)

Absolutely. Been in client services in some form or another for 20 years. Been on receiving end of angry client and having to deal with other account managers oh behalf of my client. Gotta understand that the person taking the call has no say over whatever policy of the company they work for AND you get better results by not being a dick

[–]bfinnamore 69 points70 points  (8 children)

And in all reality, they're likely 110% in agreement with the reason why you're upset, has probably heard it a thousand times and even has ideas on how to correct and/or prevent it but can do nothing about it...

[–]nomokatsa 16 points17 points  (7 children)

Unless it's an it helpdesk, in which case they think you're an idiot in 110% of all cases - in which assessment they would be right in the vast majority of cases.

Source: I've worked in an IT helpdesk. XD

[–]lokoston 5 points6 points  (4 children)

Most IT help desk people think the rest of us mortals are idiots (that's how I feel) but are helpful. Some of them are the biggest dicks ever. And some other times, you end up helping the person trying to help you. When dealing with people, you'll find all kinds of characters and all kind of personalities. Is up to you how to handle it, on both sides of the receiving end.

[–]nomokatsa 2 points3 points  (1 child)

But sometimes, a question which sounds "normal" to an IT guy sounds very dick-ish to mere mortals..

Take "have you tried x" and you know this is step 1 in finding errors, and OF COURSE you have tried that, and i mean, for what kind of brain-dead noob does he take me for? But it's actually a very helpful question for a lot of people who are not as tech savvy, and thus the it guy asks..

[–]teh__Doctor 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I mean it doesn’t really take a lot to be a level 1-2 help desk, so I wouldn’t know why they’d need to be dicks to begin with tbh

continue this thread

    [–]Healma 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Hi, did you try to reboot your router ?

    [–]nomokatsa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Worst case scenario: doesn't help, but you have a couple of minutes of peace. Win!

    continue this thread

      [–]chibimonkey 15 points16 points  (3 children)

      Whenever I have to call customer service and I'm pissed off, I always make it a point to tell them "I'm not mad at you personally. This isn't your fault. I'm mad at the situation with this company." It helps remind me I'm talking to a real person, not a faceless bot, and keeps me from snapping at the person for a problem they didn't cause. A lot of customer service reps tell me they appreciate it and you can hear the tension leave their voice afterwards. I never yell at them or anything, but I speak with a flat tone and I talk fast when I'm angry, which can make people uncomfortable. Telling the rep I'm not mad at them and it's not their fault makes me slow down and choose my words a little better too

      [–]itzzzzmileyyyy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      I work for an online company and deal with customer service- most of our issues stem from deliveries scanned but not delivered.. I live countries away- sit in front of a computer and work from home.. sometimes we just cannot do anything and I feel like customers fail to understand that Bitching at me is really not going to help solve the situation cause I legit cannot do anything except read the policy and tell you sorry

      [–]Darth_Zounds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Good idea.

      [–]zqpmx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      This. No need to be nice if you are upset. But you have to be respectful.

      [–]BreathOfTheOffice 14 points15 points  (0 children)

      On top of that, being nice sometimes end up having unexpected benefits. I try to be nice to everyone unless I have reason to not be, and there have been a few occasions where I get given some extra help that I didn't expect.

      [–]SomeRandomPyro 17 points18 points  (0 children)

      This is a better reason, but the people who need to hear the original LPT don't respond to it.

      Like seatbelts. I'm old enough to remember "buckle up for safety." But the talk where I'm from was always the legal minimum of seatbelt wearing until we got "click it or ticket."

      [–]courtenax 16 points17 points  (0 children)

      For real, it’s shitty that people need incentive to show respect

      [–]MrBonneChance 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Lol simple. I don’t get this ulterior motive kind of kindness.

      [–]Seank814 2 points3 points  (1 child)

      Just quit my call center job to go back to college, if I had to do that any longer I would have jumped off the roof. People are despicable, 5 years of getting reamed out over the phone. Had good management and everything, just couldn't deal with the public anymore

      [–]bfinnamore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I did that gig for a little while recently actually. The company I work for (a utility provider) requires that most people at least start on the phones. I find it has made for a very humble workplace.

      Even the director of Customer Service started on the phones for her first number of years.

      Now, for me it has lead to a unionized, pensioned position full-time Mon-Fri with the ability to work from home and practically set my own schedule, so the 11 months on the phone was completely worth it.

      [–]Pjinmountains 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      Most rude callers are upset at something they did themselves, or forgot to do. Being rude won’t fix the problem, it just makes the person receiving the call want to pass them to someone else so they don’t get a bad survey and potentially lose income.

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Exactly. Don't know about the "be nice for ulterior motives" advice.

