I've quit my job today.
I just want to rant because I feel so depressed and upset knowing that I am complicit in all this.
I work for a “monthly contract service provider” in the UK. I take calls from people who are looking to leave and go to a competitor because of prices, service, etc…. and it's my job to try and retain their business.
For the most part, I enjoy my job. I enjoy the feeling of helping people get a good deal, and enjoy the buzz and challenge of taking someone who is like “I AM leaving and there's nothing you can do” to 15-30 minutes later ending the call, having saved them money and them saying “thank you so much, bye”.
The types of calls vary from people who know how the system works and they're nice about it, to people who are just downright aggressive and demand discounts because they think they can say what they want over the phone. Or they say “I'm a loyal customer” (which is a statement I fucking hate because what does that even mean? You paid your bill on time? Good. We've provided you the service you've paid for.)
Anyway, once in a while we get calls that pull on the heartstrings. People who are calling up to cancel because their circumstances have changed to the point where they just can't afford the service anymore, but we still have a job to do. They do still need the service, so it's a two-way negotiation.
I obviously get commission, but I'm a good person. I'm not going to sell somebody something they don't need. Our company ethos has always been about “doing the right thing”. Allegedly.
Anyway, this call comes in, and it starts off pretty normal. I do my usual checks on their account, I look at what they're getting and what they're paying. The customer asks if there's anything I can do to help them lower their bills.
I offer the customer the cheapest deal I know I can possibly offer. It's a reduction in their bill for the same service they have now. It's not a huge reduction but it's the best I can do. I'm not about bartering and starting at the top and negotiating down. Unless you're a dick with me, then you get nothing. But when I tell you the offer I'm giving you is the best offer, I'm genuinely telling you the truth.
However there's a caveat, and this is very important to the story. There are particular deals that we can ONLY offer customers if they mention a particular price comparison website – the deals on there are exclusive to that site, but if a customer comes on saying they've seen it, we can circumvent the system and give it to them. The reason is – it's an inconvenience to the customer to sign up somewhere else with a brand new account, close their old one (which takes a few weeks), and yet they still remain a customer of ours anyway.
So when this happens, we honour the deal. We have to, it's compulsory. Our calls are monitored and if we don't do it, we get punished, because our company is terrified of losing customers to these sites. Conversely, if you do one of those deals where the customer DOESN'T mention it, you're punished also, because the company wants to make as much money as possible.
Back to the story.
The customer starts telling me about how all of their bills have gone up. There's a cost of living crisis obviously, so we're getting a lot of calls like this. I wasn't prepared for the next bit though. The customer starts to tell me about how they have a terminal illness and that they don't have the energy to sort all of this stuff out. They can't work anymore so their earnings have dropped by almost 75%. They're on benefits but need their service for medical reasons.
Customer then starts to cry more than I've ever heard a customer cry on the phone before. They basically unload on me, telling me about how they don't want to live anymore – their washing machine is broken, their kids saw them crying when their hair fell out, they can't afford their energy bills and they just want it all to end. They're not suicidal, they make that clear, but they tell me they're crying out for help. They can't cope. They just want it all to be over.
This is what we'd class as an extremely vulnerable customer – and we have a special department for that – it basically changes their contract so it isn't a fixed term. If they die, the contract just ends and their family won't owe anything.
So, I'm offering the customer the best deal I can offer under the rules. It reduces their bill by around 15%. The customer begs and pleads and literally says “Is there anything else you can do? Please. I'm crying out for help, I don't know what else I can do to cut back.” but I REALLY want to help them. I figure if I explain this to my manager they'll understand. A bit of common human decency goes a long way, and after all, our company is about doing the right thing for the customer, right?
At least that's how the conversation went in my own head.
We're gonna help this customer. Do a good deed. Retain their business. Save them money. Keep their essential service active. I'm going to give this customer the special deal – even though they haven't mentioned the price comparison site. I'm gonna get my dopamine from doing a good deed, and as long as I clear it with my manager I'm not going to be punished for breaking the rules. If it means I lose my commission for this sale, so be it. It's not about the money.
I approach my manager and I explain the situation. I've cried with the customer at this point because it's broken my heart. I've told them I'm putting them on hold to see if I can do anything for them. I tell them I'm going to try my very best.
Without any hesitation or breath, my manager interrupts me and says “you're not giving them the price comparison deal if that's what you're going to ask. No way.”
It fucking sucks. I explain the situation. We have a duty of care, our ethos is supposed to be “do the right thing”. I mention the ethics of it all. It's the right thing to do for this customer to do the very best we can.
Manager just says “we're a business not a charity”.
So I explain that how the fuck can we be so cold, and why the fuck is our business set up in a way that just because this poor dying person hasn't mentioned a particular website, that they get nothing. Yet, my very next call could be an absolute dickhead who mentions a price comparison site, and just by uttering the name of the website, I'm obliged to give him the special deal no matter how much of an arsehole he is, because “thems the rules”.
Fuck that. I'd much rather help this person who is GENUINELY in need. This special deal would have reduced this dying customers' bill by over 30%.
My manager says no. But then sticks the knife in by saying “This call will be checked and if you break the rules, you will be severely punished”
I drag my feet back to my desk with my tail between my legs and tell the customer I can't do any more for them than I've already offered. And deep down inside I know that's bullshit. That it's a lie. There IS something better we're offering as a company, but because they haven't played the game properly, they lose.
I wasn't asking my manager to invent a package. A product we don't sell. I was simply asking them to do the right thing. To give the customer something that another customer WOULD get if they activated the right cheat code.
I ended that call, took my break and I cried in the bathroom for 15 minutes. I've just ripped off a dying customer, who when they asked if there was anything more I could do, I said no. Knowing in my heart that was a lie.
I went home that night, I told my wife and I cried all over again. I didn't sleep a wink that night – all I could think about was that poor customer, their pleads for help, and their situation. I woke up the next morning and I called in sick. I'm too depressed over the situation. It completely floored me because not only am I absolutely heartbroken for this person, but I'm suffering a huge moral dilemma. I need to earn a wage to support my family and my two-year-old daughter, but not at the cost of lying to someone who is dying of cancer.
I want to get the customers' details and email them personally and tell them what they need to say on the call. But that's a massive breach of data protection and not only would I lose my job (who cares), I could possibly go to jail and be fined heavily.
I decided there and then, that I don't want to do this job anymore. I refuse to be complicit in a system that knowingly treats people this way. It's morally wrong, it feels unethical and I don't want to be a part of it.
After I called in sick to the duty line, I called my manager and told them I won't be coming back at all.
I've decided I want to get a job where I can genuinely help people. I just don't know what that is yet.
Thank you for reading.
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TL;DR I ripped off a dying customer because of our companies' bullshit rules and now I feel so guilty that I've quit my job. I want a job where I can genuinely help people and make their lives better.