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It’s been a bad day…

I am so incredibly mad.

I just can’t believe the sheer rudeness and unprofessionalism of certain insurance agents.

I don’t recall a single good experience I’ve had with insurance companies, but I think this one tops the cake. Not that this is directly involving me, but I wish it was because I have some choice things to say to this person.

This is meant to be a representative of a massive national company dealing in motor vehicles and insurance, one with the same initials as another organisation known as Alcoholics Anonymous.

This particular individual has been ringing someone I know while they are at work (and they are not in a job where they can simply take calls at leisure), telling them to “stop being cheap and top up your phone” to ring somebody else (maybe this agent is so well paid that $20 is a drop in the bucket to him, and he’s never experienced being broke at the end of the week), SWEARING at the person and then hanging up.

That’s beyond rude, beyond unprofessional and is, frankly, harassment. What I find most inexcusable is the cursing – understandable perhaps had the other person provoked him by swearing at him FIRST – but that wasn’t the case.

It absolutely disgusts me – this “agent” has ruined my good perceptions of his company. As their representative he should be acting ethically and professionally at all times. Whether you’re a politician, police officer, debt collector, shop assistant, bus driver or teacher, you simply can’t speak to people any bloody way you like. You sure as hell can’t start swearing at them

What gets me the most is that there was absolutely no reason for these calls. The matter should have been conducted through writing and there was no need for telephone contact whatsoever. I sure as hell hope I get to speak to this character and set him straight about his job and take the matter to his manager.

Just as an aside, why does virtually everyone in the insurance industry seem to lack a rudimentary grasp of English? Almost all of the ones I’ve dealt with seem incapable of understanding what I’m saying let alone answering my queries (although that’s also to do with poor training, I suppose, and the fact that insurance companies really aren’t there for you – they’re out for themselves(.

In other news, I feel terrible for Austin Hemmings and his family. It’s awful to think that he was doing the right thing, trying to help someone in trouble, and ended up dead. If I was trying to intervene in a fight I’d probably expect to get punched in the head or something – I wouldn’t expect to get stabbed for my trouble.

That’s a whole new level, and I think in this country we still don’t quite have that mentality. But it’s only a matter of time.

It’s amazing though how much difference it makes to be able to put a face to tragedies like this. When it was just an unnamed man, sure it was horrific, and depressing, but once his name and a photo of him smiling and alive was released, that added a whole new dimension. It made him a real person, who now no longer exists. A person who got killed for no reason at all.

I think it’s the sheer randomness of acts like this that scares us. That and how close to home it was – just metres from my office. Most people still believe in the inherent goodness of human nature; but incidents like these make it hard to do so.

I just can’t understand how people can do things like this. Much like I can’t understand how people can hurt their own children. Once you’ve held a newborn in your arms , I think your entire outlook on life shifts a little. And that’s something I never thought I’d say, being one of the least maternal people I know.

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