'You want to escalate? Okay': Customer support insists they can help customer, customer wastes his own time trying to escalate the matter

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 5, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

Not every customer support worker is reading off of a script. That didn't stop this customer from insisting that one worker was doing that, though! 

Sure, when you call a customer service helpline, you'll have to answer a bunch of standard questions. You might have to tell them your age and address and maybe answer a few security questions. Some customers just have zero time for this, though. Even though answering all of the necessary questions probably takes about a minute, a lot of people get so worked up and angry before calling that they're too upset to answer the questions. They're just demanding answers… not realizing that they cannot be helped until they provide basic information. 

Others, like the dude in this story, were being irritating by refusing to try simple solutions. I know, no one wants to be told to turn their computer off and back on again, or to make sure it's plugged into the wall. But some customer service reps literally have to ask these questions before proceeding, and if they don't, they risk breaking company protocols that could cost them their jobs. 

This person shared their story, but commenters focussed on how their company treated them after this call went south. You can read the full tale below and see for yourself how crazy things got with this impatient customer. 

Next, read about the "mass malicious compliance" caused by a manager who told all employees to be in their seats by 9 AM, no exceptions! 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10412307456
    via Curtis Berry on Unsplash+
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    You want to escalate to tier 3 support? Okay, there's a process for that, let's do it.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    I worked in customer support for a tech firm, and if I may say so, the company is good at it and I am good at it. We have customer satisfaction stories and data to prove it. Our customer support is what gives us a competitive advantage in our marketplace and makes us very profitable.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 04
    One day, I get a phone call from a customer. I say "hello, my " and his response is, "I want to talk to 3rd tier support". "Okay. We have a process for that. What seems to be the problem?"
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  • 05
    "No, you don't understand. I don't want to talk to you, I want to talk to 3rd tier support" "Actually, I *do* understand. You want to talk to 3rd tier support. I'm setting that up. But there are a few questions I have to ask you and if I don't know the answers to those questions. then they aren't going to call you, they are going to ask me to call you back and get those answers. So, what seems to be the problem?"
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 06
    He explains to me the problem. "Have you tried this?" "No, you don't understand. I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to 3rd tier support, you know, the guys who aren't working from a script"
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    "I assure you, sir, I am not working from a script. Have you tried this?" "Yes, I did, now may I talk to 3rd tier support?" "Have you tried that?"
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 08
    "Yes, I did, now may I talk to 3rd tier support? My problem isn't on your script" "There is no script for this problem. I am asking you this question because I thoroughly understand our device and I know, from previous experience, that that might solve your problem".
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 09
    "Have you tried this other thing?" "What makes you think that this other thing is going to solve the problem?" "Well, I've been doing this work for a couple of years now, and I have a pretty good idea of how these things work. So I thought this other thing might solve the problem."
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 10
    "Look, I have a master's degree in computer science. I want to talk to somebody in 3rd tier support". Now, I do not want to disrespect computer scientists, because CS is hard field to get into. But everybody should understand that there is a big difference between computer scientists, computer programmers, system
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    administrators, database administrators, network administrators, cyber security analysts, program managers, and customer support people. Computer scientists do research on artificial intelligence, algorithms, compiler design, large databases, and other theoretical topics. Those are important topics. Computer programmers, by way of contrast, write computer programs. They need to know about computer
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    science topics, but computer science is a means not an end. The same is true for all of the other specialties that I mentioned. He may be a really good computer scientist, but that doesn't mean he a network administrator or a system administrator - those are different specialties. Somebody who says, "I have a master's degree in computer science, I don't need to talk to you" knows a great deal about what he
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    knows, but doesn't know what he doesn't know. I've been around long enough to know that there is a great deal I don't know. "Just try this other thing, and if that doesn't work, then I will give you to 3rd tier support" "Promise?" "Promise"
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    I can hear him typing away in the background, swearing, and cursing. I can hear when he hits the return key because he hits it hard. Then he picks up the phone and says: "it's working now". "Great. You still want me to escalate to 3rd tier support?"
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 15
    Then I get a torrential outpouring of expletives. Since this is a family channel, I won't give the details but rather leave it to your imagination, gentle reader. Then he hung up on me. Wouldn't you know it? He got a customer satisfaction survey and I got straight zeroes.
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    I got called into my boss's office and we had a conversation about the call. He was upset, and I can't say I blame him because he also gets graded on our survey scores. He called in some 3rd tier support people to listen to the recording ("For training and quality assurance purposes") and they said I did everything right -
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    he (me) did not deserve that rating. They also said that there was no way I deserved that abuse and that the survey should be tossed out. Unfortunately, the rules are the rules and that score counted. So I lost my quarterly bonus, a couple of thousand dollars. However, the big boss felt awful about the whole affair, so he and his wife took my wife and me out to dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town. We
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    had a lovely time. At the end of the evening, I noticed that he paid for the meal with his personal, not his corporate credit card. I asked him about that. His response was golden: "I'm in a position where I could probably get away with it, but that wouldn't be right. What happened to you wasn't right either. This dinner is my way of making it up to you as best I can, and I figured if I am going to do that, I might as well take my wife and your wife along.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
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    Why not?" (He knew I was married because I have the ring). I love that guy. Worked for him for years. I would have liked the couple of thousand dollars, but the acknowledgment that I had been screwed was a good second place.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 20
    Rekuna You have a good boss, but dude....you got screwed out of a bonus. That customer probably was momentarily embarrassed but probably felt smug as anything after giving you those zeros and knowing they counted.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 21
    I was hoping this was going to end with the boss giving you money, or the customers review getting nullified/a complaint lodged against them for threatening behaviour because I legit got second hand rage from your story. Hate entitled customers.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 22
    kynthrus Yeah, no dawg. That review was BS and should have been removed. I can't give straight Os on glassdoor for companies I've never worked for before for good reason. What's the point of recording calls if the review sticks no matter what after review?
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 23
    harrywwc on hearing the abuse in the recording of the phone call should have been more than enough to (a) nullify the survey, and (b) have the client's sale-rep call them and strongly suggest they pull their freaking head in
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 24
    lespasucaku Sorry but your company isn't "good" if an obviously unfair customer rating can cost an agent thousands of dollars
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 25
    re7swerb One single review was enough to lose you multiple thousand dollars? This is a truly awful system.
    via u/New_Expression_5724
  • 26
    nethecat You complimented your company a little too much for how terribly their policies treated you.
    via u/New_Expression_5724

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malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit malicious compliance reddit customer support tech support computers customers
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