vent of the day.
Hi,
This is a customer service vent, if you're not feeling good, fuhgeddabout it........rest, take it easy, getting it out of my system helped so much. Thank goodness for journals........! Hugs.....xoxoxo
I have to update forms for Metlife regarding disability. I had 2 questions. I reached the automated system, then another automated wing within the system......finally got a person. Explained and she could not help me. Said you must speak to Jeanette. Transferred me ---- it rang and rang. I counted, when it reached lucky 13 I hung up.
I called again, there is no fast track to customer service. After navigating the phone land mines I finally get a person who wants details. Once I do this, she says I can't help you, you need dept. x........transfers me, I now get Linda. Linda is a cool number, distant, I of course have to start over. I feel anxious, but push off from the side like a good little swimmer and begin again.
She gives me information that makes no sense. In essence she is telling me that I was approved 2 months after I was home full time. Who is this mighty world can get disability approval that fast? I specifically asked her if she was talking about my being approved Fall 2011 which then supplied me with a retroactive award. Nooooooooooooooo, she was quite firm. I said based on what you are saying that would mean that I must have applied the year before I had to stay at home full-time. Which makes no sense. How would a person do that?
My point? Reps need to slow down, take a look at the records........do their best to provide correct info. We have these strange plates we're carrying (with illness & pain/brain fog) and it does not help when the people in charge of us give wrong information and then .........Linda transferred me to my "actual case worker." Jeanette was my old case worker, she would get me to the right place. I hear 3 short chirps and then a pre-recorded "Please wait."
This exercise is repeated and of course repeated. After a few minutes I hung up and now feeling more anxious..........my problem I know, but I'm gonna stick with honesty today. I feel kind of fluttery and nervous on the inside.......I started over. Routed through the voice mail system. Finally I get someone live who is transferring me to "my case worker"........
When a voice picks up the line, it is a guy who says he is "not Guarez the case worker". It is not necessary to speak to Guarez, this unnamed man can solve problems. I sigh, deep breath........begin again.......we go round and round and finally we arrive on the same page of understanding (regarding when I was awarded). He tells me to leave information blank when I don't know how to answer and just fax it in.
OK. OK......so according to nameless guy I only have to fax both sets of documents before the deadline date of the 20th. Maybe ya'll think I'm being seriously crazily anal retentive but the letter states that originals of all documents are required. He insists that is not necessary, I can fax it to them. If I fax them will the next part be some kind of reprimand for not following the letter's instuctions or is it true?
My executive decision? They recorded all the calls today, I am going to find the nearest fax machine and call it good. I have a tension headache. I need to do better with these kinds of calls, not let it get to me and yet..............
I don't know.......I got tense, frustrated and finally a little teary trying to stay sane. Customer service is a trial in general, it's almost something that you can count on being difficult and confusing. The spunky little dancing devil on my shoulder says they are racking up points for upsetting and confusing folks and bigger bonus points for reducing them to tears. ...............the angel on the other shoulder says, nah, you're just having a hard time in phoneville. people don't pay attention, don't get enough training......we all have rough days.......be patient.
I told the last guy that it is so hard. I am not certain of all details, but I have a pretty good grasp of things. I said what happened to me from start to finish felt like someone asked me for my address, so I rattled it off. A brief silence and then it was as if every single solitary representative said..... NO, you don't live at 321 Smith Drive Planet Earth. You live at 3333 Gorgo Lane Planet Mars..........it starts to mess with your sanity chip when enough people goof everything up & don't seem to understand that you know where you live.......the ones in charge I mean. I told him it makes me very uncomfortable, I need help to stay on track......not fight to be believed.
Not sure why, but i am feeling punk/puny/wimpy. These are official medical terms in the Sparrow Healthbook.........just like funky, outofit and whipped. Love ya'll...........need some angelic music to calm the planet for a half hour, wouldn't that be a trip? if all of a sudden the clouds pumped music down to earth ..........Hallelujah, hallelujah..............would it comfort the masses or freak 'em out? I'm gonna go to bed now, I promise. I don't feel so good.
This is a customer service vent, if you're not feeling good, fuhgeddabout it........rest, take it easy, getting it out of my system helped so much. Thank goodness for journals........! Hugs.....xoxoxo
I have to update forms for Metlife regarding disability. I had 2 questions. I reached the automated system, then another automated wing within the system......finally got a person. Explained and she could not help me. Said you must speak to Jeanette. Transferred me ---- it rang and rang. I counted, when it reached lucky 13 I hung up.
