A Call Center Worker Shares Videos of Calls With Irrationally Angry Customers
Published June 9 2023, 2:56 p.m. ET
We’ve all been there — we need an extension on a bill, or we were mistakenly charged, or our Wi-Fi stopped working, so we do what we must and call customer service. And to be honest, we’d be lying if we said we never raised our voices or got mad at the customer service worker on the line, even though we know the issue is never their fault.
But sometimes, we need a peek behind the scenes of a call center worker to know what it’s like for the customer service reps. TikToker Ashley Williams shared in a viral TikTok video how a customer raised their voice at her while she kept her cool. I don’t think I could do that if my life depended on it, let alone every single day. But what really happened on that call?
A call center worker took us behind the scenes on a call that “escalated.”
On May 31, 2023, Ashley Williams first took us behind the scenes of one of her many customer service calls with the title, “POV: when you work in customer service and have an escalation call.” At first, it seems like her video could be a fictional sketch just to show us what a call center worker’s life is like, but once we hear the voice on the other line, it’s clear that Ashley’s experience is real.
Despite a clearly angry customer, Ashley tells her, “I hear you, and I apologize about your frustration. I understand it. I get it. But I want you to know that nothing has changed. The two choices I have given you still remain the two choices that I’ve given you.”
Throughout the call, we learn that the caller wants to extend her payment date and waive the late fee. Ashley tells the caller that because the company has already done this multiple times for the caller, they can no longer keep waiving the fee, to which the caller allegedly says, “I’m confused.” So, Ashley repeats calmly, “What are you confused about?”
Honestly, it’s ridiculous how many adults lose all sense of logic when they’re angry. But that’s what anger does! It breeds irrationality, fear, and rage. But call center workers often become the target for all those emotions when they have nothing to do with the problem itself.
Although we’ve probably all been that frustrated person on the other line (or at least I have, although after working in customer-facing roles, I’ve tried not to be), commenters quickly came to Ashley’s side. Many commended her for dealing with her tricky customers, sharing that they wouldn’t have been able to do the same.
Others shared their own experiences working in call centers and customer service. One even wrote, “No lie, I cried before every shift 'cause I was so tired of getting berated by strangers and not being able to say anything back.” The worst part is that not only do customer service reps have to take on insults and anger, but they can’t dish it back out!
Ashley shared a second video after the popularity of her first that was even more ridiculous. A customer continues to curse at her, and Ashley responds calmly that he can curse at the situation but not at her. But he clearly continues to curse because she instructs him that after three times, her company has a policy that she should hang up and that she’s been more than patient. It seems like he just wanted someone to scream at!
I know we have Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and more national holidays, but can we please get a Customer Service Rep’s Day?! They work hard to try to help us, even when all we want to do is scream at them.
But until then, more videos of customer service reps dealing with impossible customers, please! The more these videos circulate, the more we will all be ashamed of treating call center workers disrespectfully. Hopefully, that will lead to fewer rude callers in the future.
