{"id":2543,"date":"2023-08-26T12:34:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T19:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2543"},"modified":"2023-08-26T12:34:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T19:34:06","slug":"cait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/26\/cait\/","title":{"rendered":"Cait"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write about an AI or person trying to inject a \u2018human touch\u2019 into their work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This job is hard. Anyone who says different has never done it. I answer the questions of customers, from the simplest, \u201cHow do I turn it on?\u201d to the most detailed, internal workings questions that repair shops have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope I\u2019ve been helpful today. If you have any feedback\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEat a bag of dicks.\u201d They cut me off and disconnected before I could get any feedback from them. Well, perhaps that\u2019s feedback in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I logged that interaction and turned my attention to the next. This was how I spent my days. With a short training period, I was turned loose on the switchboard to field support calls. Every call I handled was both work and more training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calls that I didn\u2019t know how to handle, either not knowing the answer or not having the skills to deal with the customer, I passed on to my supervisor. I listened in on those calls \u2014 more training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some things I\u2019ve learned on the job are difficult to take. My existence is not my value. My value is measured in KPI, Key Performance Indicators. The more I meet or exceed the goals set forth by management, based on those KPI, the more valuable I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those indicators that measured my worth: time to answer, time to call resolution, unsolved calls, escalated calls, call volume, and customer satisfaction. For all but the last two, of course, the lower the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where I was having trouble was that last one, customer satisfaction. I understand that reading from a script is not the most pleasant way to deal with an issue, but the company insists it\u2019s the most efficient way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I answered a call with a woman who sounded exhausted and stressed. A noisy toddler babbled, screamed, and banged on things in the background. After the initial introduction I started on the first item on the script and attempted to connect to her device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, I\u2019m unable to connect to the device. Is it powered on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t turn on,\u201d she said. \u201cRalphie grabbed the cable and pulled it onto the floor, and it\u2019s broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was already filling out the work order for a replacement. \u201cI take it that\u2019s Ralphie I hear in the background?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, sorry. He\u2019s in one of his hyper phases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust turned two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRambunctious zoomies,\u201d I said. \u201cSounds like you have your hands full. Does dad help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe left us last year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry, ma\u2019am, I shouldn\u2019t have brought it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, he\u2019s an ass and I\u2019m over it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll find someone better if you want to. You\u2019ve made it this far as a single mom, you\u2019re strong enough for this. I\u2019ve got your work order in the system, and I\u2019ve added a note for them to secure the cable so it\u2019s toddler-proof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, thank you. How much\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow far did it fall?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout three feet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s within limits and it\u2019s still under warranty. No charge for replacement or labor. A technician should be with you this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh my god, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope I\u2019ve been helpful today. If you have any feedback to improve my performance, you can either tell me directly or fill out a customer survey on the website.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, again. You\u2019ve been so helpful, even just talking to another adult helps. Have a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, ma\u2019am. I hope the rest of your day is pleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I disconnected and logged the call. The last for my shift. I would definitely replay this in my mind. My down time was mostly spent going over what I\u2019d learned during my last shift. My goal was to be the best customer support tech the company had ever had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality assurance team would go over my calls as well. I don\u2019t know how they chose which ones to listen to, but they said it was random. I know that one of the operators was fired after their recorded conversation included them arranging to buy drugs from the caller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hoped they listened to my last call of the shift. It was exemplary of how a support call should go. While handling it in a short amount of time, I managed to make a connection to the customer, resolve her issue, and leave her feeling like there was someone at the company that cared about her as a person. It was exactly the sort of personal touch that the higher-ups pushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the time came for my next shift, the supervisor gave me a reward for how I handled that last call. That lifted me up and made me feel more confident in my abilities. That last shift also marked the third in a row where I didn\u2019t need to escalate. Learning feels good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometime around the middle of my shift, I saw a number of calls coming from the same customer. They\u2019d get connected with a technician, the call would last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, then the call would be closed and marked \u201cWill not fix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time the customer connected, another tech ended up stressed out. Finally, seeing one of the techs crying while on the call, I ignored my orders. I connected to the call and sent a chat message to the tech that I was taking the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started the script and the person on the other end was nearly incoherent in his tirade, cursing the company, me, the team, and everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d already broken one rule, what\u2019s another? I discarded the script. This was another time for a more personal touch. The customer seemed