So. This is what happened. Yesterday. September. 2009. Seriously. At work. No kidding.
I was preparing to leave for the day when a representative approached with a customer issue. The customer was demanding to speak with a 'manager who was a non black woman'. Initially, I laughed. I thought to myself 'Self, this is September. 2009. At work. Couldn't be.' I contemplated my choices. Should I stay at work longer, take this escalation, or go home and forget I had heard such statements? I looked at the representative who had answered the call. The young lady could not have been more than 20 years old. She had a blank look on her face. It was one of those 'Is this happening to me?' looks.
I had to take the call. If for no other reason, I had to do it for the young lady who had taken the call.
Let me back up and say this: I don't take calls. I don't take escalations. This is not apart of my job. It would be expected I ignore the escalation.
I take the headset from the representative, settle in for what I believe is going to be a long call, and say into the phone, "Hello. This is Rita Prior. How may I be of assistance to you?"
No kidding. This is some of what transpired.
Caller: Is that thing on the phone?
Me: This is Rita. How may I assist you?
Caller: I said, is that thing still on the phone?
Me: This is Rita. How may I assist you?
Caller: I pay my bill every month. I decide who I talk to. You do not decide who I talk to. I refuse to talk to that thing. She is not even human.
Me: How may I assist you with your device issue?
Caller: Transfer me to technical support.
Me: I understand your frustration when your device is not working properly. I will be happy to assist you. What exactly is the device doing, or not doing?
Caller: Just transfer me.
Me: I will be happy to transfer you. Prior to you speaking with another department, I need to fully understand the issue to ensure I connect you with someone who is able to resolve your issue.
Caller: You don't tell me who I can speak to. I tell you. Transfer me.
Me: I will get someone on the line now. Please explain what you are experiencing with your device.
Caller: Are you one of them?
Me: One of who?
Caller: One of those things. Like the one I was just talking to.
Me: My name is Rita. Please explain the issue you are having with your device.
Caller: You are one of those things. How dare you tell me who I can speak with. You are not even human. You are 3/5 human. Didn't you read the Constitution? Can you even read? You are a thing. You are a black woman. Black women are slothful and ignorant. You will not tell me who I can speak with. I am the human. Not you. Transfer me now, you thing!
Me: Please explain the issue you are having with your device.
Caller: You thing! You will transfer me now! You are ignorant. You are stupid. You are not human. How can a non human tell a human what to do? I will always tell you what to do. Transfer me now.
|Sidenote| At this point, I look at the young lady who originally took the call. I can see in her eyes I had to maintain this for her. I had to show her it is possible to overcome this type of ignorance.
Me: Mrs. _________, as I stated previously, I am able to transfer you to another department but not before knowing what issue you have.
Caller: I can not send picture messages, you thing.
Me: How long as this been a problem?
Caller: Since I bought the phone three months ago, you slothful, ignorant thing.
Me: Tell me exactly what happens when you attempt to send a message.
Caller: I will not talk to a non human. I want to talk to technical support now. You are the worst, ignorant, slothful, 3/5 human person I have ever talked to. You are beneath me. You are thing.
|The phone does dead|
Note to self: You are the author of the only dictionary able to define you.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tennessee Trip
Last weekend we went to Tennessee to my family reunion. As with all family reunions, you mentally prepare yourself. We first realized we needed a very good hotel room. Truth be told, we really didn't plan on attending all the activities. I just really wanted to see my mom and brother, who were also planning on being at the reunion. We called the Holiday Inn first. My family use to stay there all the time when I was a kid and I remembered the great suites. So, we call them and ask a few very important questions.
1. Do you have room service?
2. Have your rooms been renovated recently?
3. Do you still have the suites with a detached living room and kitchen?
They answered all the questions with yes. We then called Double Tree. We asked the same questions. Unfortunately, the answer to number three was no. Because we were planning on spending a lot of time with family in our room, we wanted the extra space. Also, we always work while we are out of the office and we needed the extra room for laptops, printers, phones, etc. Oh, and Clarence needed space for the Xbox.
