[Courses] [Spineful Living, lesson 2: When Nice = Rude]

[Tracey C]

On 4/9/07, Carla Schroder <carla at bratgrrl.com> wrote:On Monday 09 April 2007
07:13, Charlotte Oliver wrote:

> > Given that it had to be done and I was making no headway fast, I opened
> up
> > a support case with Cisco. We pay for the support contract to be able to
> > do this sort of thing.


OK, I can relate to this professionally. I work in a helpdesk, so people
call me for support. I also have to contact Dell on occasion for support
under contract.

> I said, "I don't have a ton of experience with VOIP. Here's what I'm
> > trying to do, here's what I've gleaned needs to be done from the
> > documentation. Here's what I've tried and here's where I'm failing to
> > understand something. Can you please help with the configuration?"
> >
> > I then got a lecture about how I really didn't belong in the position I
> was
> > in, I really couldn't just maintain a system like this, I was completely
> > out of my league, incompetent, needed training, etc., etc.


There are two things I see here. The first is that the person made an
assumption, probably because he heard a female voice, that you had no clue
about what you were doing.

Regardless, the lecture was completely unprofessional. If I were to tell
some user that called up that they had no business doing their job I would
*at least* be written up. I would also not accept this from any of the Dell
techs or any other contract vendor. It's understandable if you were probably
feeling a little hesitant or unsure because this wasn't an area you know
well. Many women feel that kind of hesitation when they aren't 100% sure of
something. This doesn't excuse the lecture.

> I actually nearly burst into tears on the phone. It was so completely out
> > of line with what I had been expecting.


*hugs* It does feel like an ambush! Bad tech.

He apologized, as he had
> > presumed that I was coming from a pure PBX background.


OK, he gets points for the apology. However, the lecture was still
unprofessional. He needs to learn to not do that to callers, regardless of
his assumptions about their background.

So who has some ideas how to handle situations like this? What do you say to
> an idiot tech support droid who would rather criticize and belittle you
> than
> do his job?


"Let me speak to your supervisor"
You don't need to explain, or yell, or listen to anything more. Just insist
on speaking to the person's supervisor. This is exactly what I would do if I
got this kind of lip from one of the Dell techs. I know it is also how a
customer would respond if myself or one of my coworkers told them they
couldn't do their job.

Wouldn't you consider this a breach of contract, in addition to
> being personally insulting and generally a loathesome human being?


I'm not sure it's a breach of contract, except if you're refused support.
Since the person eventually did provide support, the terms of the contract
were probably upheld. It is however, justifiably termed harassment. I know
that in my company we have a strict anti-harassment policy that extends not
only to employees, but contractors and people we work with.  This goes for
other companies. Just another thought and possible avenue to consider. I
agree that the lecture was insulting, unprofessional, rude and uncalled for.

My first impulse is to not even bother with Mr. Dork, but insist on an
> escalation. Then when your situation is resolved, file a formal complaint
> with Mr Dork's boss. Does this sound like an effective tactic?
>
> It is what I'd do.


-- 
Tracey C