The Heavy Breather

Working in the call center may not seem like hard work but it is serious business. There are a lot of callers who are pleasant and some are unhappy but, because I am trying to make a living, I do my best to treat them with respect and to have fun.  There are crank calls and prank calls and sometimes it is a bit aggravating to answer the same prankster for several calls in a row.  Generally, I get the last word with the little cuties having nothing better to do than to ask how many dead bodies can fit into a 10 x 10 storage unit.  I generally find a way to encourage them to stop calling. 

Last week there was a caller who was not in the category of a harmless prankster.  The first time I spoke with him I felt that something was off in his conduct.  He was slurring his words, breathing heavily and his questions and responses were not focused.  He gave a name and telephone number and sort of half-sobbing sigh before he hung up.  I had a queasy feeling as though a rodent had run across my foot and related the experience to my coworkers.

My coworkers remarked that they were getting hang up calls on that same line and it was getting annoying.  We all sighed over the quirks of human nature and laughed it off.  Then he called again.  Sometimes people do not realize that if you are on the phones all of the time you develop a memory for voices and speech patterns the same way that you would remember faces.  I knew it was him even though he gave a different name and telephone number.  I resisted the impulse to give him the satisfaction of reacting to him.  After the third conversation with him there were no more calls.  I mentioned the caller to the on-duty supervisor.

Last night a police officer called asking if anyone at this number had received disturbing calls so the supervisor transferred him to me.  The officer advised me that they had a juvenile in custody and that many women in that area had complained about receiving these calls and his conduct.  Evidently some women had become distraught on the phone as his conduct became more aggressive, vile and threatening.  He had an extensive diary of the calls he had made. (How stupid can you get?)  The officer was calling all of the numbers to let us know that the young man had been arrested and to gather any details we could provide and to assure us that this would stop.  I thanked the officer but assured him that I am an uppity old lady with considerable distance between me and the storage facility; I was not concerned but did ask the officer, if he could, to give the little brat a thump on the head for me.  I hope that while he is in custody he has the opportunity to read this business blog.

Written by Kay Johnson PhoneSmart call center old timer

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