Special Snowflake Stories

[Hmmmmm]

What's SS about that?

I think it's pretty SS to ask for a solution to a problem, rudely interrupt the description of the solution, and demand to talk to a supervisor.  I bet the supervisor gave exactly the same answer MissRose would have given, too.

That's not being a Special Snowflake. That's being rude. There is a difference. It's like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.

I agree.  That's not a SS.   It's a customer who is possibly impatient and possibly rude, and possibly actually making the process longer by insisting on escalating it.  So annoying and perhaps counterproductive.    But nothing even vaguely SS unless we're just going to start applying that term to anybody who does anything we don't like or don't think is right.

POD, noypt SS, just impatient and rude. 

And I've probably been that customer a few times listening to the same canned response that didn't work last time and I just want to skip the 20 min while the CS reps reads the knowledge entries, repeats responses received via IM from others and then decides they can't resolve and either tells me they'll need to put me on hold or have some one call me back. 

[Mental Magpie]

What's SS about that?

I think it's pretty SS to ask for a solution to a problem, rudely interrupt the description of the solution, and demand to talk to a supervisor.  I bet the supervisor gave exactly the same answer MissRose would have given, too.

The customer didn't ask for a solution to the problem. The customer only stated the problem.

So you just call a call center to state a problem with no intent on getting advice on how to fix that problem?

[Piratelvr1121]

Meh, I can see it, if they can figure out how to fix the problem but just want to let the company know it exists so it can be worked on. 

[MissRose]

Not all call centres use canned responses.  Where I work, we are given suggestions at times on how to word responses but not asked to sound scripted at the same time.  I notice the canned responses & sounding very scripted from the overseas centres (like in India as an example) a lot more compared to those where I can tell the people are either Americans or Canadians the rare times I must call customer service places for help. 

I did check my ticket and the one done by the person who took over the call.  The customer was given the detail I was attempting to give plus asked other questions from that same person that she did not ask of me.  I still think its both SS & rude  to ask for a supervisor if the person is attempting to provide an answer or possible solution to you, and you do not allow that person to finish what they have to say first then say "I do not like your answer, I want a supervisor" after the agent has finished speaking. 

I do not deny a supervisor request from a customer, but at the same time they must allow the agent to attempt to assist them first.  I know that I must remain professional and calm even if the customer is trying to rile me up at times.

POD, noypt SS, just impatient and rude. 

And I've probably been that customer a few times listening to the same canned response that didn't work last time and I just want to skip the 20 min while the CS reps reads the knowledge entries, repeats responses received via IM from others and then decides they can't resolve and either tells me they'll need to put me on hold or have some one call me back.

[siamesecat2965]

Not all call centres use canned responses.  Where I work, we are given suggestions at times on how to word responses but not asked to sound scripted at the same time.  I notice the canned responses & sounding very scripted from the overseas centres (like in India as an example) a lot more compared to those where I can tell the people are either Americans or Canadians the rare times I must call customer service places for help. 

I did check my ticket and the one done by the person who took over the call.  The customer was given the detail I was attempting to give plus asked other questions from that same person that she did not ask of me.  I still think its both SS & rude  to ask for a supervisor if the person is attempting to provide an answer or possible solution to you, and you do not allow that person to finish what they have to say first then say "I do not like your answer, I want a supervisor" after the agent has finished speaking. 

I do not deny a supervisor request from a customer, but at the same time they must allow the agent to attempt to assist them first.  I know that I must remain professional and calm even if the customer is trying to rile me up at times.

 

I agree. Customer called in, with a problem, presumeably seeking a solution. You figured out what customer needed to do, they, for whatever reason, felt you didn't know what you were talking about, and without attempting what you suggested as a solution, escalated to a supervisor. I think that's SS behavior. Now, had you not been helpful, or something like that, I could see asking for a supervisor, but to simply cut you off, and demand one, definitely an SS.

I've had that happen in my store; I've worked there for 7+ years, so I know all the ins and out of returns, policies, how to fix certain issues, and so on. Unless its something really out of the ordinary, or something ony a manager can access to help them, I can handle it. Yet I've had customers call the store, or come in, with an issue, and immediately want a manager to help them. They don't want to be bothered with us "peons"

Which I give them, and then said manager has come back to me, asking why they had to do whatever it was the customer wanted, when I'm perfectly capable of doing it (I wasn't in trouble, they were just puzzled). I simply tell them they didn't want my help, they obviuosly thought ONLY a manager could do it, and that was that.

