I’ve worked in customer service all of my adult (and partial teen) life. I know customers can be frustrating, so when I’m in the position of being a customer, I try to be very polite and understanding. Especially when I call at the end of the workday, because I know the customer service rep is probably tired and counting the minutes until they have to go home. I’ve been there. But my politeness and understanding wears out quickly when the person I’m speaking with doesn’t have two braincells that function at the same time.

I called my dental insurance company today, just to confirm that the bill they sent me covered the months of September, October and November*, since the bill had no dates on it, just amounts.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: Hi! I received a bill from you and I’ve just written out the check for it. However, there were no dates on the bill, so I was calling to confirm that this payment covers everything I owe through November.

Him: Please wait.

<3 minutes of dead silence later>

Him: You owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, I’m aware of that. I have the bill here, and have already written the check. But the bill doesn’t have a date on it. Is the $XXX for the months of September, October, and November?

<silence>

Me: Hello?

Him: Ma’am, you owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, we’ve covered that. Does the $XXX cover me for September, October, and November? That’s all I need to know.

Him: Your account will be current when you pay $XXX.

Me: Ok, current through October? Current through November? I just need to know what months I’m paying for.

Him: Ma’am, I just told you that you owe $XXX.

<lather, rinse, repeat no less than 4 more times.>

Finally…

Me: I’d like to speak with your supervisor please.

It took his supervisor less than 10 seconds to confirm that yes, the amount covers me for those three months. Halle-freaking-lujah! Though why he couldn’t answer that question remains a mystery to me.

*Switching to COBRA from my previous company’s insurance gives me 60 days to start making payments, so I wasn’t past due on my account. However, it took the insurance company 50 days to send me a bill. Think I can wait 50 days to send them a payment?