I called again, there is no fast track to customer service. After navigating the phone land mines I finally get a person who wants details. Once I do this, she says I can't help you, you need dept. x........transfers me, I now get Linda. Linda is a cool number, distant, I of course have to start over. I feel anxious, but push off from the side like a good little swimmer and begin again.
She gives me information that makes no sense. In essence she is telling me that I was approved 2 months after I was home full time. Who is this mighty world can get disability approval that fast? I specifically asked her if she was talking about my being approved Fall 2011 which then supplied me with a retroactive award. Nooooooooooooooo, she was quite firm. I said based on what you are saying that would mean that I must have applied the year before I had to stay at home full-time. Which makes no sense. How would a person do that?
My point? Reps need to slow down, take a look at the records........do their best to provide correct info. We have these strange plates we're carrying (with illness & pain/brain fog) and it does not help when the people in charge of us give wrong information and then .........Linda transferred me to my "actual case worker." Jeanette was my old case worker, she would get me to the right place. I hear 3 short chirps and then a pre-recorded "Please wait."
This exercise is repeated and of course repeated. After a few minutes I hung up and now feeling more anxious..........my problem I know, but I'm gonna stick with honesty today. I feel kind of fluttery and nervous on the inside.......I started over. Routed through the voice mail system. Finally I get someone live who is transferring me to "my case worker"........
When a voice picks up the line, it is a guy who says he is "not Guarez the case worker". It is not necessary to speak to Guarez, this unnamed man can solve problems. I sigh, deep breath........begin again.......we go round and round and finally we arrive on the same page of understanding (regarding when I was awarded). He tells me to leave information blank when I don't know how to answer and just fax it in.
OK. OK......so according to nameless guy I only have to fax both sets of documents before the deadline date of the 20th. Maybe ya'll think I'm being seriously crazily anal retentive but the letter states that originals of all documents are required. He insists that is not necessary, I can fax it to them. If I fax them will the next part be some kind of reprimand for not following the letter's instuctions or is it true?
My executive decision? They recorded all the calls today, I am going to find the nearest fax machine and call it good. I have a tension headache. I need to do better with these kinds of calls, not let it get to me and yet..............
I don't know.......I got tense, frustrated and finally a little teary trying to stay sane. Customer service is a trial in general, it's almost something that you can count on being difficult and confusing. The spunky little dancing devil on my shoulder says they are racking up points for upsetting and confusing folks and bigger bonus points for reducing them to tears. ...............the angel on the other shoulder says, nah, you're just having a hard time in phoneville. people don't pay attention, don't get enough training......we all have rough days.......be patient.
I told the last guy that it is so hard. I am not certain of all details, but I have a pretty good grasp of things. I said what happened to me from start to finish felt like someone asked me for my address, so I rattled it off. A brief silence and then it was as if every single solitary representative said..... NO, you don't live at 321 Smith Drive Planet Earth. You live at 3333 Gorgo Lane Planet Mars..........it starts to mess with your sanity chip when enough people goof everything up & don't seem to understand that you know where you live.......the ones in charge I mean. I told him it makes me very uncomfortable, I need help to stay on track......not fight to be believed.
Not sure why, but i am feeling punk/puny/wimpy. These are official medical terms in the Sparrow Healthbook.........just like funky, outofit and whipped. Love ya'll...........need some angelic music to calm the planet for a half hour, wouldn't that be a trip? if all of a sudden the clouds pumped music down to earth ..........Hallelujah, hallelujah..............would it comfort the masses or freak 'em out? I'm gonna go to bed now, I promise. I don't feel so good.
Replies
I could stand a trumpet riff or two from Gabriel and maybe a seraphic choir myself....
Customer Service...ha! customer \"make em go away\"-vice...sorry you got runaround but now you have officially done your mental gymnastics today, have a good sleep!
Customer Service people - they rank #2 on my phone list behinid the dread telemarketer. Love thm both. Have had my share of run ins with both of them over the years. More than one has hung up on me as I become quite the \"bear\" & \"bulldog\" when on the phone with them.
When I had to go through the ordeal of applying for disability in 2010, I felt like I had a full time job for about 6 weeks due to all that I had to do to apply. Good thing it was then when I was actually in better shape than I am these days. Would hate to think I had to go thru the process from the beginning once again.
By the way, Little Sparrow, thanks for the hug today. Muy needo. Weather here in Carolina is heavenly today. Still managed to break a sweat though as I went to get my car inspected - required yearly here. Did it last year on 8/18 so it was closing in on 13 months. Only drove 2837 miles in that time. Burning the roads up. Did get to tell a couple of my jokes - that always makes it fun for me.
Like you the pain is not subsiding, it continues to build so I think some afternoon delight is in order - a nap that is. haha
Hugs....\"Bear\"