[Hillia]

I'm amazed that you were so easily able to escalate the call.  When I worked tech support, we had managers who would refuse to take customer calls, because the first line operators 'had all the tools we needed to fix the customer's issue'.  In general, we were strongly discouraged from allowing a customer to talk to a manager.  If the issue was beyond our technical ability/system access, we were to open a ticket if one didn't already exist and send it to the next level of support (who didn't take calls at all).  If the customer had a billing or other administrative issue that we couldn't handle, open an admin ticket and pass it up.  If the customer just wanted to complain/vent at someone, we were supposed to take the heat (but get off the call as soon as possible, because your average call time had to stay at 3 minutes).

[MissRose]

I'm amazed that you were so easily able to escalate the call.  When I worked tech support, we had managers who would refuse to take customer calls, because the first line operators 'had all the tools we needed to fix the customer's issue'.  In general, we were strongly discouraged from allowing a customer to talk to a manager.  If the issue was beyond our technical ability/system access, we were to open a ticket if one didn't already exist and send it to the next level of support (who didn't take calls at all).  If the customer had a billing or other administrative issue that we couldn't handle, open an admin ticket and pass it up.  If the customer just wanted to complain/vent at someone, we were supposed to take the heat (but get off the call as soon as possible, because your average call time had to stay at 3 minutes).

We used to have issues as described above there, but the rules were changed.  Keep in mind, the customer under most circumstances must initiate the request to speak to a manager first though unless the circumstance warrants differently.  Some people are under the mind set that only a manager can help and certainly those callers have notes on their accounts.  Also most of the accounts we service, people rare pay over $100 a month anyways for the service I support.   Customers who continue to be abusive to agents even if warned professionally (and several times at that) and even to the supervisors have had service cancelled by upper level people who refuse to allow the lower level people to get abuse from customers.

[alkira6]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

[KenveeB]

Not all call centres use canned responses.  Where I work, we are given suggestions at times on how to word responses but not asked to sound scripted at the same time.  I notice the canned responses & sounding very scripted from the overseas centres (like in India as an example) a lot more compared to those where I can tell the people are either Americans or Canadians the rare times I must call customer service places for help. 

I did check my ticket and the one done by the person who took over the call.  The customer was given the detail I was attempting to give plus asked other questions from that same person that she did not ask of me.  I still think its both SS & rude  to ask for a supervisor if the person is attempting to provide an answer or possible solution to you, and you do not allow that person to finish what they have to say first then say "I do not like your answer, I want a supervisor" after the agent has finished speaking. 

I do not deny a supervisor request from a customer, but at the same time they must allow the agent to attempt to assist them first.  I know that I must remain professional and calm even if the customer is trying to rile me up at times.

Maybe they've just experienced the same "customer service" I have lately, where the sole purpose of the first people you call seems to be to make you jump through a series of hoops that don't have anything to do with your actual problem and you have to escalate to a manager to get anything accomplished. Companies will train customers that they have to do a certain thing in order to get anything done, then complain when the customers actually do that.

[Moray]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

I certainly wasn't offended. You indicated that it happened 2-3 times a week (which didn't lead me to believe you were being tongue-in-cheek or hypothetical in the slightest) and asked if it made you a bad person. I answered your question. That's all.

[Mental Magpie]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

I certainly wasn't offended. You indicated that it happened 2-3 times a week (which didn't lead me to believe you were being tongue-in-cheek or hypothetical in the slightest) and asked if it made you a bad person. I answered your question. That's all.

My dogs go that many times a day, so 2-3 a week is very little.

[Mental Magpie]

Not all call centres use canned responses.  Where I work, we are given suggestions at times on how to word responses but not asked to sound scripted at the same time.  I notice the canned responses & sounding very scripted from the overseas centres (like in India as an example) a lot more compared to those where I can tell the people are either Americans or Canadians the rare times I must call customer service places for help. 

I did check my ticket and the one done by the person who took over the call.  The customer was given the detail I was attempting to give plus asked other questions from that same person that she did not ask of me.  I still think its both SS & rude  to ask for a supervisor if the person is attempting to provide an answer or possible solution to you, and you do not allow that person to finish what they have to say first then say "I do not like your answer, I want a supervisor" after the agent has finished speaking. 

I do not deny a supervisor request from a customer, but at the same time they must allow the agent to attempt to assist them first.  I know that I must remain professional and calm even if the customer is trying to rile me up at times.

Maybe they've just experienced the same "customer service" I have lately, where the sole purpose of the first people you call seems to be to make you jump through a series of hoops that don't have anything to do with your actual problem and you have to escalate to a manager to get anything accomplished. Companies will train customers that they have to do a certain thing in order to get anything done, then complain when the customers actually do that.

That doesn't mean they get to be rude.  Frustration isn't a pass for rudeness.

[Moray]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

I certainly wasn't offended. You indicated that it happened 2-3 times a week (which didn't lead me to believe you were being tongue-in-cheek or hypothetical in the slightest) and asked if it made you a bad person. I answered your question. That's all.

