I had a job doing complaint handling work for a large housing corporation the customer base were mainly angry people who demanded things that company policy didn't cover or became unpleasant when they didn't get their way. My work colleagues walked on egg shells regarding customers behaviour and even broke down in work meetings over the stress the customers were giving them whereas I wasn't scared of the customers. I was the youngest employee in the department at the time
Just weeks in to my job I was assigned this ongoing complex case regarding housing repair issue involving multiple repairs. The customer was this social worker acting on behalf of her vulnerable disabled client who lived at the property. The social worker demanded all repair appointment booking and anything repair related must go through her and no one else the company agreed. I was instructed by my boss and the social worker to discuss repair stuff and housing with her only and not with the vulnerable resident. I followed all the rules.
The social worker was a nightmare to work with and my workplace knew she had a history of being difficult. Whenever I sent emails giving her information about what will be happening with the repair works she was never answering the emails and phone calls I left her this was dragging on for many weeks. When she did answer she didn't read the information I was giving her so I had to repaet myself at times. I was patient and respectful however she was always so rude, arrogant and uncooperative. She always complained about how busy she was being a social worker and never ever listened to people she working with in the case. One day she told me phone her client to discuss with him appointment times despite the rules my employer allowed me to phone the resident. I did and the resident told me to go ask his social worker and refused to continue the conversation. Eventually we agreed an appointment.
The repair people didn't turn up to the property and the social worker complained again about her busy schedule when we were discussing an new appointment in an email. I finally had enough and in the email reply I really criticised her for not responding to her emails, her unfair demands and I told her she was not the only one busy with casework. I was brutality honest. My email sent shockwaves to the customer and the entire department.
Our boss and all the other managers was away on holiday when it happened so the team leader left in charge criticised me for my comments and went to the customer to apologise to diffuse the situation. The next couple of weeks I was talk of the office, it wasn't fun. I acknowledge I went way too far in my comments and took responsibility for my actions. The management never let it go and continued to give me a hard time over it at work even after the incident got resolved while my work colleagues gossiped and joined in the moral outrage wagon over my actions. I was labelled the workplace troublemaker by the boss and seen as this rebellious employee I hated that label as it followed me everywhere at work and how people saw me. I neve got show what I was really good at and known for my mistakes.The customer got all the sympathy.
Months later I got fired and my boss brought up the incident of the customer in my firing because it amounted to poor performance and customer service.