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I totally understand the reaction. Then again, people with kids have it hard enough, let alone those that with low paying jobs. When that happens to me, I get a

I totally understand the reaction. Then again, people with kids have it hard enough, let alone those that with low paying jobs. When that happens to me, I get annoyed, but then, I remind myself that I get to exit the call while the other person has to stay in that environment, trying to hustle for money, and I try to show them as much kindness and grace as is possible for me in that moment.

unsupp0rted 3y ago
When this lady applied for the technical phone support job, did she mention that her toddler would be on the calls? If her manager were to “secret shopper” call in, how much kindness and grace would they show for being forced to sit though a children’s cartoon while quoting 5-figure invoice numbers back and forth?
- midasuni 3y ago
  To emphasise she probably didn’t realise their was background noise. I don’t phone call centra much but the background noise in some is very frustrating.
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- oblak 3y ago
  Eh, your initial argument sounded neutral enough but this is bad. Would you jump this hard on the support person if the noise was a office cacophony?
  - unsupp0rted 3y ago
    What is bad? Stating that her company would find this to be an unacceptable standard of service quality? Sharing experiences and opinions on HN that are unpopular? I didn’t complain to the worker, the company, or give her any attitude about it. None of that would have helped me get my task done. They have other agents who are more professional, so next time I could get routed to somebody else. To answer your question: If the noise was an office cacophony then I’d put the blame on the company that tolerates it. The noise was a children’s cartoon and a babbling child. The worker has a responsibility to either get noise-canceling tools or work from a quiet area of the home. It’s 2024- it’s really easy to do either one.
    - BossingAround 3y ago
      > It’s 2024- it’s really easy to do either one It's easy if you earn $100k+ of course. It's not easy with $40k in a two-bedroom house with a toddler as a single parent. "But then, she's not supposed to have that job if she can't do it," I can already hear you say. To that, I'd say sure, you could do that, if you're willing to pay for a several year long maternity leave from your taxes until the parents can place their kids in kindergartens.
      - unsupp0rted 3y ago
        She’s not supposed to have that job (from home) if she can’t figure out voice isolation software or alternatively buy an appropriate headset. Even minimum-wage construction workers know that they’re gonna need to invest a bit up front into work stuff. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213683 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213683
- BossingAround 3y ago
  > If her manager were to “secret shopper” call in, how much kindness and grace would they show for being forced to sit though a children’s cartoon while quoting 5-figure invoice numbers back and forth? Hopefully the identical amount? I don't know why the answer would differ in any meaningful way.

unsupp0rted 3y ago

When this lady applied for the technical phone support job, did she mention that her toddler would be on the calls? If her manager were to “secret shopper” call in, how much kindness and grace would they show for being forced to sit though a children’s cartoon while quoting 5-figure invoice numbers back and forth?

midasuni 3y ago
To emphasise she probably didn’t realise their was background noise. I don’t phone call centra much but the background noise in some is very frustrating.
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oblak 3y ago
Eh, your initial argument sounded neutral enough but this is bad. Would you jump this hard on the support person if the noise was a office cacophony?
- unsupp0rted 3y ago
  What is bad? Stating that her company would find this to be an unacceptable standard of service quality? Sharing experiences and opinions on HN that are unpopular? I didn’t complain to the worker, the company, or give her any attitude about it. None of that would have helped me get my task done. They have other agents who are more professional, so next time I could get routed to somebody else. To answer your question: If the noise was an office cacophony then I’d put the blame on the company that tolerates it. The noise was a children’s cartoon and a babbling child. The worker has a responsibility to either get noise-canceling tools or work from a quiet area of the home. It’s 2024- it’s really easy to do either one.
  - BossingAround 3y ago
    > It’s 2024- it’s really easy to do either one It's easy if you earn $100k+ of course. It's not easy with $40k in a two-bedroom house with a toddler as a single parent. "But then, she's not supposed to have that job if she can't do it," I can already hear you say. To that, I'd say sure, you could do that, if you're willing to pay for a several year long maternity leave from your taxes until the parents can place their kids in kindergartens.
    - unsupp0rted 3y ago
      She’s not supposed to have that job (from home) if she can’t figure out voice isolation software or alternatively buy an appropriate headset. Even minimum-wage construction workers know that they’re gonna need to invest a bit up front into work stuff. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213683 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213683
BossingAround 3y ago
> If her manager were to “secret shopper” call in, how much kindness and grace would they show for being forced to sit though a children’s cartoon while quoting 5-figure invoice numbers back and forth? Hopefully the identical amount? I don't know why the answer would differ in any meaningful way.