Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Customer Service


Actual phone conversations with customer service:

Me: The trash people didn’t put the lid back on my garbage can and the lid blew away.
Nice Lady from the Trash Company: Can you identify it?
Me: Well, it’s green and rectangular, about 18 inches by 24 inches and it fits on top of my trash can.
Nice Lady: I mean, did you have your name on it?
Me: No.  How about my initials?
Nice Lady: That would help.  Or your address.
Me: I didn’t have either.
Nice Lady: I’m sorry.  Without some sort of identification there’s not much we can do.
Me: Do you have any extra can lids lying around?
Nice Lady: No, we don’t pick those up.
Me: I thought your business was picking up.
Nice Lady: Ha ha.
Me: Maybe I can microchip it.
Nice Lady: That would work, too.

Automated Phone Company Voice: If you are calling to report a phone out of service, press or say “1.”
Me: “1.”
Automated Phone Company Voice: If you are calling from the phone that is not working, press or say “1.”
Me:
Automated Phone Company Voice: If you are calling from a phone other than the phone that is not working, press or say “2.”
Me: Duh.
Automated Phone Company Voice: I’m sorry, I didn’t understand you.
Me: All right, “2” then.
Automated Phone Company Voice: I’m sorry.  I’m having trouble understanding you.  Let me transfer you to a customer service representative.
Me: Yay!

Representative from a big Online Company Whose Name Is the Same as a Major River in South America: So you didn’t order this merchandise?
Me: No, from the information you sent me, it was ordered under a different email address and sent to a different shipping address. Neither was mine.
Representative:  Are you sure you don’t use that email address or shipping address?
Me: Let me check. (One microsecond elapses.)  Yes, I’m sure.
Representative: Did you receive the merchandise?
Me: No.  And I didn’t order it, either.
Representative: It didn’t come to the place that you live.
Me: No, it went to some place where I don’t live.
Representative: I see.  So someone else ordered it.  Do you know the person who ordered it?
Me:

Health Insurance Agent: We didn’t pay this claim because it had the wrong date on it.
Me: OK.
Health Insurance Agent: You need to call the hospital and get them to correct the date.
Me: How about if I tell you the correct date?
Health Insurance Agent: I’m sorry, it has to be the hospital
Me: But I was there.
Health Insurance Agent: I’m sorry.
(A phone call later)
Hospital Representative: We sent the correct date to the insurance company.
Me: They say they got another date.
Hospital Representative: I don’t know how that happened.
Me: I don’t either.  Can you call them and tell them the correct date?
Hospital Representative: We already did.
Me: They say you didn’t.
Hospital Representative:
Me: Maybe we can settle this with a duel.
Hospital Representative: I think that’s illegal.
Me:  Too bad.

3 comments:

  1. Man, this so true to life, I have been there, got the tee shirt.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very fuuny! Reminds me a tad of Gene Weingarten's column in The Post magazine.

    ReplyDelete