I work at a call center. I was recently promoted to the 2nd level of support. I get a mix of complicated technical issues and complicated or snowflakey customers, so I suspect I will have more posts.
Now, the customer started off upset, but not exactly snowflakey. He had lost data due to a troubleshooting step a previous representative had him do, and he was calling back, and ended up on the other end of my phone. The customer wanted compensation for his data loss, which we don't usually do, but since the step done that caused the data loss had been recorded, we were going to make an exception. I got him over to the customer service specialists as he was asking for compensation I couldn't do. I arranged to call him back after to make sure he was taken care of, as he was nervous, and didn't really want to talk to anyone other than me. (Apparently I was the only one whom he felt cared).
I called him back the next day to check in. I discovered he had hung up on the 2nd level of the customer service department after being offered an item worth just about $300. He was very upset, as he didn't want the item. So, I went to the same department to check, and I was given authorization to give him that value of item myself as he didn't want to talk to anyone else. (That item was about twice the value I could usually give, even with authorization from my manager, so we're talking major exception here.) The rep was actually saying how it was more than he'd usually give, but he wasn't going to offer less than the previous rep. I was advised I could let him choose any item at that value. I advised the customer of this, and advised he could choose ONE item of that value. I call the customer back, and we have a conversation, where he somehow manages to misunderstand my ONE item and the fact that we were talking about ONE item, though he was asking questions about another (I didn't wonder as it was an accessory for a product he stated he had purchased recently). I set up the process by which we would ship the one item, which goes to an administrative department to confirm all the details. The admin department calls him and he asks about the second item. I get emailed to confirm what had been offered, and I call the customer.
The man FLIPS OUT when he learns that he isn't going to get the item. He was getting an item that cost nearly as much, if not more than what the item the data loss occurred on cost. But, that wasn't good enough.
But, he's not getting anything now. He said to forget it, so I did. I emailed the admin rep and cancelled the item.
This second story is also about asking for stuff (money, in this case:
I had a customer who had been on the phone a very long time trying to work an issue out, blaming our company when he first got on. The very first thing he wanted was our company to pay for any phone charges he may have incurred by the call. Now, he had arranged it where we call him- so the only charges would have been if he was charged for incoming calls. I was honestly a bit baffled, because that was the first time that I had heard anything like that. It took me about 20 minutes to calm him down. At least 20 minutes. Then, I resolved his issue- turned out the problem was he had used two different emails in the past, and that had led to the issue... so it wasn't our company's fault, even.
Most of my customers are awesome... but some are just special.
