The good, the bad and the loony
Apr. 14th, 2010 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slipjig3Tonight's work callers spanned a nice broad spectrum this evening, which is interesting on a change-of-pace level. On the friendly/unfriendly continuum, we certainly had our share of bottom feeders, although at least one was generous enough to cut to the proverbial chase:
Me: May I help you?
Sarcastic Guy: Yeah. You can tell me to have a good night and then hang up on me, just like every other operator.
Me: Have a good night, sir. *hangs up on him*
It's okay: I'd had him twice before. Operators were hanging up for a reason.
On the other hand, though, there were some exceptionally nice folks in the mix as well, such as the following:
Nice Lady: [after I'd finished helping her] What's your name?
Me: I'm operator number XXXX.
Nice Lady: You can't give out your first name?
Me: No, I'm sorry, just our operator numbers.
Nice Lady: Well, you told me what I needed to know, so as far as I'm concerned, you're marvelous. I'm going to call you "Marvelous" instead of your operator number. Do you have a wife?
Me: ....
Nice Lady: Or a girlfriend?
Me: Ma'am, this isn't....
Nice Lady: Well, if you have a girlfriend, when you get home tonight, you tell her you have a new name, and that name is "Marvelous."
Incidentally, the assistance I gave consisted of me telling her that it's Wednesday. She apparently has a low threshold for marvelousness, which is an example we should all aspire to, I think.
So that covers the x-axis, the so-called "kindness axis." Meanwhile, all hell was breaking loose on the y-axis (the "sanity axis"), which is pretty much par for the course. Plenty of rational callers, and plenty of what P.C. language advocates like to call the "realistically challenged":
Me: May I help you?
Guy in New Jersey Who Sounds Nothing Like President Obama: Hi, this is President Obama. Can I talk to Dan?
Me: ... I think you have the wrong number.
Guy in New Jersey Who Sounds Nothing Like President Obama: Okay, I'm writing this down.
Me: Um. Okay, you do that. [long pause before hanging up on guy formally]
And it wasn't even Friday. Go figure.
Me: May I help you?
Sarcastic Guy: Yeah. You can tell me to have a good night and then hang up on me, just like every other operator.
Me: Have a good night, sir. *hangs up on him*
It's okay: I'd had him twice before. Operators were hanging up for a reason.
On the other hand, though, there were some exceptionally nice folks in the mix as well, such as the following:
Nice Lady: [after I'd finished helping her] What's your name?
Me: I'm operator number XXXX.
Nice Lady: You can't give out your first name?
Me: No, I'm sorry, just our operator numbers.
Nice Lady: Well, you told me what I needed to know, so as far as I'm concerned, you're marvelous. I'm going to call you "Marvelous" instead of your operator number. Do you have a wife?
Me: ....
Nice Lady: Or a girlfriend?
Me: Ma'am, this isn't....
Nice Lady: Well, if you have a girlfriend, when you get home tonight, you tell her you have a new name, and that name is "Marvelous."
Incidentally, the assistance I gave consisted of me telling her that it's Wednesday. She apparently has a low threshold for marvelousness, which is an example we should all aspire to, I think.
So that covers the x-axis, the so-called "kindness axis." Meanwhile, all hell was breaking loose on the y-axis (the "sanity axis"), which is pretty much par for the course. Plenty of rational callers, and plenty of what P.C. language advocates like to call the "realistically challenged":
Me: May I help you?
Guy in New Jersey Who Sounds Nothing Like President Obama: Hi, this is President Obama. Can I talk to Dan?
Me: ... I think you have the wrong number.
Guy in New Jersey Who Sounds Nothing Like President Obama: Okay, I'm writing this down.
Me: Um. Okay, you do that. [long pause before hanging up on guy formally]
And it wasn't even Friday. Go figure.