So, we reserved a room at Holiday Inn. We actually paid for the room in advance. Upon arriving at the hotel, it looked the same as I remembered. It was still spacious with the lounge in the middle and a stacked bar. As a kid, we would go and take up all the bar room asking for grape juice and sprite. LOL
Anyway, we take the elevator up to the fourth floor. I first notice the couches near the elevators. They look familiar. Could they be the same couches from the 1990s? No, couldn't be. Must be the same color. We arrive at our room and the wonderful breeze of the air conditioner hits us. We walk in, throw our bags down and then turn the lights on. What is this? Couldn't be? Yes, it is. Its the same furniture I remember from the 1990s. The same couch, lamps, tables, and even the same TV. Say its not so! Certainly they have plasma by now! No, they do not. Wait, I see something new. Yes, it is new. Finally. New lampshades and energy efficient bulbs. Way to go green, Holiday Inn. I finally realized. This is not a failure to renovate, this is a way to conserve our resources.
I call Chris, the front desk clerk.
Me: Chris?
Chris: Yes, do you like your room?
Me: I have been here before.
Chris: Oh, have you stayed in that room before?
Me: I don't know about the room but the couch, tables, lamps, and dresser have followed me from the 1990s. And this room is tiny. I need space. Where is the kitchen? Where is the dining room table?
Chris: Laughs
Me: I need an upgrade. What do you have?
Chris: Well, I do have a better room. But it's expensive.
Me: How much more?
Chris: $10 a night.
Me: (thinking to myself) Do I look that broke!?
Me: (to Chris) We will take it.
Chris: It's on the smoking floor.
Me: They still have those. I thought hotels were smoke free.
Chris: Laughs
Me: What room?
Chris: I will have the bell boy bring up the key.
So, we get the key and travel down two floors. We arrive to our new room (trying not to die on the smell). What awaits us? Yes! Bigger. Table. KitchenETTE. SAME FURNITURE. You have got to be kidding me. What also awaits? Two queen beds. I am married. I can sleep in KING beds now. But, we give up and take it.
We go to check out the hotel and talk to the manager about their environmentally conscience decorations (old). While we are talking, an Indian (dot, not feathers) woman is having an argument with another lady. She approaches the front desk and ask to use their phone to call to Dallas. They refuse her saying she cant make a long distance call. We try to reach the number from our cell phones. They didn't answer. What was the reason the hotel wouldn't let her call? She has been outside asking for money. Yeah. Okay.
We go outside to our car. As I am about to take pictures, I see a few ants on the door. I follow the ants trail and I see a HUGE amount of ants all over the front of the car. Of course, I am going crazy. I look inside the car and there are ants all over my seat. I am itching, jumping up and down, screaming. Yes, I went overboard. Clarence moves me out the way and start wiping ants out of the car. Apparently we parked in an ant hill.
Why am I itching just typing this?
Clarence tells me to get in so we can go vacuum the car. I refuse to get in the car. Finally, after I don't see any immediate ants on the seat, I jump in the back seat on the drivers side. We go to the dollar store to get ant spray. I used an entire bottle. They were everywhere. We then drive to a vacuum to get all the little dead ants out. It was horrible.
The night before we purchased a room online with priceline.com for our Memphis stay. We stayed at the downtown Marriott for $75. The rooms are normally $160. We park the car in the underground parking garage, unload all the bags, and head to the front desk. What is between us and the front desk. Escalators. Why is this an issue? I discover Clarence as a phobia of escalators. What happens? No, you cant guess this one. I get on the escalator first. I am at the top, waiting on Clarence. I am coaching him to put the bags on first, then step behind them. What happens? He lets go of the bags, steps on the escalator and hold on for dear life. Where are the bags? On the floor at the bottom of the escalator. What is in one of his bags? His Xbox. What do I have to do? Walk down the other side (which is not working) to retrieve the bags and ride back up. Yes. I am serious.
We arrive in our room and its nice. Nothing huge but nice. We make plans that didn't work out but decide to go ahead and enjoy our evening. We leave the hotel and spend the evening at a music festival and Beale Street. I will reveal more about that later.