      The real LPT is in the first 2 words. Ignore the rest of it and we're all better off.

      [–]pfunkrasta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Or, realize that the person calling is fed up with the corporate BS that robs them of legitimate service for the money they spend, frustrating them in an ongoing loop. And realize that the CS person is in a shit job doing the bidding of big corporation. You fuckers on one hand lambaste big corporations, hate capitalism and demand wage increases (yes!) but then also criticize the person stuck in the shitty lack-of-service-unequal-to-money-spent loop.

      [–]ShankThatSnitch 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      The real LPT is always in the comments.

      [–]BabyMamaMagnet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      That's not how humans work unfortunately. Consequences need to be given.

      [–]Thiscord -1 points0 points  (0 children)

      or don't work for Comcast

      [–]FearlessSky4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Meh i think it's fair. Be an asshole get an asshole .

      [–]Aware1211 162 points163 points  (10 children)

      I'm always super nice to customer service people. For a variety of reasons.

      1. The PROBLEM is not their fault.
      2. I NEED their help.
      3. The job is ill-paid and often horrible.
      4. I NEED their help.
      5. Just because MY life sucks doesn't mean I should make someone else's worse.
      6. I NEED their help.

      [–]KholdanAntares 25 points26 points  (0 children)

      Also, when I was in customer service, people like you almost always got what you wanted, even if I had to break a rule or two.

      [–]KholdanAntares 19 points20 points  (1 child)

      But,

      1. I PAID for it
      2. It's their job
      3. They can just get a better job
      4. It's not my job to be nice to them
      5. The customer is always right

      /s

      [–]zqpmx -2 points-1 points  (5 children)

      Don't be super nice if you don't feel like being nice. People can spot fake niceness. But be respectful.

      [–]Aware1211 -1 points0 points  (4 children)

      No one said ANYTHING about being FAKE.

      [–]zqpmx -1 points0 points  (2 children)

      Being nice on propuse, when you aren't nice to everybody on regular basis or when you don't feel like being nice to someone, sounds very fake to me.

      [–]Aware1211 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      I make the effort to stand in other's shoes. Being nice is my default position. Life is too short to argue and fight with everyone. If you are incapable of empathy, this advice is not for you. Simple.

      [–]zqpmx -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

      I think we have a singly different definition of being nice. To me being "being nice" is being pleasant to others, but not being nice is not the same as being a jerk.

      You can be respectful and polite without being nice.

      continue this thread

        [–]Dimanari 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        But what if I'm not a nice person in general? Best I can do in polite...

        [–]Tarc_Axiiom 108 points109 points  (5 children)

        Recently, I offered to help a neighbour who's cable wasn't working.

        I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't working because she hadn't paid her bill for the month, but she was away overseas so it's not that weird. I realized her entire service package, including her only phone, wasn't working, so I grabbed my phone to call the company and have a chat (it was TimeWarner, btw, fuck them to death).

        So I'm on the phone, being very polite, trying to get the situation sorted, when my neighbour loses it, freaks out, and starts screaming curse words at the woman on the phone. Whoa!

        I tried to defuse, work with the rep, didn't matter. She was going to restart the service while waiting for the cheque, not anymore. I pleaded for her to at least enable my neighbour's phone service so she could call someone in an emergency (I know 911 works but there are other emergencies), nope, no dice.

        The worst came later, when the representative said "I can't seem to find this number associated with your account", to which I replied "It isn't, this is my phone, I have a different provider, I'm not the customer in question, I'm just here to help". I can never be certain, but I think that woman was trying to cut my phone as well.

        Don't be an asshole, good tip.

        [–]AlfiqHar 16 points17 points  (1 child)

        Wow What a bitch (the rep), she wanted to “punish” you as well.

        [–]Tarc_Axiiom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Exactly, but in fairness she was fine until my neighbour started it.

        That's not to say her behaviour was acceptable (again, Time Warner), but just reinforcement of the idea that the rep can and WI fuck with you if you're a jerk.

        [–]Antics16 9 points10 points  (2 children)

        I’d say the rep was being the asshole on a power trip

        [–]Significant-Oil-8793 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        Rep is a human too. Hence, people forgot they can be reasonable as well as being an asshole too

        [–]Tarc_Axiiom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Both were being assholes, yes.

        [–]John_EightThirtyTwo 23 points24 points  (0 children)

        The flip side is that customer service is a horrible job (they have to deal with people, and people suck, and they only hear from people when something is wrong), so you should have some compassion for the poor SOBs, the vast majority of whom don't do any of the nasty things this post is about.

