FireFold blog

I Have A Crush On You

At FireFold, one of our most common methods of office communication is Yahoo Messenger.  While Yahoo is great for instant messaging, unfortunately a bit of spam works its way through now and then, as our lucky CSR discovered recently when he received an unusual friend request on Friday afternoon.  Our CSR attempted to maintain his professionalism throughout the conversation, as he would with any contact, but it was impossible for him to ignore the fun to be had.

learyx avykuga: Hello.
CSR: hello
learyx avykuga: Hey Bill.
CSR: hi, how do we know each other?
learyx avykuga: This is difficult for me to do because I'm shy..but, I have a crush on you. I have been sending you emails but have gotten no response.
learyx avykuga: I've never been able to tell you for reasons which you would quickly identify as obvious if you knew who this was.
CSR:lol
learyx avykuga: With that said, I want you to guess who I am, and approach me yourself.
CSR: That would cause many uncomfortable moments
learyx avykuga: To help you out with your guessing I made a few pictures and videos with "Bill" written on my body.
learyx avykuga: They're kind of risqué photos so I had to make a profile at www.com and post them there.
learyx avykuga: Did you get my last IM about the risqué photos? If you didn’t get the link, visit it in my yahoo profile.

CSR: ok enough
CSR: I’m working
learyx avykuga: My username in the members area is "BillandME09" (It's a free website but you might need a CC or Debit to verify your age because I had to. Sigh.)
learyx avykuga: Once you are inside, search for me. I want you to guess who I am and then approach me yourself. I'm shy and this is the bravest thing I've probably ever done, but you need to do the rest.CSR: listen up, I’m at work
learyx avykuga: I won’t ever be able to get on Yahoo Messenger again. This is my only day, so come talk with me on the website.
CSR: u shush
CSR: kk?
learyx avykuga: Kisses, Secret Admirer


We hope you enjoyed our first Chronicles of the FireFold CSR blog post. If you are new to this concept then we would like to welcome you. This series highlights the colorful characters that make up FireFold’s customer base. These little anecdotes were written by our own CSRs for your amusement and our intentions are not to offend anyone. That is why the pictures in this post are of our own employees and not of actual customers. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Chronicles of the FireFold CSR as much as you did the last one!

“Two Suitcases and a Duffle Bag!”

Everyone occasionally dials a wrong number. It happens to the best of us. Generally, once hearing that you have the wrong number, most people will apologize and hang up. Or at the very least, just hang up. This was, however, not the case when I received an angry call from “Steve” not long after I began.

I answered the phone with a cheery “Thank you for calling FireFold, how may I help you today?”

No sooner were the words out of my mouth until Steve began a loud tirade, mixed with several colorful words. All I could make out were bits and pieces, something about how he “wanted his stuff” and it had been over a week since we lost it. From what little information I could make out, I thought that his package from us was possibly lost, or hadn’t been delivered on time.

I had to wait a moment for Steve to stop to take a breath so that I could get a word in edgewise. “I will be happy to assist you in locating your order, sir. Do you happen to have either your order number or your email address?”

All I got in reply was another full force tirade.

I eventually caught the sentence “You’ve had my luggage for over a week now!” When I managed to get another word in, I asked the customer what exactly it was that he was missing.

“Two suitcases and a duffle bag!” he proclaimed.

At this point I explained to him that he had called FireFold, an online retailer of computer networking and home theater equipment, not Houston Airport as he thought he did. After a slight pause he told me that he would check the number for the airport.

“If this is the right number, I’m calling back to speak to your supervisor!”

Needless to say, we never heard from Steve again.

The Colon Cleanser

As a CSR-in-training, one of the most challenging aspects of the job is learning to anticipate the possible issues that can arise for a customer. In this situation, I don’t think there was much that could have prepared our lucky CSR.

“Thank you for calling FireFold. How may I help you?”

“Yes. I am VERY angry”, a female voice snapped. “I canceled with you folks several months ago and you continue to charge my credit card every month. I canceled well within my 30 day trial period.”

“We’re charging your credit card? I don’t think that we have any subscription services, ma’am. Let me check on that for you.” At this point, a very confused CSR was desperately trying to figure out what subscription services we offered of which she was not aware.

“Well, obviously you do. My friend is having the same trouble, and she’s the one who suggested I try your product. We are both very dissatisfied and want these charges refunded immediately or we’re calling the Better Business Bureau.”

“Ma’am, are you sure that you have the right company? We are FireFold. We sell HDMI cables and networking supplies. We don’t have anything that would cause regularly occurring charges on your credit card.”

“I am positive! This is FireFold, and you keep sending me this stupid COLON CLEANSER that doesn’t work!”

“Colon cleanser?” the CSR laughed into the phone. There really was no way to control her amusement at this point. “Ma’am, we don’t sell a colon cleanser!” At this exclamation, a large group of FireFold employees began to assemble outside the CSR’s cubicle to find out what this call could possible be about.