So, I get back to Marriott and we find the elevators have been shut down after 11p. Are you kidding me? This is a hotel located a mile from Beale Street, attached to the Convention Center, near the baseball stadium, and you shut things down after 11p? How does that work? We wonder around the garage trying to find a way to our room. We finally find an elevator that will work. Where does it take us? The convention centers were the members of the National Baptist Convention are setting up for their conference.
We cant wait to upload my pictures on Facebook. Something is wrong. My laptop wont connect to the internet. I check the connection again and try again. It keeps bringing me to the Marriott's website. I call the nice people downstairs and advise them of my issues. Guess what? I have to pay for the internet. No, not just the internet, but for phone calls as well. Are you serious? Motel 6 has free WIFI and the Marriott doesn't? So, being the computer junkie we are, we pay $6 for unlimited internet. We refused to pay for phone calls. We have cell phones.
The next morning we hear banging on the door. What time is it? What is going on? Is there a problem? It's 9am. Wait, I hear someone opening the door, or at least trying to. It is the cleaning staff trying to get in. Check out is not until noon. Why are you bothering me at 9a? Clarence yells from the bed 'Go away. We are not ready to leave'. Does it work? Of course not. 10a. 11a. 11:30a. Knock. Knock. Key in. Door opens. Chain blocks. Yes, they continue to try to get in the room. What part of NOON does no one understand?
So, we pack to leave Memphis. Downstairs, we remember our issue. How does one get back to the garage without attempting the escalators. We try the elevator and find it does not work. We try another set. They do not work. Wait, what about the convention center elevators? No way through the crowd. The Baptist have taken over. Guess what we did? Yes, the escalators. Clarence went first, leaving the bags behind. I send the bags down for him to get off. Does he? Of course not. He was celebrating his victory of his escalator decent.
What did we learn from this trip? Do you NOT always get what you pay for!
1. Do you have room service?
2. Have your rooms been renovated recently?
3. Do you still have the suites with a detached living room and kitchen?
They answered all the questions with yes. We then called Double Tree. We asked the same questions. Unfortunately, the answer to number three was no. Because we were planning on spending a lot of time with family in our room, we wanted the extra space. Also, we always work while we are out of the office and we needed the extra room for laptops, printers, phones, etc. Oh, and Clarence needed space for the Xbox.
So, we reserved a room at Holiday Inn. We actually paid for the room in advance. Upon arriving at the hotel, it looked the same as I remembered. It was still spacious with the lounge in the middle and a stacked bar. As a kid, we would go and take up all the bar room asking for grape juice and sprite. LOL
Anyway, we take the elevator up to the fourth floor. I first notice the couches near the elevators. They look familiar. Could they be the same couches from the 1990s? No, couldn't be. Must be the same color. We arrive at our room and the wonderful breeze of the air conditioner hits us. We walk in, throw our bags down and then turn the lights on. What is this? Couldn't be? Yes, it is. Its the same furniture I remember from the 1990s. The same couch, lamps, tables, and even the same TV. Say its not so! Certainly they have plasma by now! No, they do not. Wait, I see something new. Yes, it is new. Finally. New lampshades and energy efficient bulbs. Way to go green, Holiday Inn. I finally realized. This is not a failure to renovate, this is a way to conserve our resources.
I call Chris, the front desk clerk.
Me: Chris?
Chris: Yes, do you like your room?
Me: I have been here before.
Chris: Oh, have you stayed in that room before?
Me: I don't know about the room but the couch, tables, lamps, and dresser have followed me from the 1990s. And this room is tiny. I need space. Where is the kitchen? Where is the dining room table?
Chris: Laughs
Me: I need an upgrade. What do you have?
Chris: Well, I do have a better room. But it's expensive.
Me: How much more?
Chris: $10 a night.
Me: (thinking to myself) Do I look that broke!?
Me: (to Chris) We will take it.
Chris: It's on the smoking floor.
Me: They still have those. I thought hotels were smoke free.
Chris: Laughs
Me: What room?
Chris: I will have the bell boy bring up the key.
