Today, a caller in work really pushed my buttons. She took offence to my speech pattern and before slamming the phone down told me to "get a personality".

This sort of thing is becoming a regular occurance.

I cant get disability benefit, my employer refuses to move me to another job and theres nothing else going jobwise elsewhere, at least nowhere that would be more appropriate.

I feel trapped in a position where I have to contend with discriminative abuse. Wheelchair users or the visually disabled dont have to put up with this ***, what makes me different?

Is customer service.......tough job

No one goes to a paraplegic worker and tells them to 'get some legs'.

I don't understand why I have to tolerate this double standard.

This post was last modified: 05-18-2012 12:31 AM by Thomas81.

you need the work

You might just have to change jobs. I had a job at a calling center- it was hell. Once someone said they weren't interested you were expected to keep them on the line and sell something anyways. I could not for the life of me do this effectively, so I just quit the job.

I need dignity as well.

Apparently you are supposed to "smile" while you are talking and sound "excited" all the time.  I can barely keep up smiling for a 5 minute job interview.  I got criticized by people even at my volunteer job while most people were polite enough to finish the tour.  I did pretend sometimes that everything was a joke rather than serious -even that upset people sometimes.  

It might mean that you have to imitate a cartoon character for your job.  

Since your situation is desperate - what are the other workers doing there that you are not?  Could you try to observe them while on a break or be allowed to listen in while training.  You could try to imitate them or write a script for yourself to repeat.  

Also a dilemma is that when you make a resume and put phone jobs on it, people will tend to hire you for phone jobs because of your experience.  You might have to change the job description somehow and emphasize the phone work less.  

Why so much concern over a few cranky customers?  Are they reporting you to your supervisor?  Unless you are rude to people - what is the problem?  You are not breaking the rules and regs because I can understand that is important for your job more than others.

Dude, PM me and spill.
Lay it all out and I will go through it blow by blow. I work in sales and customer retention.
You likely can succeee by will have to either learn by rote or good fortune OR have someone spend some time to go through things and explain it and answer the how to's in ways that make sense and are 'workable" for you.
Be happy to be that bloke if i can.

But you ARE different. Accepting that, and finding the work around (as bloke can, no doubt, literally explain to you "by rote".  It was you ,yourself THomas that said you have to keep this job due to no other options.)  Use it (the job, a pecific issue - the fact that the strangers on the phone impact your mood etc.,) as an experiment - if I do A, when B happens (M or ALison gives great advice on using a script I think) you can surely do no worse (than you are) because the way YOU are feeling - is NOT working.  
(Also, you are diffeernt- and comparing yourself to any one esle is not going to get you the solution, dealing with the reality of you will. (can)

double post?
sorry..
edit - gone...

This post was last modified: 05-18-2012 04:05 PM by windy.

H had some situation against due to autism at an amusement park.  The security guard told this person to go away since harassment of that sort was not allowed.  I also had people making negative comments to me at my volunteer job.  I did not complain because I did not know I could.  It would have been good if I had been paired up with another volunteer to work with me as I had requested.  What happened was that this person had said that "retarded people like me should not be allowed to give tours" and some criticism of the way I speak.   It happened more than once.  That was harassment rather than discrimination.  Not giving me another volunteer job after my tours were finished was discrimination.

Its a misnomer, because I don't want to 'succeed' at this job, I want OUT. I just need coping strategies until something better happens for me.

can you fake an accent? that might make it more fun.

There are two ways to get out of your job. Either you can find a job somewhere else, or, as you've said before, you can get promoted out of your job. The latter will require that you succeed at this job.

Post up a photo of what you are working for - your kid, family, home, car whatever motivates you to be there.  Consider yourself a martyr for putting up with what you do.