'He told me to turn [his TV] back on': Cable customer service rep gets even with customer by complying to their demand that they cancel their service

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Sep 3, 2023 12:00 PM EDT

The original poster of this thread points out that working in customer service at a call center isn't quite the enjoyable gig one might imagine… But really, it's hard to imagine anyone holding the belief that working in a customer service call center is a thrilling job… rather, quite the opposite. The images that a call center evokes are synonymous with the most bland and beige of existences. 

Anyone who has worked in customer service is already all too familiar with how difficult people can be in face-to-face interactions. So, it's easy to imagine how this dials up to 11 when those same enraged customers are no longer face-to-face with you and further emboldened by the safety or relative anonymity.

Here, this disgruntled customer service rep recounted how he followed a customer's request to cancel their television service to the precise letter of the demand, canceling their service mid-sentence after they first made the demand, despite knowing that this wasn't really what the customer was after…

See their story, along with the mixed reactions it generated, below. 

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  • 01
    Gesture - + VOL RETURN A FB Pa LIST n C PRE-CH n CH GUIDE INFO S D SAMSUNG
    via Erik Mclean
  • 02
    Font - I'd be happy to cancel your account! MOC You call DONetwork customer service and get so mad at the agent that you scream, "I want to cancel my account!" and they transfer you to another representative. I used to be that guy. It's not as fun of a job as one might expect, what with 99% of the callers screaming at you for any number of reasons that you had no control over. So, you had to find a way to keep yourself sane. I stayed near or at the top of the stats leaderboard for customers save
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  • 03
    Font - One day, a representative had a caller who only gave him enough information to pull up his account and told him that he wanted to cancel his account. So I pulled up the customer's account and saw he'd been a customer for 8+ years which meant he was practically VIP. But, I pulled up his billing info and saw that for at least the previous 2 years (oldest records I had access to), he'd been receiving $25 off his bill every month.
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  • 04
    Font - The amount you could discount the bill also determined how long the discount lasted. $25 only went for 6 months, so he had called in at least 4 times before this demanding to cancel his account until he got his $25 off. Now, I'm a man of principle, and I don't believe a person should get rewarded for being a cOy person. So, I accept the transfer and this guy came on the phone with the TV playing in the background and being a jobut also sounding almost bored with the game and says, "Cancel
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  • 05
    Font - Dish approved response: "I'm sorry to hear you want to cancel your account. Can I ask why you're thinking of leaving?" Get a reason, make two offers to keep em around, then cancel if they still aren't willing to stick around. My response, "I'd be happy to cancel your account!" Clicked a couple buttons and his TV went absolutely silent. Then I proceeded to read the script they give us on how to return the equipment until he shouted over me asking what I just did. "I cancelled your account
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  • 06
    Font - "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand. Do you want me to cancel your account or not? Because I can turn it back on, but I won't give you a discount off your bill, and I'll be leaving clear notes for any future representatives telling them not to give you a discount either. So, would you like me to reactivate your account or would you rather I send out the boxes?" As I expected, he told me to turn it back on. At the end, he tried again to get some sort of discount which I refused and offered
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  • 07
    Font - If I could have kept tabs on him, I would've, cause I was curious if anyone would reapply the discount or if he would leave. A bonus is I still had a few more confirmations to go through before the account was actually considered cancelled, so the call counted as a save for my stats Tl;dr A guy took advantage of the billing by acting like a jOevery 6 months so I called his bluff. Edit: And yes, I intentionally acted like a jQ, but simply because if the last person acted like a jo or the o
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  • 08
    Font - JoeyJoe JoeJrShab When I got my first apartment, I'd been told by friends to threaten to cancel my internet service to save money. They give me a discount for a year or so, and then I repeat. I hated playing that game, but it worked. I felt like a jfor doing it, so one time when I called, I just politely explained that the promotional deal I had was ending, and asked if they could give me a similar discount, without making any silly threats. I was pleasantly surprised that I got exactly t
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  • 09
    Font - So now that's what I do every year. I still hate that it works this way - I'd prefer that there just be a set fee, and not all kinds of packages with various discounts. (At least that's how it works with my cable internet provider -- I have no idea if dish network is similar to this or not). I guess I'm just trying to explain why someone might get in the habit of frequently calling to cancel. I'm just glad that I eventually learned the threat was completely unnecessary with my ISP. That s
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  • 10
    Font - [deleted] I am that guy every few months with internet service. They offer introductory rates and then double your bill after X months. Unlike this guy, I am nice about it though. Also, if they won't continue me on the introductory rate, I just cancel my service and then sign up in my wife's name to get the promotional rate. After 1-2 months, ISPS consider you a new customer, so you can switch every year. Reply Share 333 ●●●
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  • 11
    Font - nosclerosisjoe Shouldn't the cable have remained on until the end of the billing cycle? I used to have cable, and I canceled it. That's how it worked then. 65 Reply Share 39 ●●● MagisD Can be done multiple way and be cut immediately and then bill prorated to the day it was canceled, actually depending on where you to it's required by law to be that way. Reply Share
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  • 12
    Font - OM4140 cplus4 I know it's not your fault, but do network fsO, just like and m and all of these cable and phone companies. He's a loyal VIP customer so what do you do? Make him pay the most!! FO that and companies that do that so. How about rewarding my loyalty with a discount? Maybe give me HBO free for a year? Or give me some extra channels because I've stuck around? Or maybe offer me a monthly discount? 141 Reply Share
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  • 13
    Font - SimianSteam I mean, it sounds like he was just exploiting a loophole in the system. You didn't provide any info that would make him a 'j'. He wasn't rde. He was just short, but I've worked customer service and I often preferred that to false pleasantries. You, however, set out to mess with him just because he was trying to save $25. I'm sure AO loves you, but you're the jo here. To address your edit no, you didn't 'need' to do it. You were on a power trip. It's kinda pathetic tbh. You got
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customer support customer service call center malicious compliance revenge karen-customer work karen-customers petty revenge workplace employment
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