Call Centre [M]adness….

So this one is a bit of a throwback….I would have been around 25 at the time.

I was working in a Call Centre. My job was a very tough one in the company, we used to pay out health insurance coverage for illness etc….I would be the person to give the good or bad news, whether or not your hospital bills would be covered. It was very thankless work and more often than not you’d leave work stressed out.

One day I received a call from Mary. She was crying uncontrollably and I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I had eventually calmed her down and asked her to explain the situation. It turned out that her husband had passed away from a heart attack and she was trying to get her affairs in order. I felt so bad.

She explained to me that she had nobody else and that she really needed a hand with all of the arrangements and sorting her payout. Thankfully her husband had good insurance and, long story short, everything was covered. It didn’t make it easier, but it certainly helped.

I was sure to be very calm and take as much time as she needed. We had to show empathy in this line of work. It was very important. I explained to her that I would have needed a few specific details about her husband….Social Security, specific verification codes, passwords….she didn’t have them with her so I couldn’t process the payout. I could tell she was frustrated so I had a thought….I offered to call her later that night from my own number at home, verify the details and process her payment first thing next morning. This way, she wouldn’t have to wait too long and it gave her a chance to find her stuff when she got home that night. She agreed.

I had arranged to call Mary at 7:30pm that night. I sat at my dinner table at home and dialled her number. She had everything to hand as I called. I had everything I needed to process her payout but I decided to ask how she was etc… just to be nice. She had nobody and I thought it would get me a good review at least (being honest).

“I dont know what I’m going to do to be honest….it’s all moving too fast for me. I have been rushing around all day, trying to get organised. I never thought I’d be burying my husband this weekend.”

I always think it’s best to sit back and just let the person get it all out. When somebody is grieving, they normally just want someone to listen, but I got more than I bargained for…..

I had made her laugh a little bit, it turned out that her husband was a karaoke fan and I made a joke that I had a face for radio…

“Oh don’t be silly, you have a lovely voice my darling….are we being recorded?”

I told her that we weren’t considering it was my personal phone. I really had no idea where she was going with this….

“Do you mind talking to me? Just a bit about yourself? I know it might sound strange, but I’m masturbating…I have been so stressed these last few days and I just need a release….”

I was like a deer in the headlights but I got hard instantly. I know it’s messed up but I said okay and asked what she wanted to talk about….”Just tell me about yourself”…I told her all about my upbringing, what my hobbies were, my dreams, if I was on death row what my last meal would be….the only responses I got were faint wet noises and soft moans every now and then. I thought rhat I was helping this lady out and was happy to oblige.

After about 15 or twenty minutes she cut across me…

“Well Zach, thank you so much for going above and beyond tonight. You really are the only person who has helped me through this. I feel much better for having spoken to you. If there are any reviews that you’d like me to do, send me an email any time…..I won’t mention this stuff.”

I told her that it was my pleasure…

“No darling, it was mine”

Source: reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/u4d1d4/call_centre_madness