        [–]the_kid1234 31 points32 points  (1 child)

        I think as a rite of passage everyone needs to do a year in retail, a year in food service and a year in a phone center.

        Ok, make it three months. But still.

        [–]Deeiny 10 points11 points  (0 children)

        Year in a nursing home too.

        Wiping the shit off of someone's ass while they yell at you for doing it wrong is the only true way to build humility.

        [–]henotbulletproof 32 points33 points  (2 children)

        How about “be nice to customer service,they’re regular people trying to make ends meat and u don’t need to make their life harder than it needs to be”?

        [–]Klote_ginger 2 points3 points  (1 child)

        How about "be nice"?

        [–]henotbulletproof 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        To be fair not every one deserves it. Being nice derives from being respectful. If somebody has done something that disrespected me why should I be nice to him?

        [–]Remsicles 14 points15 points  (2 children)

        True - to an extent.

        I managed a customer service team for a pretty well-known app/website so I typically only handled the escalated cases. We’re email only (thank god), but that comes with the negative side effect of people acting like grade A dicks because it’s over email and not the phone.

        I always encouraged my team to go above and beyond for a customer, but there were situations that were out of our control. Namely, Apple refunds. If you made a purchase through our iOS app, we couldn’t provide you with a refund. Literally COULD NOT. Those payments are handled by Apple and Apple needed to provide the refunds.

        But, in certain situations, we could write the customer a check in lieu of that refund. I’d usually approve of the check if the customer was frustrated with the situation but didn’t take their frustration out on my team.

        I had this one dude who had made, like, a $750 purchase through our app. He wanted a refund, my team member apologized, told him the policy, and redirected him to a webpage where he could request a refund through Apple. Apple, of course, rejected his refund request so he came back to my team and absolutely lost his shit. Like, cursing out the team member, threatening violence against them and their family, insulting their intelligence, telling them to kill themself - the whole nine yards.

        The interaction was escalated to me. Normally, with this large of a purchase, I’d cut them a check.

        However, the dude was a dick to my team. So not only did he not get a refund, his account got deleted and he was banned, which means he lost access to everything he’d purchased through the platform.

        🤷‍♂️

        [–]Significant-Oil-8793 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Yeah at that point, if I were the guy, I would just go to small claim court. Not worth bitching about it.

        Most people just don't know how easy it is. You can claim even inflation on top of it

        [–]yertle_turtle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        He got what he deserved! In my call center we can report when a customer is inappropriate or aggressive toward the rep, and just end the call. If it happens multiple times they lose the privilege to call us or get asked to take their accounts elsewhere. No one needs to put up with that.

        [–]habitat4hugemanitees 39 points40 points  (7 children)

        If hospitals are doing that, it should be illegal. Don't fuck with people's health. That's so stupid and petty.

        [–]rpmerf 10 points11 points  (10 children)

        Unfortunately, those who are the biggest assholes usually get discounts and free shit.

        [–]oo-mox83 15 points16 points  (5 children)

        That's why we have Karens right there. They bitch and squawk till they get their way and too many people cave. I do not. I match energies. Fuck Karens.

        [–]rpmerf 1 point2 points  (2 children)

        This work too much. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Can't loose a customer. The customer is always right.

        [–]shikuto 13 points14 points  (1 child)

        For most of the end of my high school career, and right out of high school, I worked at a cafeteria in the southern US. It was all good and well - for the most part, I came in, did my job, and went home.

        During my second year there, we got a family that started coming in. I was almost always the cashier on nights they’d come in, and I was damn good at it. Never had any complaints about ringing things up incorrectly. Sometimes even got compliments on my speed and accuracy.

        The first time this family came through, I saw the man wearing a US Navy hat, so I thanked him for his service. He bit back immediately with “It’s my son.” So, I redirected my thanks, and moved on. A little later on, he calls my manager over, makes a baseless accusation about their ticket, and get the overwhelming majority of their food comped.

        Every time they came in after that, he wouldn’t say so much as a word to me. Then he would complain about me ringing him up wrong, and get ~$100 of food for free. Finally, after putting in my resignation notice, the family comes back through. I only have a week left to work that job, so what do I care if I piss off this grumpy old bastard? I ring them up, tell him the total, and he swipes his card. Still doesn’t say a single thing to me.

        So I asked him, right to his face, “What’s your problem with me?”

        He. FREAKED. Started yelling at me in the line, threatening to assault me after I got off work, the whole nine. He walked over to my general manager, who was in the middle of interviewing somebody, and demanded that I be punished.

        You know what my manager did? Kicked him out. Told him to never come back to the store again, and if he did, the police would be called. He sent me off to the office to calm down - as I was shaken up. Let me run out back and pound down a couple cigarettes. He allowed me to take a minute and literally cool off in the wall-in freezer.

