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Perhaps it is because I have spent the entire day today trying to mitigate a new user on our web app trying to abuse our service to send out spam, but I am lean

Perhaps it is because I have spent the entire day today trying to mitigate a new user on our web app trying to abuse our service to send out spam, but I am leaning more towards siding with Garadget on this one. I know that 'being professional' is of paramount importance, but I wish users would remember that every time they send an abusive email to a company, an actual person is on the other end who is going to be receiving, reading and interpreting it. I've been caught hunched over my desk late on a Saturday night (the purported time that the rep received the email) after spending all day debugging an obscure issue in my software, and I can tell you that it won't take much to push my overtired brain to retreat into its 'inner child' mode at the slightest provocation. In all cases, I am glad I implemented the 'count to 10' rule or just stepped away from the keyboard for a while to gain some time to come back and look at the issue objectively. But often times the delay in responding usually aggravates the customer a little more. Such is the burden for the 'smaller shops' where only one or two people take care of everything from writing the code, to providing support to making the coffee and sweeping the floors.

zem 10y ago
if they had even just said "you are a jerk and no one in this company is paid enough to deal with you; here's how to return your device for a full refund and here is a list of our least favourite competitors for all your internet-of-shit needs" i would have been 100% on their side. effectively bricking his device was beyond the pale, and says that you can't trust them to control your gadget from their servers.
- cyberferret 10y ago
  I agree with you, and I don't condone the bricking. I am sure that the rep regretted his/her actions in the cold light of Sunday morning. But I wish that users would also take some responsibility for keeping the conversation civil. I don't like that the user is seemingly always excused for being angry and irrational, but the company, be it a one man shop or a large mega corp is always expected to be a cold, faceless, emotionless entity. ALL interactions are essentially a 1 person to 1 person interaction where simple things like common respect, politeness, understanding and constructive dialog should be considered.
  - zem 10y ago
    I don't expect the company to be a cold, faceless entity. I'm not complaining that the owner was petty or unprofessional. I'm very specifically complaining that he abused the power he had to render the device the customer had purchased inoperative.
- dqv 10y ago
  He did that though? I guess he didn't give them full instructions, but he did effectively tell the consumer to return to Amazon. >At this time your only option is return Garadget to Amazon for refund. Your unit ID 2f0036... will be denied server connection.
  - zem 10y ago
    right, but he forcibly removed the other option, which was for the device he had purchased to simply keep doing what he had paid for it to do. this is typically not something anyone expects a seller to do.
  - cgag 10y ago
    You can't really break someone's shit and tell them you'll give them a refund once they ship it back to you. Or at least you shouldn't be able to without being liable to be sued.
yAnonymous 10y ago
That applies for free open source projects, but if you work in support, get paid for it and take the things personally, the job is not for you. In many cases, customers arguably have a right to be angry, because your company delivered a shitty product. You happen to be the target of that, because where else are they going to direct it? It's the same with police. If you can't stay calm when people behave like asses, the job is not for you. Staying calm and collected is part of your job description. Deal with it or look for another job.

zem 10y ago

if they had even just said "you are a jerk and no one in this company is paid enough to deal with you; here's how to return your device for a full refund and here is a list of our least favourite competitors for all your internet-of-shit needs" i would have been 100% on their side. effectively bricking his device was beyond the pale, and says that you can't trust them to control your gadget from their servers.

cyberferret 10y ago
I agree with you, and I don't condone the bricking. I am sure that the rep regretted his/her actions in the cold light of Sunday morning. But I wish that users would also take some responsibility for keeping the conversation civil. I don't like that the user is seemingly always excused for being angry and irrational, but the company, be it a one man shop or a large mega corp is always expected to be a cold, faceless, emotionless entity. ALL interactions are essentially a 1 person to 1 person interaction where simple things like common respect, politeness, understanding and constructive dialog should be considered.
- zem 10y ago
  I don't expect the company to be a cold, faceless entity. I'm not complaining that the owner was petty or unprofessional. I'm very specifically complaining that he abused the power he had to render the device the customer had purchased inoperative.
dqv 10y ago
He did that though? I guess he didn't give them full instructions, but he did effectively tell the consumer to return to Amazon. >At this time your only option is return Garadget to Amazon for refund. Your unit ID 2f0036... will be denied server connection.
- zem 10y ago
  right, but he forcibly removed the other option, which was for the device he had purchased to simply keep doing what he had paid for it to do. this is typically not something anyone expects a seller to do.
- cgag 10y ago
  You can't really break someone's shit and tell them you'll give them a refund once they ship it back to you. Or at least you shouldn't be able to without being liable to be sued.

yAnonymous 10y ago

That applies for free open source projects, but if you work in support, get paid for it and take the things personally, the job is not for you. In many cases, customers arguably have a right to be angry, because your company delivered a shitty product. You happen to be the target of that, because where else are they going to direct it? It's the same with police. If you can't stay calm when people behave like asses, the job is not for you. Staying calm and collected is part of your job description. Deal with it or look for another job.