Had a customer on the phone a couple days ago - asked whether I was in Australia, and if I was, what state I was in. Taken aback a bit, I said I was in Brisbane, and yes, I realise now it isn't a state, but it seemed to calm the customer down a bit. She was certain she had been talking to someone in Uganda before me, and that staff member had been unable to tell the customer where in Australia he or she was.
The customer gave off such a sense of superiority that she had outwitted a 'Ugandan', and how good it was to talk to an Australian. Umm, yeah, of the seventh state, New Zealand perhaps. But those type of customers, you just have to nod, grin, and bear it, yes, even over the phone. Despite me wanting to hang the phone up directly in her ear.
Caught myself out though, had a customer named Nguyen on the phone that same day, Tuesday I think, had to transfer him through to another area, and actually said to the colleague that Nguyen's English was quite good. When I got off the call, I realised what I had said and slapped myself, straight on the forehead - of course his English was good, he was probably born here. Note to self, even liberal egalitarian non-racist wannabes such as myself can be dickheads occasionally LOL.
There was a Prime Ministerial visit across the road from us today. The church opposite work was getting a new foundation stone for a new something, and at first I thought it was just a union demonstration, when I went out for morning break, I saw the anti WorkChoice banners, and just dismissed it as that. However, the goss around the floor soon was that JW Howard was visiting the Sunshine State.
Shortly thereafter the church was surrounded by the thin blue line, and I think the road was closed, or partially closed, in front, and the black suit goon squad of about a dozen security guys jumped out of cars to secure the perimetre. I thought the PM was going to make a speech out in front of the church, they had set up a platform, but he just went inside, came outside, drove off - the platform must have been for the protesters, what with the churches trying to be nice to both sides of the political divide at the moment. But it was a bit of excitement for the day, despite being a few floors up, behind glass, no windows to open up in these modern buildings.
And just a comment on one of the other staff members I have within earshot - saying to customers that we have had horrid weather up here, and a couple of cyclones come through - umm, the distance between Brisbane and Cairns is further than between New York and Chicago. Not next door to each other. We did not have cyclones coming through here, and we would probably welcome a mild one, what with the drought on in the city at the moment.
And to talk to a customer wondering why they don't have banana plantations in Western Australia because the 'climate is just the same'. Where to start with how mucked up that is, especially since said consultant has never been to WA? There is being warm with a customer, there is chatty, and there is annoyingly pretending that you are talking to a long lost friend rather than someone who needs to ring in for *insert product here*.
Oh, and one more thing while I'm on a roll here, since when did babies turning up at work change into let's not do any of the stuff we are supposed to be doing for hours on end. And no, I'm not going on about the ten minutes all the female staff spend holding the kid or looking at it - err, her or him. I'm talking of another staff member basically leaving her desk for about two hours to do baby stuff all that freaking time. Frustrating.
And, I'm done :)
More soon
Pauly
The customer gave off such a sense of superiority that she had outwitted a 'Ugandan', and how good it was to talk to an Australian. Umm, yeah, of the seventh state, New Zealand perhaps. But those type of customers, you just have to nod, grin, and bear it, yes, even over the phone. Despite me wanting to hang the phone up directly in her ear.
Caught myself out though, had a customer named Nguyen on the phone that same day, Tuesday I think, had to transfer him through to another area, and actually said to the colleague that Nguyen's English was quite good. When I got off the call, I realised what I had said and slapped myself, straight on the forehead - of course his English was good, he was probably born here. Note to self, even liberal egalitarian non-racist wannabes such as myself can be dickheads occasionally LOL.
There was a Prime Ministerial visit across the road from us today. The church opposite work was getting a new foundation stone for a new something, and at first I thought it was just a union demonstration, when I went out for morning break, I saw the anti WorkChoice banners, and just dismissed it as that. However, the goss around the floor soon was that JW Howard was visiting the Sunshine State.
Shortly thereafter the church was surrounded by the thin blue line, and I think the road was closed, or partially closed, in front, and the black suit goon squad of about a dozen security guys jumped out of cars to secure the perimetre. I thought the PM was going to make a speech out in front of the church, they had set up a platform, but he just went inside, came outside, drove off - the platform must have been for the protesters, what with the churches trying to be nice to both sides of the political divide at the moment. But it was a bit of excitement for the day, despite being a few floors up, behind glass, no windows to open up in these modern buildings.
And just a comment on one of the other staff members I have within earshot - saying to customers that we have had horrid weather up here, and a couple of cyclones come through - umm, the distance between Brisbane and Cairns is further than between New York and Chicago. Not next door to each other. We did not have cyclones coming through here, and we would probably welcome a mild one, what with the drought on in the city at the moment.
And to talk to a customer wondering why they don't have banana plantations in Western Australia because the 'climate is just the same'. Where to start with how mucked up that is, especially since said consultant has never been to WA? There is being warm with a customer, there is chatty, and there is annoyingly pretending that you are talking to a long lost friend rather than someone who needs to ring in for *insert product here*.
Oh, and one more thing while I'm on a roll here, since when did babies turning up at work change into let's not do any of the stuff we are supposed to be doing for hours on end. And no, I'm not going on about the ten minutes all the female staff spend holding the kid or looking at it - err, her or him. I'm talking of another staff member basically leaving her desk for about two hours to do baby stuff all that freaking time. Frustrating.
And, I'm done :)
More soon
Pauly
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