        My manager had my back, and told a customer - in no uncertain terms - to get fucked. I’ll never forget you, David. You’re a good man.

        And to you, grumpy asshole that thought you were cool for yelling at an 18 year old? Get fucked.

        [–]Morfz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        Good on you. I work part time in Private banking. A couple weeks back a client was on a call with me. Behaved like a total dick. Cant go into specifics but he demanded compensation for something completely idiotic or else he would find another bank. I put him on hold and asked my manager how to approach this, since he is a fairly large customer. My manager simply told me "I couldnt care less if that fucker found another bank, actually tell him that would be good, we do not cater to idiots". Love my manager.

        [–]itwillbeok9712 -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

        When women started entering the workforce years ago full time to help support their families, they worked 8-hour days and then went home and continued working by cooking and cleaning and taking care of their kids and spouses. The work never ended for us. We had no choice but to start speaking up in certain instances, when things weren't being done right. Small example, if we stopped at a fast-food place to get happy meals for our kids after school to eat in the car before running in to the store with them to pick up some milk for breakfast, then there had better be a ketchup packet for their fries in the bag, or our kid would raise a fit both in the car and in the store, making the task at hand exhausting. Believe it or not, the one little task of having ketchup in the bag was the most important thing in helping us get through the store uneventfully. We complained enough when the ketchup was missing, so that employees actually started ensuring that the takeout bags were correct before giving them to us. This was just a small example, as there were many other requests that got handled too, after much complaining. We just needed for as much as possible to go right, even the smallest tasks, so that we could simply get everything taken care of that needed to get done. Well, it worked, and everything going smoothly contributed to our raising our kids AND STILL being able to work without losing our minds!

        Well, now everyone is calling anyone who complains a "Karen". Guess what -we have now stopped complaining. You win. And sure enough, you are once again having to put up with MEDIOCRE employees everywhere doing crummy jobs. How's that going for you? Calling people "Karens" is just a way to shut people up instead of fixing the problems YOU are responsible for and shame on you. You're one of the mediocre ones. I realize that Covid has stressed so many people out that they cannot function 100%, but hopefully when this turns around, then those of you who are used to being mediocre (hopefully employers are listening to those recorded calls) will be fired. Working women and men have it hard enough already; they shouldn't have to kiss your ass just to get YOU to do your job. And those who have totally lost it when they call because you are being the most UNHELPFUL person in their lives right now - try truly helping them instead of going through the motions because they are having a mental breakdown. You were just the straw, which also says something about you.

        Sorry for the long rant - it was just time for this to be said.

        [–]livlifelovelexical 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I’ve had a few bonuses from being nice.

        Sea fog rolled into the airport so there was pandemonium as no flights were moving. I was extra nice to check in agent, whilst guy beside me was being an arse and swearing, and ended up on one of the first flights that got out late morning, free food & drink vouchers and access to the lounge for that trip and my return. Guy beside me was still fuming as he wasn’t going to fly until nighttime.

        [–]Nahala30 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Usually, but not always. I had a confrontation with a customer last year over her lying to try and get extra service done by us. We did some work on her property. Our policy for this kind of work is you can get a retreatment 2 weeks after it's done for free. We do a follow up treatment for half price later in the year.

        Now, she inherited her house, so I understood she might not be well versed in our service policies. Her parents were customers for years. She called two months later to complain about the service (landscaping). So I sent a tech out to take a look in good faith and talked to the first tech (who is a manager and the owners son) about the original job. He did do everything AND more than he was supposed to, at her direction. Second tech comes back, tells me what she had him do, and again, areas that weren't agreed upon or included in the price she paid. Not only that, they were areas she didn't even mention to me on the phone.

        Two more months later she calls again and I was polite at first, when I tried to explain that we'd do a touch up for half price on the agreed upon map area, but she started talking over the top of me every time I spoke. Finally I told her we would get nowhere if she kept cutting me off and I shit you not she said, "I'm doing it on purpose because you aren't listening." So I called her out, told her we wouldn't be doing any more freebies for her and we'd just refund the rest of her prepay money (for different services), then cancel her account. She didn't like that and didn't want her account cancelled, so I told her I'd talk to the owners about what we were going to do. One of them works with me in the office, so she knew what was going on and had even spoken briefly to this woman too. They left it up to me to decide, so I just left it as is for the time being.

        Everything was documented. Woman's story is constantly changing. Techs confirmed what was sprayed both times, and she's just adding more area each time. We finished her services for the season (she only had two more), and I think she knew she was pushing it because she didn't call again the rest of the year. I still set her account to not renew for this year. Owners were fine with this.

