So, this actually happened back in January, but for some reason I haven't posted about it until today.
For two and a half years, I worked for a company that services customers from several retailers across the country. I started at the bottom and worked my way to Account Manager (I was who you get when you ask to speak to a manager about a problem the front-line agent won't/can't resolve.)
If you've EVER held a call center job, you'll know what I'm about to say…
Truthfully, the company was great. Great pay, benefits, work/life balance (they insisted on this last one) and wonderful co-workers. It was also 100% WFH. I could have worked for them forever, but alas… There's the customers.
These are the single most abusive people you'll ever meet in your life.
Someone calls in to have a late fee removed due to the death of their mother for the fourth month in a row. I tell them no because of “rules.”
Someone calls in because they paid their minimum payment due and they were STILL charged interest on their account! Really? And this surprises you?
And then there's the caller who is upset their interest rate went up AGAIN and it's SO high! Blame the Feds, sweetie. They're the ones who keep raising it, not me.
And when I refuse each of these people for assorted reasons, I get called the C-word, the B-word, I get death threats, my co-workers are called a really horrible name for a gay person, my black co-workers are called the N-word, and the agents in the Philippines are called SO MANY horrible names they sometimes transferred to me crying their eyes out, both male and female.
This is definitely not a job for those who have thin-skin.
Fast forward to this past December 2022. I wasn't actually looking for a job but one popped across my computer screen one lazy day and it was a federal job for which I was eminently qualified. I don't know why I applied, but I did. I got an interview. I got a job offer. I was given a start date in January 2023.
On 02 Jan 2023, I gave my two week notice and then checked to make sure my new annual cycle of PTO was on my account. IT WAS!!! And I also still had about 16 hours of unused vacation from 2022!
Yippee skippee!!!!!
I proceeded to call in using my PTO, every last bit of it. But wait! The employee manual says I can't use PTO for my last day there or I forfeit ALL prior PTO and pay!
Okay, I'll play along. I'll come in for my last day, which was a Thursday.
Now, leading up to this last day, on the day I gave my notice, my fellow Account Managers were all SO happy for me! I GOT OUT! AND IT WAS FOR A GREAT JOB!!!! But… There was also a lot of comments in our team chat that no one wanted to be around for my last day because they all knew I was a tightly wound drum, ready to blow at the slightest provocation, having held in SO much during my tenure there at this company, dealing with the abuses that were meted out to me call, after call, after call, after call.
Oh yes, I came in on my last day of my notice. Yes, I did. But… it's different now. I'm starting a new job with the federal government. All the documents had been signed. I had my shiny new security clearance. I'd met with my new boss and co-workers out at the base. In short…
I
WAS
UNTOUCHABLE!!!!!!
The first call I get… The caller is F-bombing me left, right and center. I start in with, “OMG, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Does your mother know you talk to people that way? If this is how you treat a total stranger who you're asking for a favor, I hate to hear the abuse you heap onto people you know!”
The second call I get, more abuse. I give this guy the following: Now, Mr. Caller… Here's the deal. You're calling me and asking me for a favor. Whether I do this or not depends entirely on you and no one else. I should also mention that whether or not I can do what you ask of me is subject to my discretion and my discretion only. So, you have a choice. Do you keep abusing me and guarantee I do absolutely nothing for you or do you apologize to me and talk to me like I matter in this world, and let me assure you I DO matter in this world and I deserve your respect.
Short answer: He apologized and gave me yes, ma'am and no, ma'am the rest of the call.
Third call, caller was abusive (of course) and I started giving it back to her. If she called me the C word, I gave it right back to her. If she complained about me cursing at her, I would say, “Oh, but that's what you called me. I thought this was how we were playing this…”
She ended up hanging up on me. I laughed the laugh of the righteous.
As soon as this caller hung up on me, before I could get another call, the VP of the company hits me up on Teams asking what I'm doing working on my last day and he thought I'd take PTO. I explained to him the employee manual said I couldn't use PTO for my last day or I'd lose all the time prior and get no pay. He was all about, “Oh, no, NancyLou, you've been SUCH a great employee! You take the day off and I'll make sure you get paid!”
I signed off, logged out of my computer, clocked out and turned on the television. I spent the next four days gearing up for my new job.
I still wonder if they were listening to my calls, knowing I was untouchable, and decided they needed to cut their losses and have me take the day.