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by kajer

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I work for a company that has locations nationwide. All of these locations call into the corporate headquarters (to our helpdesk of approximately 7 people, on any given day) when they have computer problems so really none of our support is face to face, all of it is phonebased. We will most of the time make smalltalk with people while we are waiting for files to send or whatnot. The problem I have is with one of my co-workers. He makes inappropriate remarks, and just generally annoys everyone else in the room and the people who call in. His remarks are usually somewhat sexual in nature, and he feels the need to make funny voices for some reason. For instance, he was on the phone with a store, and the person he was talking to asked another employee if she was in a particular customer's file, saying "Are you in (insert customer's name here)" My co-worker comes back with the comment, No I'm not, I don't even know her. Completely inappropriate. He & I have clashed in the past, and I'm afraid that if I go to our boss with this, she and others will think I'm just being petty or trying to lay something on him. I've talked with others back here, and they agree with me that his comments are annoying and inappropriate, but they don't think it's worth going to the boss about.

14 replies

by james r linn

and your company, you should do something.

I would approach your boss and say something to the effect of, we have a problem, we have an employee making inappropriate remarks, and I am afraid that some of our store personnel may take offense. Don't get into chapter and verse. If she's had reports from stores already, she'll know what you are about. If not she will ask for more information. Explain your clear discomfort and your desire not to be seen as a snitch or being petty.

Suggest if its appropriate that she monitor some calls. She might also want to talk to others.

These are some of the hardest things to deal with. But you have to try.

James

by wordworker

I agree with James. You don't have any choice but to report that bozo. It's hard to fathom anyone being so out of touch with reality that he would make sexual comments to any customer, whether being supported by telephone or in person. If you don't do something proactively, consider what you'll say if, down the road, the bozo does something *really* off the wall, and your manager says, "Why didn't any of you tell me this was going on?"

by bryan_h

This person's attitude also reflects on your group. There may be customers who try to work round their problem just because they may have to speak with him. Tell your boss. This person needs to change his attitude or be fired.

by road-dog

If your department has some service feedback mechanism, make sure that the users he's annoying are aware of it. If he's nearly as bad as you indicate, his feedback forms will pile up and force management to take steps.

by vega3001

It says in your post that "he and I have clashed in the past..." which kind of sounds like there is more than meets the eye to this situation. If the language and innuendos are really the problem, don't hesitate to confront this guy. If the problem is stemming from him being "annoying", get used to it. You're going to run into people who annoy you your whole life...deal with it.

by ivonne yeste mitchell

If the problem is indeed persistent and others feel the same way, you have an obligation to report it. Some might consider this environment to be a "hostile" work environment. In the future, should someone report this person for harassment, if you knew about it and did nothing, you might be in violation of your company's sexual harassment policy. You might even be held partially liable from a legal perspective if you do nothing. Check with your HR department to understand what your responsibilities and your options are. Good luck!

by jazz_80013

As a member of a team it is your responsibllity to correct problems that will reflect negatively upon your group. You are your brother's keeper, as this inappropriate behaviour will impact your bottom line. In any business the customer is always right. As a customer it is their right to be treated with dignity and respect. As a service provicer, it is your job to insure that this condition in always met.

by jborchers

I would suggest that you do 2 things. First of course is to talk to the person making the comments. Let him know that you feel some of the comments are not in good taste and that the customer could take offense to the comments also. Sometimes, just a "gentle" reminder is all that a person needs. Remind him that these are his customers and they are what is paying his salary.

Second...you need to let the help desk supervisor/manager know what is going on. This attitude reflects on the whole group, not just one person. Try to talk to the manager outside of the office situation, in the lunch/break room or outside of the building. Express your concern, but put a positive spin on it, by offering to help coach the other person. Other help deskpeople should also go to the boss or at least in your converstation you should note that other people have said that they are uncomfortable the way the customers are addressed.

In some way the manager shlould take action. Maybe a verbal warning to start, then documentation in his permanent record. Naturally if he didn't shape up, termination would be the ultimate result.