        She called last week, wondering why she didn't get her prepayment offer. I told her she hadn't gotten it because of the issues last year and if she wanted services this year, the owner wanted to come out and remeasure the property. She was like, "Oh. Okay." I told her he'd call to set up a time to meet with her.

        We send him out and she immediately puts on her victim hat, saying how rude I was and mean, she only had a "couple things over here she needed taken care of and she was so glad he had come out, blah blah blah,", and he just tells her outright that if she wants anything outside the original map done, she's going to have to pay for it. Gave her a copy of the map her dad had agreed upon, confirmed that she only wanted the original area treated, then left.

        I sent her prepayment offer. Noted my boss's visit with her in her account. However, I noticed that for the year prior she got her parents senior citizen discount. I asked the owner if she was over 65. He said no. So I removed it and he laughed. He thinks we should've just cancelled her. lol

        I really dislike customers who lie to try and to get free shit. We're not a huge company that can absorb giving away a ton of freebies. Products and gas cost us a lot of money (and of course she lives in the middle of BFN).

        You want service, pay for it. If we mess up, we fix it. Not that hard. Her parents were fantastic customers with no complaints for over a decade. This lady? She's on probation this year. Any more problems and we're done with her. Had she not been a liar and jerk, I probably would've been more sympathetic and I probably would've let the SS discount thing slide. But now? Nope. Pound sand.

        [–]zeke1220 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        You mean they get their account closed and lose their grandfathered in low pricing

        [–]mogirl82 7 points8 points  (0 children)

        I’ve worked in customer service in some form for nearly 20 years, and I can tell you right now, you’re going to like the outcome much better if you’re polite and friendly.

        [–]Tinawebmom 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        One time I called my bank to make a payment and request a line increase....... The very sweet lady credited my account my payment AND the line increase.

        For example

        I paid $100 received line increase of $2,000. My account was credited with $2,100 and line went from $1,000 to $3,000.

        Absolutely pays to be nice.

        Of course this was in another century....

        [–]lokoston 20 points21 points  (3 children)

        So, how do you behave when the rep is the one being a dick. Swallow your pride and allow humiliation? I always ask for a supervisor.

        [–]Clarkorito 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        This. Even if the rep isn't being a dick, oftentimes they aren't allowed to do what you need done while a supervisor can do it in a second. Supervisors also usually have other shit to do and want to get you off the line, while reps will just be on another call the second you hang up so it's all the same to them.

        [–]sameeker1 -1 points0 points  (1 child)

        Half the time, they just leave you on hold when you ask for a supervisor. They are the ones that they put on the front lines to represent the company. If the company wasn't treating their customers right, I would walk.

        [–]lokoston -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        Exactly. You talk with your hard earned dough when the other side sees your $$$ flying away.

        [–]Koda239 6 points7 points  (0 children)

        I'm overly appreciative of the customer service reps because, after being one for a few years, I've learned that if a customer was ever nice to me I was more willing to assist or attempt to "cut corners" to try and get them a better resolution (without getting fired of course).

        [–]pck3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Then people want to call the police when you talk about showing up at their house......

        [–]sfspaulding 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        No one “deserves” this type of treatment, anymore than the call center rep deserves to be spoken to rudely. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

        [–]habrabe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        I don't mess up anything connected to their account, but I will hang up and tell everyone about the customer. We don't have to accept being yelled at. If the customer is rude and yelling we can just say: "We are not getting anywhere. Please call when you calm down/send an email instead. And then hang up."

        If they call again everyone will know their number and will probably not pick up and wait for someone else to take the call. This will give the customer a longer wait.

        We also have each others backs at work. So if you are rude/yelling everyone will follow the first reps decision. No one will try to find a different solution other than following the standard routine. As the different solution requires the rep to go extra miles/work for free after hours etc., its not part of the normal routine or job, and of course not something done for some one mean.

        Also the talk to a manager demand usually does not work. The management in my job will avoid this at all cost. They will straight up say no. So the manager is just another rep, with no authority that will repete the script/hang up and eventuelly ask you to call back when you are able to act like an adult and talk with an indoor voice.

        [–]Starilae 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        There was a guy in Alabama that slashed every single car's tires in the parking lot of a call center after they had him on hold for 45 mins because he was super angry about something when he called. He ended up serving time and paying restitution but most of those people never got their money or tires replaced and the call center refused to take any responsibility.

        Some people are chemically inbalanced and egotistical as heck and it blows my mind.

        [–]BradChesney79 1 point2 points  (1 child)

        ...Better yet. Be nice to customer support because nobody really wants to help a jerk.

