'She asked me to transfer her to the governor...': Phone operators for banks, pharmacies, and other white collar jobs share the most laughable requests they've gotten from customers

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Jan 7, 2024 1:00 PM EST

If you have ever worked the phones at any job, then you know just how nutso people can get on the other side. It's almost as chaotic as trolls on the internet. That essence of anonymity that talking through a phone creates a "no-shame" mentality and now you have people asking you questions they would be way to embarrassed to do face-to-face. Just because you're talking to someone at the Walgreens pharmacy doesn't mean you are talking to your doctor, so why are you telling them about the weird bump on you bum?? One time, while I was working in retail, a man called me to have me walk through the store for an hour and tell him which clothes would be best for a "sl*tty slave maid outfit," I was 17… Anyways, that's just one of the many examples of the most laughable request white collar employees get over the phone. See over 20 more below!  

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  • 01
    "Try working in a drug store... People would tell/ask me all sorts of weird medical stuff and questions like I'm a doctor."
    via Yan Krukau via Pexels
  • 02
    Posted by u/Psychological_Tap187 4 days ago I work for a bank and sometimes folks call in for the craziest things.
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 03
    Like I can't tell you how many times people call in to order checks but they only want their name on it and want me to send them out without the joint account holders name on them or they
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 04
    want me to send them out without the address on them. Sometimes they call in requesting a debit card for a person that's not even on the account. Or they want
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 05
    us(an online bank) to cut a teller check at 3pm and have it rushed out to them by five that same day then get mad when I explain these things can't be done. I've
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 06
    also had folks want me to isolate all of their cash ap credits, and only their cash ap credits, for the last four years in one document and send it to them like thats not how this works at all.
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 07
    You can submit a verification of deposit request, but even that isn't going to just isolate the specific ones you need. Or they want a account standing letter but they want us to put on
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 08
    the amount of the balance before a deposit came in to make it look like they have less money. I mean I get we live in a world of technology but some of the things they ask us to
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 09
    do are downright illegal or impossible. What are some crazy things yall are asked to do?
    via u/Psychological_Tap187
  • 10
    FreeAd4245 4 days ago ● I work in health insurance. Sometimes people get sent to us when they really have [similar name insurance]. If they they don't have one of our ID number sand they aren't in my system, I can't just
    via u/FreeAd4245
  • 11
    look up WHERE they might be covered, they have to find their ID or something. Also people who are our members call about, say, prior auth on a medication, and they will
    via u/FreeAd4245
  • 12
    say, "as you can see I've had diabetes foe 10 years" or whatever, and I have to explain that, for better or worse, I do NOT have access to their entire medical history. I only can see what I need to know to do my job.
    via u/FreeAd4245
  • 13
    PearlySweetcake7 4 days ago ● I deal with the exact same issues. I work in health insurance, too. People try to open up about their health issues as if I'm a doctor or something. I'll apologize and suggest they call their doctor for
    via u/PearlySweetcake7
  • 14
    an appointment. They agree and then proceed with the details again. I think some of them don't have anyone to confide in. I probably listen more than I should.
    via u/PearlySweetcake7
  • 15
    My talk time is typically higher than most, but we don't have a limit. My goal has always been to make sure they leave the call better than when they called
    via u/PearlySweetcake7
  • 16
    Intelligent-Pain4420 3 days ago Try working in a drug store I'm not even talking pharmacy... As a CASHIER! People would tell/ask me all sorts of weird medical stuff and questions like I'm a doctor.
    via u/Intelligent-Pain4420
  • 17
    Then on the other end of the spectrum was the people all embarrassed about certain purchases, trying to hide what they were buying, or make jokes/excuses to why they were purchasing. And I'm
    via u/Intelligent-Pain4420
  • 18
    like, I couldn't care less what you're buying. And actually, I hadn't even noticed what you were buying till you pointed it out with your silly story/joke about it!! I'm just scanning bar codes and taking money, that's all!
    via u/Intelligent-Pain4420
  • 19
    irelace. 4 days ago I work for a bank call center. Have you ever gotten the call from someone who wants to know how they can make a cash deposit without leaving their house?
    via u/irelace
  • 20
    Alternative-Speed-89 2 days ago A friend of my brother's used to work as a call center tech support for a computer company (back before laptops were the norm). He couldn't tell you how many times people thought the floppy
    via u/Alternative-Speed-89
  • 21
    dusk slot was some kind of remote atm. He remembers 1 ditzy lady that tried to shove her credit card in to do online shopping & called cause it wouldn't work.
    via u/Alternative-Speed-89
  • 22
    ayybh91 2 days ago ● I had someone just try to read the serial number off paper cash to pay a cell phone bill. I was so confused at first. Like why am I spending 5 min explaining to a grown person they can't pay with cash over the phone.
    via u/ayybh91
  • 23
    Mundane_Koala3790. 4 days ago This poor guy asked me to cashapp him $10 after he lost like $15 cause it was transferred to a purged prepaid debit card lol
    via u/Mundane_Koala3790
  • 24
    extremelyhotpink. 3 days ago I worked in advanced tech support for a huge cable company. One time a guy called about his internet being out. After lots of troubleshooting and yes asking about lights and
    via u/extremelyhotpink
  • 25
    power sources we got to the moment be told me his electricity to his place was off. Also same company...we were never allowed to hang up on customers. Ever. Dirty old man called cause he wasn't able to
    via u/extremelyhotpink
  • 26
    find the adult movies/ channels. I had to verbally walk him through the menu then he tried to get me to read the titles cause supposedly his eyes were bad. It got to the point where you sneeze and accidently kick the power
    via u/extremelyhotpink
  • 27
    source to your phone and it shuts down Oh also when this one lady called cause her 11 year old son ordered $500 worth of adult on demand content. e she wanted a credit.
    via u/extremelyhotpink

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white collar jobs white collar jobs work stories white collar employees phone operators employees entitled call center employee r-entitled Reddit call centers entitled people
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