Good luck, I've unfortunately been in this situation with an ex-employee and these points help me and management.

by rserao

In the best of circumstances, if this helpdesk tech had an existing relationship with the person he was talking to, for instance they are friedns outside of work, then maybe that comment wasnt' all that bad. That's the best case.. In all other cases, if this guy;s making comments like that to strangers, you've got a real problem on your hands. Even if, by some chance, the person he's talking to isn't offended by those types of comments, other customers who are in ear shot may be. I'd simply go to the boss and say "You've got a problem.

by rrgilmore_2001

1:set him up with a fake custom calling in and have here yell at the top of here longs at him loud enough everyone here's it. She has to start yelling on the first inappropriate commit even if she has to steer the conversation that way

2: If you really have a problem with this clown. Set a help desk meeting up and have everyone tell him how they fill about his mouth

3: If he does not come to you’re little help desk meeting set up a meeting between you supervisor, you, and the clownIf he values his job he will be there

4: You say you have clashed. Was it physical? Or did you just pop off at the mouth at each other? Cut the first grade B.S
There are repercussions for everything: your mouth his mouth your fist in his mouthYour mouth yelling make’s you look bad his mouth make’s him a fool.
Your fist in his mouth you go to jail or you both go to jail.
Try to keep it as a help desk thing, I always try to tell someone before getting them into trouble.

5: This is the last and final thing I will say; all of your jobs might and can be on the line because of this guy.
They don't just fire you for sexual Harassment, they come in and arrest you, ya know take you away in cuffs and in the back of the police car.
This is not a joke

Depending on you company’s policies you all can loose you jobs, ether decide or play dumb, but if it is your duty to Shepard your you co-work by decreed of company policies
You have a problem.

by edgar n.

This is a common situation in the IT community. Not all IT staff is support personnel material. Customer service is an art, and requires diplomacy, empathy and above all, professionalism.
Sexist and sexual-implicit comments have no place in any job setting, that's sexual harrassment and can be prosecuted by law. Not informing management may imply toleration by the fellow staff.
Management should take corrective actions to ensure a non-hostile workplace to end-users.

If complaints from users are too many, and too recurrent, management may take the following steps:

1- Formally counsel the employee. Inform the employee that the behavior is not tolerated by others. That he is expected to modify that undesirable behavior. Advise what may happen to him if the employee does not improve.
2- Document everyting.
3- If the employee is an asset to the company, send him to a customer service skills or sensitivity training.
4- Give reasonable time to improve his skills and get feedback from users.
5- If the employee is valuable, management may consider tranferring the employee to another IT section that does not support users.
6- If the employee does not improve after a reasonable time then management needs to contact HR or the legal dept to consider further corrective actions such as: unfavorable evaluation, no pay raise, suspension, or termination.

I worked for one IT consulting company that they had to terminate a fellow worker because he was "checking on the girls in the office", and "snooping around" the office. He was a very bright, but very inmature Computer Engineer on his first job out of college.

by simonmorley

I feel for you. You are caught between your duty to the company and your desire to not be a rat. Try a middle approach. Take the individual aside and tell him or her your opinion of the conduct you have seen and heard. Explain that it offends YOUand that YOU ask that he or she stop doing it or you will escalate the issue. This puts the individual on notice and gives him or her a choice. It is possible that the person doesn't realize how his or her words and actions are coming across to his co-workers and customers. If that makes you feel uncomfortable, it should because what you have to do is hard but important.

by peter marshall

You have outlined what is a serious problem in any business in any part of the world.

The majority of Governments have enacted legislation preventing harassment of other workers/customers.

It is an issue that no manager or worker can afford to ignore. The whole theme of this thread is that something needs to be done, and done soon.

The method by which you deal with this issue will be governed by your organisations internal policies. As a person with the same job discription as the allegded offender I would suggest that you can personally go no further than advising him that his behaviour is inappropriate. After that, if there is no improvement, you have an obligation to report the behaviour to your supervisor. It is then up to the supervisor to investigate and take corrective action in consultation with her manager.

My suggestion would be to formally report the matter to your supervisor. Do nothing to encourage the behaviour - especially as was mentioned earlier in the thread - do not set up a bogus customer call.

Regards

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