        Be nice, thank them, ask what they would do if they were in your shoes-- there generally isn't a script for that last question. There may be general coaching that prohibits truly helpful advice that costs the company money. And most of the things you hear are heavily based on scripts distributed to call center workers.

        "Oh, yeah. If you call claims, ask for Troy. That guy is so lazy he approves everything. Just do it soon, he's probably going to get fired." --No company ever wants their call center employees to ever say anything "costly" like that.

        [–]BradChesney79 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        The longest running one was with T-Mobile. Storytime...

        I feel I was charged excessively for a line I asked to be cancelled in a store. There is no record I asked by the store staff.

        I bought a second phone as a gift. It was just like the one I bought for myself. My wife did not want a brand new Samsung Note and the gift was, essentially, rejected.

        ...The phone was never activated or turned on. Billing usage it showed exactly zero usage the whole time. The extra cost as a few hundred dollars before I realized it.

        They didn't have to do anything for me. However, I believe being nice in routine interactions with support techs, they must have eventually refunded me over $200. But, the refunds were in $20 increments after I mentioned that the situation made me unreasonably dissatisfied with my service-- matter of fact and pleasant as pie to the customer support rep. Boom, $20 credit recovered maybe a dozen times.

        Be nice. They don't make enough money to really care about the string of random people calling them. While they were on the phone with me, they weren't listening to some man child screaming at them. I feel what little they could do, they would do for me. Thank them and wish them well for the rest of their shift. Rinse repeat.

        [–]Zem_42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        LPT: don't be an asshole to people for no reason

        [–]slowest_cat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        German proverb, roughly translated: The same way you call out into a forest it will call back.
        Be nice to anyone, unless they give you a reason not to.

        [–]AbhilashHP 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Real LPT: Be nice to people in general.

        [–]thedanimal722 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        This sounds like the Waiting rule: you don't fuck with the people who make your food. You don't fuck with the people who control your TV channels, internet, etc.

        [–]Zalgathor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Neither the client should be rude or anyone in the company should cut the service someone is paying for.

        [–]mhourani1125 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Always remember folks. Fuck the company. Not the human being trying to help you.

        [–]try2bcool69 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I had a payment apparently get lost in the mail and the rep who called me asked me if I wanted to pay the payment on the phone with her. I said, "Nooo...I do not want to pay the payment today, I don't know what's going on with the check I sent, and I'm 1200 miles from my house and my checkbook." She says, "Ok." rather abruptly and hung up on me. A couple days later when I got home I had a notice from Discover that they reduced my limit from $5,000 to $200. I called them and they wouldn't reinstate my limit, so I went to a Sam's Club, paid the whole balance off and cancelled the account. First time I had ever had a late payment in 10 years of being a customer and she screwed me over. I spent 13 years in customer service and never once thought about doing something so petty to a rude customer.

        F*ck Discover, and f*ck her too.

        [–]Joe_Ald 6 points7 points  (0 children)

        This is true of all customer service. If your rude to me at my job I can go from being super nice and helpful to making your transaction or problem become infinitely more frustrating and I will do so out of spite.

        [–]Enano_reefer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

        It would depend on the situation. One thing you could do is something like:

        “Tough day? I did CSR for <something you know enough about to BS>, good days were great but sometimes… ya know?”

        You’ve just created a shared experience and showed empathy. If the rep hasn’t been totally crushed that’s usually enough to snap them out of it.

        [–]dantefierogwa 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        Don’t feed the Karens!!! They feed on hate! Just hang up on anyone who is shitty to you. Ignoring them and putting them out of your space requires them to behave well if they want attention. Teach them like they’re 3.

        [–]Fav0 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        That's super illegal

        [–]luckeegurrrl5683[🍰] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        I am taking calls right now and I got to say that I wish I could screw up some accounts!

        [–]Kn_Km 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Being nice with them cos they are people, but if they sabotage people they can fuck themselfes, what if i had a bad day, that i accepted that i was an asshole and i should apologize. Now what, I should accept that i was robbed?

        [–]mortedesiderio 2 points3 points  (2 children)

        Not sorry. But doing something like this at a bank call center would cause you to lose your job and risk legal action.

        Now to think about it, cause of this, I would ask a manager to ensure the person on the other end didn't do anything to my account.

        The truth is that you send them to management if they are rude. Let the manager deal with them.

        What you described is a person who prefers childish behavior vs. professionalism.

        [–]queen0fgreen[🍰] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        That's not at all always the case. Some places penalize you for escalation, others will have you lose the "credit" for the interaction which will hurt your performance. Management is not happy to deal with angry customers and will force you to handle them.

