Customer service cringe
For my sins a few years ago I worked as a customer service rep for the TV shopping channel QVC. This consisted of 2 weeks training in a classroom followed by a further week in a special area in the call centre where the new people sit and there are more experienced staff walking around to lend a hand if/when you get stuck. It works well and to be honest it's quite a fun job if you like talking to people on the phone.

Anyway, around this time my sister in law was very heavily pregnant and it had previously been agreed tbhat my wife was to drive her to hospital when the time came as her husband didn't drive. I was in charge of watching my own 2 kids who at the time were too young to be left on their own.

Perhaps many of you don't realise, but generally in these call centre type environments most calls follow a similar pattern and whilst QVC wasn't heavy on the scripted conversations, one thing they did like was for the calls to be ended with "Thank you for calling QVC"

So anyway, unbeknown to me, sis-in-law goes into labour, my wife drives her to the hospital, dropping my kids off at my mother in laws.

Once my sis in law was 'settled' in the delivery suite my wife thinks it would be a good idea to ring QVC and ask them to pass on a message to me, just so I know what's going on and where my kids are. Having left the house in rather a rush, she has forgotten to bring the reception phone number with her, so doing what any good girl scout would do she improvises and rings the telephone ordering line. Bear in mind there are around 200 people at any given time answering phones at QVC and you begin to see why it was so amazing that it was I who answered her call.

Me:"Good afternoon can I take a item number please"

Wife: "I don't actually want to place an order, I just need to get a message to MadBouncyDog to tell him his sis...etc."

Me: "Mrs. MBD!!! It's me !!! Wow!!! what are the chances??? How was it etc.

Mrs. MBD then proceeded to tell me the graphic details of the onset of labour and the trip to the hospital ending with instructions for picking up my kids.

Me: Ok Thanks for that. Thank you for calling QVC!!!

Unfortunately all calls are recorded and I could hear the monitoring team laughing from the other end of the (very large) room for what seemed like hours.

Loses it a bit in translation I'm afraid but I'm a musician, not a writer.
(MadBouncyDog Barking at the moon since, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 22:12, Reply)