People are weird

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
08/01/2019 at 01:12 • Filed to: None

I got a call from my boss this evening after I left the office regarding a disgruntled customer. She called to cancel all of her trips for tomorrow and freaked out when she discovered that they had already been canceled. He didn’t understand what he thought was math in my comment, which read “PAX CXLD ALL TRIPS FOR THURS @ 2002/30". He wanted to know what two thousand two divided by thirty meant, and I had to explain that this was a shortcut for 8:02 pm on the 30th, like what we used in the commercial aviation world ( except that it’s in local time instead of Zulu).

I remember talking to this woman yesterday, but obviously she doesn’t remember calling. Lots of apologies were given by him, although for what I don’t know since we did precisely what she asked for. OK, maybe someone could have called in and canceled her trips using her name but that’s highly unlikely. I can’t and won’t get upset over this (unless I get a write-up which I would fight ) because it’s just another common incident when dealing with the mentally handicapped.

DISCUSSION (14)

Svend > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 01:43

Some people are stupid, some are incredibly stupid.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for stupid or incredibly stupid.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 03:35

in all fairness, i can see his point of view

i’ve never seen time & date written like that before

TheRealBicycleBuck > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 06:13

It’s best to write out everything when communicating in writing. Keep in mind that less than 3% of the population will become pilots and have never been exposed to those kinds of written shortcuts. As for that, most have no idea what Zulu time is either.

CalzoneGolem > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 07:23

You should have just said sixty six point seven three repeating.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/01/2019 at 07:26

Well, we’re expected to limit customer service calls to 42 seconds, including documenting details of the call. I figure that now he understands the method he’ll appreciate the level of detail contained in these brief notes.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/01/2019 at 07:34

No time for that. We’re expected to average 42 seconds per call including documentation . In the past I’ve been accused of putting too much detail into my notes and emails, so a compromise needed to be struck. Now that he understands the method I think he’ll appreciate the level of information contained in this shorthand.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Svend
08/01/2019 at 07:40

Boss is fine, but a good number of our customers are challenged. Patience is key, and so sometimes you have to swallow your pride and take the freak outs. Management understands, and as long as you don’t provoke the customer you’re fine. I've been called every name in the book but just take it with a smile, and unlike a number of co-workers, past and present, I've always had the backing of my superiors when they listen to the calls where there have been complaints.

WilliamsSW > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 08:11

Damn I was hoping there was a BMW 2002 in this story. That’s great shorthand, really - just need to make it standard so people get it.

Ash78, voting early and often > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 09:34

Lots of apologies were given by him, although for what I don’t know since we did precisely what she asked for.

Always apologize for the potential of a misunderstanding. Apologizing doesn’t mean you’re wrong, just empathetic.

Marriage/Customer Service 101 :)

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 10:34

I’ve never seen that notation but I like it. I do wish more people would use military time, at the very least.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Ash78, voting early and often
08/01/2019 at 11:45

100% agreed. I do it all the time to diffuse irate customers, even when they’re the ones who are wrong. Many of them tend to jump to inaccurate conclusions but I can generally talk them down off of the metaphorical ledge with plenty of apologies. Very rarely do I encounter an issue that I can't resolve with a little humility and patience.

Now, had I known this simple thing twenty some odd years ago I might not still be single, having destroyed potentially good relationships through stubbornness and arrogance...

Ash78, voting early and often > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/01/2019 at 12:29

Hey, I’m 15 years into marriage and STILL destroying things through subconscious pride and arrogance :)

Customers are dicks and generally seem really entitled. Having worked in retail and customer service, I’m overly nice to people in those positions. Probably to a fault.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > WilliamsSW
08/01/2019 at 12:36

Well, we already use military time for everything at work, so my adding the date wasn’t much of a stretch.

I will add another bit of 2002 into this story, this time BMW-related. On the E34 there was a security system built in to the trip computer. The code you entered had to be 4 digits, so keeping with the BMW theme I used ‘2002' as the code as an homage to that model.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Snuze: Needs another Swede
08/01/2019 at 12:42

I use it everywhere, including my computers and alarm clock. Going back to 12-hour time just seems confusing to me nowadays.

At work we have to be very careful with AM and PM because some of our customers can’t tell the difference. And when on the phone we have to be careful with things like 1015 and 1050 since they sound so similar, usually reiterating it as ten one five or ten five zero to make it absolutely clear.