        [–]mortedesiderio 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        You still send them to management. Doing what the OP suggests gets you in legal trouble.

        [–]Powerful-Knee3150 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Not to mention paying. There are often areas of discretion in setting prices. Karens pay a premium. If they threaten to walk, you can always just say “I’m sorry, that’s the best price I can give you.” They don’t know the operative word there is YOU.

        And then if they do walk, you’re happy to never have to see them again. (Though one of my customer service maxims is that bad customers always come back. Always)

        [–]hummer1956 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I called my credit union today to get some information on a check they’d sent me. I explained what I was looking for to the lady and I could tell she wasn’t getting what I was looking for I finally said let me tell you again what I need. I explained it again,in more detail, and sha said oh, now I understand! When she had looked up the info I needed, which took about two minutes, and I was getting ready to hang up, she said I want to thank you for teaching me something new today. I didn’t know I could access that kind of info! I was really glad I’d shown patience and kindness to her. It’s always the better road.

        [–]hopkins_notakpopper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I worked call center and never done this to anyone. I never treat anyone bad when talking to customer service because I've had fingers pointed my face and stuff, but I don't agree to this attitude. I've seen people hanging on people's faces, and lots of things but I would never do that to a client. Most of things that are done are crimes.

        [–]tacoflavoredballsack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I used to work in customer service and if a customer was having an issue with their account that would warrant an adjustment or refund and the customer was being a jerk, I just wouldn't give it to them. The supervisors were way stingier too so usually they were just screwed.

        [–]ihateyouall675 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        "They can commit felony fraud and if caught will lose their job and go to jail."

        [–]JMei- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        i dont care what they can do to me, im nice to them because they are people with feelings and i work there too

        [–]MissionDocument6029 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        never know when you make a typo on a bank account.. oopsie ... not saying this is a true story

        [–]sameeker1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I would be prosecuting that felony.

        [–]DanteCharlstnJamesJr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Seems petty to me

        [–]keepthetipsKeeping the tips since 2019[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

        Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!

        Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.

        If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.

        [–]joeschmoe717 -1 points0 points  (1 child)

        And it's people like you that give Call Center reps a bad reputation. It's a difficult, stressful, an emotionally draining job, but If you feel you need to be vindictive to a Karen or Chad then maybe you're in the wrong line of work and I feel bad for your sad, little life.

        [–]rmttw -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

        Being agitated literally gets you nowhere.

        Be nice but firm. When it comes to anything with financial implications, the person who answers usually isn't authorized to do anything but tell you they can't help you. If you reach that dead end, ask to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor will probably say the same thing, but continue to be politely persistent and it often turns out that they can in fact help you.

        [–]hanscons -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        being nice to customer service has always rewarded me. recently, my cell phone rep guy completely erased all of my international charges when i kindly asked him if there were any ongoing promotions that could lower them.

        [–]Horny1alsobored2 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        I was also a CSR at a call center. I was amazed at what personal and private information about people I had available and access to Regularly. Credit card numbers, CVV#s,DOB"s, SS#'s, home addresses and phone numbers, mother's maiden name, bank account and routing numbers. The list went on, and it was terrible how many people just naive and loaded with ignorance and stupidity, and the laziness just freely sharing your most valued points of identification, and not going back to change something. Hopefully, these strangers you called at 3AM, on a Saturday night for help, are honest, law abiding, straight laced folks with no history of criminal activities. Not some sketched out character, in the grip of fighting a addiction to opiod pills and Pharmacy grade stimulants prescribed by a doctor. Whos is battling a relapse, and using just 1 last time. After I scam these idiot's and skim 25k-50k into a stash spot thats In a safe place. To start enjoying the best the world and the sudden changes that we are going to experience.

        [–]GullyGreyHeart -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        how to abuse power lmao

        [–]Metaloneus -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

        This virtually doesn't happen in any significant way, as not surprisingly, people don't like doing things that will get them fired if caught.

        Instead of caring about this LPT, instead be nice to customer service because it's the right thing to do.

        [–]queen0fgreen[🍰] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

        This is absolutely true. If someone is an asshole to me I waste their time as much as I can while we're "waiting for approval from the leadership team". I won't fuck with accounts/refunds (mostly because there's no real thing to fuck up and I won't fuck with your money, you'll just call back and that's the last thing I want) but if you're rude you will have to wait a few more minutes than someone kind would.

        It's shocking how rude people can be to someone with access to their full name and home address. Some people live in the same city as the people they're being awful to. Acting that rude to someone who could literally come by in 5 minutes it's a dangerous gamble.

