I don't want to talk to you, either!

I work in a call center for a major financial institution. We get a lot of calls from customers who just want to activate a new card or make a payment, and they're surprised when the call is answered by an actual person. Some of them handle it better than others.

I had a guy cut me off during the verification process today. "I just want to activate this card!" he snapped at me before I could even finish my greeting.

"Wonderful, sir. I can take care of that for you. Can I get your name and the last 4 digits of the card you're calling about?" I get assholes like him on the phone every day but I'm still courteous and professional.

So I'm trying to be nice to this guy and he's grumbling through the whole verification process. I activate his card and ask him the same general questions we have to ask every caller, simple things like signing up for payment alerts. I think I may have offered him a promotion for bonus points on his rewards card (which is a FREE offer, BTW). He's just an asshole the entire time, and then he interrupts me to say:

"I just wanted to activate my card! I don't understand why it didn't go through to the computer. My account is in good standing. Why do I have to talk to you?"

I'm so sick and tired of customers acting like it's such a horrible thing to talk to a live representative. Normally, we're supposed to placate them by saying something like, "Because you're such a valued customer, we want to make sure that you're receiving all of the benefits and features available on your account," or, "We try to offer personalized service to our premier customers." Blah, blah, WHATEVER, you suck. For some reason, this dude just got under my skin a little bit. So I replied:

"Sir, it isn't a negative reflection on the status of your account to be able to speak with a live representative in the United States...Is there anything else I can help you with today?"