a) Wrested power from the consumer in the matter of supply
and demand.
b) Invented the call centre.
It would have some merit, I suppose – especially since it
was becoming truly surreal at one point – but it would still be tedious. Instead,
I’ll skip to the bottom line, which by some fortuitous turn of fate ended the
day on a high note.
At around 7.30pm, I decided to try one last phone call. I
got Janet. I explained the whole sorry story calmly and methodically, while she
listened silently. I finished by saying ‘You’ll understand why I’ve been fuming
for the past few hours, since this is becoming farcical.’ She got it in one,
and replied ‘I do, indeed. That would be enough to tax anybody’s patience. I’m
so sorry you’ve had all this trouble; let’s get it sorted once and for all.’
And so she did – calmly, quietly, completely. I now have a
delivery date for the new appliance and can run down the freezer contents
accordingly. Janet made a difference today. Well done Janet.
* * *
And then it occurred to me later that a good call centre
operative needs to be a highly skilled person. They must get a lot of varied
problems thrown at them out of the blue, so they need to be intelligent, tactful,
calm, articulate, and good problem solvers. I’ll lay odds on that their
remuneration falls way short of reflecting the fact. I think it’s probably true
to say that the big money in the corporate world goes to those who create the
problems in the first place.
2 comments:
Janets are even rarer in the U.S., but that's because no one is named Janet. My grandmother was named Janet, but she was born in 1930. I don't think I've ever heard the name used for someone younger than 60, which is a shame, because it's a really pretty name. I might have to single-handedly revive it if I have a daughter.
It's rare over here, too, although I'd put the bottom age at around 50. By an odd coincidence, I lived with two Janets (at different times...) Both relationships were so disastrous that I developed a bit of a prejudice against the name. Maybe call centre operatives and Maddie's daughter will wipe the slate clean.
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