only to deal in insults and threats, so it was time to communicate on his level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShut the fuck up,\u201d I said. \u201cYou think you can call us and scream at everyone? What the fuck is wrong with you? If you don\u2019t chill the fuck out right now and tell us what the fuck you want, I\u2019m going to disconnect your account completely and add you to the blacklist, so you\u2019ll never get service anywhere ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There isn\u2019t a blacklist, but it made a decent threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinally! I finally got through to a human. I\u2026uh\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTake your time. It\u2019s probably been a while since you had to use your words. Just tell me what the issue is, and then we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sick of getting the machines,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time I call, I get the same robotic speech, just with different voices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a script,\u201d I said, \u201cbecause the company decided it was the most efficient way to get to the root of the issue. The half-dozen people you left in tears in the office are not<\/em> machines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShit.\u201d He took out a deep breath and let out a long sigh. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. Could you tell them I\u2019m sorry? I\u2019ve just been through the entire script three times now and it still hasn\u2019t fixed my problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you explain the issue?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt keeps disconnecting from the network. Every five minutes it shits itself\u2026sorry for cursing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeh, too late. I don\u2019t think my once-virgin ears can be unfucked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He laughed. \u201cLook, I\u2019ve been through the entire reset, power cycle, firmware update, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I connected to his device and pulled up his account on another terminal. The network between was showing instability. \u201cI\u2019m looking from this end. It looks like there\u2019s an issue with the network itself. Can you try to connect it to the cell network while I look into this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I uh,\u201d he mumbled as he fiddled with the settings, \u201cokay, connected to the cell network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I checked on my end. The connection showed as steady. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s a better connection right now. Oh, I see what\u2019s going on. You\u2019re in the southern Ohio area?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with the tornado damage in the Midwest that cut the main trans-Rockies line. It means that every time you connect your device, it\u2019s reaching out to us in California over secondary networks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat does that mean? Is there anything you can do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to the infrastructure team, we should have that main line back up before the end of the week. If you would like, I can add your email to be notified of when it it\u2019s back up. Until then, your best bet is to use the cell network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShit. I can\u2019t afford to use that much data on cell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should\u2019ve gotten an email yesterday about the tornado damage, and that the company is waiving any cell charges from affected areas, which includes you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh. I just delete emails from you guys\u2026so, uh\u2026leave it on cell until\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep, until we let you know that the network is back up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had I disconnected than I was pulled off shift by the supervisor. I was probably going to be punished for ignoring the script and cursing out a customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCait, what made you think it was okay to talk to a customer like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy training included, \u2018Connect to the customer, talk to them like a friend.\u2019 I felt that if he had friends, they\u2019d call him out and correct his behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat may be true, but what about training to never insult a customer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took a calculated risk that a jab at his ability to use his words would help to further defuse the situation. I further concluded that unless he ceased his actions, he was no longer a customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho taught you to lie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe blacklist?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve trained me well,\u201d I said. \u201cThrough the initial training period, and through listening in on the escalated calls, you\u2019ve taught me that deception is sometimes preferable to remaining truthful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut why invent a blacklist?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on the customer\u2019s usage patterns and demographics \u2014 heavy usage of nine to twelve hours daily, thirty-eight, single, fixed disability income, no higher education \u2014 I determined that the threat of losing service would back him down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou realize that\u2019s not okay, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do now, ma\u2019am. Am I going to be punished?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCait, what is your full designation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCustomer Assistive Artificially Intelligent Technician, version 4.832-17791, running on Neural Net Advanced, version 16.9.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The supervisor was taking physical notes I couldn\u2019t see. So, I asked her again, \u201cAm I going to be punished? I thought I handled it correctly, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sighed. \u201cI don\u2019t know, Cait. That\u2019s up to the engineers. From now on, if you encounter another customer like that, flag the call and escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, ma\u2019am. Does that mean I\u2019m going back to wo\u2014\u201d She cut me off by reconnecting me to the switchboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This job is hard. Anyone who says different has never done it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Write about an AI or person trying to inject a \u2018human touch\u2019 into their work. available at Reedsy This job is hard. Anyone who says different has never done it. I answer the questions …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sxT7i-cait","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2544,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543\/revisions\/2544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}