The customer on the line continued to insist FireFold was sending her colon cleanser and charging her credit card monthly. A quick database search of the customer’s name turned up an order her husband had placed for some HDMI cables the month prior. The customer had seen the charge on her credit card statement and mixed up the two companies, assuming FireFold was the sneaky organization from which she had ordered her colon cleanser. We’re still not sure why the customer was not satisfied with her colon cleanser, because she had no problem unloading on us for about twenty minutes that day.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work behind the scenes of FireFold? Ever wondered about the colorful characters that make up FireFold’s customer base? We’d like to give you a glimpse of what it’s like to be a FireFold Customer Service Representative. We hope you enjoy these little anecdotes, written by our own CSRs for your amusement. Maybe you’ll learn something new, and maybe you’ll recognize a bit of your own personality inside these handpicked customer antics. You might recognize a bit too much of yourself, so much so that you might be wondering “are they talking about me?” If that’s the case, then we sincerely apologize. We didn’t really expect you would navigate your way through the maze of HDMI cables to find the FireFold blog. Feel proud of yourself for guiding future customers along the path to cable enlightenment.

I Can Take Off The Protective Caps?

For a FireFold CSR, it is inevitable that once you’re feeling pretty knowledgeable about the products, a customer will call in and shake you down from your technology pedestal. We have a wonderful team of technicians on hand here at FireFold for assisting customers with specific networking and audio/visual needs, but as customer service reps, one of our goals is to guide customers as much as possible and alleviate some of the traffic that commonly bombards the techs.  On one particular day, Mr. John Doe decided it was my turn to squirm.

When I first heard John’s voice, he sounded like a pretty level-headed guy. He politely informed me that he had ordered an HDMI cable from us and was very pleased with our prompt delivery. He thanked me, but I knew there had to be a reason for his call beyond singing FireFold praises. I braced myself for the dilemma Mr. Doe was about to send my way.

“Here’s my question. Are there differently sized connectors on HDMI cables?” John asked.

HDMI connections are standard. The same cable that works for a digital cable receiver works for a Blu-Ray player or a laptop computer. If the unit has an HDMI connector, then it will use one of our standard male to male HDMI cables. For simple setups that do not involve switches and splitters, the only real conundrum is how long the cable should be. “No,” I replied. “HDMI cables are all the same as far as connections go. They are pretty standard across the board.”

“Well…” I could tell John was considering his words carefully. “I’m asking because this six foot HDMI cable I ordered from you doesn’t fit into my TV.” Confident that as long as John’s TV had an HDMI outlet, our cable should fit perfectly, my first assumption was that our friendly customer was trying to insert an HDMI cable into some other connection, like DVI. It’s been known to happen.

I probed for more information. “You’re sure your TV has an HDMI connection? Not something else like DVI or VGA?”

“Oh yes,” John answered assuredly. “It’s definitely HDMI. “ I could envision his enthusiastic nod.

I debated consulting with one of our techs, but even though Mr. Doe briefly had me doubting myself, I was still confident that all HDMI connections are the same. “I’m not sure why it wouldn’t fit. All of our HDMI cables have the same connectors, and they’re the same ones you’d buy in your local store. It’s possible you might have gotten a defective cable. Perhaps you just received one the manufacturer constructed incorrectly. Would you like me to process a return request for you?”

“Well, let me describe the cable to you and maybe you can tell me if it’s defective. There’s a black connector on each end, and there’s this clear plastic thing on each one…wait.”

“Clear plastic?” I interjected, realization quickly dawning on me. “Does it look like a cap? Is there a shiny metal piece underneath it?”

“Yeah! Do you think that has anything to do with it?” By this time, I was quite certain the little plastic piece had a lot to do with it. John Doe had taken his HDMI cable out of the bag, and left the protective wrapping intact. He was trying to insert the cable with the protective caps still in place on the connectors.

“Yes, sir, that is the protective cap. It keeps the metal tip from getting bent or damaged in shipment.”

“So it’s okay for me to take these little plastic pieces off?”

“Yes,” I reassured him. “You have to take those off or the cables will not work.”

John took a little more nudging to actually go through with the complicated process of removing the plastic caps, but once I had convinced him they were not actually part of the HDMI cable, he found they fit quite nicely into his TV and digital cable box. He thanked me enthusiastically before hanging up to watch his new high definition connection. And I moved on to the next call with the satisfaction that another technical crisis had been resolved by the FireFold team.

Desperately Seeking Technical Assistance

Here at FireFold, we always try our very best to fully answer any questions that our customers bring to us in regards to our products, policies, etc. However, every now and then we get one of those unanswerable questions. I can remember very clearly a phone call I received from a customer-we’ll call him Bob- who had questions on our HDMI cables.

Bob had just gotten a new flat screen TV and was interested in purchasing an HDMI cable from us to run from his television to his cable box. After reassuring him that the cables he was looking at were the correct cables for his set up, he then asked me what length he would need. I let him know that we carry HDMI cables in various lengths ranging from 1ft to 200ft and that if he let me know what length he was looking for; I could give him a price on it and get the order placed for him. He then replied by telling me that his television was mounted above his fireplace and his cable box was across the room, and asked again how long of a cable he would need. At this point, I explained to him that I couldn’t tell over the phone how far apart the two devices were, and I recommended that he measure the distance before placing his order to assure that he ordered the correct length he would need. His less than polite response to that was “I called you to help me find out what cable I need. Just tell me which length so I can get my order placed.” After going around in circles a few times, again explaining that without being in his house, I couldn’t possibly know how long of a cable he would need, he gave up on my “poor technical assistance” and informed me that he would be placing the order himself.