Internet Shopping Encounter

I was an early adopter of online shopping, twenty years ago, but the software kept hanging up and saying “ring the help desk”.

Eventually I did just that but the technician was rude and patronising.  “You must be doing it wrong…”

I pointed out to him that I was likely to complain.

He asked my name.

I told him.

He asked my title.

I told him.

“Doctor?” He asked.  “A Medical Doctor?” sensing now that he could not so easily write me off as a silly little woman.

“No.  My doctorate is in Computer Science.”

A few minutes after the end of the phone call, I was just mentally composing my complaint, when my phone rang.  It was the helpdesk guy again. I hadn’t given him my phone number. (It was before I had a mobile.)

He had obviously given it some thought and was now very worried.  In his case, worry manifested as aggression.

“If you think that just because you’ve got some poncy qualification in computer science, you can complain about me….etc.”

Funnily enough, I don’t think I ever got round to complaining – life was busy then: that’s why I’d wanted to do an online shop!

But I also didn’t do an online shop again for more than ten years.

Now however, I use it regularly, chiefly to save my back.

Wonder what the guy on the help desk is doing now.  The only profession I can think of that celebrates disdain like his is waiter in a Parisian restaurant, and I’m not sure they take on nerdy Brits.