'Your adherence is non-negotiable and mandatory': Customer service rep's authoritarian emails go viral sparking discussion online

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 20, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

While it's all good to want your job to follow a predictable and streamlined pattern, the nature of dealing with the public is that you're going to have to be ready and anticipate pretty much anything unexpected. And at a certain point, you need to remember that even if they're wrong, they're still the customer. 

Everyone has encountered this customer service rep before—one who has handled one unruly customer too many and is now on the warpath. Usually, this type of attitude can be displayed by doctor's office receptionists who, for some reason, find it necessary to be as brutally condescending as possible over attending or scheduling a simple appointment. In fact, it's almost as if that particular trait is a requirement for the job. Still, these reps can also be found at airlines, banks, and cable companies that employ bureaucratic inertia as a weapon against their own customers to stonewall their requests into an impotent whisper. 

This reads heavily like someone chucked a prompt into an AI and just let it rip without any proofreading or comprehension of the output. Still, someone at least must have added something to the prompt along the lines of "make this statement as authoritarian as possible" without understanding the full extent of the direction they have asked the AI to take. If this is the case, it's just another instance of the AI "monkey's paw" curling along the lines of the "Willy Wonka Experience" that went viral a few months back. It certainly won't be the last before the final curling into SkyNet occurs. With the recent worldwide outages due to a faulty update, SkyNet seems more likely than ever.

One of the customer service rep's customers who received their bizarre out-of-office email shared the email with this online community sparking discussion and causing the email to go "viral." 

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  • 01
    "This is a final warning: from this moment on, you are expected to follow all directives to the letter. Any future non-compliance will result in severe repercussions, and you will bear full responsibility for any negative outcomes."
    via LinkedIn Sales Solutions
  • 02

    The user shared this email, which they said was sent to them by their assigned customer service representative who was going away on leave

    New Message from Subject: Not at Desk Hello To All Of My Assigned Users, This is a formal and urgent notice to inform you that I will be completely unavailable and away from my desk until next Friday. During my absence, under no circumstances should you attempt to contact me. Any emails sent to my address will be ignored and unanswered until I return. It is imperative that you direct all inquiries, concerns, and urgent matters to Failure to do so will result in significant delays and unresolved
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 03

    This was the email they received when the customer service rep returned

    New Message from Subject: I have returned Hello To All Of My Assigned Users, I am back and available at my desk. Effective immediately, all standard communication protocols are to be resumed, and you must direct your inquiries, concerns, and urgent matters to me. Some of you blatantly ignored my explicit directive issued before my absence. This level of disregard is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. You were clearly instructed to direct all matters to If
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 04
    fighterforthewindow "I demand full compliance"... sorry what? Cultural Pack3618 Resistance is futile
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 05
    sttaydown They sound like a fun person to work with... с DookieShoez Or be around, or be a family member of, or bump into, or see across the room.
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 06
    mealteamsixty 11 hr. ago. Holeeeeeee . I was kinda with her on slide 1 even though it was a bit harshly worded- take your vacation, queen, refuse to answer anything to do with work! ...then I saw the second slide. Calm down, HiOr. JeOs
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 07
    nerdyginger27 · 20 min. ago Exactly - I feel this person's pain having worked with pure idiots who can't seem to follow the simplest directions year after year. It reads as insane burnout and frustration. But clearly the vacation wasn't long enough to help, because the return email is kinda unhinged/unprofessional. Hope she finds a better job soon, because by the wording, it ain't worth the
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 08
    painful_process. 12 hr. ago Nothing says customer support like direct personal threats to the very people keeping you in employment.
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 09
    TimeAndTheHour 10 hr. ago Sorry- this is a customer support person? Of what- a small dictatorship?
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 10
    Turing-87 11 hr. ago Frankly, this kind of tone is unacceptable at any level of the organization. I would find it even funnier to find out this is like a low level customer rep too. It's like when a Pomeranian is barking at a Rottweiler. Keep us updated if this rep still has a job in a few days.
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR
  • 11
    Tie DyeRehabHoodie 10 hr. ago Plz forward to HR and tell us what happens next
    via u/VeniceB**chLDRR

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customer support customer service workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion hr job retail work customers customer workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace
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