My dogs go that many times a day, so 2-3 a week is very little.

LOL, I'm not saying pooping that often isn't normal , I'm saying that if I'm walking my dog around the neighborhood, she tends to poop when the mood strikes her. Pooping on the same stretch of lawn that just happens to front crazypants' property several times a week? That seems a bit much for coincidence. Maybe if I was just walking up and down that section of street, but actually taking them for a walk? 

[alkira6]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

I certainly wasn't offended. You indicated that it happened 2-3 times a week (which didn't lead me to believe you were being tongue-in-cheek or hypothetical in the slightest) and asked if it made you a bad person. I answered your question. That's all.

My dogs go that many times a day, so 2-3 a week is very little.

LOL, I'm not saying pooping that often isn't normal , I'm saying that if I'm walking my dog around the neighborhood, she tends to poop when the mood strikes her. Pooping on the same stretch of lawn that just happens to front crazypants' property several times a week? That seems a bit much for coincidence. Maybe if I was just walking up and down that section of street, but actually taking them for a walk?

Well, I said he yells 2-3 times a week, not that he poops there that much.  Crazypants will yell if he sees that we are walking by, and as we walk by there to get to open walking space, we pass by 3 times a day, 21 times a week. Little dog poops there maybe 1 or two times a week, but that has no correlation to the yelling. I am not offended by anyone's opinion whether they think I am in the wrong or not.  I guess my tone does not come through well, so I'll take it as all good 

[snowdragon]

I was taking a walk around the neighborhood and someone posted a sign on their tree that said "Do NOT leave your dog poop on our property!!!"

I have been tempted to put up a sign myself.  If you can't take responsibility for your dog, you shouldn't have one.

We ran into a person who yells at us about letting our dogs poop at all, even though we clean it up.  Little dog was pooping on the grass Not in his yard. It was yard, sidewalk, grass strip, curb, road, and little dog was on the grass strip. We looked at him like he was crazy, big dog looked at him like he was crazy, little dog kind of twisted while pooping to see who the crazy was.  He kept yelling even as little dog finished up and I bagged his poo for disposal.

Am I a bad person for making this the unofficial pooping spot because I like poking the crazy with a stick? He still yells 2-3 times a week even though we clean up.

I wouldn't say you're a bad person, and I wouldn't find anything wrong with allowing your dog to do his business if he just happened to decide "It's time!" right there. However, I'd say it's kind of rude to make this your "designated pooping place" just to spite the guy.

I tend to agree.  I think your dog's designated pooping place should be your own grass, not the public's.  Do you not have a yard for him to go in?

Where we live this grassed strip is public land.  He yells if we pass by, if we stop because little dog wants to poo, if we cross the street on the way to the field behind our neighborhood (yes, we have the owner's permission), and as this is the most direct route, we will continue to go that way. 

I'm sorry for those offended by the label "unofficial pooping spot" because that was kind of tongue in cheek.  If he has to go, he has to go. We do not lurk around or lead him to this spot to poo. As for the yard, yes, we do have a yard.  Our dogs are indoor dogs and the function of a walk for them is 2 fold - exercise and to get their systems on the go so that they can eliminate.  My older dog will get backed up and not go for a couple of days if he is not walked properly.

I certainly wasn't offended. You indicated that it happened 2-3 times a week (which didn't lead me to believe you were being tongue-in-cheek or hypothetical in the slightest) and asked if it made you a bad person. I answered your question. That's all.

My dogs go that many times a day, so 2-3 a week is very little.

LOL, I'm not saying pooping that often isn't normal , I'm saying that if I'm walking my dog around the neighborhood, she tends to poop when the mood strikes her. Pooping on the same stretch of lawn that just happens to front crazypants' property several times a week? That seems a bit much for coincidence. Maybe if I was just walking up and down that section of street, but actually taking them for a walk?

Well, I said he yells 2-3 times a week, not that he poops there that much.  Crazypants will yell if he sees that we are walking by, and as we walk by there to get to open walking space, we pass by 3 times a day, 21 times a week. Little dog poops there maybe 1 or two times a week, but that has no correlation to the yelling. I am not offended by anyone's opinion whether they think I am in the wrong or not.  I guess my tone does not come through well, so I'll take it as all good 

In my area, that strip may be public property, but I am still responsible for it - I have to keep it clean, rake, mow and seed it if someone's animal ( or anyhting else) destroys the grass on it - but I can not take  the grass out and make it cement. While you may pick up  after your dog, the process still leaves fecal matter on the grass, and a certain smell after ward. That property owner did not take on the responsibility of dealing with your dog's messes - your did.
  If I were you I'd make sure the dog  went in it's own yard before I went for a walk and actively discourage your dog from going in this yard since you know it aggravates the person responsible for it's up keep.