Frustration... more of it

This morning my first call was transferred up to me from Tier I. The customer was listed as a “frequent caller” which means that Tier I is supposed to treat those people as if they are “special” and get them right up to our level here in Tier II. They never do any troubleshooting. All they do is ask what the issue is, and then transfer the call up to our level.

Now, even in my most negative angry tirades I rarely use the word “stupid” because it is so harsh a term that it is almost abusive (at least I think so). But these frequent callers are not special- they are stupid! Why, you ask? Keep reading…

Now, understand, that when Tier I transfers a call up to us they have to put the customer on hold, sometimes for a long time. Sometimes for a really long time! And if it’s a “frequent caller” then all the Tier I agent is going to do is have the customer state the problem, and then put them right on hold. After I don’t know how long the two of them beeped in my ear and I answered the phone. Tier I explained to me that he was transferring a frequent caller, and that the issue was he couldn’t work his remote. It took another several minutes to transfer the case, and then he brought the customer on the line.

I asked the customer what the problem was, and he said his remote control no longer turned off his TV like is used to. He said that it worked fine for a long time, and then mysteriously started acting funny about a week ago. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t! He had no idea what was wrong.

I asked him if he had tried new batteries, to which he replied, “Ohhhh… No I didn’t think of that.” So I told him to change the batteries in his remote control and call me back if that didn’t work. Then I released the call.

I don’t know how long that guy waited on hold to get Tier I to answer their phone, and then waited on hold again for Tier I to transfer the call up to me… But man, that is time that he will never get back. And all because he was too stupid to realize that when a remote control stops working it’s because the batteries are dead.

I hung up the phone and sighed to myself. The clock said 10:20am, which meant that I still had another 10 hours and 40 minutes here today. Taking calls like that one.

Man, getting fired from this job would be a relief!