Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Syl (Sylvia Bun) :neobun_bi: :neobun_trans: (thatgalsilver@zoner.work)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:41:40 JST Syl (Sylvia Bun) :neobun_bi: :neobun_trans:

   I wish the general populace understood that screaming at an employee of a business is not going to solve your problems, and in most cases makes us less likely to actually fix your problem because the more you scream the less we can actually work with you to solve your problems.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:41:38 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist

     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     This applied to my line of work as an on-site computer tech. If you were kind, I'd do everything I could get away with. If you were a dick, you get as little as I can provide while keeping my job.

     In fact, one of my kindest customers was in a bind. I fudged the times so I could provide his Monday appointment on an unauthorized Saturday. "When they call you Monday, make sure you go about it was though I'm here Monday"

     Kindness pays!

   • Embed this notice
     Syphist :verifiedtrans: (syphist@zoner.work)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:41:39 JST Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     in reply to

     @thatgalsilver pro-tip for calling into a call center. Be pleasant to them. They will often go above and beyond for you if you're decent about things.
     
     Need a credit for a cable outage? Say please and just talk to them like a normal person and they'll likely credit you for other outages and such you didn't know about.
     
     Been on hold for an hour? Instead of complaining reframe it as "sounds like y'all are busy today". Chances are they will be way more relaxed after hearing that line and be less prone to rushing you off the phone.
     
     Need them to bend the rules a bit? Be nice about it and you are far more likely for them to put you on hold to go speak with a leader or supervisor to make an exception.
     
     Why do I say this? I worked in a call center, the little who showed this basic decency made me feel like actually trying my hardest for them.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:46:21 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist
     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     There is one exception. The company I worked for had policies that made service impossible for deaf customers. I broke the rules to accommodate regardless. I'm not about to use someone's disability against them just cause they're rude.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:51:33 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist
     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     If anyone is curious about the policy - I was not allowed to go on site unless the customer spoke to me to confirm via phone. Many desf customers used the very computer I was supposed to fix to handle relay calls (they sign to an operator, opperator voices). Didn't matter if I knew the customer was indeed there, or if they found a way to contact me outside of the phone.
     I'd go anyway, cause fuck ablism.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:55:49 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist
     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     Funny thing - ALL my deaf customers gave me perfect survey scores every time. Coworkers used to piss and moan when they got deaf customers cause it'd tank their scores. "How?! Deaf customers are some of the easiest people to please! Just fix it and don't be an ablist dick. That's literally all it takes!"

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 06:59:07 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist
     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     My disabled customers were my favorites, regardless of what disability. Most of them were friendly, and all of them would give perfect scores just for not throwing their disability in the way.
     Easiest perfect surveys to get. I saw one on my list, I knew I was getting a bump to my grade that day.

     I just wish my company had been intelligent enough to just assign all the disabled customers to me, cause my coworkers absolutely sucked at it.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 07:02:34 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist

     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     Other interesting note -
     My intellectually disabled customers would stop fucking with the computer when they reached the end of their skill. 👍

     Supposedly "smarter" customers would act on ego, try to fix it having no idea what they're doing, and make a lot of extra work for me. 🤬 They also never just told me wtf happened to it. Like, this is already out of warranty. Just tell me you got drunk and dumped a beer on it.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 07:09:57 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist

     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     I had one customer who had a braille display. "I don't have a normal display for you to use. How are we going to do this?"
     Simple, my friend... it's your turn to be a screen reader for me. Just read me what's there, don't worry if you don't know how to pronounce the jargon.

   • Embed this notice
     Syphist :verifiedtrans: (syphist@zoner.work)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 07:09:58 JST Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     in reply to

     • Miakoda

     @hellomiakoda@pdx.social @thatgalsilver@zoner.work @LivInTheLookingGlass@transfem.social I never had to help a deaf customer before, but there was a dude I helped in my computer repair job that used JAWS on his computer due to sight impairment. Doing troubleshooting like making printers work was basically impossible for him so he relied on us. Did a service call to his house and he was really nice and told me a couple cool stories. I forget what I did, bit I indeed stretch the rules a bit for him.

   • Embed this notice
     Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 08:16:48 JST Miakoda

     in reply to

     • Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     @syphist
     @thatgalsilver @LivInTheLookingGlass

     I must say, the braille display was the coolest piece of adaptive tech, as far as the tech aspect of it goes, I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and touching in person.
     That thing must have cost a ton.
     I wish I had the funds and skill to build a smartphone around it and then open source my design.

   • Embed this notice
     Syphist :verifiedtrans: (syphist@zoner.work)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 08:16:49 JST Syphist :verifiedtrans:

     in reply to

     • Miakoda

     @hellomiakoda@pdx.social @thatgalsilver@zoner.work @LivInTheLookingGlass@transfem.social this story is so cute, I love it