‘You get what you asked for’: Customer demands to be transferred to ‘anyone else’, employee grants their request

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Dec 8, 2023 8:00 PM EST

You stare gloomily outside the foggy windows of your car as you drive the long winding, traffic-loaded roads on your way to work. The clouds look foreboding, and you know it's about to rain, judging from their dark, gray color. Finally, you pull up to the office parking lot, your car splashing through muddy puddles. Though it's hard to imagine, this is the least miserable moment of your day. Picture it yet? Congratulations, you work in customer service.

One person recounts their experience, working in customer service for an online retailer, with one particular story etched in their mind. A Karen had called OP with all sorts of demands, but because the system was down, OP couldn't do anything to help the Karen. Of course, this did not sit very well with her, and the more OP tried to explain that she couldn't check her order, the more irritated Karen got. Finally, Karen demanded that OP transfer her to someone else because she didn't want to talk to OP anymore… So, OP did. Scroll down to see what happened.

Afterward, read about this manager who told one of their employees to stop working on a task, without fully understanding that the task in question was given to the employee by the CEO.

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  • 01
    Half 2 3 R D "Transfer me to anyone else!"
    via Canva
  • 02
    "Transfer Whatever me to anyone else!" you say ma'am
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 03
    During the summer of 2020 I worked customer service for an online retailer. It is the worst job I've ever worked. While most people were polite, kind and understanding, I had to deal with many people who were (often justifiably) upset about a problem with their order, but even then most people
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 04
    would be sure to say their anger was not directed towards me. Faking sympathy for these people was hard enough, but then there would be people berating me personally as if I had something to do with whatever problem they were complaining about.
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 05
    One day, the system we used to track peoples' orders was down. I wouldn't be able to cancel orders, check when the shipping date was, change the shipping address, nothing. The supervisor told us to tell the customers to call back in an hour at which point the system would hopefully be back up.
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 06
    Again, most people were understanding that there was literally nothing I could do to modify their orders and said they would call back later. This one lady calls me and is upset about something and wants me to cancel her order. I tell her I apologize
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 07
    for the inconvenience but I can't at the moment, and that she should call back in an hour. She was not happy with the response. She starts going off about how that is unacceptable, she doesn't have time later, take down her information and do it later once the system is back up, this is horrible
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 08
    customer service, etc. I constantly have calls coming in so I can't be dealing with her problem at the same time as speaking to another customer, and more importantly, my shift was going to be finished in 20 minutes and I sure as hell wasn't waiting around for the system to be back up and doing
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 09
    overtime to cancel this lady's order, especially with her rude, entitled attitude. Eventually, she decides that she has had enough of me, and asks to speak with my supervisor. Summer of 2020 is peak C ), so I was working from home. I explain the situation and say I
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 10
    can't just pass the phone to my supervisor but what I can do is escalate the issue by putting in a ticket and a supervisor will call them back in 24-48 hours. Of course this is not good enough for her. She is yelling at me at this point, going on and on about how awful this customer service is, and she
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 11
    is not accepting that there is nothing I can do at the moment. She decides she doesn't want to speak to me anymore and screeches at me to "Just transfer me to ANYONE else, I don't care. I don't want to speak to you anymore!" I say okay, just give me a moment. As I'm thinking in my head "You did say
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 12
    ANYONE", I transfer her to the Spanish customer service line. TLDR: Customer service job, system to modify/cancel orders was down. Lady didn't like that, got frustrated and asked to speak with ANYONE else, I transferred her to the Spanish customer service line.
    via u/mister-monotone
  • 13
    Jaikula_Freedom. 4 hr. ago Well, when they dont specify to where you are to transfer them to, it could be anyone within the company. Or to someone outside the company. Back in the 1990s I was visiting my cousin at her new job, she wasnt front line but part of
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 14
    the escalation team that calls got sent to for those really bad Karens that would call. One good thing about the department she worked in was that she had brilliant direct supervisors who were great to work for. The supervisors allowed for that good old malicious compliance and even had printed and on every cubical wall.
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 15
    "If you ever have an person that has been transferred to escalations tell you the following line: "Just transfer me to anyone that is willing to listen." Then you can feel free to transfer them to whatever number first comes to mind. Do make a note of where you transferred
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 16
    them to for future reference when they are bound to call back up." Well, my cousin came up with the most brilliant one of all. She would transfer them back to their own number. Most people back then had call waiting activated on their home phones, so she
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 17
    would ask them to hold one moment, then transfer them out to their own number. Because the call waiting was activated it would just ring out because it didnt get answered, or would end up going to their own voicemail service with the phone company, and because they are seething over being put on hold, not catch their voice, or someone they
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 18
    recognized on the recording, then leave a scathing msg. 5% of the time the person would put the call to the company on hold to answer the incoming call, only to find their own hold music now on the line, and either hang up not wanting to deal with that and return to their previous call which
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom
  • 19
    they just hang up on. Or sit there waiting for someone. ✩ Vote Reply Share Bont_Tarentaal. 4 hr. ago Imagine getting transferred to your own number, then leaving a scathing voicemail for yourself, only to listen to
    via u/Jaikula_Freedom, u/Bont_Tarentaal
  • 20
    it later and realize that you've been fooled... Vote 12 D Reply Share
    via u/Bont_Tarentaal

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customer service shift orders malicious compliance workplace stories reddit customers system online retailer retail job Office supervisor malicious compliance reddit compliance
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