What is pissing you off this time?

[footfootfoot]

Let's go hunting together!

[Clodfobble]

New insurance company.

Admittedly, the thing I'm trying to do is rare. But I've done it before and it's not that hard to understand. Rep #1 at the pre-cert department was outright belligerant from the beginning; she's either having a super shitty day or she won't be employed in customer service for long. Regardless, the answer she was giving me was incorrect, and she was not going to even check to see if she could do it my way in her system. So I called back, and got Rep #2. This one was polite, but dumb. She didn't even know how to do the thing I was asking, and told me that really I should be talking to this other department. No, I know I shouldn't, but I call them just so I can get a name of a person over there so that in the future I can say truthfully, "No, I talked to JANE over in Department X and she agreed it was your department's problem, not hers."

So I call the pre-cert department for a third time, thinking this will be the clincher... and I get the belligerant one again. (I hung up as soon as I heard her voice.) This is greatly concerning to me, because what are the chances I got the same bitch again? It makes it seem like there's only a couple of people in that room. Over the last 4 years of calling our previous insurance company an average of twice a month, I never talked to the same rep twice, and this was a good thing because it enabled my whole policy of "Just call back until you get a smart one."

Sweet Jesus I'm in trouble if my only choices from here on out are the Bitchy One and the Dumb One. On the upside, the Bitchy One stands a good chance of getting fired if she keeps it up.

[footfootfoot]

Have you asked to speak to their supervisor? That usually works. Also if you can get a switchboard operator (ha ha) you can get supervisor's name from the the company directory. Best chance I think would be to get the dumb one and ask to speak to her supervisor who may know about the thing you want to do. The other option is to be such a colossal PITA with the bitch that she is glad to let her supervisor deal with you.

[Clodfobble]

Not yet, because first I have to do the incorrect thing that Bitch originally told me to do before I can innocently and sweetly demonstrate that she was wrong. Supervisors always start out on the employees' side, especially when it's a customer saying they know how to do their job better than they do.

[footfootfoot]

Hmm. Well, yes and no. My sister has worked in customer service at various places for years and for the most part the supervisors know excatly how stupid and or bitchy the employees are and thye keep tabs on them, listen in on their calls, log minutes per call, calls per hour etc. A lot of the time they are looking for just cause to get rid of some of the fucktards.

Good luck in any case.

[Sundae]

Clod I know EXACTLY where you are coming from, because I used to work in a call centre.
Now I'm not saying I was sweetness and light the whole time, and I know I was snippy sometimes, but we were an internal department and were never, not ever, never supposed to get customer calls. I got at least one a week.

At which point I had to politely explain that I could not help - genuinely - they might as well have called the canteen. But I made sure that I contacted someone who COULD help, and even gave my name and department so that could come back to me. Not because I could sort out their problem, but as a gatepost if they were bounced around again.

You're on the right track. Do what you're told then come back all innocent.
If you can't get names then take times and dates. Even if they aren't recorded, they'll know who you spoke to.

[Clodfobble]

Oh, I get names, dates, and what was said. It helps tremendously if you say, "What was your name again?" at the end of every call. They don't like being kept track of.

[footfootfoot]

A friend of mine gets all chummy with them,
"Oh hi Darlene! How are you? What's new? It's been a while, but I was thinking about you the other day and I was telling a friend about you..." IF you do it naturally enough they will wrack or rack? their brains trying to figure out who the hell you are as you ramble along. When you finally get to your business they are usually pretty disoriented and easier to manage.

[monster]

They often like it if you tell them about your recent sexual fantasies.

[footfootfoot]

What are you wearing? Is a line I like to start off with.

[ZenGum]

That crittur in FFF's basement has started something it isn't going to be able to finish.

[footfootfoot]

Oh, I've got the trapline set.

[BigV]

yabutt... you only get the pleasure of killing him once. he has the pleasure of wrecking an endless number of your treasures stored in your basement, with his teeth and with his piss.

It's not fair really.

heh... I remember a winter camping trip once where we stayed in a lovely cabin. There were LOTS of young scouts (cub scouts and webelos) and plenty of Dads. One of the Dads, my best friend PH, picked a spot next to the chimney, where an old stove had been removed. There was a hole in the chimney where the old stovepipe used to be plumbed into, but was now gone with the stove. This large hole let in a detectable draft, so PH took his coat, a nice Helly Hansen and stuffed it into the hole. Problem solved. But when he took his coat out of the hole in the morning, the half that was facing the chimney was chewed into lace. Man, was he pissed.

They win man, junta virus, piss everywhere, teeth that never stop, ... it's not fair. GOOD LUCK.

[glatt]

When I was renovating our downstairs bathroom, I had removed the toilet and jammed a rag into the closet pipe to keep the stench out. A week later, when I pulled out the rag, there was a lot less of it. I'm glad that whatever was chewing it gave up and didn't come into the living area. Yuck.

[Griff]

A rodent of unusual size perhaps?