So, we get the key and travel down two floors. We arrive to our new room (trying not to die on the smell). What awaits us? Yes! Bigger. Table. KitchenETTE. SAME FURNITURE. You have got to be kidding me. What also awaits? Two queen beds. I am married. I can sleep in KING beds now. But, we give up and take it.
We go to check out the hotel and talk to the manager about their environmentally conscience decorations (old). While we are talking, an Indian (dot, not feathers) woman is having an argument with another lady. She approaches the front desk and ask to use their phone to call to Dallas. They refuse her saying she cant make a long distance call. We try to reach the number from our cell phones. They didn't answer. What was the reason the hotel wouldn't let her call? She has been outside asking for money. Yeah. Okay.
We go outside to our car. As I am about to take pictures, I see a few ants on the door. I follow the ants trail and I see a HUGE amount of ants all over the front of the car. Of course, I am going crazy. I look inside the car and there are ants all over my seat. I am itching, jumping up and down, screaming. Yes, I went overboard. Clarence moves me out the way and start wiping ants out of the car. Apparently we parked in an ant hill.
Why am I itching just typing this?
Clarence tells me to get in so we can go vacuum the car. I refuse to get in the car. Finally, after I don't see any immediate ants on the seat, I jump in the back seat on the drivers side. We go to the dollar store to get ant spray. I used an entire bottle. They were everywhere. We then drive to a vacuum to get all the little dead ants out. It was horrible.
The night before we purchased a room online with priceline.com for our Memphis stay. We stayed at the downtown Marriott for $75. The rooms are normally $160. We park the car in the underground parking garage, unload all the bags, and head to the front desk. What is between us and the front desk. Escalators. Why is this an issue? I discover Clarence as a phobia of escalators. What happens? No, you cant guess this one. I get on the escalator first. I am at the top, waiting on Clarence. I am coaching him to put the bags on first, then step behind them. What happens? He lets go of the bags, steps on the escalator and hold on for dear life. Where are the bags? On the floor at the bottom of the escalator. What is in one of his bags? His Xbox. What do I have to do? Walk down the other side (which is not working) to retrieve the bags and ride back up. Yes. I am serious.
We arrive in our room and its nice. Nothing huge but nice. We make plans that didn't work out but decide to go ahead and enjoy our evening. We leave the hotel and spend the evening at a music festival and Beale Street. I will reveal more about that later.
So, I get back to Marriott and we find the elevators have been shut down after 11p. Are you kidding me? This is a hotel located a mile from Beale Street, attached to the Convention Center, near the baseball stadium, and you shut things down after 11p? How does that work? We wonder around the garage trying to find a way to our room. We finally find an elevator that will work. Where does it take us? The convention centers were the members of the National Baptist Convention are setting up for their conference.
We cant wait to upload my pictures on Facebook. Something is wrong. My laptop wont connect to the internet. I check the connection again and try again. It keeps bringing me to the Marriott's website. I call the nice people downstairs and advise them of my issues. Guess what? I have to pay for the internet. No, not just the internet, but for phone calls as well. Are you serious? Motel 6 has free WIFI and the Marriott doesn't? So, being the computer junkie we are, we pay $6 for unlimited internet. We refused to pay for phone calls. We have cell phones.
The next morning we hear banging on the door. What time is it? What is going on? Is there a problem? It's 9am. Wait, I hear someone opening the door, or at least trying to. It is the cleaning staff trying to get in. Check out is not until noon. Why are you bothering me at 9a? Clarence yells from the bed 'Go away. We are not ready to leave'. Does it work? Of course not. 10a. 11a. 11:30a. Knock. Knock. Key in. Door opens. Chain blocks. Yes, they continue to try to get in the room. What part of NOON does no one understand?
So, we pack to leave Memphis. Downstairs, we remember our issue. How does one get back to the garage without attempting the escalators. We try the elevator and find it does not work. We try another set. They do not work. Wait, what about the convention center elevators? No way through the crowd. The Baptist have taken over. Guess what we did? Yes, the escalators. Clarence went first, leaving the bags behind. I send the bags down for him to get off. Does he? Of course not. He was celebrating his victory of his escalator decent.
What did we learn from this trip? Do you NOT always get what you pay for!
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