Friday, April 03, 2009

People are weird

It's not like this is a revelation or anything, but people can be really weird.

Some recent examples from my phone answering stint at the local public radio station during a pledge drive:

1) A man called me and the first thing he did was ask my name. I was trying to be nice, you know, so he would donate money, so i gave him my first name, which he proceeded to use frequently during his ensuing rant about public radio. He refused to believe that i had not been required to donate money for the privilege of answering the phones. He complained that members should be given priority when calling the talk shows to give opinions. And so on. I finally hung up on him after telling him that i was there to take donations, not listen to tirades.

2) A woman who was coming in later that day for her first shift ever called to ask what the dress code was for phone volunteers. Prom dresses or tuxes, natch!

3) A man who was coming in later that day to answer phones called to make sure there would be enough food left for him to eat lunch. We then tried to eat it all before he got there but we failed.

4) One woman called to complain about the show that was currently on the air not being 'inclusive' enough. I gave her the main number.

5) Another volunteer took a call from a man who said he would donate money, but only if someone would come and jump start his car, right now. As if!


I guess repeatedly giving out a phone number over the air invites people to let their freak flag fly.

22 comments:

SUEB0B said...

My station has these 3 ladies that apparently spend THE WHOLE PLEDGE DRIVE there. They come in, point the other volunteers (the ones that aren't there 14 hours a day for 2 weeks) to the phones, eat all the snacks, gossip and complain.

I wondered what the heck was going on - the phones would be ringing off the hook, and there were 4 of us jammed in a tiny room like sardines, trying to hear and answer phones, while the ladies hung out in the big hallway (which was phone-equipped), calmly chatting as the phones rang and rang.

Then as I was leaving, one said to the other "So you'll be here tomorrow at 6, Bev?" and Bev said "Just like always!" and I realized they meant 6 AM!

Crazy.

Brad said...

Ah, John & Jane Q. Public. Bless.

flutter said...

people are weird all day every day. Working in retail taught me that.

jaded said...

I consider myself resourceful, but it never occurred to me to call a pledge drive and harass the volunteers when I had an automotive dilemma, I'm going to update my emergency contacts list right now.

Mrs. Chili said...

And here I was, thinking that I might volunteer to answer phones this year. Um.... maybe not so much...

Anonymous said...

I wonder what it says about me that I liked my job working the phones for the life insurance company?

The weirdest people I ever dealt with were the pet owners/ customers at the grooming salon.

Cheesy said...

Ya ya sure... jump start his "car" !?!

Cagey (Kelli Oliver George) said...

I noticed during my stints as Telemarketer and Student Loan Bill Collector/Customer Service Rep that there are LOADS of lonely folks out there. And yes, some weirder than others. Heh.

I will never forget the kid who asked me "so, what are you doing this weekend?" as if he was going to ask me on a DATE. I was calling to collect on his MOTHER's student loan.

Clowncar said...

I'm a big fan of letting your freak flag fly. Sadly, these people seemed to be letting their I-bet-you-didn't-think-human-being-could-possibly-be-this-annoying flag fly.

In defense of #2, she may have thought they'd be on TV. Thus the dress code

meno said...

suebob, WOW! Public radio parasites!

brad, yes, bless them, used in the Southern sense, which really means, "What a jerk!"

flutter, i know what you mean, i ued to be a teller.

jaded, see, you learned something today!

mrs. chili, oh you should! It's lots of fun, and the other volunteers are always so interesting.

de, sounds like you should be telling us some stories....

cheesy, Well, maybe i should have, if he was cute!

cagey, yes, there were some lonely people too. But that's okay.

clowncar, wellllll, that's stretching it as this is public RADIO, but maybe.

cagey

Scott from Oregon said...

Oh yes...

they are.

Makes me wonder how people function sometimes?

Vanessa said...

Anytime I have trouble deciding what to write about, I know what to do, volunteer at NPR. Seriously, the dress code? Wear pants. Period.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Well, they don't call it PRIVATE radio for a reason. I had no idea I could get someone from a radio station to fix my car, though, multi-tasking at its best.

And I'll have you know, a dress code is very important when talking to those who can't see you, Missy.

Mrs4444 said...

Boy, you're not kidding. But I've heard those Public Radio people are pretty weird anyway. JUST KIDDING!

lu said...

I think this might be a good mockumentary. Funny.

Anonymous said...

I like #5 and the phrase freak flag, gotta remember that one.

QT said...

Jump starts? Really? Wow. I am canceling my AAA membership IMMEDIATELY!!

fiwa said...

Start out by realizing that the average IQ is about 100... then remember that this means that a good portion of the population is running around functioning at below 100. This also helps explain the weird stuff people do while driving. ;)

Marshamlow said...

I was a secretary at a tv station and had to give the receptionist her lunch break everyday. Oh the phone calls we would get. I can remember one gentleman would call me everyday and yell at me about Judge Judy. He was upset that I put a commerical on everday right before she gave her verdict. Then he would have to change the channel and he would always miss her verdict. He was convinced that I personally put that commerical in everyday just to upset him. Boy did he yell too. Especially the time I told him to just watch the commericals. Hightlight of my day, since I was the secretary for the sales department and the salespeople were even less polite than they crazy people calling the tv station.

The Real Mother Hen said...

Hahahaha this is so funny!

Oh if I were to live in Seattle, I would have called you and asked for a cherry pie recipe! :)

Watch out Meno, if you ever heard an Asian asking for cherry pie recipe, you would know it's me!

Haha :)

Dick said...

Pat runs into some real winners during her weekly volunteer job at the day surgery volunteer desk in our local hospital. It makes you wonder why some people treat volunteers who are there trying to help them in such a rude manner. But happily those folks are in the minority. Most are good people.

Anonymous said...

The fact that you volunteer with your local public radio station tells me you listen to NPR, which gives you five more cool points in my book. :)