a quick note

This is a crazy season. I work in a job that unfortunately gets to see the worst side of people rather than the best. In saying that though, I just want to send a shout out to all the wonderful, patient, lovely folks who I do get to talk to on the phone on a daily basis. Thank you for being nice. It goes so far in making this season really worth the effort. Thank you for your kind words and well wishes. Because of these wonderful things you make dealing with the assholes much easier.

goat

who knew?

I experienced a miracle just now. I am at work. A woman just called because she received a catalog with a promotion code. She called to ask if that could be applied to her last order. I explained that at the time of the order the offer was not valid but would be happy to apply it as a one time courtesy... She then stated, "Oh, I don't want you to break any rules, please don't worry about it." She then went on merrily to place a new order. She didn't want to break any rules... what a gem. I happily took her order, applied the new discount promo AND waived her shipping just for fun! I was happy to do it. She was so nice and not pushy or bitchy. What a relief and so rare in what I experience on a day to day basis. Sad but true. To that woman in SC- thank you! Thank you for giving me a very bright spot in a very long and gloomy week! Happy Holidays! REALLY, I mean it.

Happy Holidays, NOT!

Hey Assholes!




I am talking to the stupid fuckers who refuse to read the promotion/sale rules. The rules that state clearly: This promotion does not apply to...
and will then list what the promo will not apply to. This may include previous orders and already discounted items.

Just because you are rich does not mean that the rules don't apply to YOU.

You obviously can read because you got the email. Why?!? Why do you have to push it.

If you can afford to by a $1200 pair of boots or necklace on a whim do you have to be such a fucktard about gettting it on sale 3 months later, or even 3 days later?

It was a sale with a limited time offer. YOU missed it. Get over it. And don't even use that excuse- "I wouldn't have bought it then if I had known it was going to be on sale." The majority of gits who tell me this order from us no less than 6 times a month and spend and average of $500 in each order.

YOU CAN ALL KISS MY FAT WHITE ASS!!!!

And you yak dicks out there who call about having us stop sending you our catalog- I am not the one who put you on the list, I don't appreciate your abuse and anger. It was your own fucking fault for putting you name on a list somewhere.

All, let me say that again, ALL catalogs rent, sell and share names unless you specify that you don't want them to. Get over it. If you don't take the time to read then its your own fault- get off me!

OH! Just a quick note to all you last minute shoppers out there- waiting until the last minute and then ordering from a catalog costs more for you! And I, for one, have absolutely no sympathy for you. Do not try to talk me out of expedited shipping costs. It just isn't going to happen. Once again- shipping is a service.

Have lovely holiday season!

Why do we let the fat cats rule?

An acquaintance of mine lost her job yesterday in the name of budget cuts.

I did not know this woman well. What I thought about her was that she was strong, independent and vocal about things she believed in. She felt passionate about where the company was headed and felt that she should speak up about it. I think she was let go to be silenced on top of "budget cuts". She was the only person to lose her job. Am I to believe that that solved the budget crisis? Well yes, I guess I am.

I have to wonder why the fat cats can't see their way into a reduction of salary, just for the time being until the economy turns around. What would be wrong with that? Executives all over the country could donate excess wages back to the labor pool and keep people employed. Is it unrealistic to think we should try to help one another? A voluntary stimulus package from corporate america.

And of course it is my fear of losing my job that keeps me from speaking out at work. Fear and the fact that as a bottom of the totem pole employee, I am not privy to all the facts.

I get a living wage and benefits. Good benefits. I call them golden handcuffs because to some extent that is what they are. I am lucky that I have health benefits. Maybe I would be more vocal if I feel I didn't have so much to lose or that there are scores of unemployed people out there who could easily replace me.

And in all honesty, I like my job. It isn't my ideal dream job but it is a good job and I work with good people. Amazingly good people. Up until I started working here I had no idea of what it was like to get positive feedback from a supervisor.

Anyway, I personally don't know the whole story of this woman who was fired. I do know that I will miss her.

Is it really that important?

