>4. Okay, so this one’s not a huge surprise: people are jerks. I try really really hard to be as pleasant and understanding as possible when I'm speaking to a

>4. Okay, so this one’s not a huge surprise: people are jerks. I try really really hard to be as pleasant and understanding as possible when I'm speaking to a customer service rep (and I think that I behave decently). I've found that rather than raise my voice, trying to be understanding of their position and limitations gets me closer to "what I need/want" from the support organization. That being said I have had cases where the person had absolutely no idea what I was referring to and gave me wrong information, etc. But even then, I can't blame them (a DTC stock transfer isn't something that a bank's retail branch person is going to deal with very often. They didn't even know what a DTC number was, and I don't blame them. I managed to get the correct info on the 3rd try.)