How would you respond to an angry person who tells you "I fought in World War 2 for you people?"?

“Yes, sir, and I thank you very much for your service, and I’m very sorry I was neglectful enough to not leave a forwarding message on my phone while I was out, and I’ll be sure to not let it happen again.”

@MrItty don’t you think that might be almost too polite? I think most people would see right through that and be even more angry with your glibness.

Besides the situation with why he’s mad, I think you should ask him why his contribution to freedom directly applies to this specific situation. My grandfather does the same thing, and everyone in our family believes he abuses this statement because he uses it ALL the time in almost every situation. “You should be grateful you have christmas presents because I fought in WWII for you to have everything you could ever dream of”

Well, we’re in another war right now, and there are tons of laws in the US that citizens feel are taking away their rights. So besides the fact that WWII was a very important event for the US in terms of freedom, there are lots of people now that are effecting it to. You could even be one of them!

You could also say, “well I’m paying taxes for your social security.”
lol

“Thank you”

“I am very sorry that you were not able to connect with me before today. Now, how can I help you?”

I would not address the WWII comment at all. Unless he says it again. In which case I would say, “Yes, and thank you for your service. Now what may I do for you today?”

@Carly no, I do not think that’s too polite. The guy screwed up, and his customer/client is justifiably upset at him. He should not only apologize, he should give assurances that it won’t happen again. This is not your grandfather or any other relative, it’s someone that he is in the business of being there to assist. It is his job to assist this person, and he failed at that job. He should be apologetic and as polite as possible.

@Carly in case you’re still confused, my answer was not to be sarcastic or “glib”, but to be completely sincere in his apology. And if he’s not sincere in his apology to this person, then he should consider switching jobs.

@MrItty: (first of all, I’m a “she” not a “he.”) I did not fail at my job, in that if I’m off on a holiday day (Veterans’ Day) I am not answering calls. If I’m off on a day off, I’m not answering calls. If I’m out in the field (part of my job) all day, I am not answering calls. When I was out Tuesday morning, to go to the doctor’s office (on my sick time) I’m not answering calls. Those occasions are rare that this occurs in such succession like that, but it is not a failure on my part to do my job.

What I did say to the man was “Ok I’m here now. How can I help you?” in an extremely calm, measured tone. (I have been yelled at before, as most government workers are treated like shit, my question was more in how to answer this type of comment – under any circumstances – referring to “You people”).

@jca of course you did. Your job is to assist him. You did not assist him. Ergo, you failed in your job. The fact that you have reasonable excuses for not assisting him is irrelevant. That you didn’t have the foresight to leave an outgoing message of “I’ll be out of the office until ___. In the meantime, if you require assistance, please contact ____ at phone number _____” means you didn’t care enough about his concerns. He is right to be upset at you, regardless of what reasons you have for not answering his calls when they were placed.

I don’t understand what your problem with the “you people” comment is. It’s 100% accurate. This man risked his life for not only his contemporaries but for you, me, and everyone else in the country. And he risked it with the understanding that in return, certain services would be provided for him by the government. That is, by you.

If you are dissatisfied with service you receive anywhere else, you typically go to the manager and bark at him that you “paid good money to this place” for the service you expected in return and did not receive. That’s precisely what this man is doing. He paid not money, but he paid with the risk of his own life, and is dissatisfied with the service he got back in return. And the entity he paid is not only the government for which you now work, but each and every individual member of that government and each and every citizen of the country in general.

Here’s how you should handle this in the future…
Him: I fought in World War 2 for you people.
You: Oh, that is quite a coincidence.
Him: What are you talking about?
You: My grandfather died in WWII. I was out of town visiting his grave at Arlington at the time of your call. My apologies for not leaving a forwarding number. How can I help you?

Since I don’t have your job I would respond. “Well sir I respect the fact that you faught for our country but that doesn’t mean I will kiss your ass for it. You talk to me with respect and let me explain why and if it’s not a good explanation then give me a chance to apologize. I will take crap for somebody because they think that because they are war veteran that I should have to take it.”

Don’t you have someone to handle your calls on the days that your office is open but you’re not there?

@Brian1946: I’m a caseworker, and no. otherwise, with 200 cases per person, and 8 people, we would be all handling each others cases and having to cover up to 1600 cases at any one time.

For you people means that the world including the US is not run by Nazis.