I get calls from customers that are upset about something with an order. They will rant on for a couple of minutes telling me how we screwed up and ruined little Jimmy's birthday because of this or that reason.
They make it sound like it is the end of the freaking world. I listen patiently, apologizing profusely and then when I ask them what the order number is they either have no idea or the said event was months ago. I then at that point have to wonder about all the auditory theatrics I have been listening to. If it was really that important, one would think you would have more of the details? If you wanted us to rectify it in some manner because it was so important, you would think you'd have that order number tattooed on you in plain sight. I mean, it was little Jimmy's birthday! He is your second cousin's best friend's nephew and he just turned 2! The end of the world is upon us and you can't waste you time in keeping this important information so you can call and have us refund you shipping costs or give you a discount. NO!

And when I finally locate the order, which was 3 months ago (but still, little jimmy, don't forget he was crushed) and then try to do my job you get pissy with me and tell me what a bad company we are. I just love it when customers heap abuse on me. Let me tell you, it really turns my crank.

please read the fine print

Take 2!

I had this all written up and previewed it and went back to spell check and it erased! So now I will attempt to recreate my brilliance, unlikely as that sounds.

I work in the customer service industry.It pays the bills. I am fortunate (?) enough to have a job answering phones at a small catalog company who's target audience is board, rich women. There are alot of things about these women I might find admirable, unfortunately alot of them have what I call the "I'm Entitled" syndrome. I am not sure how one gets this illness but it seems to run rampant in a good number of our customers.

Here at ******** (name withheld so i don't loose job) we have an amazing returns policy. It basically stated that if you are unsatisfied in anyway with the product you ordered, no matter when, you can exchange it for new one, or return it for a full refund. This leads some people to "renting" our stuff. Buy a new dress for your trip, wear the hell out of it and then return it when you get home for your money back. This bothers me but what bothers me more are the people who buy something and then call to have the shipping refunded. I am sorry but I don't like to refund shipping. Shipping is a service. If we ship something to you and it arrives in one piece in good time whether or not you like it now that you have, you should pay for that. That is how I see it. Now if we made some sort of mistake, I will negotiate but other than that, pay for it. Life is not about wheedling freebies out of people who work for a living!

We are also kind enough to provide a return label will all orders. This label is amazing. You put it on the package, take the package to the post office and drop it in the mail slot. It is ensured, guaranteed and track-able. When we get the package we deduct a small fee of $6.95 from your refund. Its that easy. The instructions I just outlined are that simple and are printed clearly on the paper work. I am now going to give you an example of one of our customers:

me: thank you for calling ********, how can i help you?

cust: i would like to know why i didn't get all my money back on my refund.

me: did you use our return label.

cust: yes

me: there is a small charge for the label ma'am.

cust: *silence* where does it say that?

me: do you still have your receipt of the order?

cust: yes, i do. i am looking at it right now and don't see that anywhere on here.

me: please look on the right hand side above where the items purchased are listed... do you see the instructions for using the label?

cust: OH! yes i see it NOW. well, who is going to read that. not anyone i know. you should send out a letter along with this to inform us about the fee.

At this point I decided that I couldn't argue with that kind of logic. I mean really. wow

There is also the habit customers have of bullying agents into honoring sale prices after the sale has ended. I had a woman call and say she bought a very expensive coat ($750). She had waited a long time to purchase it waiting for it to go on sale but finally got impatient and then bought it. A month later it went on sale for $200 less. Being me, I apologized that that happened but refused to give in. She went on to lament that if she had known, she would've waited because she really couldn't afford it but bought it any way. She went on like this for a couple of minutes and I finally broke down and offered to refund her the difference as a one time courtesy. I thought I was magnanimous and doing a good deed. Well after she hung up, I got into the order to take care of the notes and such and discovered that she has been pulling this for the last 6 months on the same coat. She had been refunded several times by other agents and at this point had only paid $150 for the coat. I felt burned and really pissed off. This is the "Entitlement..." I mentioned. Its wrong wrong WRONG!!!

So, in experiencing all of these things, I have had to reevaluate my position in the customer service venue. We are all a part of this whether we are buyers or sellers. We need to remember that for services rendered there is a cost. For services offered there is an expectation. We are human beings on both sides of the coin and shouldn't take advantage of each other. I have had to check myself while waiting in line at wal-mart or the grocery store from becoming impatient with a checker who is obviously doing her best. It isn't her fault her manager isn't paying attention and hasn't got more checkers to help. Ya, know?

I don't mean to sound preachy. Really.