RANT: The general public sucks dung.

[Rath Darkblade]

ARGH!!! *stomps up to his apartment, slams door; STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP; SLAM!!!*
*flops down in his easy chair*

Phew. I feel better now.

Loooooooooooooong week at work. I work in accounts receivable, which means (for the uninitiated amongst you) that - among other things - I have to send out bills, take payments, send out receipts, and chase down people who don't pay their bill on time.

So, last week, Mrs X (I can't reveal her name due to privacy reasons) had a bill overdue by about 7 weeks. (ARGH). About this time, I'm starting to get seriously concerned, so in addition to sending her a reminder by email, I also ring her up. She answers the phone, I try to find out what's going on with her bill and when it will be paid, and she abruptly cuts me off to say "I'll pay it when I feel like it" and hangs up. Charming.

This week I ring her again and leave a message, and also send another email reminder. (Bear in mind that this is simply my job; I don't like bugging people any more than I have to, and I always try to be tactful and diplomatic and understanding). Then, this morning, I check our bank account to find out who's paid us by EFT, like I do every Friday morning.

So I find that Mrs X paid us a few days ago. (Nice). However, in the description of the payment, she wrote: "Now p*ss off [Mrs X's name]". How delightful. Oh, and did I mention that she only owed us $50?

So I'm just sitting there and thinking, "WTF is wrong with you, lady? You go to all that trouble, and drive me this crazy, for fifty lousy bucks? F*** you and f*** your stupid, petty, inconsiderate ways! Learn some f***ing manners, why don't you."

Sorry for ranting, but people like this really get on my nerves. If you buy a product, you pay for it - that's what business means. If you don't like it, don't buy it; and if you buy it, you'd better pay for it - and on time!

Sigh. All right, I've had my rant. I feel better now.

[misslilo]

I'm right with you on this - I run into them on a daily basis at my work

[Rudy]

That reminds me, I still have a bill to pay... Meh, I'll pay when I feel like it

[envisge0ne]

I know all about that too. I work in collections. Getting to deal with defaulted student loans. I also get to setup wage garnishments. So, as you can imagine, I get to deal with some pretty angry, nasty people every day

[Maiandra]

Yeah, dealing that type of customer is so wonderful. I never understand how they actually have the nerve to get angry when you want the money they owe you. They knowingly entered into the deal/contract/obligation.

[DeadPoolX]

Rath, were the only one contacting her? I'm just wondering if other employees at your work had been badgering her. Granted, she obligation to to pay and should do it. All I'm saying is that maybe she was already feeling a bit harassed and your call set her of.

Again, there's no blame directed toward you, Rath. I'm just trying to figure out why she'd get so riled over $50.

[Rath Darkblade]

I know all about that too. I work in collections. Getting to deal with defaulted student loans. I also get to setup wage garnishments. So, as you can imagine, I get to deal with some pretty angry, nasty people every day

Ay-yi-yi. You have my sympathies. Beer o'clock yet?

Rath, were the only one contacting her? I'm just wondering if other employees at your work had been badgering her. Granted, she obligation to to pay and should do it. All I'm saying is that maybe she was already feeling a bit harassed and your call set her of.

Again, there's no blame directed toward you, Rath. I'm just trying to figure out why she'd get so riled over $50.

Sigh. I'm the only one in the company doing receivables, so I get to face the brunt of people's rage. Most of the time, people are genuinely honest about it, surprised, apologetic, considerate... you name it. But sometimes, I do run into a few sickos.

I've done a little research into this lady... she did the same course 3 years ago, was sent a bill for $50, and also defaulted on that one. I chased her for nearly 4 months before she finally paid. This time, I had to chase her for "just" 7 weeks before she gave in. Mwa ha ha! Persistence FTW!

I'm right with you on this - I run into them on a daily basis at my work

Hmm? What do you do, misslilo? *curious*

Yeah, dealing that type of customer is so wonderful. I never understand how they actually have the nerve to get angry when you want the money they owe you. They knowingly entered into the deal/contract/obligation.

Yeah. I think I got a new theory of humanity: statistically speaking, half of humanity is stupider, meaner, and angrier than usual - and half of THEM are even dumber than that! Some people think that if they yell long enough, the problem will go away. Sorry!

[misslilo]

I answer phones for like 50 companies. Mostly it's just a redirect or mail to correct person.

But sometimes we act as customer service for huge online shopping malls - and they can be really nasty, lol.

Other times a company uses us only, when they are on holiday/in a meeting/don't wanna be disturbed - whatever - and when ppl then call and can't get to them, they can be really "mean" and insist to talk with someone.

We sometimes get called horrible names - like hore / bitch / cow... you name it lol

Edit:
Maybe I should mention, that we are a relative small company, that take pride in the fact, that we mostly hire mature ppl.
It's not a swingdoor company, if you know what I mean
That also means, that those that uses us, expect us to act as if we're an actual part of their company - and their clients can't tell the difference.
But sometimes when these "dumb" ppl starts attacking us, we ARE allowed to say, that we're not actually in the company they called - but merely helping them out.

[Rath Darkblade]

Maybe I should mention, that we are a relative small company, that take pride in the fact, that we mostly hire mature ppl. It's not a swingdoor company, if you know what I mean

Oh yes... I definitely know what you mean. A "swingdoor" company is one that hires anyone to answer phones during the summer season (or whatever) and at the end of that, the door swings and they're gone. "Never mind, plenty more backpackers where he came from!" Sigh... that attitude really pisses me off, because I'm a fairly mature person myself, and I hate it when people assume that I'm not.

How many of those backpackers actually get retained beyond the 3-month limit, I wonder? Any ideas?

EDITED to say that I'm usually a mature person, but webforums like this is where I go to be silly.

[Collector]

Don't forget that places that have a high turnover rate usually do because of lousy working conditions combined with low pay. You can stand bad working conditions, at least for a while, if the pay is high enough. Many are willing to tolerate less than optimal pay if it is a job that you really enjoy. When you have neither, is when you start looking for another job. Places that have both a high turnover rate and require a fair bit of training suffer from that Harvard MBA nonsense of being so obsessed with cutting overhead that they don't see that their cost cutting ends up costing them more than they save or that they are selling the future of the company for short term gains.

[Rath Darkblade]

Don't forget that places that have a high turnover rate usually do because of lousy working conditions combined with low pay. You can stand bad working conditions, at least for a while, if the pay is high enough. Many are willing to tolerate less than optimal pay if it is a job that you really enjoy. When you have neither, is when you start looking for another job. Places that have both a high turnover rate and require a fair bit of training suffer from that Harvard MBA nonsense of being so obsessed with cutting overhead that they don't see that their cost cutting ends up costing them more than they save or that they are selling the future of the company for short term gains.

Sigh. For years, I've been struggling along with less-than-optimal pay - mostly because I'd been on part-time hours, but also because I enjoy the job. But now... well... things are tough, very tough, but I don't know if I can talk about it openly. Sorry! Anyone who wants to know is more than welcome to send me an IM.