Excuse Me!?!?!?

[canray.livejournal.com]

geekgrrl_ca suggested that I come here. She was right to do so. ;-)

Here's my introduction:

I work Tech Support for a US Cable Internet Company. I'm also a specialist Tech Support agent (Wireless Networks), so can't figure out how this call even got to me in the first place...

Issue was the computer loaded the wallpaper of WindowsXP, but not the Desktop.

Me: "OK, this is a problem with your computer, not the Internet Service. Your other computers are working fine and getting webpages, so we know that the service we're providing..."

Angry Woman: "Y'all ain't helpin' me 'cause I'm *BLACK*!"

Me: "Excuse me???"

Angry Woman: "Darn right! Y'all a buncha racists!"

Me: "Ummmm, OK. It's because your computer isn't working that I'm not helping you..."

Angry Woman: "RACIST BASTARD!"

Me: "How do you know what race I am? I'm merely a voice on the phone."

Angry Woman: "'Cause y'all sound too ed-yew-cated to be Black."

Me: *Speechless*

Comments

[tsutton.livejournal.com]

You should have told her that you're black too. ;D

[d-l-leonine.livejournal.com]

Greetings fellow Crappy Cable employee....

Sadly, I've had the same discussion and I know the type well. If you were black she still wouldn't have seen you that way. She'd just label you as an Uncle Tom.

[artela.livejournal.com]

Actually, in that scenario, *she* is the racist!

[sheryls.livejournal.com]

.......bzuh?!?!

who's racist now?! :D

[sketchydave.livejournal.com]

Wow...just wow.

You know, we should really be the writers for "Crank Yankers." You just can't make this stuff up. Welcome to the forum.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

"I'm educated enough to know that the problem is THIS COMPUTER, and that's all I'm concerned with."

I don't know if I could have said anything quite as polite as that if I got that lady on the phone though. WTF?

[dukesnorre.livejournal.com]

Plus one! What does she think, that if a black person gets an education, the colour magically fades away until they're baby pink? :O

[pantherchild.livejournal.com]

~*reads* *snickers* *rereads* *snickers more*

~That's just awesome. RACISM FOR THE WIN!~

[ladynisa.livejournal.com]

WOW . . .

If she'd gotten any of the black people that I had worked with at my old job, it woulda been over RIGHT there.

[canray.livejournal.com]

My race is Human. ;-)

[canray.livejournal.com]

Best I could have said was "Black Irish", as we're not supposed to lie on the phones.

B*llsh*t like a SOB, but that's a main part of Tech Support.

[canray.livejournal.com]

Nah, they probably are labeled "Uncle Tom", "Sellout", or "Twinkies".

Or whatever. Got me.

[canray.livejournal.com]

I'm educated far more than simply that, thank you very much.

But, ya, it was mostly due to a "Did she say what I just thought she said?" pause rather than a biting of tongue to prevent a verbal lashout.

[ravenshrinkery.livejournal.com]

That's just classic. You're in the right place, for sure.

Sometimes the user has to be fixed before the problem can be fixed. And I'm not talking about repairs either, unless you're thinking like I'm thinking - something really gory, with a pair of scissors, and humanity's best interests at heart :).

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I'm green! You predjudiced against us green folk, lady?

[geekgrrl-ca.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly in all my years of techsupport (it's coming up to 10 years now) I have yet to have the race card pulled on me. Though I did have a number of customers request a different tech because I didn't speak french, no skin off my nose, it kept my AHT down :)

I'm not sure how I'd deal with it.

[ghostdandp.livejournal.com]

At one point I was working with an african-american colleage on the phones. He got a call similiar to yours, the lady was pissed he wouldn't help her install some game she had gotten that was giving her an error (she didn't have a video card, which it required).

She asked for me by name, since I had walked her thru setup. Upon getting me she went off on the other tech. Cracker this, the man that. I finally interupted her "Actually, he's african american. In fact, he's first generation. I'm personally second generation italian. Now I was updated to your problem, and I'm sorry, we only provide technical support for our services, have a nice day" *click*

It was good to be the tech support manager :)

[swwinchester.livejournal.com]

You know, I never got that one at my old Tech job ... which is surprising, considering I worked as a Geek Squad in-store Agent (Hell, I was a Best Buy Tech before Geek Squad EXISTED), and some of the doozies they got just one counter away were really damn interesting.

Actually, the best thing I ever saw was an older man of middle-eastern decent (Not sure what country) dealing with one of our sharpest part-time techs (This was her night job. By day, she was a DB admin ...). Nicest, most friendly person you could hope to meet, and she was african-american.

This guy basically refuses to have her help him, and it's her and me on that night. She tries to explain that she's fully trained, etc. I hear it all, the guy just doesn't belive a black female can POSSIBLY understand technology, and he says it in no uncertain terms. So she kept her cool, and asked me if I could help out ...

... at which point in time I make like your next cantidate for the "REALLY DAMN SPECIAL" classification of the Special Olympics. We're talking the slurred speech, obviously slow thought patterns, glazed-over eyes, odd walk, EVERYTHING. I even drooled a little while he tried to explain his problem to me.

So I turn to my co-worker after he's done, and say 'duuuurh, I dun understand him." She then explains - to me, not him - what is wrong and what we have to do. I turn back to the guy and say "uhh ... what she said, yep yep!"

... I swear, the look on his face was utterly priceless. He then said to her "Umm .. maybe you can help me after all ... your co-worker doesn't seem too bright."
CW : "Nah. He's a good kid, but he's our heavy lifter."
Me : "That me, the heavy lifter! Yep yep!"

... right after he left, she had to take 10 minutes just to get the laughter she had been supressing that entire time out of her system (Yes, she is THAT good. Granted, you have to be that good with face-to-face support, because there is no mute button ...). Our supervisor at the time watched the entire exchange, and he said later that he wasn't sure if he should write me up or give me an Oscar.

(Reposted because I haven't had enough caffine and upon re-reading it I realized I totally screwed up a lot of synatx ...)

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

Hahahaa! Excellent story dude. Got a good laugh outta me :)

[rileydag.livejournal.com]

LMAO!!!

That's priceless!!!

[canray.livejournal.com]

I pity the women that get those idiots.

I'm sorry, but I've been p0wned too many times to consider women "The weaker sex" when it comes to computers. ;-)

[flinkie.livejournal.com]

Worked for Michael Jackson.

(okay, I'm SO getting sued for that)

[canray.livejournal.com]

After over a year of thinking about it, I still don't have an answer to that question. :-(

[canray.livejournal.com]

Only black I can claim is Black Irish.