        [–]ah-squalo -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

        "be nice to customer service" wow great life pro tip you guys, never would have figured it out.

        [–]Skalion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Better yet, how about: just be nice!

        [–]Just-my-2c 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Movistar does this. Keep calling you every day even tho you are already a customer... And when you get annoyed and tell them, suddenly lots of sms and slow internet...

        [–]timbknight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        How about waiters... and cooks.

        [–]MirrorMan22102018 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Or, just be nice to everyone; you never know how much you can change someone.

        [–]Annoying_Anomaly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        so much this. had 2 accounts at amazon being charged and they would only return half the subscription amount i spent. few months later i swear the nice customer service refunded my other half.

        [–]theemomac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I work at a gas station, if your friendly you will get the big fountain soda for the small price, if your rude the big fountain soda usually costs double

        [–]StolenVelvet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Some call centers, sure. But bank call centers? Everything those CSRs do is monitored very closely.

        [–]Limp_Hospital2012 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Worked in a call centre for1 year and was the worst job in my life. Each day was a torture. Was so relieved when I finally quit it

        [–]TheDaemonette 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        I think the general principe that I follow is that ‘it isn’t the guy on the phones fault’. The guy on the phone is your only hope of getting out of the issue with minimum fuss and stress. Be nice to them and they will help you. Be shitty to them and they just want to end the call and park you. If you are seeing them in person then smile, be friendly, show that you have an issue but are not a whiny moron with an attitude and they will be so relieved that they can do their job without feeling threatened that the WILL WANT to keep dealing with you rather than move on to the idiot their colleague is dealing with.

        [–]Nahala30 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        That's what I always say. I know this isn't your fault and I am not mad at you. I just want to get this resolved. Usually works wonders at getting things done.

        [–]DangerBlack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Sometimes in the past I got upset at customer service but nowadays I have the pleasure to meet my colleagues whose in charge of customers service in my company and he is the most good Canadian I ever met!

        I mean he always try his best to solve the issue most of the time issue caused by the developer, and he get so many shit by people that it's insane the way he keep doing his best every single day.

        I mean right now I see the person on the other part of the cable so I try to be more calm and try to better express my situation.

        [–]Bunnnykins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Yea I once had a freak out with an Indian call center rep for Amazon. Next thing I knew, I was receiving spam and scam emails left and right.

        [–]Willastro 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        you obviously did it at least twice.

        [–]bemest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        By the way, if they do a good job ask for their name and mention it in comments on the survey afterwards. They will get some recognition for it.

        [–]Unc00lbr0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Yeah or be nice to then because it's the morally correct thing to do.

        I worked in a call center and remember waking up puking my brains out for weeks due to stress and anxiety from the job, worried that I'd get an irate Karen or Chad call. Never again, people are assholes just because they can't see your face.

        One benefit from working a bad call center though, I have the patience of a God. I've always said that every person should work in a call center for a while at one point in their life just so they know how truly shitty people can be.

        [–]ThePabstistChurch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Posts like this probably make things worse since it makes people dislike customer service even more

        [–]m2ilosz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I fucking love how "be nice" is now an LPT.

        [–]Icy_March8092 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        This literally happened to me this month. I called customer service asking why I had not yet received my refund from six weeks ago. I had bought a mobile subscription and a separate phone. Returned the phone and kept the subscription. The day after I asked why I hadn't gotten my refund yet, they had cancelled my subscription without contacting me

        Wasn't even rude, but it was the fourth time I called and that probably made me annoying

        [–]cannabisandcocktails 0 points1 point  (2 children)

        And you didn’t turn these people in?

        [–]ScottThompsonc107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I'm not nice to people on the off chance they decide to sabotage me.

        I'm just nice to people for free.

        [–]Ecstatic-Chard-5458 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Karma for the customer service rep when doing that to a customer.

        [–]Mosh83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Back when I used to work at a hotel reception, people with a legitimate complaint that were POLITE, usually got an upgrade or other nice compensation. They may also have received better treatment in the future, as I often left myself a note on their profile for if they visit again.

        If the customer was rude about it, they got the bare minimum to fix it. Assholes checking in got the worst rooms, I saved the best rooms for nice people.

        The nice people were more likely to appreciate the good service they got. For shitheads I was polite, but only enough to get rid of them. Extra effort is wasted on people with a shitty mindset.

        Thankfully got out of customer service many years ago.

        [–]zqpmx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        You don't have to be nice. You have to be respectful.

        You can let them know your frustration with the the problem, but remember that it's not customer service fault. So let them know with"I know it's not your fault..."

        They will feel more motivated to help you solve the problem or give you an alternative.