And the status of my soul is...

I'm getting to the point at work where my soul is feeling extra dead (yeah, I need to take some time off...I haven't had a day off other than weekends since January). And lately I've become increasingly alarmed and disgusted by the American public and what feels like everyone's inability/unwillingness to accept responsibility for themselves. It's very hard to keep my end of the conversation professional when someone is yelling at me about how it's the company's fault that the sales representative who sold them their system failed to tell them about certain terms and conditions of their contract, even though said terms are printed in black and white right in front of their face. And I'm not talking about the fine print on the back, either. I get yelled at on a regular basis for things that are right on the front, usually in bold letters. When I ask these people if they read the contract, I often get the same answer: "NO I did not read it because I was trusting what YOUR representative told me!"

Ok. Here's the thing...I am all too aware that there is a reason why door to door salesman have the reputation that they do. Unfortunately, while there are many who are honest...there are probably more who are not. HOWEVER, having said that, I think that it is the customer's responsibility as a consumer to actually READ things before they sign them. And anyone who signs a big ole' legal-sized document without reading at least the front of it is a complete moron. I truly do find it appalling that people genuinely expect me to allow them to breach their contract without penalty on the grounds that they didn't bother to read it (I'd also like to point out that if they don't read it when they sign it, they have 3 business days after signing where they can cancel w/out penalty, so they have plenty of time to read it and cancel if they find something they don't like).

But I digress...back to my soul being dead. So the past few days at work I've been feeling extra discouraged by the stupidity of the American public. But today, I can assure you that a sliver of my soul is still alive and well, and hope remains that not every customer we have is an idiot. My co-worker was checking out some of our reviews online (after an escalated call in which a customer told him he'd found over 10,000 negative complaints about us online...yeah, we have around 450 w/the BBB, most of which have been resolved...), and he stumbled across this little gem on alarmsystemreviews.com, which truly made my freaking day:

I have been doing business with Platinum Protection for over two years now and have had nothing but professionalism from them. I've read some of these other reviews and have to think that most of the people who have complaints are those same people wondering where their Nigerian puppies and British Lottery winnings are.
Are you seriously upset because a company's CEO won't talk to you and listen to your rant? What CEO takes phone calls? You can't talk to ADT's, Monitronics', SAI's, Brink's or any other companies' executive level. Try calling Microsoft and asking for Bill Gates. He's not even the CEO and I bet you don't get to speak with him. Most CEO's hire people to take CS calls for them. They aren't secretaries, they have a specific job to do. Maybe the reason you can't talk to anyone beyond a supervisor is because unlike other companies where you have to be transferred to four to five differnet people before finding someone who can make a decision, Platinum trusts their reps and supervisors to uphold company policy AND serve their customers.
To the people that complain about the sales pitch: Be a grown-up and take responsibility for your actions. If you sign a contract without reading it then you're an idiot.
To the people who need some help with the CS department: I've never had a problem, mainly because I researched the equipment and read the contract. But on the rare occasion when I need service done I've had the pleasure of speaking with Christopher in the service department, Michael, Jared and Julie in customer service. All of these people represented themselves and their company extremely well.
Bad experiences are just mirrors of the way we treat the people around us. Were you professional, calm and speak with common courtesy, or did you yell, scream and swear, threatening lawsuits unless you get your way? If you did the latter than you were probably treated as hostile and given the base-line policy. Have any of you ever done their job, or worked in the food industry? I manage a restaurant, and I'm here to tell you people are jerks. It's like dealing with little kids all day. So the next time you call, remember the golden rule and treat the rep answering the phone like you want to be treated, I promise they will change your mind.

YES! An intelligent customer! Someone who understands the importance of being a responsible adult (Oh and yes, that "Julie" is me)! So thank you, anonymous poster with the positive review, you have restored a little bit of my faith in the American public.